NBA: Allen Iverson Talks With Sixers
Is Allen Iverson about to go back to the city that launched his NBA career? On the heels of last week’s reports that Iverson was set to retire come reports that he is not retiring just yet and even met with representatives of the Philadelphia 76ers Monday.
From a business and team need standpoint the deal makes a certain level of sense. With Lou Williams, the team’s second leading scorer and starting point guard, on the shelf for the next two months the Sixers have a hole to fill in the back court. The question becomes whether it is the best decision to make from a basketball standpoint.
Prior to Williams’ injury were the Sixers really a championship contender? No, and the addition of Iverson does little to get them any closer to being a viable contender. Adding Iverson to the lineup probably makes the team a fringe playoff contender and sells a few more tickets, but, AI is not the type of player who can lead a team like the Sixers past teams with superior talent like the Celtics, Magic, and Cavaliers.
This was always going to be a transition year for the Sixers after Andre Miller signed with Portland anyway so why go get a guy like Iverson? Will Iverson be able to play alongside Andre Iguodala again? This is now Iguodala’s team and Iverson will be expected to defer to him as the top dog.
Ultimately it becomes a question of whether it is worth it for the Sixers to potentially sacrifice lottery position in exchange for a probable first round exit in the playoffs. They could potentially land the low post scorer they thought they were getting in Elton Brand if they end up in the lottery next spring as odds are they will not have the cap space to sign anyone of significance via free agency next summer. It just does not seem to make sense for the long term success of the team to bring Iverson back in an effort to be the seventh or eighth playoff seed in the East.
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