Iverson coming to Indy or OKC or H-town

by Man of Pace on Aug 7, 2009 9:18 AM EDT Comment 20 comments

Bleacher report is not the most reputable of sources but I thought this was interesting food for thought and would make for lively debate.

Is Iverson a good fit for this town and this team?

Would we instantly be in the playoff discussion? (regardless of what M Wells thinks)

How are we able to be in the running financially?

check out the link below for the source.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/231721-iverson-in-indiana-or-oklahoma-city

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If and I mean IF IF IF IF IF

He can not smother Granger’s production or sabotage the team for his own agendas, it’d be very exciting to have him. The good news is this is an important year for Iverson, so we may be getting an Earl Watson situation: the best the player can be without the baggage of a long term deal to get us the other side of the player. It didn’t make the Nuggets or Pistons a championship team, but it kept them in the playoffs. That 5-8 range is about where we want to be for 2009-10, so I don’t think it’d be a bad thing.

by goodlucksaturday on Aug 7, 2009 9:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

hmm

First off, the article peeved me a bit when it said that Indiana is “a team that is trying to get into the playoffs and need scoring help for Granger.” Scoring help? Weren’t we top 5 in the league in scoring? Is that really what kept us out of the playoffs?

But anyways, it would be interesting and fun and all but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. It just seems like a way to say we’re going to plateu the rebuilding project for a year. I like him quite a bit but I’m not sure I want him for a 1 year loan. And as much as he is a pretty good guy by most accounts, you have to wonder how some of Indiana would react to a guy who has that reputation.

Ultimately I doubt it’s true. If it happens I’ll be annoyed but not upset and it will bring a bit of excitment.

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Aug 7, 2009 10:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No need for scoring help

I agree with that. But the more I think about acquiring AI for one year, the more I like it. To me, it would really all depend on AI’s attitude. I have always appreciated the way AI plays, but if we were to sign him, Larry would have to sit him down and say “Danny’s the guy, you’re his Robin.” IF he was cool with that, sign him for a year. If not, don’t bother. Danny is really progressing in his role and we don’t want a player to come in and mess with that, even if its for a year.

But he would be a good SG to play while MDJ is out (and then who knows, maybe we can trade his expiring one year deal at the deadline to someone who’s crazy enough to do it).

by TheHawk5 on Aug 7, 2009 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

SG?

I mean I know he’s more of a scorer than a distributor, but the dude is like 5’10. Unless we have a big physical PG, there is no way we can survive with AI at the 2. Imagine him and Ford guarding the perimeter? Hell, I’m bigger than both of those guys

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Aug 7, 2009 2:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL...

AI is all about AI…end of story. His ego is a problem. I wouldn’t want him here for that reason alone.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.
-Thomas Edison

by W.Diesel on Aug 7, 2009 10:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I hate how he is so selfish on the court ....

But I think he would fill the stands and sell a ton of jerseys …. making us a stronger team in terms of finances and the free agent shuffle is coming up in 2 years ….

anyone think this process of not finding a home is going to humble AI?

by Man of Pace on Aug 7, 2009 10:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I would be first on line

to buy an AI Pacers jersey. I would love to see him here, except for the fact of him stunting our growth. We do need help scoring. Hands down. it looks as if we don’t because the high scoring numbers we put up, but to be SUCCESSFUL we have to put up alot of points in less possessions, and buckle down on D

by captain flitzy on Aug 7, 2009 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think his selfish/egotistic reputation is a bit overblown

The guy has always just wanted to win and more often than not, he’s got the best chance of scoring the ball. He is definitely a scorer and needs the ball in his hands – there’s no way you can call him a distributor. But he really lays it all out there and I think that when his teammates are better, he tends to pass a bit more.

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Aug 7, 2009 3:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

he's just got some Favre in him

Sometimes he’ll make you pull your hair out but ultimately he is as talented or better than just about everyone else out there.

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Aug 7, 2009 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

People aren't being fair

He’s a winner. Best competitor in the league, and pound-for-pound, best scorer ever.

Does that make him a good fit here? No. Would I pay him anything more than a chump-change one year rental fee so he can get his career back on track? Hell no.

But think about it. Iverson needs a place to land softly and prove to the rest of the league that he’s still got it. Indy isn’t really thinking about winning a title anyway, but would absolutely LOVE the boost in ticket sales AI would generate. Sounds like a match made in heaven if he doesn’t sign for more than a year. I don’t know why anyone would argue this.

