Grizzlies waive Iverson; could Knicks be interested?
Photo credit: AP | FILE -- Allen Iverson during a news conference at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich. (November 4, 2008)
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GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Allen Iverson's short career with the Memphis Grizzlies ended Monday when the two sides mutually parted ways after only three games. The 10-time all-star guard and former MVP was waived by the Grizzlies, who signed him to a one-year, $3.09-million contract late in the summer.
See photos of Allen Iverson through the years
The Knicks passed on acquiring the four-time NBA scoring champion last season when he was being shopped by the Denver Nuggets and again during the offseason when he was a free agent. But at this point, with the Knicks off to a 1-9 start and frustration brewing within the long-suffering fan base, could the team be desperate enough to make a play for the 34-year-old Iverson?
As Donnie Walsh searches for ways to improve the struggling team while not impacting the 2010 salary cap, he will look into the advisability of signing Iverson. The Knicks, who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday, have an open roster spot and could offer Iverson a one-year, $1.3-million veteran's minimum contract that could be waived if Iverson proved to be more trouble than he is worth. But considering the team's notable absence of a go-to scorer, adding Iverson, who has averaged 27 points per game in 13 seasons, could be a bargain. It also could be a short-term boom, considering Iverson's popularity among NBA fans.
The Grizzlies on Nov. 7 put Iverson on an indefinite leave of absence from the team for undisclosed personal reasons that owner Michael Heisley said were family-related.
In three games with the Grizzlies, Iverson averaged 12.3 points in 22.3 minutes per game, including an 18-point, seven-assist performance in a 113-105 loss to Golden State on Nov. 4.
Memphis signed Iverson on Sept. 10 after he went almost the entire summer without an offer. During the summer, when Iverson listed a handful of teams he wanted to play for, he included the Knicks, who spent the offseason flirting with free-agent point guards Jason Kidd, Andre Miller and Ramon Sessions. Iverson remained off the radar mainly because of concerns about his me-first attitude.
After feuding with the Pistons about his undefined role last season, it took only one game in Memphis for Iverson to complain about coach Lionel Hollins' plan to bring him off the bench. "I'm not a bench player or a sixth man,'' Iverson said. "Go look at my resume. It will show you that I'm not a sixth man.''
At the end of last season in Detroit, Iverson said he "would rather retire'' than be a reserve player in the NBA and added, "I can't be effective playing this way.''
>> Read "The Iverson Rules" in The Knicks Fix
