Chris, are you able to do any follow up on this Iverson report? It sounds nuts, and I kind of think that it's just Iverson's people trying to up the bidding for him, but after we traded for Zach Randolph anything can happen.

Chris, apparently the Randolph deal is a handshake one . . . what do you think of perhaps SIGNING Iverson, then nixing the Randolph deal?

I agree, getting both is beyond risky, but if I had to choose, I know what THE ANSWER is . . .

One thing's for sure: there will be a culture change. As the perennial optimist, I can't help but think that Randolph OR Allen Iverson -- let alone BOTH on the same team -- would give the Grizzlies TREMENDOUS street cred in the 901 area code. The city may connect to the team in a way it never has before. And who knows, the love might spill over onto the court and all around.

Is this one of those, "just so crazy it might work" scenarios?

If Iverson is serious about coming and the price is right I think Heisley should consider it. Sure people that really keep up with basketball know AI is past his prime and really wont add anything to the team, but those that don't will be drawn to the games just because of the name. The crowds that AI will bring cheering for the Grizzlies could bring money and energy back to the franchise. It is a huge risk but it comes with a high reward if it somehow works out and for a stale team continuously losing support of fans I think it might be worth the risk.

If Iverson is willing to consider a small market short-term contract and coming off the bench...then shoooooooooooot yeah.

or is he just saying he wants to play here cause he thinks were the only team foolish enough to take him? (not that i think it would be foolish).

Chris Vernon is a joke. why does 730am allow this kid to have a show? guess they don't care about being the Disney Radio Network (with Vernon and the Stews)

In at least one way, grizzfan117 hit the nail squarely on the head.

Although part of me hates to bring race into this debate, I think local white media folks like Geoff Calkins, Chris Vernon and Chris Herrington have perhaps been secretly pining for the next "Great White Hope" in the form of Ricky Rubio and then David Lee. I think these same white media folks have been super quick to point out all the "baggage" that ultra urbanized (for lack of a better word) players like Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson would bring to the table.

But a sizeable number of non-white people in the Memphis area believe that Randolph and Iverson are much better players than the "Great White Hopefuls" that seem to be favored by local media. A sizeable number of folks in Memphis would be thrilled to see Randolph and/or Iverson receive another shot courtesy of the Grizzlies, regardless of all the "baggage" that so annoys the local media.

I'm among the sizeable number of Randolph and Iverson supporters. In fact, if the Grizzlies manage to sign both Randolph and Iverson, I would seriously consider buying season tickets for the first time since the team moved to Memphis.

I have to agree with Strait Shooter. If Memphis can bring in both Iverson and Randolph, then I am personally ready to forgive and forget this 400 years of oppression thing.

@strait shooter

how can you bring race into it? Paul Millsaps was on our radar, wasn't he? seriously, you think people who religiously and fervently support a league dominated by "non-white people" are racists? Let it go fool. People that follow the NBA, for the most part, don't view things through such a militantly racist filter as you.....you do know that the Tigers have no "non-white people" on their roster, right? Too bad the local media is holding them back for it. Jeezus, what a joke.

BTW, Iverson and Randolph have NEVER embraced the idea of team concept basketball, that's why people who understand the game are questioning Grizz leadership right now.

Straight Shooter:

I think people (meaning white people) are generally too quick to dismiss race as a factor in things, so I won't dismiss it here. I will make a few points:

1. I think it's pretty clear from my writing and radio work that I don't have much of a history of "pining for a Great White Hope" or otherwise over-praising players who fit that clean-cut cultural type. I'm one of the few sports-media people in town who has never lionized Shane Battier and I've long been openly skeptical of gritty college achiever types like Tyler Hansborough and J.J. Reddick.

2. I haven't really been extravagant in my praise of David Lee. When I did the list a few weeks ago of potentially obtainable power forwards I WANTED the the Grizzlies to go after, I think I had Lee 12th on the list, with none of the players above him "white." I much preferred Amare Stoudemire or Michael Beasley or Carlos Boozer.

When I listed the power forwards I thought the Grizzlies were LIKELY to go after more recently, I put Lee first (followed by Randolph). I do think that after the dust settled on the draft, Lee was the obtainable option that best fit the team (for the right price): a young, mobile, rebounding machine who could grow with the current "core." I think his whiteness is pretty much incidental in this analysis, but maybe not.

3. I think you would have more of a point if Randolph was just someone who embodied a certain cultural notion of "blackness" that some people find threatening. But that's not what he is. He's an actual person with a long track record of serious on- and off-court problems. With Randolph it's not a case of disliking tattoos and cornrolls. It's a case of disliking actual transgressions that have had a tangible negative impact on the teams that have employed him.