"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"

by LukeNukem on Aug 7, 2009 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No… just no. It makes zero sense.

Iverson isn’t the MVP Iverson all those years ago. And even then… Iverson can only be Iverson and benefit a team when the team revolves around Iverson.

Now I am not saying this as a “Iverson is a selfish bball player.” I am saying this because Iverson is a very very unique player.

He is tiny… but he is not a point guard. He is a pure scorer who can throw some good passes here and there. He is a volume shooter. The offense HAS to revolve around them. He has to be option 1, 2 and 3 and the secondary guy to him must realize this and the teamates on offense must realize this and set their screens and not get pissed when they don’t touch the ball.

On defense… it must revolve around him as well. He needs a large point guard to play with or someone who can guard shooting guards (erik snow anyone?) Iverson can’t guard sg’s. And… he gambles a lot on defense in the passing lanes.

You can’t just plug Iverson on team. If he wasn’t a horrible off court player and was willing the accept he isn’t as good as he was… he would be PERFECT off the bench as the 6th man that came in and tried to light up the score board. Unfortunately… I don’t think he would ever ever accept that kind of role

by dbcb on Aug 7, 2009 4:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Will he have to come to practice?

by Gwen on Aug 7, 2009 4:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I

by jantz101 on Aug 7, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ve always had a fascination with Iverson since he came into the league and I always thought it would be awesome for him to play here. With that said…my biggest concern would be him messing up the whole “We love to practice extremely hard” routine that the team has been building up in the past two years. Every player that has been brought in through the draft or free agency has been praised for their efforts not only in games, but on the practice court. Obviously, Iverson doesn’t have that pedigree. It would definitely be a risk.

by spstevenson on Aug 7, 2009 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i laughed at this

Iverson to indiana? That’s the last place he’ll go!!! Most of the reason is not because he doesn’t want to, I mean he would actually kind of like it, because he would have a legitimate shot at both becoming a starter and making the playoffs. That’s what he wants the most now out of his career. But the only thing that is stopping this from ever happening is Larry Bird. You guys know how larry bird is, he doesn’t want “thuggish” players any where near the pacers, regardless of their talent. That’s why you guys aren’t seeing Tony Allen here yet, because of the bad publicity he got last year with the death threats in all. I have to admit I don’t like this policy, because you sometimes have to take chances if you want to win, and if a player screws up, hey it happens! Larry will only take in guys who help in the community and work hard, and allen iverson has a good record of working hard on the floor, but practice is another story. But like I said sometimes you have to take chances but Larry Bird doesn’t want to, so this is 0% NOT going to happen!

by pacers4life on Aug 8, 2009 8:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yes...

lets sign him, who cares. What’s it really going to hurt honestly?

~SHaFF!~
The Little Sports Blog That Could:
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by SHaFF87 on Aug 8, 2009 11:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This would be the best move for us from a financial standpoint. Iverson would draw more interest than any other player on the Pacers and perhaps get us on a few more national television games.

by ThirtyOne on Aug 11, 2009 7:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

think about it, we’re 5th in the league in scoring right? Well we already lost marquis daniels(13 points a game) and jarret jack(9 points) thats over 20 plus points!! Plus we don’t have mike dunleavy for the first part of the year, I don’t think we’ll be that high in scoring now. So far what we’ve done to help with those losses is bring in earl watson, dahntey jones and solomon jones, all known for their defense, not offense. So i’d like to see iverson come here because if he doesn’t, we might actually have some trouble scoring this year.

by pacers4life on Aug 12, 2009 8:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

...

Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert could put up 13 and 9 this season. I wouldn’t worry about scoring.

As far as bringing in the answer I dont think it would hurt the ‘team’ but it may hurt our progression. I dont like it much but I wouldn’t hate it.

by shep31 on Aug 12, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

AI was the answer

When Philly was trying to get rid of AI, we didn’t grab the oppurtunity. He was still one of the best scoring PG back then, and at that time Tinsely was still fine. You get what I mean? That was what? 3 years ago? We let AI get out of our hands, and traded 2 of our top guys to GSW for 2nd rate players. No offense (they were able to blosom in Indy) but when they came, it’s the playoffs that went away. Now they’re saying that AI could end up in Indy? Well I’d be more happy if it was 3 years ago. But AI still has game, you know he atracts double teams, can penetrate, can shoot, can score, can pass(hopefully). Ford was a bit less than that, so If I’m Bird I’d grab the oppurtunity.

by IndieBald on Aug 16, 2009 6:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs