Allen Iverson Hurts NBA Teams

Posted by Mark Barnes Dec 14, 2006

Philadelphia wants Allen Iverson gone, but it is struggling to find any takers. Numerous offers have been made for the NBA’s leading scorer and the former NBA MVP.

The moment those team’s general managers come to their senses, the offers are rescinded. There are two problems with completing an NBA trade for Allen Iverson. First, the price is very high – the 76ers want a combination of players and draft picks. Second, and a much bigger stumbling block, Iverson is still a cancer that can eat away at a teams flesh and bone.

NBA rumor central has identified possible deals with Denver, Minnesota, Charlotte and Sacramento, to name a few. Either Iverson quashed the deal, as he did with Charlotte (he’s too good for the bottom-dwelling Bobcats), or teams have pulled out, when the overall ramifications of adding Iverson were seriously considered.

Can you imagine the cantankerous Allen Iverson playing alongside Kevin Garnett in Minnesota? What possible good could come from this NBA trade? Minnesota has the makings of a fine NBA team and Garnett is a quiet, humble superstar, who doesn’t need a jerk like Allen Iverson messing with his game.

Most NBA coaches believe they can change a player and make him fit. Iverson, though, is the kind of disease that destroys even the toughest coaches.

He ran Jim O’Brien and Larry Brown out of Philadelphia. Even now, when the team is losing, which is often, Iverson can be seen on the bench, with a towel draped around his head, looking like he might cry.

The people really shedding tears, though, will be the GM and head coach who wind up with Iverson, if an NBA trade is consummated.

But if NBA teams keep their wits about them, Allen Iverson and the cancer that envelops him will never leave Philadelphia.