Once upon a time it was hard to decipher what was more difficult to
stomach: the foolish, detrimental behavior of a professional athlete or
the apologists disguised as their inner circle, eager to excuse the
inexcusable. And then there came Allen Iverson, who didn’t make it
difficult at all.

We can sit around and pretend that Iverson was victimized last week. That somehow he was outed and his personal business was thrown out into the street. But the truth is, from missed practices to excessive tardiness to a flagrant disdain for authority in any venue he’s frequented in the past decade, nothing new about Iverson’s habits was revealed in the last few days.

If only the same can be said about the rest of us.

Sadly, including myself.

It’s been a difficult week, folks! I’ll just put it out there. After revealing what’s been heard for years about Iverson’s drinking and penchant for the casinos, I’ve received the kind of beatdown only Joe Frazier can relate to from the pummeling he suffered against George Foreman decades ago.

I’ve been vilified and excoriated, called a turncoat and a sellout, unworthy of so much as a handshake from several members of Iverson’s former team, the 76ers – the last people in need of more adversaries.

The truth is, I deserve it. Despite the objectivity exercised while disseminating the news, it’s impossible to be completely impartial about someone you’ve known for 14 years and are incredibly fond of despite the innumerable mistakes he’s made.

The thing is, if I’m honest enough to express these feelings about Iverson, to stand up and say none of us who care should sit idly by and act as if the combination of Iverson’s history in the fast lane and his present family issues will be healed by silence, where are his so-called friends, the ones with the all-is-well expressions while knowing there’s mounting evidence to the contrary?

No one said Iverson is an alcoholic or a gambling addict. What was reported was that he’s drinking and gambling too much, enough to concern quite a few people in the NBA.

Saying what needed to be said is something I don’t regret. The truth hurts sometimes, particularly when it involves someone at a low point in their life. Electing to stand alone, however, while a bevy of individuals – former teammates, locker room personnel, team executives, hangers-on, and his business manager – stand around in silence was perhaps the most questionable decision of all.

Most of us have heard about the mistakes Iverson has made, but what about the teammates who witnessed them? What about Iverson being in casinos at 3 a.m. on game days? What about calls into this newspaper’s newsroom of Iverson being in Philadelphia while his daughter was ill – when Iverson’s closest confidant, Gary Moore, was reported saying Iverson was in Atlanta?

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/stephen_a_smith/20100314_Stephen_A__Smith__The_backlash_from_Iverson_report.html

The Sixers yesterday announced that guard Allen Iverson’s contract will be guaranteed for the remainder of the season.

"Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about it," said Iverson, laughing. He said he loves being back with the organization that he called home for the first 10-plus years of his career. "I think the only frustrating part of the whole thing was trying to get into playing shape and dealing with my knee. That’s been the only rough part of this whole thing.”

Iverson missed four straight games with an arthritic left knee, an ailment he says is getting better every day.

"As far as just the fans and the city embracing me like they did from Day 1, that’s been great,” he said. "That was something that I really wanted to happen and being that it happened it made me feel that much more comfortable. I’m happy, and I haven’t been in a long time. You go back to feeling good about playing basketball, feeling good about the people around me and the situation."

Iverson played in his 10th game last night since returning to the team on Dec. 2, when he agreed to a prorated, $1.3 million, veterans-minimum contract after parting ways with the Memphis Grizzlies. Before last night, he was averaging 15.7 points and 4.7 assists in 33.2 minutes. He has become a calming influence on a very young team and a sounding board for the young players.

"Since his arrival, Allen has done everything asked of him and has been an excellent teammate," said general manager Ed Stefanski.

Said coach Eddie Jordan: "He’s a guy that’s added a lot to us, leadership, and things on the floor he does for us. He’s a valuable part of what we’re doing since he’s signed."

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20100106_Iverson_guaranteed_through_rest_of_Sixers__season.html

Last night, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said he expected the 34-year-old
point guard to remain with the team for the rest of the season.

