UPDATE 8.19.2009 :
ESPN has reviewed the Allen Iverson situation, tracking him on Twitter and interviewing sources from Miami, NY, and Charlotte. Chris Sheridan received these comments from Coach Larry Brown –
“There are financial factors, and there’s also the problem of the availability of minutes in our rotation with Ray [Felton, a restricted free agent], Raja [Bell] and D.J. [Augustin] — and those are a couple of major obstacles we’re trying to overcome,” Bobcats coach Larry Brown told ESPN.com Tuesday. “But at the end of the day, I want to help him, and it might be as his coach again. We’ll have to wait and see. . . I’ve spoken to a lot of people on his behalf, because last year was a difficult situation for him being put in where he was, replacing Chauncey Billups. That would have been a difficult situation for anybody. But I know he’s comfortable with me, and we’ve had a lot of discussions. When he played for me was probably when he played his best. Would I like to coach him again? Absolutely.”
Where is Allen Iverson going to play this coming season? That’s the big question about The Answer.
Earlier today, Iverson dropped this on Twitter –
If you think that I am just going away-Think again! I am getting ready for the NBA season. Waiting for the call. Charlotte, Miami, NY.
The topic of Allen Iverson joining the Charlotte Bobcats is truly grating. Some love the idea of AI leading the offense of the new-look Cats. Some see it as a disaster in the making. Could Iverson redeem himself, and lead this faceless franchise? Do the Bobcats trust him enough to take that gamble?
When you follow a struggling small-market sports franchise like the Charlotte Bobcats, it gets somewhat embarrassing watching your home arena fill up only when superstars from opposing teams come to town. Sometimes you try to convince yourself that your team has it’s own superstar, but Gerald Wallace will be lucky to make one or two All-Star games in his entire career. Die-hard fans (like us) will always follow the squad intently, but making the team accessible to the “casual fan” has proven nearly impossible. After NFL football went away, the organization and the team got a brief, sweet taste of fan support last spring as the team’s roster began to resemble a real NBA lineup, playing a better “ball movement” style that hadn’t existed before. Can they really just settle on having a taste, or do they want to hear some noise this coming season?
If the Bobcats make the move to acquire Allen Iverson, their marketing crew will be in overload for the 2009-2010 NBA Season. New uniforms, Tyson Chandler, Allen Iverson. . . sounds like a pretty good show to watch – however it turns out.
Im all for it if we trade felton for a good PF. Otherwise i dont think itd be a good move because i do think chemisty is a factor as well as iverson being in the twilight of his carer (i saw 2 more years). He doesnt help us on D though, and thats what LB wants right?
I wonder if we can get a first rounder for felton. That, or straight cash would be nice, but wed still be short of a PF.
It would be cold to just drop felton like that though. Although he wasnt consistantly a scorer, he got the job done efectively.
The last option i see would be taking the roster as-is and hope that they gelled and watched a lot of bromantic commidies over the summer.
Die-Hard Cats fanssss….. UNITE!!!
Also, if we're an option that means he's willing to take around 2 to 2.5 as we aren't going over the tax limit. If LB thinks he can deal with him that'd be a steal.
I think he'd be signed already if he was willing to take only 2.5 mil. He would be a steal at that price.
My comment in the other AI thread this AM:
spectre August 18th, 2009 10:02 am
For the AI fans:
“If you think that I am just going away-Think again! I am getting ready for the NBA season. Waiting for the call. [b]Charlotte[/b], Miami, NY. about 3 hours ago from web”
From twitter.
If we make him an offer (which means LB thinks he can make it work) than I’m fully behind it. If nothing else he’d bring an X factor and get the talking heads thinking about us again.
I would love the idea of having Iverson on the team, but not too much if Felton is part of the team. I like Felton pretty much, he's not great but he's pretty good. Right now he is the only trading chip we have left. If we trade Felton for a solid Backup PF and maybe a 2010 Pick. Then I'd sign Iverson for two years and MLE and start him at the PG. He has played with Bell before and I beleive his in the best interest of making things work right wherever he goes. Also, if he is willing to listen to someone, Larry Brown is by far the best option.
If we do that, by the time AI's contract is done, DJ will be ready to be our starting PG for the future. If it doesn't work, next year he'll be a fairly chip expiring contract.
Starting lineup:
Iverson/Bell/Wallace/Diaw/Chandler
Second unit:
DJ/Henderson/Vlad or Brown/BackupPF/Diop
SAC is counting on Tyreke Evans as their PG so I doubt they'd move a guy they're very high on in Thompson. If it was available tho I'd do it in a heartbeat as Thompson would bring a dimension we don't really have.
SAC is about the only team that could absorb the difference due to BYC, so really Felton isn't a trade chip. Since he became RFA he has say so in all trades.
GSW wouldn't do that and they don't have the space to cover the BYC.
Per AI's twitter page:
My people just informed me that we are getting close to a deal. I asked them to call me the when its done. I am so ready to know! about 1 hour ago from web
With our ownership situation I have to wonder if that really is us.
If AI is referring to Bobcats it's likely because new ownership has approved his signing.
Can we sign-&-trade Felton for Jason Thompson (& maybe Sergio Rdgz.). I’m not sure if Sacramento will be willing to do that, but they’ve wanted Felton before and they are not convinced on Udrih. Also, Felton is WAY!!! beter than any PG in that roster right now. And he’ll be reunited with his UNC buddy S. May.
Of course, I would LOVE to see a Sign-&-Trade of Felton (& maybe a 2nd Rd 2010 Pick) for Anthony Randolph. That’s by far the best case scenario. Because unfortunately, we’ll not going to get Boozer.
Sign AI and then figure out a way to trade Felton for Brandon Wright. If that goes down, the playoffs are a lock.
2 things holding this up: one, the Bobcats ownership situation (for sale, not for sale, which is it?) and two, lining up the sign-and-trade of Felton for a PF.
Also, could the person tweeting for AI at least make an attempt to sound like a 34-year-old professional basketball player and not a 10th grader running for class president? "One doesn't plan to fail, they fail to plan" and all the exclamation points! Jeez…
charlotte needs AI,its a win win situation.
i love what u bloggers are doing, i feel like i get more news on here than i would the charlotte observer, thanks for the updates and inside info, keep doin what u do!!!
To E, Twitter has Verified Accounts which is what @AllenIverson. It's either him or someone he knows with access to his account.
From Dime magazine: "Friday night, Dime’s Aron Phillips spoke to an unnamed source who works in the NBA and said that Allen Iverson has worked out the details of a contract with the Charlotte Bobcats, but the deal won’t be official until next week."
Based on all the other buzz I have seen I think AI is a Bobcat. This also lines up with Bob Johnson's return to Charlotte. Press conference anyone?
We've been talking about AI to the Bobcats since April. Bonnell has trashed us (and everybody else) for even bringing up the possibility. Of course, he's also the one who said that I was an idiot for thinking that Okafor would be traded this offseason.
We're prepping blow-out A.I. coverage for the coming week. Let's hope that they've also found a way to trade Raymond for a decent backup PF.
Thanks to everyone for checking out the Baseline.
Needed some info on this for the school paper thanks with this.