Grizzlies owner, Iverson agree to part ways after just 3 games

The Allen Iverson experiment ended with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, 10 games into the team's season, and with Iverson playing in just three — all losses on the road.
"The Grizzlies and Allen Iverson have come to a mutual agreement that because of personal matters that forced him to leave the team on November 7, Allen will step away from the game at this time, allowing him to focus on those matters," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement.


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"As a result, we will be ending our contractual agreement with Allen, which will allow both parties to move forward. We wish Allen the best."

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said he was disappointed the sides couldn't make it work. He also stressed that Iverson's leave was due to a personal matter.

"Quite frankly, on a personal note, Allen has always been my wife's favorite basketball player. I thought it would be great for the city of Memphis," Heisley said.

"I'm disappointed. I think it would have been great for my team. But more importantly, I think it would have been a great opportunity for the people in Memphis to have playing on our team a guy who is one of the greatest players to have been in the game."

In three games with the Grizzlies, Iverson, 34, averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 assists and 22.3 minutes. His best game was Nov. 4 against the Golden State Warriors, when he had 18 points (8-of-12 shooting), seven assists and three rebounds in 28 minutes.

But Iverson, a former MVP, 10-time All-Star and four-time scoring champ (as recently as 2004-05), complained about minutes and his role off the bench after his first game, in which he had 11 points, one assist and two turnovers in 18 minutes.

It was a change from his introductory news conference with the Grizzlies on Sept. 10, when he said, "If it helps the team for me to come off the bench, then so be it. It's not something I want to do, but if it's going to help us win basketball games, then it's the right thing to do.

"I wouldn't have came here if I didn't feel like I was trying to win a championship. That would be letting the fans down, be letting the organization down. It'd be letting my teammates down."

Where does Iverson go from here? The Grizzlies were one of the few teams to show interest.

But what team will take a risk on someone who has shown he doesn't like coming off the bench for a playoff team (the Detroit Pistons last season) or a young team building for the playoffs (the Grizzlies)?

Heisley said Iverson can still contribute and predicted Iverson will probably be in the league at some point with another team.

"When you sit down and look at basketball — and I don't want it to sound like I don't have a deep-seeded care for winning — I would love for Allen to be there," Heisley said. "But I would like for him to get his personal things straightened out."

If Nov. 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers was his final NBA game, Iverson will go down as one of the all-time great scoring guards. He made jump shots from inside and outside the three-point line and was fearless driving to the basket.

His career numbers: 27 points a game, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Iverson ranks 17th on the all-time scoring list with 24,020 points.
[Edited 11/16/09 18:12pm]