In the NBA, partially guaranteed contracts such as Iverson’s become guaranteed Jan. 10, with a 48-hour waiver period preceding it. Because Jan. 10 falls on a Sunday, the date has been moved to Jan. 8, with teams needing to waive a player by the start of the 48-hour period – this Wednesday.

"Nothing is etched in stone," Jordan said of retaining Iverson. "But I think it’s going to happen."

Including last night’s game against the Denver Nuggets, Iverson has played nine games with the Sixers this season. He signed a prorated contract for just over $1 million in early December. Entering last night’s contest, Iverson was averaging 15.5 points per game and had started every game in which he played.

Iverson missed four games with arthritis in his left knee, a condition that is limiting him to 28 to 30 minutes per game.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20100104_Sixers_Notes___76ers_must_soon_decide_about_Iverson.html

Jerry Stackhouse played a little more than one season with the 76ers as
a teammate of Allen Iverson. They were both too young, too frisky, too
determined to be "the man." And they didn’t have a point guard.

Stackhouse ended up having a long, solid career with Detroit, Washington and Dallas. But he has a strong feel for whether Iverson and the Sixers could mesh again.

"It’s one of the few places where it could work," Stackhouse said during a break from his Sirius radio show. "From what I’ve read, the guys in the locker room are willing and say they would enjoy playing with him. That could make it the perfect spot."

Stackhouse is 35, 1 year older than Iverson, trying to decide whether he wants to take one more shot as a player, either as a sub with a top team or as a mentor with a young, upcoming team.

"He’s not the same player he was," Stackhouse said. "He can’t fool anybody with that."

He also, all too well, understands what Iverson is feeling.

"I still have the urge to play," he said. "I know I can compete and play. Do I want to? It’s something I’m battling."

He sees the Sixers adding Iverson as a risk/reward situation.

"You don’t know whether the reward will be as great as the risk," he said.

"When he was leading the league in scoring, when he was the MVP, young guys on other teams would look at him in awe. The young guys in the league now look at him and say, ‘I can beat him off the dribble.’ He was never a great defender, and he doesn’t have the same [first] step to get past them. And he’s not a spot-up shooter."

While the Sixers and Iverson are deciding, Stackhouse knows what the fans want.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20091202_Stackhouse__Philly_the_one_place_where_A_I__could_do_well.html

OKLAHOMA CITY – Fittingly, the ball is in Allen Iverson’s hands.

Yesterday, according to a source close to the negotiations, the 76ers offered Iverson a non-guaranteed contract for this season.

The deal is on the table; only he has the answer.

According to that same source, the Sixers are awaiting a response from Iverson’s agent, Leon Rose, and expect that answer today.

Yesterday in Philadelphia, Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski met with Rose, formally laying out the offer: a prorated amount of the $1.3 minimum veteran’s minimum, roughly $600,000 to $650,000, which would become guaranteed for the remainder of the season if Iverson remained on the roster Jan. 10.

Before then, the Sixers could cut Iverson, who played 10-plus seasons for the organization before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2006, without financial ramifications.

Offering a non-guaranteed contract is not entirely about money, the source said. It’s also about gauging Iverson’s desire and adaptability.

If Iverson’s camp rejects the offer, according to this source, there is no other offer forthcoming: It’s non-guaranteed or nothing.

Explained the source: "This would be something he would have to acquiesce to, and maybe show some good faith. You could say he’s at a desperate point in his basketball life."

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20091202_Source__76ers_awaiting_Iverson_s_answer_on_offer.html

Allen Iverson not only may come out of retirement in a matter of days. But he also could very well return to the franchise where all of his glory began.Numerous team sources confirmed on Friday that the 76ers’ brass has already talked — and talks will only escalate this weekend — about bringing Iverson back to Philadelphia. Possibly as early as next week.

"It’s being seriously considered," one Sixers official said before his team lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. "We know the history. We know the ups and downs. But we’re also aware of what (Iverson) can do and that he’s needed here. We simply can’t just ignore the upside he’d bring. Not with our situation."

As of Friday night, coach Eddie Jordan was on board with bringing Iverson back, according to sources. So were officials within the club’s hierarchy, along with the team’s executive adviser, Sonny Hill.

