Mailbag: Iverson saga still brings out the passion in fans

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Allen Iverson moves the needle, still. His breakup with the Grizzlies and the reaction that Memphis should consider itself fortunate to escape the arrangement with only minor scrapes generated a lot of reader feedback, predictably with varied opinions. Iverson does that.

Some pounded a fist on the table that the storyline was too hard on A.I., some yelled it was too hard on the Grizzlies and that the veteran guard was given a pass.

Iverson plays with passion. Iverson brings out passion.

On to the letters ...

Hey, man, you don't know anything about basketball. If Iverson started he could of showed [Mike] Conley some things, something like a mentor, so think about what you say before you announce it to the world. Let's see you go out and play with all the heart of Iverson. Scott, you're a man of nothing. Also remember this quote: "Every great person learns from a great teacher", relate it to Conley and Iverson. Before you post things about Iverson, why don't you look at what he did to change the game of basketball.
--Mathew, North Port, Fla.

The Grizzlies need to develop players who have a chance to be around awhile, not play the guy who may give them an extra few wins and make the difference between finishing 13th or 11th in the Western Conference.

You can keep talking about the past greatness of Iverson, a no-doubt future Hall of Famer who deserves all the accolades that have come his way. But the rest of us are living in 2009-10, and that includes 29 other teams that didn't want him in the summer. Every GM in the league: Men of nothing.

Let's see the stampede to sign A.I. now. I think he will be back in the league at some point. But facts are facts. Very, very few teams want him. Doesn't that tell you something?

I just cannot believe how cowardly the press is about Iverson. Everyone is letting this guy off the hook. This guy QUIT on Detroit. Why are you not hammering Joe Dumars? And last I checked, the whole concept of a team is that you will do for the TEAM what it takes to win. So unless the team specified some other arrangement, this is squarely on Iverson. Did they promise him the starting position? No.

Sir Clank-a-Lot, one of the most overrated shooters of the last decade, just wants to be a ballhog and get more stats. Let's be honest, having Kobe [Bryant] pass him on the all-time scoring list during the Memphis/L.A. game did not help Mr. "ME".

Absolutely amazing that you cannot come out and say that this guy is poison to a team. Look at everywhere he's been. Look at him with Larry Brown, a truly great coach. This is about the most non-team player EVER. But no. You're going to talk about how bad the Memphis organization is for picking up [someone] that no one else wanted.

Also, these people need to stop putting this guy up there with "greatest guards ever." This guy was 1. A ballhog; 2. Inaccurate; 3. The worst defender in the league among starting guards. I'd say Steve Nash is a close second, but at least he tries. Iverson runs away from all possible posterizations.
-- Unsigned

This has nothing to do with Joe Dumars. The Pistons had a playoff roster loaded with veterans trying to win now and were looking for an immediate jolt. A completely different situation than Memphis.

Either way, I'm not sure where you're seeing that everyone is letting Iverson off the hook on his Memphis fling. His reputation is taking a beating. I think I made it pretty clear that, as you put it, "this guy is poison to a team," or at least can be to a team that allows him to be.

That's why I put a lot of the responsibility on the Grizzlies. Iverson is concerned about Iverson. So the Memphis front office has to be the one to protect the interests of an entire roster that has a chance to one day become a playoff team. He wasn't going to say, "There's a chance I might give everyone a migraine my first game back," he wasn't going to look at the long term and realize that taking minutes from Mike Conley and shots from Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol slows development. Management had to see that and make that known because Iverson wouldn't.

You wrote about the mistake the Grizzlies made signing A.I. But, how about A.I. signing with Memphis? Did he expect to play 35minutes per game and be the team leader? He is still a great player, but he has to come down to earth and realize he is not the 2001 player anymore.
--Héctor, Spain

I never heard him say or I never read anywhere about expectations for a specific number of minutes, but he clearly stated he is not a sixth man.

Iverson signed with the Grizzlies because he didn't have any other options. There's a good chance, the way the couple months played out, that he didn't bother to get specific because he was just happy to be somewhere.

Well, I have to say that I agree with Allen Iverson that he is not a sixth man and he did a smart thing by leaving this team or any other team in the NBA. Even today, I think there are not 20 players as good as Allen in the league. Besides, this is not how you treat a player of his caliber. And, by the way, I would suggest that Allen should go to the Lakers.
-- Moshe

I think he can still help a team. But one of the 20 best players in the league? No. If that was the case, he would have been sifting through offers in the offseason or would have been claimed off waivers or would have had teams waiting on his doorstep for the separation from the Grizzlies to become final.

What do you think about Steve Nash's chances to become MVP this season? I'm a huge fan of his but if he takes Phoenix to the playoffs, then he will have a great chance. I think he's still the best PG in the league. OK, there's Chris Paul, Deron Williams and other guys, but Nash is 35 and still showing great performances.

Many will say that LeBron [James] or Kobe deserve the MVP more, but I think Steve will show this season that he's the best leader on-court. They have pretty solid team, with Amar'e [Stoudemire], Grant [Hill], Jason Richardson and [Leandro] Barbosa. Shaq is in Cleveland and that team didn't get really better. Phoenix did. I believe that Phoenix can even become champions. That wouldn't surprise me.
-- Unsigned

Nash has been a star at the very moment many thought he was in mid-fade. He is obviously a major part of an impressive first few weeks in Phoenix.

But it's just that -- a few weeks. If the Suns continue to win like this and he continues to play like this, yes, Nash will have a good chance at the MVP. Phoenix as champions, especially after a game like Thursday's loss to the Hornets in New Orleans? That would surprise me.

I just wanted to say I cannot believe that the Kings, who were the worst team in the league last year, are actually in the playoffs if the season ended today. Do they have potential, especially when Kevin Martin comes back?
-- Unsigned

They have the potential to make a meaningful first step in the recovery process, as I wrote last week. They have the potential for a very interesting big backcourt when Martin returns from a wrist injury, with 6-foot-6 Tyreke Evans at the point and 6-foot-7 Martin at shooting guard, both offensive threats and both drawing fouls. Getting to the playoffs, though, is still very unrealistic. It's fair to believe in improvements, but don't get too far down the line believing in a miracle.

Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here.

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