NBA Trade Speculation: 5 Teams That Need Allen Iverson on Their Roster

The 2011-12 NBA season is more than a month old and Allen Iverson is still sitting at home unemployed.

While I'm not shocked that the 36-year-old Iverson hasn't found his way onto an NBA roster, I am shocked by the lack of interest that teams have shown in adding Iverson to their rosters.

With the talk from HoopsWorld regarding the Lakers being interested in signing Gilbert Arenas, I figured it's time to look at teams that should be interested in adding Allen Iverson to their benches.

Ahead is a list of the five teams in the NBA that would benefit most from bringing "The Answer" into their clubhouses.   

Utah Jazz

The one spot on the Utah Jazz roster that is incredibly lacking is the point guard position. 

Starting point guard Devin Harris isn't playing anywhere close to the caliber he was playing at in New Jersey, and Earl Watson, the first point guard off the bench, isn't doing much to help the Jazz, either.

The average production out of the point guard spot per night is 13.1 points and 8.9 assists. While that production has led the Jazz to a 11-7 overall record thus far, there has to be improvement at the point guard position if the Jazz want to contend in the Western Conference, and that's where Allen Iverson enters the picture.

Allen Iverson wouldn't come into Utah and set the world on fire, but he would undoubtedly be able to increase the production at the point guard position.

Iverson would easily be able to average 8.0 points per game an 4.0 assists per game in 20-plus minutes per game on a Jazz team that needs to find some depth at their point guard position.   

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers are one of the biggest surprises of the 2011-12 NBA season, currently sitting at 7-11 overall. They are tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference right now, and if the young team continues to gel, there's a possibility that the Cavs could sneak into the eighth spot by the end of the season.

The one thing that the Cavaliers lack, though, is a presence of veteran leadership, aside from Antwan Jamison, and that's something that signing Allen Iverson for the $1.4 million veteran minimum could bring to the team.  

Sure, Iverson isn't known for his skills as a leader, but the production that he could bring off the bench at both the point guard and shooting guard positions could add a much needed spark off an otherwise underwhelming Cavaliers bench.

Iverson is ready to fit into whatever role a team needs of him, instead of trying to be a star player like he once was. And if he is able to do that, he could help the Cavaliers turn the corner in the Eastern Conference.  

Adding Iverson for the Cavaliers would also increase fan interest, which has been seriously lacking ever since "King James" took his talents to South Beach. 

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics' season hasn't gone as expected.

They are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 9-9 overall record. The majority of the Celtics' struggles this season have come because of a lack of production from their bench, specifically at the guard position.

With Ray Allen missing the past three games, and Rajon Rondo possibly being sidelined until the All-Star break, the Celtics need to find a way to increase the production they currently have off the bench at guard position, which is something that Allen Iverson could undoubtedly do.  

Even better yet, it appears that Iverson is interested in becoming a member of the Boston Celtics. Adding Iverson to an injured Celtics roster would help the C's buy some time for guys like Rondo and Allen to get back to 100 percent.

Adding Iverson to an aging Celtics roster might not seem like the smartest move, but it would undoubtedly add an increased level of depth to a thin Celtics bench. For the veteran minimum of around $1.4 million, the Celtics would be foolish to not add Iverson.  

He's the perfect low cost, high reward kind of risk that the Celtics should take, because if it works out, Danny Ainge will look like a genius. And if doesn't work out, no one will remember the failed Iverson experiment. 

Los Angeles Lakers

There are a lot of rumors circulating around the NBA regarding the Lakers being interested in signing "Agent Zero" Gilbert Arenas.

I think that's the wrong move for the Lakers to make, seeing that they already have one player on their team who seriously struggles to pass the ball in Kobe Bryant. Adding a similar style player in Gilbert Arenas would be a big mistake, and that's why they need to lean towards signing Allen Iverson instead. 

I know a lot of people will say Iverson is the same kind of "score first" player that Arenas is, but Iverson has made it clear that he's ready and willing to be whatever kind of player a team needs him to be. With point guard Steve Blake sidelined for the time being, the Lakers could benefit from some production at the point guard position coming off the bench.

Allen Iverson would fit nicely into the reserve point guard role with the Lakers, as he could easily run the offense through Kobe, while at the same time being a legitimate offensive threat himself.  

Iverson is also more of a crafty defensive player than Gilbert Arenas is, and the Lakers could benefit from having his style of game coming off the bench.     

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks are seriously struggling, dropping nine out of their last 10 games, with the future of head coach Mike D'Antoni seriously up in the air.

In the next two or three weeks the Knicks will be getting a spark off the bench in point guard Baron Davis, who will be returning from a herniated disc in his back, but Davis alone won't be enough to help the Knicks win games.

With Davis solidifying the point guard position, the Knicks could benefit from injecting their roster with some veteran skill at the shooting guard position by adding Allen Iverson.

Toney Douglas and Landry Fields aren't necessarily struggling this year, averaging 18.2 points per game combined, but there's no doubt that having the veteran skill of Allen Iverson on the roster would benefit the Knicks.

Iverson would be able to fill in at both the point and at the shooting guard spot, adding versatility off the bench, which is something the New York Knicks seriously lack.

The Knicks rank 25th in the NBA in assists per game, and Allen Iverson is the kind of player who could help improve that ranking, which would in turn help the Knicks win games.