Iverson made his debut for Memphis on Monday night returning to the court after a partial left hamstring tear, AI put up 11 points in 18 minutes in the Memphis’ 127-116 overtime loss.

“I had no problems (with the hamstring),” Iverson said afterward. “I had a problem with my butt from sitting on that bench so long. That’s the only thing I got a problem with. Yeah, I’ll be disappointed (if he’s a sub this season),” Iverson said. “I’m not a reserve basketball player. I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. … To answer the question, ‘No, I’m not a bench player. I’m not a sixth man. Go look at my resume and that will show you I’m not a sixth man.” Via Fanhouse

Karma…AI, Karma.

I hate to post AI stuff anymore, but I love to say I told you so.
Hat Tip Detroit Bad Boys

From Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports

“Allen Iverson has agreed to terms with the Memphis Grizzlies and will sign a one-year deal by week’s end, a league source told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday.

He’s expected to sign a $3.5 million contract, with incentives to make more based on performance.

“God chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career,” Iverson wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday morning. “I met with [owner Mike Heisley], [GM] Chris Wallace and my next head coach, Lionel Hollins.”

Iverson, 34, met with team officials on Monday in Atlanta, where they discussed his potential role with the team.

“I feel that they are committed to developing a winner and I know that I can help them to accomplish that,” Iverson wrote on Twitter. “I feel that I can trust them.”

After a turbulent season with the Detroit Pistons, Iverson attracted marginal interest around the NBA this summer. Several teams, including the Los Angeles Clippers and Charlotte Bobcats, made inquiries, but only Memphis presented a serious bid.

No contending teams bothered to court the 10-time All-Star after he seemed unable to accept a complementary role.”

I was asked today on Twitter by a follower “does this give you closure”…my answer: If he comes off the bench for the Grizz.

That would be the definition of closure “Bad Boy” style.

“Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that guard Allen Iverson will miss the remainder of the season. The all-star guard missed 16 games between February 27 and March 28 after exiting a game at New Orleans with a sore back on February 25.

“After talking with Allen and our medical staff, we feel that resting Allen for the remainder of the season is the best course of action at this time,” said Dumars. “While he has played in our last three games, he is still feeling some discomfort and getting him physically ready to compete at the level he is accustomed to playing this late in the season does not seem possible at this point.”

Iverson returned to action on March 29 versus Philadelphia and scored eight points with two assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes. In his three games back since the initial injury, he has averaged 7.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 18.7 minutes per game.

Acquired by the Pistons from Denver on November 3, the 6-foot-0 guard has appeared in 54 games this season (50 starts) averaging 17.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 36.5 minutes per game.” Via Pistons.com

Personally I thought Allen wasn’t going to return on his own after the injury, so when he did I was surprised.  I was even a bit more surprised when the Pistons made mention of Iverson’s post game comments after the Sixers game, so the fact that he’s been shut down after his retirement comments is no shock.  Say what you will, but my money is not on a medical issue being the reason for AI sitting out the rest of the season.

What the situation has done to what’s left of this season remains to be seen.  Everyone has their own AI opinions, but with what has been going on, this might be the best for the team right now.

WEDNESDAY’S WORST
Allen Iverson, Pistons: I guess this coming off the bench thing isn’t working out too well for Iverson, huh? He went 1-for-8 from the floor, finishing with four points in just 17 minutes of action in Detroit’s 111-98 loss to the Nets.

And I’ve got to hand it to Adande for this paragraph of gold:

The Pistons have asked Iverson to come off the bench for the three games since he returned from a back injury that kept him out for a month. He’s reacting about as well as if they’d asked him to come in early for practice.

If it’s any consolation, there’s only seven games left in the regular season… and we’ve only got to win six of them to finish above .500!

“I’m disappointed that the soreness I’m feeling in my back is going to force me to miss two weeks of action,” Iverson said in the statement. “After talking with the doctors at Georgetown yesterday they have told me that treatment and rest is the best course of action right now. Hopefully my back with heal and I’ll be ready to go following this two-week period.”

Iverson also said he had no problem with returning as a reserve.

“My goal is to help this team win a championship and I’ve said that from the first day I arrived here in Detroit,” he said in the statement. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to help us achieve our goals as a team regardless if I’m starting or coming off the bench.”

Allen Iverson is saying all the right things, lets just hope he fully recovers and flourishes in his new role on the team.  AI off the bench can be deadly, lets just hope he buys in.

:

The doctors at Georgetown University have been in contact with the Pistons’ medical staff and Iverson will begin treatment for his sore back upon his return to Detroit on Thursday” Via Pistons.com

One question….
Will Iverson play another game in a Pistons uniform?
Bash me all you want….I smell something fishy.

I would be understating things if I said I was disappointed to hear about Allen Iverson’s decision to skip the hour-long practice Michael Curry held on Thanksgiving. Whether Curry decided to hold practice on the holiday or not is really not the issue. The issue is a new player, on a new team where he vowed that he would do whatever it took to fit in with his new teammates to strive towards winning a championship, decided he was more important than everyone else.

Had Chauncey still been on the team there would be no Thanksgiving practice Allen, they need more practice because of you and you didn’t show. Way to show your teammates you’re all about winning. What it showed them is it’s all about you.

I wasn’t thrilled with AI’s acquisition, but after watching his press conference when he joined the team and the sincerity in his voice that he’d do whatever it took I changed my tune. No doubt he’s a phenomenal player, but I didn’t like his attitude. So to be fair after the presser I wiped his slate clean in my eyes. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?

That didn’t last long at all. Try winning the fans back that were on the fence now Allen.

I truly enjoyed that a ton of you took time to comment on the situation, and if you haven’t already go read what fellow Pistons fans had to say in the comments of the original post. And feel free to keep them coming.

UPDATE: No Excuse from Iverson, just an apology.

Chris McCosky – The Detroit News

“I talked to Joe last night,” Iverson said Friday morning. “He was very supportive of me. He let me know how things are run around here and let me know it wasn’t something that can continue to happen. He let me know it was unacceptable.”

Iverson, who skipped practice on Thursday, was extremely contrite Friday morning.

“I have no excuses,” he said. “I apologize to my teammates, first and foremost, the coaching staff, the organization and definitely, our fans. It’s something that shouldn’t happen and it won’t happen again.”

“After Wednesday night’s 110-96 victory over the Knicks, he was one of many players who grumbled when coach Michael Curry decided to hold practice on Thanksgiving morning.

Iverson was the only no-show today. He will be fined an undisclosed amount and won’t start Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Palace.

Rodney Stuckey will start in Iverson’s place against the Bucks.” The Detroit Free Press

Allen Iverson Wallpaper

1024×768 – 1280×800 - 1680×1050

For those of you who were able to attend the game like I was, you can attest to the fact that the roar for AI was deafening. Detroit showed AI plenty of love, too bad it didn’t translate into a win.