Allen Iverson : After the NBA

[jeebs9]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Its not even the media. Forget what happen at the Grizz. When played for the Pistons. He didn't have the same POP. Like someone said in their post. The things that made AI. AI....were his speed and quickness. He wasn't workout....And I'm not talking about weights. I'm talking about a trainer. If he would of hooked himself up with a well know trainer. Lost some of that baby fat. AI would of been signed to a team.

Anyone notice how slimmed down Eddie House looks? He looks like he lost at 10-15 pounds. Pat Reily has always been about fit players. Look at Q Rich last year. He lost about 20 pounds before the season started. And he had a very good season for the heat last year. Pat Reily would never sign a player who didn't have the same vision as him.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Yea JBH, I meant objectively.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Its not even the media. Forget what happen at the Grizz. When played for the Pistons. He didn't have the same POP. Like someone said in their post. The things that made AI. AI....were his speed and quickness. He wasn't workout....And I'm not talking about weights. I'm talking about a trainer. If he would of hooked himself up with a well know trainer. Lost some of that baby fat. AI would of been signed to a team.

Anyone notice how slimmed down Eddie House looks? He looks like he lost at 10-15 pounds. Pat Reily has always been about fit players. Look at Q Rich last year. He lost about 20 pounds before the season started. And he had a very good season for the heat last year. Pat Reily would never sign a player who didn't have the same vision as him.

Why should we?

[jeebs9]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

We shouldn't forget....But he was making it seem like we based out opinion on what happen last year.

[LingeringRegime]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Four Reasons I Don't Feel Sorry For Him

1. Turkish Women Are Fine.
2. Prestigious Team in The World's Eyes.
3. He will be League MVP.
4. He brought it on himself for the most part.

[jeebs9]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Four Reasons I Don't Feel Sorry For Him

1. Turkish Women Are Fine.
2. Prestigious Team in The World's Eyes.
3. He will be League MVP.
4. He brought it on himself for the most part.

^^LOL^^

10

[threes_co]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Sums up my thoughts

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/427978-is-allen-iverson-being-black-balled-by-the-nba

[Hooe]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Sums up my thoughts

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4...led-by-the-nba

Admittedly I'm not a basketball head, but about that article:

• Allen Iverson is not one of the Top 25 players of all-time
• I seriously doubt that the NBA actively conspired against Allen Iverson
• as to why teams were ignoring Iverson in the free agency period, perhaps they didn't want an older, slowed-down guard who is probably too short to play the 2-spot and is only at his most effective on offense when he has the ball

That said, good luck to him in Turkey.

[Muzyk23]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

^ Every top ... list is as subjective as it gets.

[dragonyeuw]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

Admittedly I'm not a basketball head, but about that article:

• Allen Iverson is not one of the Top 25 players of all-time
• I seriously doubt that the NBA actively conspired against Allen Iverson
• as to why teams were ignoring Iverson in the free agency period, perhaps they didn't want an older, slowed-down guard who is probably too short to play the 2-spot and is only at his most effective on offense when he has the ball

To further add to your points:

-Jason Kidd and Steve Nash are cerebral, skilled playmakers for which the largest attribute wasn't their speed, it was their craftiness with the ball, basketball IQ, ability to make pinpoint passes, and make their teammates better. Those aren't attributes that will diminish with age. That's why they're employed. Derek Fisher is a career roleplayer who provides clutch shooting, leadership and a veteran presence in the locker-room. That's why he's employed. Ray Allen is one of the all-time great shooters, shooting is something that doesn't diminish with age, and Ray has made the transition to a spot-up shooter. And he's always kept himself in supreme condition. That's why he's employed.

-Iverson, on the other hand,has never possessed the ability to make teammates better, he was at his best where everyone cleared out of the way for him to shoot 30 times a night at 41%, and surround him with defensive roleplayers( 2001 Sixers). At 35, he's long past his MVP prime, or even the seasons in Denver when he was still putting up good numbers. He's aged a good bit in about 2 years, and lost alot of speed. Let's face it, Iverson is a 6 foot shooting guard who was unguardable because of his blinding speed. It should have been obvious from the getgo that when he lost that speed, it was all downhill from there. He is too small to reinvent his game and add a post game like Jordan and Kobe, so he can really only be effective in spurts right now. He can still get 30 minutes a night playing 15 at each guard spot, based on how the game is going. And he would be a great scoring anchor on a second unit. But his ego won't allow him to do that, and so he joins a long list of players who amassed huge stats and individual awards but never won the big one.

[candiasis]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

AI never made his team mates better, yet he averaged solid assists whilst averaging some incredible points, and went to the playoffs 8 out of his 13 years in the league, on some absolutely atrocious teams too. I dont get this logic how he never made his team mates better.... People love to use labels and bottle players into categories, like if you're a point guard you shouldn't ever be looking for a shot. So dumb.

He never did get to play with a dominant big man, such a shame. I hope this isn't how it ends for him and he gets one more shot in the nba.

[GaryT531]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

AI hasn't had blinding speed since the 2007-08 season where he averaged 26.4 with denver. But still at 35 has way above average quickness for a player his age.

Maybe he has never made his teammates better, but he has carried his teams. A decent comparison would be to Dominique Wilkins, another guy who had a rep for not making his teammates better, but he carried his team. And when I say carried his team, I mean as being that go to guy every single trip down court without any other real trustworthy options to consistently rely on to score points, to win games, and has never won a championship.

But for a guy AI's size, to be such a lethal scorer at 6'0 165 lbs is just absolutely amazing. that's what makes him unique, that's what we all love and respect about him, which was the type of game he plays for a guy his size. I mean you think 6'0 165lbs in the NBA you think of a small point guard who can barely stick to a roster, or nothing other than a point guard playmaker type of skill set. 33.6 ppg in 2005-06 is just awesome.

And even if he did stick around as a role player on a good team that won a championship, it would just look weird, and no one would even remember years down the road anyway. Just like how no one really remembers that Gary Payton for example was on Miami's 2006 championship team. Iverson did it his way, and has pretty much been forced out of the NBA doing it his way. But he's too unique to be hanging around on the bench getting spot minutes and averaging single digits in ppg. As an Iverson fan I wouldn't want to see that

[Muzyk23]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

^ great post

[OSUFan_88]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

And even if he did stick around as a role player on a good team that won a championship, it would just look weird

You're right, though. It would be weird to see AI play to a team ball concept.

Great player, selfish dude. His numbers were insane, especially for his size, but he might have a couple of titles by now if he wasn't so GD selfish.

[Muzyk23]

Re: A.I. signs with Besiktas

But did he know any other way? Georgetown, Philly.Thompson and Brown made him, carved him. He didn't know any other way and didn't want to change. He shouldn't be criticized for doing things his way. If he in his mind is convinced that at 35 he can still ball like he was 20 let him be..no matter the consequences. He has never really had any second thoughts about it.