The drama over Allen Iverson's return to Philadelphia has finally reached idiotic proportions. Here's the state of things, the Sixers have made a non-guaranteed offer, at the veteran's minimum for the rest of this season. They are awaiting Iverson's decision. After the jump we'll talk about what's reportedly holding up the process.
More than once in blog posts, comments and stories, I've seen people mention that it was a slap in the face that the Sixers didn't offer Allen Iverson a guaranteed contract. I'm going to put aside my feelings on whether they should've offered him a contract at all and tackle just this sticking point. It's ludicrous, moronic and criminal that Iverson should expect or demand a guaranteed deal at this point for a boatload of reasons.
- No one else wants him.
- Two weeks ago, he quit on the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Last season, he quit on the Detroit Pistons after being asked to come off the bench.
- That's two teams he quit on in the past nine months.
- If his motives are pure, what's the difference between guaranteed or not? I read this ridiculous take that suggested the Sixers would cut him if he wasn't a big enough draw by Jan. 10th (the deadline for the contract to become guaranteed), or they might release him when Lou Williams returns.
- Philadunkia thinks this was an offer Iverson was meant to refuse. Because apparently Ed Stefanski is taking so much heat from the non-existent fans who don't go to games for not bringing him back that he has to make an offer to save face, and he won't look like a bad guy if Iverson turns the offer down. Why those same boisterous fans woudn't be in Stefanski's face for offering a cheap contract if Iverson did turn it down is another matter, I guess.
- Finally, NO ONE ELSE WANTS HIM! Not even the NY Friggin' Knicks
So let's treat this like a job interview:
ES: Tell me about your last two jobs
AI: I quit both of them
ES: Why?
AI: They disrespected me.
ES: How?
AI: They tried to make me a sixth man.
ES: What if having you come off the bench winds up being the best thing for this team?
AI: Too bad
ES: OK, so you're saying you have to start or you're going to be a problem.
AI: Yes
ES: OK, well I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that.
AI: Too bad. If you don't like it I'll go play for .....
(crickets)
ES: OK Allen, this is what we're going to do. We'll give you this non-guaranteed contract that becomes guaranteed on January 10th. I can guarantee you a starting spot for the next six weeks or so, until Lou Williams comes back, at that point we can all sit down and figure out what your best role is with the team.
AI: No deal.
ES: Why not?
AI: I'm a starter in this league.
ES: I'm offering you the chance to come in, be a starter for us right away and prove that to the entire league. What's the downside?
(crickets)
ES: Here Allan, you take this offer with you. Talk to your people and get back to me when you've made your mind up.
You and I both know no job interview gets past "I quit my last two jobs because they disrespected me." Any negotiating power Allen Iverson had is gone. He's no longer an icon, he's no longer the reigning MVP. He's a guy who has sabotaged his last two teams. A guy with no other options if he wants to be an NBA player. In fact, he's got a team offering him exactly what he wants, a starter's spot, and whether he keeps it or not is entirely up to him. Do you seriously believe that if he comes in here and scores 30 points a game for the next 6 or seven weeks Eddie Jordan is going to bench him when Lou Williams comes back? Getting back to Ziller's theory, there's no way in hell the team cuts him on January 10th if he's playing well.
The hesitance can only stem from one of two things, a sense of entitlement on Iverson's part. He's earned more respect than this. To which I respond, he's used up all of his goodwill with his behavior first when he left Philly, then when he quit on Detroit and finally when he quit on Memphis,
TWO WEEKS AGO. The other reason to demand a guaranteed contract is the fear of injury. If he goes down with a pulled hammy between now and Jan. 10th, the Sixers can cut him and stop paying him immediately. Essentially, he wants the comfort of knowing he'll get paid for doing nothing if he gets hurt. To this I say, too bad. Welcome to the real world.
No one else wants Iverson. I don't think the Sixers should even be offering him a contract for myriad reasons, but they have. They want him and they're offering him a starting spot so he has one last chance to salvage the end of what was a brilliant career. It's a golden opportunity and if he wants it, if he truly believes the words he spoke when he "retired" last week, then he should simply sign the contract, kick ass on the floor, electrify a dead fan base and secure his legacy in this city.
It doesn't surprise me in the least that the Sixers haven't offered a guaranteed contract, because this has been strictly a business move from the start. It's not about winning basketball games, or developing the roster. It's about selling tickets and from a business perspective Allen Iverson is about as big of a risk as you can take. For a team that's supposedly hemorrhaging money, guaranteeing a deal for a guy who could flake out next week doesn't make fiscal sense.
From a basketball perspective, giving Iverson a guaranteed contract is essentially giving him the gun and telling him to hold your team hostage if he doesn't like how things are going.
Signing this deal is Iverson's only move if he truly isn't ready to retire. Just sign it, or don't. Enough drama already.
Amazing. Almost 3 years to the day since this game and we are about to bring him back.
Look at Big Willie's line in that game, oh how I have no Idea how he has remained while so many have come and gone, and now probably come back again.
I think since then we've lost Barnes, Salmons and Udoka. And they all went to better teams and played better. Barnes is the hardest to take because I liked the guy. Too bad Mo Cheeks didn't.
