A Frustrated Iverson Leaves The Grizzlies
Posted by Media Outrage on November 9, 2009
A.I. wasn’t feelin’ coming off-the-bench behind someone less talented. He has taken a hiatus from the team to return to Atlanta and clear his head.
Via Yahoo Sports:
A frustrated Allen Iverson has left the Memphis Grizzlies and is not expected to return anytime soon, if at all, a source close to the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.
The Grizzlies granted Iverson a leave of absence to allow him to return to his offseason home in Atlanta. The source said Iverson wants to clear his head and is extremely unhappy about the lack of communication with Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins over his playing time and role with the team.
Grizzlies officials said Iverson was allowed to leave the team so he could attend to a personal matter. The decision came after he met with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley Saturday morning in Los Angeles.
“I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley told the Memphis Commerical Appeal, which first reported Iverson’s departure on Saturday. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.”
While it is true Iverson is attending to a personal issue, his problems with the Grizzlies also factored greatly into his decision to leave. Team sources told Yahoo! Sports that Iverson did not ask the Grizzlies to waive him, but there was no timetable for his return.
The Grizzlies are debating whether it’s better to simply waive Iverson to salvage the team’s chemistry or attempt to bring him back.
“He has to hit rock bottom,” one NBA executive familiar with Iverson said. “He doesn’t have the capacity to change.”
Iverson has done nothing to hide his frustration after he returned from a hamstring injury this week and was relegated to coming off the bench. A source with knowledge of Iverson’s thinking said he “probably wasn’t coming back.”
The Grizzlies signed Iverson to a one-year, $3 million contract and would owe him the full amount if they were to waive him without reaching a buyout agreement. Given that Iverson also had problems accepting a reserve role with the Detroit Pistons last season – and that Memphis was the only franchise to show serious interest in him over the summer – it’s unlikely any team would claim him off waivers if the Grizzlies let him go.
Iverson debuted for the Grizzlies on Monday in Sacramento after missing all the preseason and the season’s first three games with a hamstring injury. The Grizzlies lost to the Kings in overtime, and Iverson immediately questioned his limited role after the game. He also criticized his teammates for not noticing he was open on the final possession of regulation.
“I’m not a reserve basketball player,” Iverson said. “I’ve never been a reserve all my life and I’m not going to start looking at myself as a reserve.”
Iverson made similar comments two nights later after the Grizzlies lost to the Golden State Warriors. After Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he told reporters that he was concerned that his relationship with Hollins was already off to a bad start.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports early last week Iverson said he could envision the end of his career.
“I definitely can see myself walking away from basketball, walking away from [the media],” Iverson said.
During the interview, Iverson described his free-agent experience over the summer as “horrible.” He also complained that many people had begun to doubt he could still play at a high level.
“There’s more [people] that would rather see me fail than succeed,” Iverson said. “You think I don’t know that people left me for dead?”
November 9, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Well you just proved them right, you can be left for dead. So what you are not starting right now, does not mean you playing time won’t increase. Did you not sustain an injury before pre-season games during your first practice for the Grizzlies? So if things don’t go your way you walk out and walk off and go home with your thumb in your mouth. The fans don’t need you, you need them at this point.
November 9, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Bring AI back to Philly where he belongs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 9, 2009 at 3:38 pm
He is a bum….
November 9, 2009 at 4:06 pm
lol, LOL these damn starz are a trip
November 9, 2009 at 4:57 pm
I really hope he gets what he wants.
November 9, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I understand AI’s argument, but at the same time I understand Memphis. They want to build a young team around OJ Mayo. It’s difficult for any professional athlete to be told they aren’t what they used to be, but it’s even more difficult for a franchise player to be told that. Anyone who really pays attention to the NBA will tell you that AI is the best player on the Grizzlies. However, with his history with teams I think it would be wise for him to fade to black and collect that 3 million. If he decides to retire early I think it would be difficult for him, because he’s better than most of the guards in the league with the exception of a few.
November 9, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Nize said terrance…
November 9, 2009 at 7:36 pm
thing about the players who sit all game, only get seconds to play…then get waived without a chance to prove themselves like mario west?
ai god got you, do you belive in that?….
November 9, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Iverson don’t play and he didn’t waste no time gettin the fuck off that team.. iverson feels he is a star and should be treated like one. If not, he will retire. I agree all those years on top and then they want to treat him like a step-child. Iverson is a great guard today so why the bullshit?
November 9, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Don’t get me wrong A.I. is the G.O.A.T when it comes to a mere 6 footer (if that) playing a 2 guard. And even though he’s aged i still see him giving defenders fits with his roadrunner like speed. BUT his style of play doesnt compliment anyone other than himself, he’s a volume shooter which isn’t bad but when u have a team full of young developing stars like the Memphis Grizzlies do you dont need a close to over the hill guy hoisting up 30% of the teams shots to pad his career stats. A.I. is a prolific scorer, but a crappy teammate. I hope he isn’t forced out the league like Sprewell.
November 9, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Teena Thomas, I totally agree. Ever since the Sixers let him go they’ve been really crappy and I refuse to go to any of their games……..as a matter of fact the tickets should be free w/ transportation incl. (LOL)
*****Hopefully AI will be back or at least somewhere more deserving of him!
November 9, 2009 at 11:30 pm
If he feels that was the thing to do, then so be it. Hope it works for him.
November 10, 2009 at 2:34 am
hell he should’ve gone to the Cavs Lebron, with all his talent and superior scoring ability, is scared to be the reason for a major loss so he’s not worried about passing if off so why not pass it off to the muahfucka not scared of going 20/ 50 from beyond the arc. AI aint been scared to shoot one shot since he shocked the world and shook Sir Cloudly McAirness out of his Red and white XII.
Iverson Cavs 2010 Champs
November 10, 2009 at 2:43 am
love ya AI; i’m a longtime fan, but it aint about you bro;its about wins. didn’t you have a understanding about your role when you signed? they would’nt have bothered if they knew you’d bullshit them like this.it aint always about who starts; who plays in the fourth? like Spre found out, the league will go on w/o ya
November 10, 2009 at 3:18 am
Why would he even go to Memphis ? That’s the bigger question..So sad it had to end this way …Not to mention no one has step up to help him get on a team -NBA vets or retirees , that tells you a lot about his situation..
November 10, 2009 at 4:30 am
He said that shit a year ago about the off the bench stuff…. media stirring the pot w/ some old B.S. The owner and coach both said he took a leave that is NOT due to unhappiness with the team.
I read last night that AI has a gambling/ alcohol problem and that he left for “personal reasons” being those. NOT because of the 6th man shit. He knew what he was in for w/ the Grizzlies.
I wonder which is true? I can’t see AI as being the drunk Mommy Dearest type w/ all them damn kids!! lol
November 10, 2009 at 5:21 am
Well, if he got a gambling problem he better get that shit in check quick because with no NBA check and no Reebok Endorsement deal, the gambling problem will turn into a financial problem real quick.