| Is Iverson the Answer to What Ails the Grizzlies? |
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| Written by Chip Crain |
| Friday, 28 August 2009 06:58 |
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It's short, to the point and has a nice ring to it so it is definitely a cool nickname for a professional basketball player. Especially a ball player who can back it up with performance on the court. Of course there isn't one single answer for every question and that makes it all the more difficult to determine if Allen Iverson is the Answer for the Grizzlies because most people are unsure what is the right question to ask about Memphis' only major league sports franchise. A simple question like "will Allen Iverson make the Grizzlies a more successful team" has to be qualifed by determining what would be considered successful in Memphis? Does successful mean more wins wins (not hard to achieve on this team)? Does it mean making the playoffs? Does it even have to do with on court play? Is Memphis's owner so concerned with profit that he doesn't care how the team performs on the court?IS IVERSON THE ANSWER FOR SHORT TERM PROFIT? One thing is pretty much assured. If the Grizzlies use thier remaining cap space to sign Allen Iverson the increase in ticket sales alone should make the team more profitable on the bottom line. People will pay money to see AI in a Grizzlies uniform. The same people who fill the stands most nights AI visited while playing in Denver, Philadelphia and Detroit will come out at least 5 times to see him play in Beale Street Blue. 5 sellouts would more than make up for any expense dished out to bring AI here. In the short run signing AI will definitely help the bottom line. IS IVERSON THE ANSWER FOR LONG TERM PROFIT? That is not to say that he would continue to draw those fans however. People won't pay too often to see an aging star on a losing team. They didn't pay to see Pau Gasol who is considered the best player ever to wear a Grizzlies uniform when the team lost and Memphis won't pay to see Iverson for long either. To draw Memphis fans the Grizzlies will need to win games at home. It would also be nice to win some games on the road but they have to win a lot of games at home and be competitive in most of the games they do lose. That's just the mentality of Memphis fans. Memphis has supported the Tigers during their glory days of John Calipari but I remember the Elite 8 team of four years ago that struggled to put 10,000 people in the stands. That was an elite NCAA team (and one that wasn't tarred by scandal later) but people didn't come out to watch CDR, Joey Dorsey and the rest of the team until the signed Derick Rose AND started to win. One aspect by itself wouldn't suffice. The team had to be good and they needed a marquee presence. Which is why people were so disappointed with the most recent Grizzlies draft. The team had a chance to bring in a player with marquee appeal and instead brought in a project player who may or may not work out. But I digress. We are talking about Allen Iverson and if he is the answer to the team's problems. Is Iverson the Answer in the Short Run for Wins? And will AI be a good mentor for the younger players? Any short term success has to be coupled with the development of the younger players. With 7 players taken in the last two drafts out of the 14 expected players on the opening night roster, someone is needed to teach them how to be successful living the life of an NBA player. How to overcome mental fatigue. What to do after a game in a new city. How to prepare physically for the grind of the season. This is what a veteran leader is needed for on a young team. Can AI be that role model for the team's youth? Is AI the Answer in the Long Run for Wins? And the corollary question is 'would he come back for a 2nd season?' Will it do any good for Memphis to sign AI and return to playoff contention only to see him walk the next summer to join a team challenging for the playoffs as their scorer off the bench? Would it be better to not sign AI, develop the young players like Sam Young and Marcus Williams by giving them AI's minutes and be in better shape heading into the 2010-11 season with core of hard-working team players? Last year AI said he wasn't a backup NBA player and that he'd rather retire than be a back up.
That was April of 2009. Not that long ago even in doggy years. Since he doesn't appear to be content being a backup and mentor for younger players will his presence be a positive or negative influence on the team going forward? The Grizzlies are very young and the front office should be sensitive to the negative influences even one bad attitude veteran can bring to a team. With AI joining Z-Bo the risk of an explosive negative situation rises exponentially. These questions are difficult to answer but need to be addressed by the Grizzlies brain trust if they want to have the city buy into their 3 yr plan. The problem with long-term plans is not that they plan is flawed. The problem is that most team's don't have the patience to see them through. Signing AI seems to be an example of a team abandoning their plan for short-term gain. But AI is just trying to get more money from Charlotte or Miami anyway. That's why he tweeted that Memphis had upped the ante when they hadn't. |
Allen Iverson's nickname is the answer.
Comments
Basically what I'm saying is: Take AI. You only worry about destroying chemistry and team concept when you have chemistry and a team identity to be destroyed. He ain't making us worse, ya know?
Also, one thing we don't take into account is other top level talent seeing that Memphis is an OK place to go as a free agent. I think that's worth something too. If AI thinks it's cool to go to Memphis, why not other free agents? Small intangible maybe, but something.
Other teams may come to see Memphis play on the road as well. Could improve the cache of the team nationally. We may actually make a few Grizz fans who are not from the city of Memphis. Diehard AI fans will actually be wearing a Grizzlies jersey in other cities, without getting laughed at. (I have not seen a single other Grizz jersey in Atlanta besides mine).
If AI signs a one-year contract and is gone next year, and we have that money back under the cap, how have we totally abandoned the 3-year plan? Does the 3 year plan mean don't try to get extra wins at all in year 2?
That said, regardless of what's put on paper, here's what I'd expect to happen if Allen Iverson signs: His competition at the starting guard spots would be O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley. And like any other similar situation, the way he would crack the starting lineup would be to simply outplay those guys. And he's certainly able to do that.
To me, this is a no-lose situation. OJ and Conley would need to elevate their games to keep their spots. If they can't do that, then you're still most likely bringing OJ Mayo off the bench -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If Iverson can't beat out OJ/Conley, then he'll have all the shots he wants off the bench, since none of the second team is a consistent scoring threat. He could still put up 20-25 off the bench -- easily.
Then again, OJ can score in volume too. So the real question is this: What Hollins is likely to be looking for is ball movement, defense, and making sure everybody is involved. If Allen can show that the team runs smoother with him on the floor as a starter . . . that's a big IF and it would require a significant adjustment in his game. Whether he's willing and able or not . . . that's the question.
Now all we need is . . . The Answer.
I would be shocked if he ever appears in a Grizzlies uniform.