The Memphis Grizzlies officially signed Allen Iverson with a one-year contact for 3.1 million dollars, a figure only slightly below what was expected. Now that the deal is final, and AI has finally found a home (if only a temporary one), three questions remain to be answered: a) is AI happy with this contract? b) who benefits more, AI or Memphis? and c) what will AI's role be?
Right after the deal was made official, AI took to his Twitter, writing "God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace and my next head coach Lionel Hollins." He later also wrote "I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that. I feel that I can trust them." Although it is hard to tell how sincere anyone is over a tweet, to me it does not seem as though he is all that elated about this news. Earlier this summer he seemed almost sure that he would end up in either Charlotte, Miami or NY, and even hinting to wanting to be considered by Philly. However, I'm not going to sit here and judge him, especially over something so trivial as Twitter, when he could simply just be tired of getting pushed and pulled around, and just wants to get back to playing ball. Whether or not he is happy isn't even really what matters. What does matter is how hard he plays and what mindset he has this year. This could very well be the start of a comeback (and I say that with no disrespect, as I know he hates that term) or the beginning of the end. And as I've said before, I'm an AI fan, and hope he will prove all the haters out there wrong. He may be old, and may have made a few bad decisions/taken a few wrong turns along the way but he is a great player and can add a lot to a team.
As for who got the better end of the deal, I think it could swing both ways. On the one hand, Iverson has had a cloud of negative association following him around for a while now, diminishing the chances of being fought over by "good" teams, or really any teams at all (despite his wishes). However, he once stood high at the top of the NBA pole, and is still a name. Not to mention that with Memphis being next to last in the league for average points per game (rough) for the 08-09 season, they really don't have much to lose. AI brings Memphis publicity (his Memphis jerseys are already being sold) and a much needed chance to improve their numbers, and Memphis could be the key to reviving Iverson's career. All in all, to me, the deal seems pretty balanced. At least for now.
The only remaining question is where AI will fit in on the team. O.J. Mayo finished second to Derrick Rose in Rooke of the Year, so it safe to say that the position of starting shooting guard will belong to him. However, it is yet to be known whether AI will take the spot of MIke Conley or not. I guess only time will tell.
In my opinion this trade was a positive thing. AI will finally get the chance to prove himself once again (interestingly enough, Memphis' first game of the new season is against the Detroit Pistons) and Memphis will get a chance to move up in the league and become a bit more respected. And with not only the addition of AI but draft picks like Hasheem Thabeet (or as I like to call him, Hasheem the Dream) I think that is more than possible.
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