Iverson will start again

By John McMullen

Philadelphia, PA - Like many of you, I have a series of "go-to" movies in my DVD library.

Titles like The Godfather, Goodfellas and The Departed are sprinkled in with my true love, comedies like Anchorman, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Knocked Up.

Of course, no matter how many times I watch one of my favorites, they always end the same way.

Well, welcome to the Allen Iverson saga.

A.I. has always been one of my favorite basketball players. I was enamored with his enormous talent and gritty play, but did anyone really think his stay on Beale Street would end in any other way?

Granted, A.I.'s blowup was even quicker than expected but at the end of the day, acrimony was assured. Iverson is just too selfish to accept anything other than 40 minutes a night and 20-plus shots.

Allen Iverson left the Grizzlies, citing "personal reasons".

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome, Iverson and the litany of basketball brass that took a chance on him should be heavily medicated.

You don't have to be John Edward to figure out A.I.'s act has finally worn thin. His exit from Philly, an underachieving stint in the Rocky Mountains and his embarrassing final days in the Motor City soured all but the most loyal Iverson apologists.

Yet, desperate for relevance, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley took a shot after Iverson took to Twitter and "Tweeted" all the right things.

You know, all the A.I. cliches about how he is only concerned about winning and how he plays every game like it's his last. A 114-98 loss at the hands of the Lakers last Friday just may have been his last.

The mercurial guard left the Grizzlies on Saturday, citing "personal reasons" and the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported on Monday that the former NBA MVP is mulling over the possibility of calling it a career.

The Grizzlies gave Iverson permission to fly from Los Angeles to his offseason home in Atlanta to deal with the "personal problem," with no timetable for a possible return. A "personal problem" that isn't about health, family or the legal process. A "personal problem" that's all about playing time.

In his first year with the Grizzlies, Iverson missed the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury before returning to score 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting in a reserve role against Sacramento on Nov. 2.

He quickly spouted off.

"I am not a reserve basketball player," Iverson said after the game. "I've never been a reserve all my life and I'm not going to start looking at myself as a reserve. I've been a starter on All-Star teams, Olympic teams and NBA Finals teams." Now Iverson will get his wish. He will be a starter again...

Probably in some Atlanta-area rec-league.