As for Iverson, I've always been something of an Iverson fan, but it's hard to deny that his career and role as a team player has not been headed in a good direction the past couple of years. And I don't think he makes any sense for the Grizzlies as currently constituted other than as an attraction.

Disclosure: I'm a black guy.

And to be explicit about my earlier comment about "street cred" -- yeah, I mean that in Randolph and/or Iverson, the team would have 1 (or 2) guys who seem to somewhat reflect the desired fan base. That is: Up from the streets, tough, can ball . . . and yes, black.

To be clear, as a black guy, I'm not saying that most black Memphians are troublemakers. What I'm saying is, that a lot of black Memphians can RELATE to those guys -- either one of their friends, cousins, neighbors -- they KNOW somebody like Randolph/Iverson. In Randolph's case, literally -- his barber is from Memphis.

What's been tough for the franchise is that it's had good players, but not the kind of street cred that the citizens would rally behind. As great a player as Pau was/is, the only bigger cultural mismatch likely would be Yao Ming. Shoot, for a while, the "blackest" player on the team was Jason Williams -- which is to go back to the "up from the streets, tough, got game" thing.

Mike Miller, good player -- from South Dakota. Lorenzen Wright, homeboy but not a star talent. Shane Battier, character guy and glue guy -- but (God I HATE TO SAY THIS), in the eyes of a lot of black people, "he talks white." (GOD I HATE THAT.)

People appreciated James Posey's hustle. Don't even remember Earl Watson. Dahntay Who?

But Iverson? He used to have cornrows. Somebody's proverbial cousin "Mookie" off of Riverdale had cornrows. Randolph got caught smokin' weed? Don't get me started.

I'm not saying those are admirable traits. I'm just saying that this team hasn't had players they could really fall in love with -- not even during the playoff years. What made the Hubieball teams special was that they just flat out OUTWORKED the other team -- something a tough town like Memphis could respect. "We know you're from LA (insert big market city here), but you come down here, we got something for you." If this team could adopt THAT mindset, it will have tapped into the "street cred" it so desperately needs to excite the city.

Both Randolph and Iverson could bring that type of attitude. Is it risky? Hell yeah. But I think it could pay off in unexpected ways. One thing's for sure: Hollins' people management skills would need to be razor sharp.

If Iverson was willing to come off the bench, he'd lead one HELLUVA second unit. Whether he'd agree to that or not is a different story. But I think one reason Iverson is interested in Memphis is that he knows he'd be worshipped as a champion/franchise savior here. Based on Philly, that can bring out some of his better qualities.

Bottom Line: If we added Randolph AND Iverson, I somehow think we'd win more than 24 games. Whatever we've been doing ain't working so . . .

Swing for the fences!

Disclosure: I'm a white guy.

I would love to see AI and Z-Bo on this team. But, I have to admit they're both in the top 20 (in Zack's case top 2 or 3) "difficult" personalities in the league today. With AI it's usually just a "me first" thing, which is fine with me. We need more of that. But, Z has seemed to actively try to screw up teams - weed, who cares - punching teammates and trashing coaches is more of a problem. I'm hopeful the past is the past and Z will be happy and productive here - he's certainly an upgrade in talent - but it's hard to ignore that track record.

It looks like we already have Randolph, so i won't debate his impact. However, I think we should go for Iverson. If he comes off the bench and is a good teammate, we'll be much better because our second unit will be able to score at will. If he pushes Conley out of the starting line-up, well then that's tough for Conley.
Also, I don't have a problem with our team being a sideshow (as long as we win). At least people will be talking about us and maybe we can get some national games out of this. The NBA is ENTERTAINMENT and I'm sick of being irrelevant for most of the season. Iverson is FUN to watch and if he gives us more wins, that's gravy.

Have to agree. Not a Z-bo fan, but memphis needs some nasty, and Z-bo brings the nasty. It wouldnt shock me if he really embraced memphis, if memphis will embrace him.

Note: there will be problems. Its just a matter of how he and the city work through them. And its going to be fun seeing gay and OJ playing off of him.

Does anyone know if the players even like Z?

This conversation has veered WAY off course. Strait Shooter, you are an idiot. People support the Griz when they win and play exciting basketball. Period. You sound like you're running against Steve Cohen. I love Allen Iverson. He's my favorite player. Would he fit on the Grizzlies? Not in a million years. He won't come off the bench, he'd hog the ball, he wouldn't practice. He'd kill whatever optimism and growth potential Rudy and OJ have built up. And imagine him and Z-Bo trying to play together? Give me the ball, no, give ME the ball! NBA execs don't care what color David Lee is. They care that he hustles and that he pulled down 11.7 rebounds a game. We are crying out for a solid rebounder. You think this kid wouldn't have helped? Let's pray that Z-Bo contributes more than he subtracts, and let's leave this old racist gibberish where it belongs--in the trash can.

Thank you, herschel.