Thursday, September 10, 2009
Iverson Press Conference Notebook
Posted by Chris Herrington on Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 1:35 PM
- The Grizzlies photoshop the future.
The Grizzlies introduced Allen Iverson at a press conference in the lobby of FedExForum before a large group of local media, civic dignitaries, and excited fans. Even before he took the stage, Iverson proved a uniting force, as Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowry and former mayor Willie Herenton shook hands before taking seats only a few feet apart. (Later, both Lowry and Herenton were introduced to a mixture of cheers and boos, Herenton lustily pumping his fist, shaking the haters off.)
When Iverson did stride up to the dais, wearing jeans, a baggy white shirt, a tilted blue Grizzlies cap, and flanked by coach Lionel Hollins, general manager Chris Wallace, and owner Michael Heisley, the assembled fans went nuts, Wallace beamed in a mix of surprise and amusement, Iverson smiled, and it was on. Periodically throughout the press conference, a fan sitting behind would bellow "A.I.! A.I.!"
The Convention and Visitor's Bureau's Kevin Kane presented Iverson with a Beale Street Blue Gibson guitar, a contingent of current Grizzlies players (including O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley) emerged from the practice court to take seats adjacent to the stage, and Iverson's wife and kids were introduced.
"What really impressed us is [that] he has that eye of the tiger that great players have," Wallace said by way of introduction. "He is eager to get going with the task of helping our team reach a whole new level."
Asked what his expectations were, Iverson spoke his first words as a Griz player: "To win."
"When you talk about the Memphis Grizzlies, a lot of people say just getting to the playoffs is enough," Iverson said. "My goals are a lot different."
Allen Iverson gets a gift:
Iverson, who touchingly seemed to tear up midway through the press conference, said all the right things: "I look at the roster and see the young talent that we have and I know we can be a good team."
But it became clear that there are issues yet to be worked out. Asked about his role with the team, Iverson said, "Everybody wants to start. I've been starting since I was 8 years old. I'm accustomed to that. But mainly I just want to lead. I've been places some of these young guys have never been, and I can help them get to those places."
Talking to Mike Conley after the press conference, it was clear that the team hasn't really ironed out how they plan to blend Iverson into the backcourt while continuing to develop Conley and Mayo. Conley claimed to be optimistic about the fit, but it's clear that things will get a lot more complicated when press conferences and interviews subside and training camp gets started.
Coach Lionel Hollins has a lot of material to work with, but no easy or obvious route to balancing the potentially competing interests of developing young players while fully exploiting Iverson's talents, keeping the long-term progress on track while appeasing starstruck fans. To Hollins' credit, his ability to relate to players was a strength in his half-season tenure as head coach last season. You have to feel better about his ability to manage this situation than if this mix of players had been thrust upon Marc Iavaroni. But it won't be easy. One thing seems clear: The assumption that Iverson will come off the bench seems far from an established understanding. I'd put the odds of him starting the majority of his games at at least 50-50.
Things started to get out of hand: One fan wandered to the stage to present Iverson with a book. Another got a hold of a microphone and told a painfully awkward story about a son who'd played AAU ball with Iverson before serving in Afghanistan and committing suicide. With that the floodgates started to open, the next questioner introducing himself as "Grizzlies fan." Host Pete Pranica then pointedly asked, "Any other questions from the media?"
Near the end, Iverson took aim at media questioning his shaky season last year: "[They're] talking about how I've lost a step. They trying to put me in a rocking chair already. It's going to be a personal year for me."
Finally, asked about his fan appeal in Memphis. Iverson noted, "I'm in Memphis a lot in the summer anyway." At that, a fan behind me said to a friend, "Sure is! Clubbin'."
Meanwhile, Pranica announced that #3 Iverson Grizzlies jerseys were already available at the team store, multiple team employees walking around with clipboards trying to sell season tickets, and everyone I could find seemed to be taking it all in with a smile and a hopeful shrug: Here we are, let's hope it works.
Comments (24)
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looks like they are going to have to expand the "thug " section of the plush club
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My God, man .... this is going to end SOOOOOOO horribly. I almost can't stand to watch.
