In the last week, all indications seemed to point to Allen Iverson becoming a New York Knickerbocker. Donnie Walsh was said to be on the verge of pulling the trigger on the deal … and then, nothing.

According to several reports this morning, the Knicks have decided not to pursue The Answer. Which means that Allen is still an unrestricted free agent, without a team.

The NY Times has the details:

In an abrupt reversal, Knicks officials decided late Thursday not to offer Iverson a contract, putting an end to their brief flirtation, according to a person close to the deliberations. Although team officials were highly intrigued by Iverson, a four-time scoring champion, they finally decided that he posed too great a risk because of his long history of problems on and off the court.

Team officials spent three days weighing the potential merits and pitfalls of signing Iverson, and alternately talked themselves into and then out of making the move … By Thursday afternoon it appeared that the Knicks were fully committed to taking the gamble, with one person close to the team saying there was a 90 percent chance that Iverson would become a Knick. But team officials held one more discussion on the matter Thursday evening and decided to drop it, according to the person close to the deliberations.

Man, if even the Knicks (a team that has a total of two wins so far this season, and one of the most dysfunctional sports franchises in recent history) think you’re too big of a gamble to take, it might be time to re-evaluate things.

The sad saga of Allen Iverson continues, with no happy ending in sight.

It’s really amazing if you think about it. Here’s a guy who has now left two consecutive teams on horrible terms (the last one being an out-and-out disaster), and yet when he becomes an unrestricted free agent later on today, there will be no shortage of suitors

For what it’s worth, Larry Brown is putting in a good word for The Answer around the League. Actually, it might be worth something, as the Knicks aren’t the only ones reportedly “hot” after Allen Iverson.

It seems that Pat Riley and the Miami Heat are also interested.

From the NY Daily News:

Donnie Walsh said Wednesday night that the Knicks have yet to make a final decision on whether to sign Allen Iverson but the Knicks president hinted that the club is leaning strongly in that direction.

Iverson, a former MVP, is expected to clear waivers at 6 p.m. today and will become an unrestricted free agent. The Knicks could have competition from Miami, who according to a person close to Iverson said the team is “hot” after him.

If one were to guess — which is really all that can be done at this point — New York would appear to be the favorite to acquire A.I.’s services. He’d be the undisputed alpha dog on that team, an obvious impossibility in Miami, where Iverson would also have to battle for minutes at both guard spots.

Whatever the case, we’ll be finding out very soon what the next chapter of Allen Iverson’s life and career looks like.

Of all the big free agent names in the heralded class of 2010, Chris Bosh probably gets the least amount of ink spilled about him. But after openly speculating about where he might end up next season, one can expect more than a few questions about impending free agency to be thrown his way, with added vigor.

Bosh, who had a miserable time in Denver last night — he was was held to a season low 13 points, and the Raptors were destroyed by the Nuggets — spoke to FanHouse about the possibility of joining Dwyane Wade in Miami.

Let’s just say that CB4 doesn’t seem opposed to the idea:

“Anything is possible, I guess,” Bosh said. “I guess that seems to be an attractive place, you know, playing with Dwyane and playing in Miami and everything. I guess if they had the right chemistry, the right guys, that they could persuade guys to get there. But we’ll see.”

Obviously, Bosh didn’t say anything groundbreaking there. He’s just keeping all of his options open, with Miami being a particularly attractive one.

Bosh is in the same position as a lot of the other free agents are: the biggest payday can only be offered by his current team. It’ll be interesting to see just how good of a salesman D-Wade is, and if he can convince a superstar buddy or two to join him in South Florida next summer.

From the moment he became an unrestricted free agent this past summer, the ideal situation for Allen Iverson has always been New York. Big city, all eyes on him, the ball in his hands, and a coach who (theoretically) can bring out the best — or, at least, what remains of it — in The Answer.

Last night, Donnie Walsh confirmed his franchise’s interest in bringing Iverson to MSG. For a 1-9 team (the worst start in team history) going nowhere fast, this could be the jolt they desperately need.

From the NY Daily News:

Can Allen Iverson save the Knicks’ season, rescue them at the box office or at least make them relevant again?

Donnie Walsh will spend the next 48 hours debating what impact, both negative and positive, Iverson could have on the organization. Walsh, the Knicks’ president, confirmed Monday night that the club will explore the possibility of signing Iverson, the former league MVP who was placed on waivers yesterday by the Memphis Grizzlies. “We’ll look into it,” Walsh told the Daily News. “Right now, I’d say probably not but we’ll see.”

The Knicks are obviously a disaster, so why not take a chance on A.I? If he doesn’t work out in Gotham, it’s not like things could actually get any worse for the Knickerbockers. Rock bottom has already been reached; there’s nowhere else to go for this franchise but up.

There are understandable concerns about this move possibly stunting the growth of Danilo Gallinari and Toney Douglas, but I’d argue that playing alongside Chris Duhon is infinitely more damaging to their development.

