What is the Answer About Iverson?
You have probably heard the reports that the Philadelphia 76ers are trying to trade Allen Iverson. You probably have also heard that Iverson may or may not be injured and may or may not have been able to play in last night's game against the Washington Wizards; the team held Iverson out and the 76ers squandered a 20 point lead, losing 113-98. So why haven't I made a lengthy post about where Iverson will end up and what it means? Simple--there is not a story yet, other than the facts that I listed above. I don't understand why it is necessary to speculate about things that are not yet known. Why not simply report the news as it happens and analyze it then? ESPN spent more time during last night's coverage talking about what might happen with Iverson than actually covering the two games that it telecast, in the process making at least one embarrassing mistake. Sam Smith writes in today's edition of the Chicago Tribune that ESPN reporter Jim Gray was "duped" by an "imposter" when he reported that Iverson had told him that Iverson said he would like to be traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. What, was Rich Little on line one? What is the rush to report a story that isn't even a story? We're not talking about potentially life saving information that the public needs to know immediately (not that misreporting such information would be such a great service, either, but at least in that case a sense of urgency could be understood). I am very interested to see where Iverson lands and what that move will mean not only for his new team but also for the Sixers as well--but I will wait to analyze the deal until there is actually a deal to analyze.posted by David Friedman @ 1:43 PM
4 Comments:
I am also very interested to see where Iverson lands. I also agree with the illest, for his new club Iverson will control the ball 95 percent of the time and that will cause a rift, like illest said. I wonder who would take a player who is selfish, leads the league in turnovers and who hates to practice. Iverson is a future Hall of Famer, but he should have been traded earlier to a contender. And he is just too lazy. Very sad. What a waste of talent.
I think you are exactly right. There are always rumors circulating about Iverson every off season following a sub-par regular season from the Sixers. It's interesting that they want to dump Iverson for the exact same reasons that they have held on to him all of these years.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was just another case of Allen Being Allen, considering that his contract is one of the more difficult to move if you are looking at any other team than the Knicks.
If the Sixers were planning to trade Iverson then they should have done it in the offseason when they would have probably gotten more in return. This would have also given their new players the opportunity to work together during training camp and the preseason. The Sixers either hoped that the team would turn out to be better than it is or did not like the offers that they received at that time.
On the other hand, it is understandable for a team to be reluctant to trade a great player who has become so identified with the franchise. Depending on what the Sixers get in return and how well the team does, there could be a fan backlash. Also, looking at NBA history, most of the deals that involve one superstar for a bunch of decent players and/or draft picks do not turn out well for the team that gives up the superstar. The Sixers have done this twice already: after trading Wilt, the Sixers pretty quickly went from having the best regular season record in history (a record since broken by Wilt's Lakers and the '96 Bulls) to having the worst record in history; the Sixers also went through some down years after trading Barkley, while the Suns went straight to the Finals (the Sixers were actually bad with Barkley at the end, too, but the point is that dealing him did not help the Sixers at all but really boosted the Suns).
they couldn't have traded AI over the summer -- the public backlash in Philly would've been too great.
they needed him to publicly demand a trade -- which just happened now.
otherwise, it would've been a p.r. disaster. AI is (was) the Sixers...
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