Grizzlies' Owner Michael Heisley Should Show Allen Iverson the Door

This morning, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has finally taken a stand with Allen Iverson.

Show up or else.

“I’ve treated this like Allen told me it was—a personal leave,” Heisley said on the paper's website. “But either he’s retiring or coming back to play. I’m not upset with Allen. We’ll be happy to accommodate Allen. If he retires, then he retires. If he wants to come back, we’ll gladly accept him back. But I have personally made it clear that there’s going to have to be a decision made. We’re expecting an answer in a couple of days.”

It is about time. The future Hall-of-Famer has been away from the team for 10 days and counting. The article said that there has been no contact with the team in that time.

It's clear that the signing of Jamaal Tinsley last week has put Iverson on the clock. He can either choose to join the team or he can go away.

Personally, I do not think Iverson adds to a 2-8 team. The Grizzlies would be 2-8 with him in the starting lineup, if he was the sixth man, or if he were in Charlotte, Cleveland, or sitting at home in Atlanta.

Heisley should acknowledge that his Iverson experiment was a screw-up from beginning to end and get rid of him. He should not play the waiting game for Iverson, if does not want to play. 

The Iverson-Memphis relationship did not make sense from the beginning. But Allen, it is time to earn your $3.1 million contract.

If you do not want the money, retire.

Note: You can listen to my weekly Memphis Grizzlies podcast at Memphis Grizzlies Report .