Allen Iverson is done with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The 10 time all-star will be officially released today. The Knicks should sign him now.
Let's face it. The Knicks are awful. They are 1-9 on the season and are last in the league in field goal percentage defense and are currently allowing a ridiculous 110 points per game.
At the Knicks practice facility in Greenburg, Head Coach Mike D'Antoni, Knicks President Donnie Walsh and several players talked about speculation that the man they call A.I. is coming to the Big Apple. If he does, will he be embraced?
Walsh said, "We'll check into it. I have always had a lot of admiration for him. I have a lot of respect for his career. He's a small man who did everything he could to win games and took a lot of hard knocks and always got up."
D'Antoni was cautious in his response. "We'll look into it and see if it makes sense. And if it does, the organization will do whatever they can do to make us better."
For the Knicks, it's all about 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and a host of other big name stars become free agents. They want to get under the cap and woo LeBron and at least one more player who can right this ship, which is sinking fast.
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D'Antoni said, "Whatever it takes to be competitive and win right now I think we'll do as an organization --but we're not going to mess up 2010."
Mike, we understand you need to protect the future but you can't make the fans watch this team for a whole season because they are simply unwatchable. They can't play defense. There's no team chemistry.
There's little to no excitement.
So bring in Iverson to protect the integrity of the franchise. Give the fans something to cheer about while they dream of LeBron becoming a Knick someday.
"The Answer" -- even at 34 years of age, can still play. And he can definitely shoot the rock. He's a four-time NBA scoring champion. Plus, he plays with fire and passion all the time. He'll make the kids better. He'll teach them how to work -- even if he once said "practice, we're talking about practice."
Knicks guard Nate Robinson, one of the few entertaining players on this team said today, "He's one of my favorite players ever. I love his game and wear the sleeve because of him. For me to play with him, it would be like a kid in a candy store."
So Walsh opens up the store now, get Iverson and give the Knicks a pulse and their fans something to cheer about -- until LeBron comes to town. Yes, there's always hope for Knick fans.
