Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 9:00 am  |  171 responses

Will The Answer Land in New York?

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

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.

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  • ClydeSays

    Yes! Imagine AI & Robinson on the floor together. That could be the smallest backcourt ever assembled (outside of your rec league). If that combo doesn’t kill D’Antoni, nothing will.

  • http://www.powerforward.nl jelte

    Are there really still people who want to waste time on AI? NY and AI could be a nice fit, ofcourse: both have hit the bottom and only (but not likely) will go up. In their dreams.

  • http://slamonline.com Dave

    @tavoris: “John Hollinger doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about 99% of the time. With that being said, attendance numbers ARE cooked for every team that’s not the Knicks or the Lakers. ”
    I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I totally agree with tavoris.

  • http://slamonline.com Dave

    Actually, I’ll caveat that. I suspect the NBA releases the sales figures for games rather than the attendance figures. I’m sure there are enough NYers who fork out $20,000 plus to leave an empty seat behind Spike for the 35 times a year Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade aren’t in town.

  • http://slamonline.com Dave

    @Jason – People are crucifying Iverson because he let them down. He was supposed to come in and blow the place up and prove that 5’11″ guys with wiry arms and a rap sheet could win it all. He didn’t, and now the underdog has proven himself to be just a dog, everyone wants to get in a kick.
    The guy is what he is, and hasn’t really changed since day one. So I find the whole thing really hypocritical, to be honest.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    OG – Using the preseason and allstar games as evidence of a players skills really shows the level of your basketball intelligence…seriously though, Melo and JR were two guys who were always gettin into trouble and we following AI’s bad example (partying, staying out late before games). When Billups came he straighted those boys out and they’ve been straight up ballin since. Statistically Billups has never been as good as AI, but as far as leadership on and off the court, running a team, defense, decision making, clutch plays, jump shooting, passing, post game, (I’m probably leaving a few out) he’s a far superior player. Melo’s said it, JR has said it, and coach Karl has said it, Billups is better for that team than AI. And yes, you’re very dellusional if you think AI with Denver last year would = a title. That’s absolutely insane.

  • tavoris

    wayno..in case u didn’t follow JR before AI got to Denver, he had also been a knucklehead in New Orleans …was Chris Paul a “bad influence” as well? I think it’s short-sighted to think of Anthony and Smith as putty in Iverson’s hands. In case you don’t realize, they don’t “follow AI around” during every free evening, because Iverson is married with a gaggle of children to take care of. Anthony also has LaLa and a baby…

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    Not saying they were saints before AI, but AI only encouraged the poor behavior, don’t be a fool Tavoris, it’s a pretty well known fact even though you are AI’s bff and all…

  • Jason

    @Dave

    This has been going on since he started in the league with a fade and no tats. I can see where others might have joined in bc he didn’t win a title in Denver or Detroit but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be a good fit for a team like the Knicks, Bobcats, or Kings etc just to see. The only way he could fit with one of the top teams is if he said f— minutes and f— points and he may not wanna win a title that way. There’s probably at least 10-20 guys out there who playing better now, but if he is able to find the right role he could shine. Starting he’s good for 20+ with a theft or two and can get the offense moving. Off the bench he could win sixth man of the year if he didn’t care about minutes. He may never repeat the performance he had with the Aaron Mckie philly team but it would be interesting.

    The Memphis thing seemed cool and its a shame it broke up so quickly, but he could still be used if he could find the right spot. Sometimes people make the wrong decision, or maybe he ran into something he didn’t like. Putting him in a Knicks uni seems like the best fit, even if it doesn’t work out. If the guy just came out to floor and sat down in the middle of the court for 48 minutes it would draw more attention than what the Knickerbockers have got now. The NY fans need something to care about this year. It’s never too late for redemption, dont get on him just cause hes fallin off a bit. Recognize the evolution of his game and that he could still do something given the right oppurtunity. How are you going to guarantee Detroit or Memphis won’t happen again? I don’t think you can, but that wouldnt even matter as things are now and at a 1yr deal. If he can come to reality with where things are right now in his career and that he didn’t just drop 50 on MJ, he could stay around and help some club for another 5+ years and drop 50 on Kobe.

  • tavoris

    @wayno, you must not read many of my other posts. I defend dude, but I also defend other unfairly (by u) villianized players…and why would you think that another ADULT should be responsible for JR Smith or Melo’s off-court behavior? Melo was in “stop snitching” mode well before he even MET AI, and JR Smith was a KNOWN knucklehead before he even got to the L. How is their “stumbles to get to maturity” an indictment on AI? Does he have a record in the L of negatively influencing players? Was Eric Snow a troublemaker? How about Raja Bell, Mutombo, Hughes, Stackhouse, McKie, Iggy, Korver, McCollough? come on, dont’ call me a fool, when your REACH of an accusation was a fail built on faulty logic (again).

  • tavoris

    one last thing, Denver with Billups didn’t = a title, either. Actually, they only won FOUR more games with a MUCH deeper and healthier team.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    “Iverson has been popular but counterproductive in Denver. Key members of the organization say that Iverson has partied some nights until 3 in the morning, and that Denver’s two most crucial players — Anthony and J.R. Smith — have tried to keep up with him. They say Anthony and Smith look at Iverson with reverence, the same way Chauncey’s generation looked at Michael Jordan. So when A.I. says, “Let’s go out,’” they go out. When A.I. wears a sleeve on his arm, they wear a sleeve. Especially the impressionable Smith, who has never met a shot he didn’t like.

