Breaking News: Allen Iverson Is Unhappy With Role on Memphis Grizzlies

Wow, there’s a newsflash. This also just in, Yao Ming is China’s favorite NBA player.

Since his departure from the Nuggets one year ago today, Allen Iverson has posted a 22-28 record as a starter, and ever so valiantly removed himself from the Pistons playoff roster, surely in the name of team camaraderie.

He saw his value decrease dramatically as a result of his diminishing play, and was considered, by most, lucky even to land a job in the offseason.

After being given an opportunity by the Grizzlies, Iverson came into training camp and practiced all of three days before injuring his hamstring. He didn’t play the entire preseason, and missed the first three games of the regular season.

In his first game with the Grizzlies, Iverson came off the bench to score 11 points in 18 minutes against the Sacramento Kings in a loss. It seemed like a solid debut given the circumstances surrounding his lack of time with the team, and the questions about his ability to play at a high level. 

Yet, somehow Iverson still managed to stir up his first controversial moment as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Following the loss to the Kings, Iverson told the media that he did not have a problem with his hamstring, but rather with the limited minutes he played.

He told Matt Steinmetz of AOL Fanhouse, “I had no problems (with the hamstring). I had a problem with my butt from sitting on that bench so long. That’s the only thing I got a problem with.”

He went on to tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo!, “I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. If we’re winning, I can play 10 minutes and I’m happy. When we’re losing, that’s when I trip out.”

Really? Well, then I owe you an apology Mr. Iverson.

I guess I just misinterpreted the way you removed yourself from the Pistons playoff roster last year. I thought you were making a statement about your lack of playing time. I didn’t realize that was just your way of expressing your happiness to be on a playoff team despite your reduced minutes.

Give me a break.

I just can’t relate to the world Iverson lives in sometimes. I’m trying hard to figure out what exactly is unreasonable about not starting a 34 year-old player, with diminishing skills, questionable motives, and limited time spent with the team. It seems so reasonable looking at it from the outside.

But to Iverson, being a sixth man is clearly not something he can adjust to. This is likely the manifestation of a sense of entitlement stemming from having been a superstar for so many years.

Having watched Iverson play in Denver, I have first hand experience as to the type of player he is.

I have always said that Iverson is probably the single greatest one-on-one player that ever lived. He overcame his diminutive stature to become one of the NBA’s most dominant players, and for that I have the utmost respect.

While he might be the most fun player to watch for one game, I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it is to watch Iverson night in and night out. He is the ultimate possession killer.

The ball is in his hands for the first 10-12 seconds of every possession before he makes his first pass. By the time his teammates touch the ball, if they do at all, the possession now becomes about scrambling to beat the shot clock rather than about getting a quality shot. It has never been a formula for success, and it certainly won’t make the Grizzlies a better team.

I tried to give AI the benefit of the doubt when he signed with Memphis. I thought he would come in and add some veteran leadership to a team full of young, inexperienced talent. I thought that maybe his time in Detroit would make him realize that his time in the league is limited, and that he is not indispensable.

Clearly he hasn’t come to this realization yet, and I’m not sure he ever will.

I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this Mr. Iverson, but you are not the same player you once were. There comes a time when every player has to face the fact that their time in the spotlight is over. Unless you’re Brett Favre, of course.

If you are having a hard time dealing with that fact, then I have a suggestion for you. Try shutting your mouth and putting in the work to earn the respect of those around you.  If you really do still have the ability to play, it will speak for itself and you will once again become a NBA starter.