Will Allen Iverson be back in the NBA anytime soon? Not this season, if he intends to fulfill the obligations of a contract.

Iverson agreed a two-year deal with Besiktas, in the Turkish professional league, which may signal a permanent exile from the league, but then again, may not. It only shuts the door on a return to the NBA for one season. The pact gives him the flexibility to opt out after the current Turkish season is complete, and the speculation is that is what he will look to do.

This deal is curious from one standpoint in particular; it’s one thing for Stephon Marbury to elect to play in China as NBA interest in him had cooled considerably, because at least there was an angle for him and his Starbury shoe and apparel line to be exposed to the Chinese market. For Iverson, this is an outlet for him to bide some time until he is able to get an NBA interested. Or is it?

On the surface, it would seem kind of strange that someone who was voted into the All-Star Game; who is not very far removed at all from a 20-point scoring average, would be forced to head to a foreign outpost like this. Of course, we say that with an understanding of how many NBA teams embrace individual talent, sometimes to the exception of what is best for team chemistry. It has to be conceded, however, that Iverson tested the limits of patience NBA general managers possessed, and ultimately went beyond them.

Astute observers could tell there was not going to be a happy ending to his tenure in Denver, where he was joining another “me-first” player in Carmelo Anthony. When it was discovered by someone out there that two basketballs were not available at the same time, he was shipped to Detroit, a deal that improved the Nuggets’ team chemistry considerably upon the arrival of distributor Chauncey Billups. The flip side was that Iverson went to a franchise (the Detroit Pistons) that had fed on cohesion and immediately upset it. He was “poisonous,” in the estimation of many team observers, missed practices, and sat out quite a few games with “injuries.” which coincidentally came after he was told he’d be coming off the bench, something he had refused to do.

His next stop, the Memphis Grizzlies, lasted exactly three official league games. Iverson, who had averaged 31.2 points as recently as the 2006-07 season, once again had expressed that he was not going to settle for reserve status, but the Grizzlies, who wanted to use younger players in the backcourt, expressed that he’d have to. The inevitable happened, and after his release he made his return to Philadelphia, where he had thrived as a “role player” years earlier under Larry Brown (his “role,” of course, being the scorer). It wasn’t the same atmosphere the second time around, however, as the Sixers were going in a different direction.

The homecoming went sour after 25 games when he left the team for “personal reasons.”
His child took ill. His marriage fell apart. There were rumors of alcohol abuse, and those in the know have been aware for some time that he was in the habit of gambling – and losing – large amounts in card games and casinos. All that having been said, it’s quite possible that his Turkish excursion could have been prompted by a need for cash.

I know that Allan Iverson is now widely considered to be a “head case,” and certainly not conducive to a winning atmosphere, but all along I’ve just been wondering if it could have been completely different, even now, had he agreed to be a key reserve, because that’s exactly what he could conceivably have been with a good team like the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat. Hey, the Celtics took a shot with Marbury last year, and the Heat just signed Jerry Stackhouse, didn’t they?

Maybe we ARE looking at blackballing, to a certain extent, but it might be justified. What gets me are the NBA people who talking about this as if his exile is outlandish, because they haven’t stepped up to do anything about it. One of them who thinks it’s shameful is Larry Brown (referred to as “Next Town Brown” by New York Post basketball scribe Peter Vecsey), the peripatetic coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, who says “I wish I was in a position to help him, where it wouldn’t affect the other guys I’m coaching. He needs to be on a great team that has a chance to win (a championship) and could utilize what he does. He doesn’t need to be in Turkey.”

For a guy who is complaining about it, and has a playoff team, that sounds flimsy to me, but you can read some of the code words in his statement. When Brown asserts that it would “affect the other guys I’m coaching,” what he’s telling you is exactly what others say when they describe the negative effect Iverson can have on a team. The fact is, Brown wouldn’t have Iverson starting for the Bobcats either, as he is committed to Stephen Jackson and D.J,. Augustin in the backcourt. And let’s face it; he doesn’t want to deal with him otherwise.

Whether Iverson can tear up the Turkish league is not known, and frankly, I’m not sure it’s all that relevant. But I am certain he won’t be coming off the bench, a state of affairs that might make him happy. Of course, if he’s NOT happy, he may just come around to doing some soul-searching, which in turn might lead him to acceding to the role that NBA coaches and GM’s see him suited for, which is to provide “instant offense” off the pines. I don’t discount such things from happening, because he is, after all, a talent. And who knows, someday he might just be able to get earn himself a ring by coming to the realization that there’s no “I” in T-E-A-M.

If not, it’s going to be a case of cold Turkey. You know what I mean?

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