    The Nuggets have managed to win 50 games in 2007-08 living this way, but it’s clear they have hit their ceiling. A.I., Anthony and Marcus Camby are all “ball stoppers,” meaning they rarely pass. A lot of times, the Denver offense has consisted of Iverson dribbling right, Iverson dribbling left and Iverson taking a fadeaway. The sorry offense has led to sorrier defense, but Karl’s pleas for ball movement have fallen on deaf ears.” Excerpt from ESPN’s OTL piece on CB… There was anadjustment period at the beginning of the season for the CB led Nuggets, so yeah, they won 4 more games, but the wins weren’t the entire story. They were a more fluid, well run team and that was obvious to any basketball fan with two eyes. Thier playoff success was FAR better than the previous year as well. I also specifically said in my previous post that both Melo and JR had done some knucklehead stuff prior to AI coming there, but AI only furthered thier knuckleheadedness, he didn’t help straighten them out. They were club hopping the night before games with him. There has been a notiable chance in both of thier behavior (and play) since that team got an actual leader in CB.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    also, I was merely pointing out that OG is INSANE for saying that denver + AI last = title last season. That would have been another 1st round exit.

  • tavoris

    wayno…that was speculation and hearsay propagated by the media. Please tell me you aren’t that gullible.

    Far better in the postseason? That is obviously because of CB IN PART, but also because of Anthony’s post-olympic focus, the return of Nene, the return of Anderson, and the return of Martin’s athleticism. I think ALL of those players deserve far more credit than you’re giving them.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    c’mon man, CB absolutely murdered Chirs Paul in the first round. If he wasn’t there they would have had a hard time making the 2nd round of the playoffs. Plus, it’s funny that anything from the media that you don’t like hearing is dismissed as “hearsay propagated by the media”… who’s the gullible one? Of course having a healthy supporting cast helped Denver, but Chauncey made that team play well together for the first time in quite some time. He’s a leader which is exactly what they needed and what AI DIDN’T provide for them in ANY respect. AI is a more talented scorer than Chauncey billups, but what else does he do better than him? Pass? nope. Rebound? nope. Defend? nope Lead? nope. Chauncey’s game has it’s faults, but he’s just a better guy to have on a contending team period. AI is perfect for a team of nobodys that needs someone to dominate the ball and score alot of points while having some robots to dump the ball off to on occaision to make him look like a better passer than he really is. He’s the perfect superstar for a terrible team (which explains his VERY limited team success throughout his NBA career).

  • tavoris

    ok.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    ok.

  • rob Miller

    Knicks need A.I. bad he can still score and besides David Lee he would play defense and I bet he get voted to the Allstar game if not him then monta but for now Iverson.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/pennyccw OG

    Laughing @ Wayno…u speculate & add words…I never mentioned preseason in any of my AI arguments, I wonder how many others of you noted sources you have ad libbed or scipted for. All star is a Good example to use as a template.

    I suppose if I mention the olympics, where AI passed alot you’d question my basket ball knowledge too. becuz u’d assume that its the dream team & he has to pass the ball…when the opposite is actually true in 04 b4 Big Name stars thought it fashionable to play 4 the Dream team. AI was in his prime & could’ve decimated those fiba teams defence avg 30ppg & 8 apg…but he didn’t he passed the ball…

    & CB only dominated CP3 cuz nene & bird man locked down chandler & company… see much like AI assist are made by fear of him scoring & teams collapsing on him, CP3 in a similar but opposite fashion make much of his points by fear of his passing ability. with nene & birdman doing an excellent job in halting the alley hoop generator(chandler). billups could focus on locking down his scoring etc…

    Melo & Jr are grown men & should account for their own actions, How come he didn’t affect Nene & Kleiza. in fact Kleiza actually said his confidence & Game improved becuz AI helped him alot, giving pointers & all. hmmn i think that’s called mentoring, That being said AI is legendary for parting till even 4am then dropping 40 by 9 pm, their alot of stories like that. He’s like the dude in the classroom who acts like he ppl follow & party act cool & fail, then he still passes.

    However to dent your argument AI had left much of those habits back in philly. fact…go back & check your sources or write another script.

    Ps wins are counted by numbers 4 more games for the mammoth change, in culture & staff is an under achievement. It doesn’t matter if someone hits a party like its their last, as long as they play the game the same way too.

    Do you care if Denzel, was partying till 3 am the day before filming a big movie, when your in the theatre screaming Yeah!!! or …i think not… so here’s a new idea lets assess basketball players by how they play (light bulb) Basketball… wow, what a concept.

  • tavoris

    wayno, limited team success? Did you not realize that the Sixers spend SIX STRAIGHT YEARS in the lottery? In case your memory stops when Iverson was drafted, the only All-Star or better-level players in the last THIRTY YEARS that revived a team in a similar matter is Lebron & Shaq. Go through the teams’ records if u need proof.

  • tavoris

    Oh, and KG

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