The Growl

Allen Iverson tweeted this morning. "God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace and my next head coach Lionel Hollins".

There have been varying opinions on bringing in Iverson.  I have loved the idea since the beginning.  I was caught off guard the day that SportsCenter reported Iverson was expressing interest in Memphis.  This almost resulted in me choking on my Lucky Charms.  Iverson brings in a garbage bag of negatives and they are starting to pile up.  He has probably upgraded to a Force Flex bag.  But, the positives he brings in still makes him The Answer for Memphis.  

Iverson is going to help Memphis win games this year.  The Grizzlies could not have asked for a better scorerb coming off the bench.  He will be the leader of a young reserve unit and get a bucketload of touches.  His minutes are going to be high whether he is our 6th man or if he starts.  Those minutes are going to be shared with Conley, but he is also going to snag some minutes from O.J. Mayo.  Which is a good thing.  Mayo needs more minutes on the bench.  It was obvious he was exhausted by the end of last year and his play declined as a result.  Iverson is going to get minutes where he did not get them in Detroit.  He was benched near the end of games often times.  This is the part of the game that he wanted to be out there the most.  I envision Iverson out there instead of Conley in crunch time.

If Iverson does start it is not the end of the world for Conley.  This is a one year contract, and Conley can learn from a future hall of famer.  By now he should be assured that he is the Grizzlies' future point guard.  They didn't take Rubio, Evans, or Flynn in the draft.  They didn't sign Sessions or Nate Robinson because they didn't want to have anyone to compete with you.  Instead, they brought in a veteran superstar for one year who can teach you some things about the game. 

How often do we have the opportunity to bring in a future hall of famer, who also fills a need, and makes our team better?  Well, I would say about once every 14 years for the Grizzlies organization. 

I have been wanting A.I. since the beginning, and I feel the exact same way about it.  If this deal was offered to us last year for this price we would have jumped all over it.  How much really changed from his stint in Detroit.  That was the wrong fit for him.  In Memphis, the rotation of Mayo, Conley, and AI will be much more effective.  Any two of those players can play together at the same time.  Iverson's arrival in Memphis could do more for Memphis in the long term than you would suspect.  He can help develop the Grizzlies' young core for the future, but also have an effect on future free agents. 

Maybe, just maybe, Iverson coming to the Grizzlies will make other free agents think differently about Memphis.  "If Iverson did it then maybe it's not so bad", "maybe Memphis is basketball hell".  I know he did not have other options, but it could still make Memphis look more attractive to free agents.  Either way I am excited to have him in Memphis and I am even more excited to get this season underway.

Here are some articles from this morning.
Geoff Calkins - "welcome to the nuttiest basketball show on earth"
Straight Outta Vancouver - Allen Iverson Confirms Deal
Chip Crain - AI Didn't Stand for Artificial Interest After All
SLAM - "Allen Iverson to Memphis"
Points in the Paint - Worst Case Scenario Video with Iverson
Dime Mag - Allen Iverson Signs With Grizzlies

Yahoo reports the Grizz acquired Steven Hunter and a 2010 first rounder from the Nuggets for our 2010 second rounder.  Hunter is saving the Nuggets 3.67 million.  I guess this is the Grizzlies' 13th man.  I did not think we needed to add another center, but I guess this is just some assurance if Marc or Hasheem go down with an injury.  Of course, Hunter's contract is up at the end of the year.  With the addition of Hunter, we still have not addressed the point guard situation nor do I expect us to.  No, Marcus Williams is not the answer.