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Allen Iverson has agreed to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million with the Memphis Grizzlies. Could he be "The Answer" to a franchise that has had just three winning seasons and zero playoff victories?
It seems that most people would answer "no." Over the last three NBA seasons, Allen Iverson has been part of an under-achieving Denver Nuggets team and a collapsing Detroit Pistons team.
Iverson's New Perception
The perception of Iverson as a basketball player has changed. He has been dealt a lot of the blame for the failures of his teams. Unfairly.
The Carmelo/Iverson experiment actually worked out pretty well. A lot better than most NBA analysts expected. The two superstars got along well and often deferred to each other on the court, resulting in a lot of regular season wins.
The reason it will always be seen as a failure is because of two early playoff exits to the two dynasties of the decade: the Spurs and the Lakers.
The collapse of Detroit had a lot more to do with poor coaching and the inability of other Piston players to accept their roles, than the addition of Iverson.
Whether fair or not, the value of Iverson has declined dramatically. The Grizzlies found one of the steals of the summer in this signing.
Iverson's Career Achievements
It seems that people have forgotten who Iverson is. He is a No. 1 overall draft pick, former rookie of the year, and a 10-time All-Star. He has four scoring titles, two All-Star MVP awards, and is a one-time league MVP.
He has led mediocre teams into the playoffs and won there. This was best exemplified when he single-handedly defeated the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.
He is a member of the elite 30-7 club, NBA players who have averaged at least 30 points and 7 assists for an entire season. The other members of this club? Oscar Robertson, Tiny Archibald, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade.
Only Oscar Robertson and Allen Iverson have averaged 30 and 7 for more than one season.
He is one of the most prolific scorers the NBA has ever seen and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The Answer in Memphis
This signing is the crowning piece of what has been a very solid offseason for the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies acquired the automatic 20 & 10 machine that is Zach Randolph.
They also drafted three very promising prospects in Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, and Sam Young.
Couple these new additions with the building blocks already in place, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, and Rudy Gay, and you have a very promising young team.
Prediction
Most people are saying that this signing is all about business and selling tickets. The Grizzlies personnel have insisted that its about winning, and I'm buying into it.
This is a team that will be young and inexperienced. But it will be a team with a lot of weapons and good depth.
I expect to see the 2009-2010 Memphis Grizzlies leapfrog Golden State, Houston, and Utah (from last season's standings) and finish 8th in the western conference.
Look for Allen Iverson, "The Answer", to lead his young teammates to the first playoff victory in Memphis Grizzlies franchise history.
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