Same Old AI!!!

[mick128]

Gotta love him don't you. Guy doesn't play all preseason, plays one game and is already complaining about coming off the bench. I'm so glad he is in Memphis, not Philly

[dond]

Yep, that is who he is.
Nothing about helping the team.
Just all about him.
What HE wants !

Even his most loyal followers must be getting the message by now.

Now, if Hollins DOES start him, the other players will be wondering if it was because AI demanded it or because he deserved it.

The turmoil begins ...

I am sure the other GMs and Owners in the League are now nodding their heads knowingly and thankful they did not "take a chance" on him. Too bad for Memphis.

[76ers76ers]

AI=chemistry killlllerrrr!!!

[76ers76ers]

now that memphis has sold out alot of season tix. cut him loose.....

[KrazySixersD]

yall are jokes.. he is COMPLETELY RIGHT... he is ten times the player conley will ever be.. he should be a starter without question.. the hate here is ridiculous.. if it wasnt for him, we would be this same pathetic team we are now, all those years ago as well

[UptownPhilly]

Although I don't consider myself an AI stan, his comments are warranted.

Why wouldn't you play A.I. when he's clearly still someone who the defense will work to contain? All that he said was that he's not a sixth man or bench player, and that his stats back up his claim.

Memphis is a team that needs veteran presence and needs to start racking up W's. They won't accomplish that if A.I. is glued to the bench. If Iverson wanted to ride the bench, he would've signed with a better team who had less of a need for him.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

I agree too... He should be starting in Memphis. Conley is a nice point guard but Iverson is so much more talented even now at this point in his career. He would give them the best chance to win. On the flip side of this however where does AI expect to start if not in Memphis?

[Lapinski]

I used to always defend him thinking he was too young to know what he was saying. But who is going to the bench? OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Conley deserves to start, he was there all preseason. I really doubt that a year from now AI is going to be able to guard Conley, who was a lottery pick.

A mature AI would realize that if he does come off the bench he could easily win the 6th man of the year award based on his scoring. But I am sure most guards in this league look forward to being guarded by Allen since he is no longer the quickest man in the league and at 6' (generous) he can be posted up all night or just shot over.

He also needs to realize that if he is the 'good soldier' he could be traded at the deadline to a playoff team in need of backcourt scoring. It is just wrong to think you can not play during the preseason (and not practice too) and displace the starter who will be playing in the league long after you are gone. Memphis won the game and he contributed, he should be happy.

I wonder when Zach Randolph will say something stupid.

[PhilasFinest]

i wish he was still here... at least he made shots and put on a show.

this team is pathetic right now.

[tweeze]

He has the right to complain...he not starting in memphis...lolol that is Insane...He played 17 mins in a 53 min game...yea right ... He can get you 30 + any given night..They are Buggin !!!!

[Court_visioN]

I think part of AI's frustrations has to do with the conversations he and his agent had with Memphis' management. It seems he is under the impression that he's going to come in and play major minutes if not start. AI's words got a little twisted in that when he says "reserve" we translate that to "non-starter" but I think Iverson just means that he expected, even if he were coming off the bench, to play 30 minutes a night. 17 minutes in an OT game must have come as a shock for him.

I've said from the beginning (maybe not on this board since I don't post all that often) that Iverson and Memphis is a bad match. It's sad, but it looks like this is how AI's career is going to wind down.

[dond]

Iverson and Memphis is a bad match.

Unfortunately for him, he has played himself into a position where it was the only option left for him. There didn 't appear to be any other offers. And, now ... he is committing the equivalent of professional suicide, by complaining right out of the gate. He will probably begin a series of "mysterious" injuries similar to what he did in Philly at the end and Detroit at the end ... He just does not have it in him to just "do what he is told" as in a good warrior.

[Gsraider]

I think part of AI's frustrations has to do with the conversations he and his agent had with Memphis' management. It seems he is under the impression that he's going to come in and play major minutes if not start.

And he probably will, but wasn't he hurt and out of action for most, if not all of the pre-season? My understanding was that he just got back and then he spouts off about not getting enough burn during his first game? I know that Iverson is a warrior and wants to win desperately, but it's hard to defend him when he does this after the first game after being sidelined for some time. Had he been healthy and participated all pre-season, I might understand. Somewhat. Regardless of the situation however, I think he have at least waited a few games before commenting.

I've said from the beginning (maybe not on this board since I don't post all that often) that Iverson and Memphis is a bad match. It's sad, but it looks like this is how AI's career is going to wind down.

Some people act as though he had a choice. From everything I read (and some of it could have been erroneous), Iverson had few choices and Memphis was the ONLY team willing to pay him more than about $2 million per season. The days of Iverson dictating what occurs as a star are probably over and he should have known that regardless of where he wound up. Besides, if you are Memphis and you think Conley is the future at the position, why wouldn't you give him a chance to grow first? This isn't a playoff team even with AI starting. Is winning a few extra games right now (but not substantially more) at the expense of giving your future a chance to grow worth it? I'm not sure it would be if I were running Memphis. If they told AI otherwise, than they deserve whatever is coming to them though.