Even though Allen Iverson will most likely be inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame at some point in the future, things have not been going A.I.’s way for more than a year now. More specifically, Iverson’s downfall began when the Denver Nuggets traded him to the Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups at the beginning of last year’s NBA campaign. Starting his short stance with the Pistons in the starting lineup, he was unable to consistently help his team and was subsequently moved to Detroit’s second unit. However, A.I. was not happy coming off the bench and publicly criticized the team before leaving the Pistons half-way through the season.

Thus, it was no surprise that most teams had very little interest in picking up unrestricted free agent Allen Iverson, after all he looked like a wildcard that could very well have a negative impact on an otherwise healthy locker room atmosphere. Eventually the Memphis Grizzlies offered Iverson a one-year contract, worth approximately $3.5 million. Due to the lack of options, the 10-time All-Star agreed to play for the struggling Grizzlies, hoping to lead the franchise back to the post-season. Given the fact that Iverson refused to come off the bench in Detroit, it was a bit strange that Memphis acquired A.I. Most importantly, O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley looked like a dynamic backcourt duo in 2008-09 and were generally expected to stay put for years to come.

Despite these circumstances, the Grizzlies’ front office was excited about heading into the new season with Allen Iverson and Zach Randolph on board. While Randolph seemed to fit nicely into the existing squad, Iverson spent the first week of action sidelined by a hamstring injury. Like many experts had anticipated, coach Lionel Hollins decided to play A.I. off the bench in the second week of play, limiting his playing time to just 22 minutes per contest. Although the former MVP put up a respectable stats line of 12.3 points and 3.7 assists per contest, he quickly became disgruntled and requested an infinite leave from the team due to ‘personal reasons’. Thus, it remains to be seen whether said personal reasons are due to a family issue or simply an excuse to quit. Considering that Iverson was officially listed as injured when he left the Detroit Pistons last year it is not beyond the realms of reality that A.I. is seriously considering retirement and might end his career after appearing in just three games with the Grizzlies. Another possibility would be trading Iverson, although it will not be easy to find a General Manager willing to bring him anywhere near a team’s locker room. On the other hand the former All-Star is a viable option to facilitate ticket sales in small markets. Either way, fans around the league can expect the never-ending story of Allen Iverson’s downfall to continue with a tremendous amount of speculation over the next weeks.

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