Assuming they don’t make the mistake of asking him to come off the bench, Allen Iverson — whose manager says he’d love to play for Mike D’Antoni — could help New York regain some semblance of respectability. And even if he doesn’t, at least the product will be entertaining.

Which is a lot more than what you can say about the current Knicks.

The New Orleans Hornets are reportedly ready to throw in the towel this season. With the head coach looking for new work, and the superstar point guard injured and unhappy, management in N.O. figures it’s time for change.

And by “change”, I mean they want to save themselves a buck by shipping their expensive, and newly acquired power forward out of town for an expiring contract.

The Sacramento Bee reports:

A source with knowledge of the situation says the Kings are discussing a trade with New Orleans that would send Kenny Thomas to the Hornets and bring center Emeka Okafor to Sacramento.

The deal would be ideal for the Hornets, as Thomas’ expiring contract worth $8.7 million is just the kind of contract that would trim their enormous payroll. The question, of course, is whether the Kings see Okafor as a big man solution worth the five years and $62.5 million left on his deal.

As the linked article points out, no deal is imminent. Both sides are just feeling each other out at this point. But for the discussion to even be taking place, makes Hornet management’s outlook crystal clear.

Chris Paul’s nightmare looks to only be getting worse.

Frankly, it’s a decision that he should have made a long time ago. But, perhaps, he was having too much fun watching everyone speculate about his future plans.

For some reason now, LeBron James doesn’t want anyone to ask him about next summer. The media has to actually discuss basketball with him going forward. The horror!

The NY Times has the money quote from LBJ:

On Wednesday in Orlando, James abruptly shut down the discussion.

“You know, this free-agent talk is getting old,’’ he said testily, adding, “I think tonight will probably be the last time I answer any more free-agent questions until the off-season.’’

What’s interesting is that during the same pre-game session with the media, LeBron said that being asked about free agency in every city doesn’t really bother him. It wasn’t until someone asked about it again after the chat was supposed to be over that James made his declaration.

It’ll be fascinating to see how reporters deal with this new rule from James, assuming he’s serious about it. My guess is that media folk will find a way to slip in questions about 2010 when talking to King James, and judging by the way he’s handled the issue in the past, LeBron won’t be able to help himself. This circus is far from over.

The other day on Twitter, I joked that Elton Brand looks like a shell of a shell of his former self. I think I may have been too kind. Elton looks much, much worse.

The former 20/10 machine, who’s healthy this season, is struggling mightily out of the gates. Brand is throwing up 10 points and 5 boards a night, numbers hardly befitting a player getting paid $14.8 mil to play hoops this year (with another $51 million owed to him over the next three seasons.)

Due to his struggles, Brand finds himself on the bench a lot these days, especially at crunch time. And he’s none too happy about it.

From the Philly Inquirer:

Brand said that “absolutely” this was the first time in his career he has sat when games are being decided. He said that, of course, he’s pressing to show he can return to pre-injury effectiveness. “I’m human, so it happens,” Brand said. “I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to be out there and say, ‘Hey, OK, let’s do something different,’ you know what I mean?”

After Monday night’s 119-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns - one of the games this season in which Brand sat the entire fourth quarter - a question to Brand went something like, “So, you’ve been on the bench at the end of the last three games?”Added Brand: “At least . . .”

Unfortunately for Brand and his ego, head coach Eddie Jordan doesn’t sound particularly enthused by what he’s seen from his wildly expensive power forward, and says that Elton has yet to regain his pre-injury form.

Until Elton can get his get his health and game on the same page, expect the frustration to build, and for things to get worse before they get any better.

According to the perennially injured Tracy McGrady, he’ll resume his star-crossed career next week (Nov. 18, when Houston pays Minny a visit.) According to GM Daryl Morey, however, T-Mac may be a bit presumptuous.

Last night, McGrady and the team that employs him sent mixed messages about Tracy’s return to action. All sorts of media outlets were used by the two sides to communicate their sides of the story.

Here’s the Houston Chronicle, attempting to make sense of things:

Tracy McGrady said Monday that he would make his season debut Nov. 18. But the Rockets said neither they nor McGrady knows when he would go through a full practice, much less a game. McGrady’s announcement was contrary to comments by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who had said earlier Monday that there is no timetable for McGrady to play and that he would not play until he can be checked out in the Rockets’ next full practice, Nov. 23.

In his blog later, he disputed Morey’s contention that his participation in practice has been “off and on” but did not target a date for his return … But Morey had said earlier Monday that McGrady, 30, has been able only to practice sporadically and would not play until doctors and team officials consider him to be 100 percent.

Whether or not Mac feels healthy enough to play — or even, you know, practice with his teammates — is almost irrelevant at this point. He’s had way too many setbacks for the Rockets’ front office to take any more risks with their fragile asset. The ball is no longer in his court.

In the meantime, you can check out Tracy’s blog for the latest updates on his condition. Accuracy not guaranteed.