For the past 6-8 months Allen Iverson has been saying he wants back in the NBA, and thinks he deserves another shot. He believes he’s healthier than he’s been in years, and he’s mentally focused to play on the world’s greatest stage…
“I’ll play for anybody,” Iverson told Yahoo! Sports.
A 10-time All-Star and former MVP, Iverson still wants back in the league even though he’s 36 and played only in Turkey last season. He’s one of the game’s greatest scorers, but his history of off-the-court drama and issues with coaches tainted his career, even in his last few seasons in the NBA.
But now he’s publicly admitting he wasn’t at 100% mentally or physically during his last couple NBA seasons bouncing around from team to team after being moved out of Denver…
“That wasn’t me at all,” Iverson said. “Obviously, I was dealing with the situation with my daughter and going through a divorce, and I wasn’t there mentally. In my career those last couple years were so hard for me because I wasn’t there. Mentally, I wasn’t there.
“During those 48 minutes on the basketball court, all I [ever] cared about was that time right there. Nothing else distracted me. But at times, I felt myself standing on the court just thinking about my daughter, thinking about the situation with me and my wife. I wasn’t giving [the teams] everything I had mentally.”
Iverson is now saying the Divorce is nearing a close, and his kids are all healthy and he is ready to give 100% to the game and to any team that will take a chance on him:
“Everything is fine,” Iverson said. [My wife and I] are still going through the process. But it’s not like it was. … I just felt like the right thing – even if it’s not me and her [together] – we got to be friends and cool with each other because we got five kids together. That was the most difficult part. And then once I got to there, as far as that situation, then everything was basically cool. My kids are healthy. I don’t have anything to worry about but basketball.”
So what’s the verdict? Should an NBA team take a shot on Allen Iverson? Personally, regardless of how he went out I think plenty of teams have reason to take a chance on Iverson. He was just too good of a player in his prime, and too productive post prime to ignore his pleas completely. If he is serious about being comfortable now coming off the bench, he’s worth a look. At the very least he can put butts in seats for a bottom dwelling team, but at the best he can be a key rotation player for a championship contending team that plays the game at a high pace. Iverson is at his best filling passing lanes and getting out on the break for a team that’s not afraid to run and let him be creative.
Will anyone take a chance on ‘The Answer’ after the lockout?
[Iverson Quotes Via Yahoo! Sports]
