Iverson says year was 'worst' of career

YouTube · Post by **Philaflava** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:47 pm

Allen Iverson calls his one season in Detroit the "worst year of my career" and claims team officials, and head coach Michael Curry, "lied" to him about coming off the bench instead of starting.

"They told me, straight up, 'Allen we would never disrespect you or your career like that' by making me come off the bench," Iverson said in an interview with ESPN.com Page 2 columnist Scoop Jackson. "That's what they told me to my face. And after that, I never thought about it again. I just went back to playing. Then, they came to me saying that they felt it would be in the 'best interest of the team' if I came off of the bench behind Rip [Richard Hamilton].

"... After that, they told me that if I didn't come off the bench -- the team was going to lie down [not play] on me.

"... When he told me that, that's when I felt that this was the worst career move I'd ever made and it was the worst year of my career."

Iverson said that when he was traded from Denver to Detroit on Nov. 3, 2008, he was happy. "I talked to Mo [his uncle/manager Gary Moore]. We both felt like it was going to be good situation.

The situation deteriorated when Iverson said he heard whispers that the team wanted him to come off the bench. He had started 824 of 829 career games before last season.

"If you are a head coach and you feel strongly about this, what would make you think that I want to be around these guys?" Iverson told Jackson. "Especially if you are telling me that they don't want to be around me like that?"

Iverson continued: "I'd never been on a team where a coach told me the guys gave up on me. You know what I mean? And I kept this under wraps the whole time ... because I didn't want to bad mouth any of those guys.

"... I don't have [anything] bad to say about the organization, especially Joe [Dumars]. I never had a problem with Joe. He's a stand-up person that I have love for and respect. He was not part of any of the problems I had in Detroit.

"But for [the coach] to tell me these things and for him to go back on his word like that, it was the hardest and the roughest season I've ever had."

Iverson missed 16 games near the end of the season with a back injury, then came back for three games and was used off the bench by Curry. He missed the final seven games and the Pistons' playoff series with Cleveland.

Curry was fired by the Pistons on July 1 after one season.

The Pistons, reached by ESPN.com, declined comment. Curry could not be reached for comment.

Iverson signed a one-year, $3.1 million deal with Memphis in September. Memphis opens the season at home Oct. 28 against Detroit.

In the interview, Iverson told Jackson that he's in a "lose-lose" situation in Memphis if the Grizzlies don't win, but that he's not going to "allow that to happen."

"I gotta win games," he said. "Because if we lose games and I score a lot, they going to say I'm scorin' too much. If we lose games and I don't score a lot, they gonna say I'm not scoring enough. It's a lose-lose, unless we win. So all I can do is huddle up with these guys and try to win basketball games."

Iverson said he expects Memphis, which won 24 games last year and had the league's fifth-worst record, to be a playoff contender.

"I'm not going to be content and happy with [just making the playoffs]," he said. "And I want them to know that. Yeah, we [can] get into the playoffs -- God-forbid somebody knocks us out -- then yeah it'll be a successful season for them , but not for me.

"I'm going to let guys know that I'm not here to just go to the playoffs. I believe in these dudes here. All I want them to do is trust me and trust that I'll do everything the right way and lead them to where we need to be."

He also said he has nothing to prove -- to the media or to fans who have criticized him.

"There's nothing that sells good about Allen Iverson if it's something positive about Allen Iverson," he said with a laugh. "You know, you don't want to hear about how much money I donate to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America or to AIDS Awareness or to give out scholarships, you don't want to hear about that.

"So when I said, 'it's personal,' I meant it's not personal to me as far as people saying what they've been saying about me, about me losing a step and this that and a third. It's personal on a level to where I can have fun again playing basketball. Not worry about, 'Oh he should start or he shouldn't start,' and all of that nonsense. I'm talking about going to practice -- yeah, I said practice -- and have fun and come out of practice happy, go to games happy, leave the arena win or lose happy.

"Man, again, I'm 34-years old, I don't want to be going to do what I love to do and it's hurting me. Like every time I show up to games I got an attitude all the time. I don't want that. So when I said 'it's personal,' I mean as far as me wanting to have fun again and have that love for the game all over again."

stupidregister · Post by **stupidregister** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:42 pm

Shut up, crybaby.

Big Breeze · Post by **Big Breeze** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:49 pm

I can't stand Iverson. He is not humble enough to understand that his days as a me 1st player in this league is ova. If he would come of the bunch and light fools up for 17 and 18 points a game, he would be highly respected. He doesn't want to embrace that role and it's the reason why he will be out the league one day if he doesn't want to get down with the get down.

Tweak Da Leak · Post by **Tweak Da Leak** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:56 pm

Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise

Big Breeze · Post by **Big Breeze** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:00 pm

Tweak Da Leak wrote:Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise

That smells like a malcontent lineup.

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:16 pm

Tweak Da Leak wrote:Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise

i feel bad for rudy gay. he's got way too much talent to be buried in a lineup like that.

Tweak Da Leak · Post by **Tweak Da Leak** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:26 pm

Blockhead wrote:
Tweak Da Leak wrote:Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise
i feel bad for rudy gay. he's got way too much talent to be buried in a lineup like that.

I thought Rudy Gay would be one of the better SF in the league but after watching him last year he's turned himself into a chucker with bad D.

Big Breeze · Post by **Big Breeze** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:26 pm

Where does Mike Conley Jr fit in with this squad? Is he really gonna come off the bench? Was it really worth it for Memphis to draft him? Is he eva gonna pan out as a top flight point guard? I think not on all questions.

