Allen Iverson is still searching for his home. He’s coming off a nightmare of a season in Detroit. One that ended in what was probably a fake injury. He wasn’t happy, the team wasn’t happy; it was hard to watch. This summer is about finding a way into a happy situation. That’s how Iverson wants to end his career.
There have been reports that Olympiacos is interested, but I know Iverson wants to make his mark in the NBA. The perfect fit for him is the Charlotte Bobcats. Why? Because they have almost no offensive, a city starving for a reason to buy tickets and a guy that Iverson already knows and loves.
The Bobcats have moved in a more defensive direction under Larry Brown. The trading away of Jason Richardson, for role players like Raja Bell and Boris Diaw tells the story. They need a player that can go out and score about 30 every night. Iverson is the only available player who has those types of skills. You can bash everything he does wrong all you want, but he can score and the Bobcats are in desperate need of offensive players.
I mean, who’s going to be your main scorer, anyway? Raymond Felton (who’s a restricted free agent right now)? Gerald Wallace? These guys can create their own offense, but let’s just say it’s not their forte. In other words, I might find it hard to watch them on offense as the roster currently stands. So, it’s a Larry Brown thing.
Something else the city of Charlotte is yearning for is a star player. With the current economic hardship everyone is going through, people want a name that rings a bell. Iverson is a very popular player who will sell tickets. If he was brought into Charlotte, he’d be a big part of their offense. That would excite the city. I would rather see AI driving the lane rather than a Tyson Chandler post up.
I also like the idea because Iverson has a great relationship with head coach Larry Brown. Brown coached Iverson in his younger days in Philadelphia. Their relationship had lots of ups and downs, but they left for other places on a good note. I remember when they Pistons played the Bobcats once last season. Before the game, Iverson went over and gave coach Brown a high five. You don’t see every star player do that. That shows the amount of respect they already have for each other.
The Bobcats could even sign him at a bargain. They could offer him a two year deal, worth a good chunk of the midlevel (I’m assuming the midlevel hasn’t been used yet). The second year of the deal would be a team option. That way, you can try him out for a year, evaluate with the rest of the league, and decide to use or not use that option. That way they could try to deal him away for some young talent.
Look, Allen Iverson at 34 is not the Iverson of old. He won’t be able to fill it up like he did in his glory days. But he can still create his own offense and change the game. In a place like Charlotte, he can prove himself worthy and try to put a more positive spin on his legacy. Why not actually score more than 80 points a game and sell more tickets, Bobcats?