I don't think he is coming off the bench. If you listen to A.I. He sounds hungry and think he's have something to prove. That could be a good thing for the Griz and that could be ah bad thing. I'm ready for the good. Lord knows we already saw the BAD!!!!!!
Well, he has to prove he still has something more than just desire left in the tank. I would not question his heart, but the rest of his body is banged up from years of driving the lane, and, other than selling tickets, I'm just not sure what he can do to get the Grizz into the playoffs.
The whole point, people, has nothing to do with what he can or can't do. The whole point is our future. OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay. This further stunts their on-court development and could potentially spoil their attitudes, to boot (if Z-Bo wouldn't have done that on his own). After this season, AI is gone. For better or worse. He'll either take 25 shots away from our future, score 20+ a night and go on to greener pastures having used us for precisely what he intended to use us for ... or, he'll spend the entire season complaining about his role and be a huge distraction, having wasted what could have been a really big growth year for our core.
It also shows us, with the slow down it will cause in the development of said core, just how little Heisley ever believed in his "three-year plan" ... If he wanted veteran leadership and a scorer off the bench, he had any number of other options - including using the #2 pick, which he surely could have traded down for precisely that (and maybe a pick, to boot). Instead, he insisted we waste it on a project that will be a huge bust and we then go sign two of the biggest me-first distractions in the entire league.
Hoorah. Just what OJ, Rudy, Mike, Marc and the rookies needed. Between he and Zach Randolph, I just have to wonder if the season will ever be more about basketball and building a winner and less about some moronic off-court argument or incident.
Just disappointing. I think we have alot of great young pieces and I'm thinkin I'll really like Carroll and Young off the bench. But, Randolph, Iverson and Thabeet are a huge, huge disappointment, IMO. Two massive distractions that do NOTHING for us in the years to come. NOTHING. Two years from now, what will they have done for us?
I guess I'm just rambling and ranting now. Might as well let it go. Another year, another circus. Can't wait for the first story about a rift in the locker room or about practice, etc.
ps - am I the only one who thinks his taking this season "personally" really means "I'll show everybody ... I'm gonna get my 25 shots up a night, score 20 a game come hell or high water and this team be damned ... this is all about ME!!!" ????
If he REALLY wanted to show everyone, get his best revenge, he would be the best damned 6th man/bench scorer the league has seen in who knows how long ... but, does ANYBODY really believe he is gonna do that?
Can we at least pray that Heisley is smart enough, if he's putting up big numbers, to allow Wallace to deal him to a contending team next spring for a nice draft pick or two?
Hate to break it to you guys, but . . .
You know, this actually MAY work out.
I dunno, I guess I'm tired of all the loser talk and pessimism. Iverson, Randolph and Thabeet have played exactly ZERO games for the Grizzlies. NONE. ZIP. And here you all are declaring the whole thing a fiasco, and how it's going to ruin O.J., Rudy and Conley.
You know, MAYBE, just MAYBE, knowing that Allen Iverson will be competing for minutes will light a fire under both OJ and Conley to take their games to the next level.
MAYBE Thabeet will block shots and scare people out of the lane. Maybe he'll get a last second block on Pau Gasol that helps us defeat the NBA Champions THIS SEASON.
MAYBE Zach's workout video isn't PR. MAYBE the dude's SERIOUS about coming into camp in shape, fired up and ready to prove he belongs in the conversation with Boozer, Stoudemire and Gasol.
MAYBE, listening to Iverson talk about his trip to the Finals can inspire the team to think big.
MAYBE having a raucous FedEx Forum cheering for the boys in blue JUST BECAUSE ALLEN Freakin' IVERSON IS ON THE TEAM will give our guys that added juice to finish a game instead of fade at the end.
MAYBE Lionel Hollins can take a franchise, city, team and players that have all been counted out as losers and forge it into a "We Against The World" unit that surprises the league.
When the record is 0-0, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
And you know, if I'm Rudy, OJ, Conley or any other member of the team, I'm more than a little offended that people assume that Allen Iverson or Zach Randolph is going to make ME miss practice or misbehave. These may be young men but they are MEN. They're grown ass men, not mindless lemmings who'll fall in line with the troublemaker in class.