As you might tell, I don't give A FLYING F*CK about this organization. I wish they all were on a Cessna plane and went down in a big ball of flames.
You don't want to guarantee the contract? Huh?
It's guiaranteed in less than 6 weeks - well before Lou gets back. If you HONESTLY think this thing blows up before then, then why the fark did you fly to Dallas to meet with the guy in the first place?
The Sixers pro-rata share of this deal is $600,000 - chump change versus the gate AI will draw. Even if he only plays TEN home games...
10 x 3,000 tix x $40 = $1.2 mil
This is ridiculous. If you don't want to sign him, fine. Move on. But it sure looks like the Roberts boys and Ed Snider want the $2-3 million (easy) that they make from this...don't they?
This is a player whose number will be hung from the rafters (you'll sell a lot of tickets THAT night). A Hall-of-Famer. And you want to quibble over $600 grand - which you are going to get 3-4x back in the gate.
Guarantee him...or walk away.
Personally, I'd prefer it if either party or both just walked away. I think it's asinine to hold the organization's feet to the fire for not bending over backwards to reassure this petulant kid with a guaranteed contract. If he really wants to come back to prove people wrong they've provided the opportunity. You don't want it, stay retired.
This is Iversons only shot to play basketball at the moment, I find it hysterical that in the end it's not about playing or basketball but for him being in control and the money.
Make him an offer, and if he walks, let him walk, he's not in control, he NEEDS the sixers, cause no one else wants him, if you give into him now you might as well just make him coach too
Not a bad idea, I'm almost at the point where I'd take anyone but EJ as coach.
Kopono, Jrue, and Willie are all terrible. Iverson is bad.
Would you like some crap with your shit?
Not really sure why Jrue is in that list, he doesn't belong
Seriously? A Yankees fan trying to tell me about Allen Iverson? Really?
This is absolutely despicable.
Oh Jordan - nice try :)
Looks like it's going to happen.
I'd go with Jrue/Iverson/Iggy/Brand/Dalembert to start with
Lou/Thad/Speights/Kapono the first few off the bench.
We can only hope this is true:
ON Twitter: A theory among NBA GM's tonight: 76ers made public a non-guaranteed offer they think/hope AI will refuse. This way, they can say: "We tried"
If Iverson doesnt' take this deal, and trust me there's nothing I'd love more than that, he really is nothing more than a petulant child.
My point is the deadline for when this contract is going to be guaranteed is less than 6 weeks away...long before Lou will be back and the potential issues of who starts and who sits rears its ugly head...if the Sixers don't think they can even get to January 10th before this freaking thing melts down, then why go through the exercise in the first place?
(because the Roberts boys and Snider WANT THE MONEY...that's why)
I'm not trying to make AI out to be a saint here. My take on this has little to do with the impact that AI will have on Holiday's minutes, the Princeton Offense, Thad's shots or any number of other issues...you have made your points clear (as have others) and I understand them. MY point is that - as with virtually every decision that these ownership clowns make these days, the go-ahead to sign AI has ZERO to do with whether or not he will help the team...it has to do with how many extra fannies he will put in the seats - for WHATEVER period of time he is here.
Most cost effective $600,000 in ticket promotional spend in HISTORY.
Even if the guy only plays, say, 10 home games, the Sixers double their money. Pretty sweet, huh?
All that I am saying is that if they are solely bringing the guy in for the $$$, how about having the decency to make the money guaranteed from the jump? Do you have to do it? Nope. You could hold the thread of IMMEDIATE EJECTION from the team over his head until January 10th. But if this is a guy whose number you are going to hang from the rafters when its all said and done...why do we need to be THAT petty?
Two wrongs don't make a right, y'know...
I have no problem with somebody who thinks signing AI is a JOKE. That it is ABSOLUTELY the wrong thing to do. But Comcast/Snider are giving the go-ahead - because they are greedy f*cking pigs who are happy to pimp AI out for the benjamins. All that I am saying is they could do it without being such azzholes about it. The reality is the guarantee is most likely a mere formality that goes away in less than 6 weeks - if they don't think they can get there, don't sign him. If they do think they can get there, then guarantee him the $600,000.
I'm done.
stephen a just broke it. it should be official tomorrow.
http://dailyphiladelphian.com/2009/12/02/stephen-a-allen-iverson-will-sign-with-sixers-on-wednesday/
Alright then.
At least AI can retire a Sixer. It doesn't make that much difference to me because the team is not going anywhere anyway with a crazy head coach (EJ).
Sure I know Snider probably only did it for the money but I think it'll be decent to see AI wear the jersey again. If he takes minutes away from Green and Ivey (please say it is so) then it should not be too bad a thing.
His minutes are coming directly from Jrue. There's no doubt in my mind about that.
wow...just read this entire thread because I was reading archives...man Brian, you were really against Iverson returning. At least you changed you opinion later on.
Say what you will, but the Sixers have been the bottom feeders of the NBA since Larry Brown left and even worse since 2006 (when AI left). And I'm a sixers "fan"