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:08 pm

Tweak Da Leak wrote:
Blockhead wrote:
Tweak Da Leak wrote:Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise
i feel bad for rudy gay. he's got way too much talent to be buried in a lineup like that.
I thought Rudy Gay would be one of the better SF in the league but after watching him last year he's turned himself into a chucker with bad D.

i could see him being great in a scottie pippen like role on a team not full of retards.

Reason · Post by **Reason** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:08 pm

LOL block

gay is nothing like pippen. especially defensively/mentally

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:27 pm

Reason wrote:LOL block

gay is nothing like pippen. especially defensively/mentally

nononono...i mean in a pippen type role. he'd be a good second option to a superstar...like lebron or wade. he's got the tools

to be great if he could just figure the game out a little better.
obviously he's nowhere near pippen in style of play or mentality.

Money Gripp · Post by **Money Gripp** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:31 pm

RANDOM: Any ESPN Insiders that could hook up the John Hollinger previews for all the teams?

Would be awesome.

Also - is it too early to get the 2009-2010 NBA thread going?

I'm already bored with the NFL and ready to talk b-ball.

stupidregister · Post by **stupidregister** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:51 pm

Iverson hasn't been relevant since he went to the Finals. No one gives a shit about you anymore because you suck and it took the fucking Memphis Grizzlies to save your ass from playing in Siberia this year. You've never adapted your game ever and you never learned how to evolve and that's fine but now it's time for you to disappear, not bitch more about being a bench player. You and Marbury have had great endings to your overrated careers.

Go away.

Tariq's Dilemma · Post by **Tariq's Dilemma** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 9:32 pm

Besides from Randolph, I think that Mayo/Gay/Iverson could really work well together.

Imagine if this team decides to run, they could cause matchup problems everywhere.

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:39 pm

Tariq's Dilemma wrote:I think that Mayo/Gay/Iverson could really work well together.

In the NBA? I doubt it. Mayo, Iverson, and Gay are all ball hogs that can't play defense worth a shit. You can't have all three of 'em on the court at the same time. The Randolph acquisition only makes the nightmare that much worse.

If it were up to me, I'd want to have a real PG on the floor. It should be Mike Conley time. Give the motherfucker a fair chance - he obviously has a shitload of upside if we're talking penetration and distribution.

Now, because you came at me out of nowhere in CYE a few weeks back, I feel like it's my duty to inform you that this post was severely fucking retarded (not unlike your other basketball posts). Get it together, man. You're making Chicago meatheads look worse, if that's even possible.

Mike BLAOWery · Post by **Mike BLAOWery** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:15 am

Always love stupid's tirades where he acts like he's talking to the player and telling them that they need to get their head right

or else they'll have to go away.

RAZAH CUTZ · Post by **RAZAH CUTZ** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:57 am

Blockhead wrote:
Tweak Da Leak wrote:Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise
i feel bad for rudy gay. he's got way too much talent to be buried in a lineup like that.

that lneup seems like it could be aaight...O.J. Mayo be beastin and Gasol's brother is nasty when he wanna be....Thabeet should add some interior D....

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 10:53 am

RAZAH CUTZ wrote:
Tweak Da Leak wrote:Iverson
Mayo
Gay
ZBo
Thabeet/Gasol

this will be a chuckers paradise
that lneup seems like it could be aaight...O.J. Mayo be beastin and Gasol's brother is nasty when he wanna be....Thabeet should add some interior D....

It would be aight at the YMCA or on some And 1 mixtape where it's a fucking free-for-all. In the NBA, they're like the anti-Spurs.

I understand that the Memphis Grizzlies are trying to generate more fan support, and this is sure to bring out plenty of dumbass casual types. Memphis should not have a professional basketball team, though.

Mike BLAOWery · Post by **Mike BLAOWery** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:13 am

ye of little faith in lionel hollins

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:26 am

An awesome article that I just read about the Grizzlies:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... ootaround/

Allen Iverson and O.J. Mayo are learning how to play together

With Iverson, Randolph, Mayo and Rudy Gay used to dominating the scoring in the past, a commitment to ball movement is the only way they all can stay satisfied offensively.

And there will be times when players make an extra pass for the sake of being unselfish like Iverson did Thursday in Day 3 of the Grizzlies' training camp.

Even Randolph, the player most accused of being a black hole on offense, said he understands Hollins' marching orders: There will be freedom with the responsibility to play within a team concept

.

"When I played under D'Antoni (last season in New York) it was great," Randolph said. "I put up big numbers. But I just want to win. I'm not concerned about what I average. I know in this system I'll be able to shoot the ball, post up and run for easy baskets. That's just basketball.

an-also · Post by **an-also** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:44 am

Beastly Swagger · Post by **Beastly Swagger** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:24 pm

Iverson is that nigga pound for pound most heart in the game.

Blockhead · Post by **Blockhead** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:40 pm

Beastly Swagger wrote:Iverson is that nigga pound for pound most heart in the game.

he's also the last guy i'd want on any team with hopes of winning a title...but yeah, he's got mad heart. good for him.

Tweak Da Leak · Post by **Tweak Da Leak** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 1:46 pm

Iverson had one of his best years ever on the Nuggets

besides being unfortunate enough to get hte spurs in the first round camby was a much bigger cancer on that team that ai

Tired & Broke · Post by **Tired & Broke** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:01 pm

AI shoulda took his ass to charlotte, if they coulda grabbed him, and kept Oak and then still sign Flip, Then trade bell for another big body, The Bobcats would of been gauranteed a playoff spot.

Tweak Da Leak · Post by **Tweak Da Leak** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:31 pm

Bobcats wouldn't have been good if they kept Okafor and got Iverson

Bobcats with Chandler and Iverson would've made a playoff push