Larry Brown Wants Allen Iverson to Join 76ers Front Office

Perhaps the only coach to ever truly reach Allen Iverson, Larry Brown has long had a soft spot for his former star. Whereas Brown once helped Iverson reach NBA Finals heights on the court, he's now focused on ways to reach his troubled protege off it.

Speaking with Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Brown said he wished the Sixers would find a way to integrate Iverson into their front office. 

"I just wish there was some way that he could be involved," said Brown, who coached Iverson and the 76ers from 1997 to 2003, making the NBA Finals in 2001. "Just teach him about the organization and let him figure it out, figure out how he can help. He can certainly judge talent. He certainly has people's respect. Kids will listen to anything he said. He's certainly bright as hell."

Currently the head coach at Southern Methodist University, Brown is said to have been working back channels in an attempt to land Iverson an assistant general manager job. Iverson has never worked in player personnel, having largely disappeared from the public eye since last playing basketball in 2011.

However, Iverson told Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer on June 19 that it's something that would interest him:

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"I may not know everything about physical talent or anything like that, but I have a sharp mind when it comes to that look, being able to look into somebody's eyes to tell if they are going to be in the foxhole with you tonight or if they are not," Iverson said Thursday night. "To me, I am a basketball genius and I really believe that, so at any capacity I could help this franchise, that is what I am going to do, whatever they ask me to do."

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Much of the news since Iverson left the floor has focused on his increasingly erratic behavior off it. Allegations of financial trouble came out during his divorce proceedings, which painted him as an absentee father and alcoholic. Similar themes were found throughout Kent Babb's biography of Iverson, Not a Game, which was released earlier this month.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Brown nonetheless continues to advocate for Iverson despite those troubles, saying reintegrating him in the franchise could help enliven an increasingly moribund outlook.

"What did he mean to Philly?" Brown told Sielski. "What does this franchise need more than anything right now, besides players? It needs a shot in the arm, something where you can say, 'They're trying to do it the right way.'"

Sielski cautioned the team on the risks of bringing Iverson into the front office:

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To invite Iverson in is to cede at least some control to him, to risk being seduced by his in-the-moment sincerity only to regret it later. Just last year, Babb reveals, when the Sixers retired Iverson's No. 3, they gave [Iverson manager Gary] Moore veto power over which media members would be credentialed for the ceremony. They want to keep Iverson close, but not too close.

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The Sixers have shown no interest in bringing Iverson into the fold at this time, though they maintain a healthy relationship; the team officially retired Iverson's No. 3 in 2014, and he is scheduled to appear this Thursday alongside Sixers legends as they unveil their new uniforms.

It remains to be seen whether Iverson would have success in the front office, despite Brown's belief that he would. The Georgetown product has no experience in that area, and it's unclear what sort of role he would hold if the Sixers were to take Brown's advice.

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