The rest of Jordan’s coaching staff is amenable to Iverson’s return, including assistant and former Sixer Aaron McKie, one of Iverson’s best friends, as well as assistant coach Randy Ayers — the former Sixers coach who had his share of run-ins with Iverson, ultimately lasting just 52 games before he was dismissed by former president and GM Billy King in 2003-04.

The Sixers say they are aware it will cost them less than $3 million to get Iverson — "possibly less than $2 million, according to another team source — and have every intention of acting on it, probably as early as Tuesday.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10440372/Sixers-appear-ready-to-bring-back-Iverson?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Foxsports%2Frss%2FNBA+(FOXSports.com+News+for+NBA)

"I think he just wants to feel wanted again," one of the sources said.

A couple of the notable reactions from around the league included the Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony.

"I’m No. 3. He made No. 3 cool,” Wade told NBA.com “He made crossovers cool. He did so much for the game as a pioneer. It’s sad to see him think about retirement."

"It’s tough — just a messed-up way to go out like that,” Anthony told The Denver Post. “Especially knowing you can still play, knowing you still got it.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-isiversonhavingachan&prov=tsn&type=lgns

Allen Iverson’s brief stint with the Memphis Grizzlies ended unceremoniously.
The 34-year-old’s NBA career, after 14 seasons, came to a halt in similar fashion Wednesday when Iverson announced his retirement.

Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, formerly of ESPN and the Philadelphia Inquirer, published Iverson’s statement on his Web site.

"I always thought that when I left the game, it would be because I couldn’t help my team the way that I was accustomed to. However, that is not the case," read the statement attributed to Iverson. "I still have tremendous love for the game, the desire to play, and a whole lot left in my tank. I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level. Stepping away from the game will allow me to spend quality time with my wife and kids. This is a reward that far exceeds anything that I’ve ever achieved on the basketball court. I have prayed for this day and I see it as my greatest gift."

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/25/report-allen-iverson-set-retire-nba/

Just to be clear on this, Allen Iverson is not walking through that door. But the possibility is something the Celtics have considered – and could revisit.
Danny Ainge always has been a fan of Iverson, and he tried very hard to get him here in the summer of 2006 and the season that followed. A number of times, the Celtics president of basketball operations was in talks with the 76ers before Iverson was shipped to Denver.

Now, after parting ways with Memphis, Iverson is a free agent. The Knicks were said to be interested but decided against it.

To acquire Iverson, the Celts would have to cut or trade a player, but they haven’t gotten close to that question.

“We have had internal discussions about (Iverson),” Ainge said yesterday, “but a decision like this has to be unanimous, and it wasn’t.”

Among the questions surrounding Iverson are cost (not a problem after he was willing to go to the Grizzlies for $3.1 million), how much he could help a club and whether, in the case of a good team like the Celts, he’d be willing to come off the bench.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20091125no_big_plans_for_allen_iverson_yet/

The answer to The Answer appears to be yes. Donnie Walsh said Wednesday night that the Knicks have yet to make a
final decision on whether to sign Allen Iverson but the Knicks
president hinted that the club is leaning strongly in that direction.

Iverson, a former MVP, is expected to clear waivers at 6 p.m. today and will become an unrestricted free agent.

The Knicks could have competition from Miami, who according to a person close to Iverson said the team is "hot" after him.

"Until something’s done it’s not done," Walsh said. "That’s the way I’ve always been. If he’s not signed it’s not done."

It’s worth remembering that Walsh used similar language days before Mike D’Antoni was hired as coach. Walsh has spent the past few days calling his inner circle of NBA friends about Iverson. One of those calls was to Larry Brown, the former Knicks coach, who was with Iverson in Philadelphia when the Sixers went to the NBA Finals.

Brown, who has spoken highly of Iverson in recent years, said recently that he would consider adding him to the Bobcats roster if Charlotte needed a guard. What’s also interesting about Brown’s inclusion in the discussion on Iverson is that Brown had a memorable falling out with Garden Chairman James Dolan.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2009/11/19/2009-11-19_donnie_walsh_iverson.html#ixzz0XPboY1LL