Allen Iverson will be introduced as the newest member of the Memphis Grizzlies today. I'm not sure I have the words to describe how much I hate this move.
I do have a few questions for Grizzlies management, though.
- The Grizzlies have a fairly promising young backcourt with O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley Jr. One of those two -- Conley, most likely -- is going to wind up losing a significant amount of playing time to Iverson. Why mess with their development by bringing in a short-timer like Iverson?
- Do you really think Iverson and Zach Randolph will be able to co-exist... on or off the court?
- Don't you think Conley, Mayo, Gay and Hasheem Thabeet could be the core of a decent team?
- Don't you think your fans would rather see that core develop, than watch a once-great player pad his lifetime stats for a losing team?
The fantasy angle seems obvious... a big downgrade on just about every member of the Grizzlies, as Iverson will almost certainly leech shot attempts from everyone.