Good god, we all work with the occasional jackass. Does their jackassery rub off on you? Or do you have a mind to THINK for yourself? How about this: If A.I. or Z-Bo get out of line, how about they'll have to account for their own behavior? And it MAY disrupt the team; or it may make a leader emerge (Portland's Brandon Roy, anyone?). But give these young men some credit. They've got home training. It's insulting to assume that they'll behave badly because the next guy does. Cut it out.
Look: Everyone on the team is sick and tired of losing. They all have something to prove -- even a 20/10 bull of a power forward and a four-time scoring champion. They are powerfully motivated. They want to make ALL Y'ALL shut the eff up.
Right now, the Grizzlies record is the same as the Lakers: 0-0.
Please, wait until AFTER the games to declare the team dead.
Until then, SHUT UP!!!
doghaus, they expanded the thug section a long time ago to accommodate all the crimminals that have been playing for the Tigers the last 9 years. By the way what is a thug?
Strongly agree with L3E...The exaggerated melodrama about how Iverson is bound to ruin the team and permanently stunt the development of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo is laughable.
This team has survived Jason Williams, Bonzi Wells, Antoine Walker, Darius Miles and other somewhat unsavory characters over the years. It will survive Allen Iverson, even if he turns out to be as much of a strong negative presence as some folks fear, which I think is HIGHLY unlikely.
I think it's much more likely that Iverson will be a positive presence, all in all.
Kudos to Mike Heisley and Chris Wallace for pulling this off. It was well worth the risk.
One more thing:
I think it's highly insulting how Chris Herrington, Geoff Calkins, Chris Vernon and other local media critics seem to enjoy dismissively deriding this whole affair as "circus"-like.
Insulting to Allen Iverson. Insulting to the Grizzlies. Insulting to Grizzlies fans who support the Iverson deal. And insulting to casual sports fans who are excited merely to have someone of Iverson's stature on the team.
Dare I say even racist?
LOL I was really really concerned for a moment there. But having lived here for 10 years I was afraid we would go a page of comments without resorting to the ol' reliable Memphis tradition. Oh one (me) of little faith Strait saved the day.
Thanks Strait for keeping the never dying "perceptions" that has become a local tradition.
Stay classy, uh never mind, Memphis
Well said L3E. Wish I still lived in Mempho then I would get season tickets but alas I live 7 hours away. Can't wait for that first game against Detroit, AI's former team!! Man, the forum will be rockin' for that game!!!
Just Imagine A.I Mayo Gay Randolph Thabeet>>>>GOod LIne UP---Im from philly u guys are going to luv this guy trust me!!! He plays every game like its his last... He Will Go Hard....And Will Get The Others To Play Better.. You'll See...HLong365@gmail.com....wish the sixers would of brought him back..... people act like he's done after one bad season in detroit..witch wasnt really a bad season it was a bad coaching job by curry... when he was with denver he still was top 4 in scoring, they were just unlucky and kept running into the spurs in the playoffs remember they had 50 wins with a.i.
uh, they are calling it a circus, because that is exactly what it appears to be....
L3E, surely telling people to shut up isn't the best way to disagree with healthy skeptism about two high-risk, high-reward moves.........
The atmosphere at the press conference today was circus-like in both good and bad ways.
Allen Iverson is playing a "Beale Street Blue" guitar, the room is packed, people are chanting "A.I.!, A.I.!" at random intervals, one fan is wandering up to the table to give Iverson a present, another is grabbing the microphone to tell a bizarre and sad story about his dead son. Pick your metaphor of choice but it was something.
Fair enough, Z. I just get frustrated. I defy anyone to identify an offseason move of any Grizzlies offseason that will have as much an impact as this one -- while there may have been arguably smarter moves in a pure basketball sense, this city has NEVER been as excited about this team going into camp as they are right now. This is hands down the biggest, splashiest move the Grizzlies have ever made. And some posters are still finding the thorns amidst the roses. I lost my cool. My bad.
I might disagree with the idea of "healthy skepticism" on this issue, much the same as I'd debunk the concept of "healthy optimism." To me "healthy" would only apply to either of those terms if it could actually do some good -- if it would make a difference. But in this situation, here are the constants:
For good or ill, Allen Iverson plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. So does Zach Randolph and Hasheem Thabeet. NO amount of optimism or skepticism will change that. Nor will it speed up the arrival of the season, so we can see what REALLY happens when these guys suit up.
So to my mind, it's not "healthy" or "unhealthy" skepticism. It's just plain old skepticism. And it gets on my nerves.
Wow , I have never seen so many crystal balls with so much S--- in them.
Here is what we have and what we know.
This Roster is significantly better than perhaps any in the history of the Franchise, maybe even better than the one that won 49 and 50 games under Hubie Brown.
SO, If you like to watch a young team with a certain HOF player on the roster, play his ass off to either make himself better or his team better, than get out there and do it. Quit trying to speculate if he is going to ruin the franchise or the young talent. Most likely, everyone on the roster will learn some things, perhaps good and bad, about playing this game on a competitive level that produces wins.
Everyone screams all the time about signing players who can really play, are tough, respected in the league, etc and then when one drops in your lap you don't know what to do with it.
Just support it if you can and leave the task of making it work out to Hollins, Wallace and the players. I am sure they all want to win just as much as we do.
I think that if A.I. kepts the attitude he has up, this will be a good thing. He has made it very clear, it isn't just about him, but the whole team. It's clear that second best is not good enough for him. He wants the team to make it to the top. As long as they make it to the top, as a TEAM, this will be a good thing. Wish them all lots of luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am excited by the prospect of AI on the Grizz. I have been for a couple of months now. If it blows up in all our faces, we can't exactly drop any lower in the cellar can we? When you are one of the worst three teams in the league for the past three years, do you really have all that much to lose with this kind of gamble?
Those who have argued against these moves over the off-season must have been insanely delusional. They thought we were "on the verge" of becoming a play-off team. Yeah, sure we were...
Oh, and while I like Mike Conley... his time as a starter is nearing its end. I have said it before, and I will say it again. When the coaching staff watches a practice featuring OJ Mayo (likely future all-star), Allen Iverson (perennial all-star and future hall-of-famer), and... Mike Conley... who do you think they will choose as their starting guards?
The correct decision is to let OJ move to his eventual position of starting PG, and have AI play the off-guard. Conley is a better than decent back-up PG, but he doesn't command the respect of the other players the way AI and OJ naturally do. (Not to mention the fact that he isn't as good a player as either of them on any level.) Now, the question "are there enough balls to go around" is a valid one for this line-up. But I would much rather have 4 out of 5 starters who are scoring machines, than the opposite problem. But like I said, if nothing else... we will be exciting to watch. That is enough for me at this point.
And for what its worth, I can't wait for the season to start. I don't know the last time I could say that about this team.
On one hand, I am scared of the possible Multiple Knucklehead Theory proving to be true, but on the other, I truly believe that these two guys absolutely HAVE to play nice at this point in their careers. Z-Bo has a family now, and has reportedly put his personal life antics behind him. He has been shipped, what, 3 times in the last 2-3 years? Every time, the team giving him up has had to take a huge hit in return value, because they were so anxious to get rid of him, either because of the personnel fit (Portland), or because of his bloated contract (NYC and LA). This is his last chance to prove he is worth anything close to that and that he CAN fit in and not be a distraction. By all reports, he was not a bad character guy in NY or LA, his last two stops. Similarly, Iverson got a reality check this summer when no one except the Grizz offered him anything even remotely close to what he was seeking in terms of contract length or salary. He will be on a mission to publicly prove that he can a) still be a major contributor, and b) play nice with others. So, as much as he might want to act out and become a distraction, doing so would almost certainly mean the end of his career in the NBA. I think he's smart enough to realize that, and I believe he will do everything he can to say and do all the right things for this team, if for no other reason than his own future. For better or worse, our team's success relies on the success of AI and Z-bo, and vice versa. I think they will find a way to make it work.
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