Bad rep or bad rap: History suggests Allen Iverson can be blessing, or curse, for his coach
By Scott Cacciola
Posted October 27, 2009
Allen Iverson, wearing a white T-shirt and baggy blue shorts, sank seven straight set shots from the right elbow, each attempt eliciting cheers from an enthusiastic crowd before an open scrimmage at Memphis University School eight days ago. It was a rare public viewing of Iverson in action this preseason: He missed all eight of the Grizzlies' exhibition games, a partial tear in his left hamstring limiting him to the training room and a spot at the end of the bench.
And that was where he planted himself when his teammates began playing without him at MUS, a good 40 feet of high school hardwood separating him from coach Lionel Hollins, who figures to own one of the most challenging jobs in the NBA this winter.
Iverson's time in Detroit was marked by controversy, but then-teammate Richard Hamilton backs up Iverson's claim that coach Michael Curry lied about Iverson's role.
Iverson long ago cemented his status as one of the finest athletes of his generation, a high-scoring guard celebrated for playing with an energy that borders on recklessness. But he also is notorious for his clashes with coaches, and if his injury freed Hollins from making a difficult decision — start Iverson, or bring him off the bench? — then it also delayed the process of incorporating him into the lineup.
When the Grizzlies open the regular season against the Detroit Pistons at FedExForum on Wednesday night, they most likely will be without Iverson, who has been limited to non-contact drills. As his return draws closer, his relationship with Hollins will be studied and scrutinized, a delicate partnership framed by Iverson's infamous blowups with Larry Brown — and by his experiences last season with the Pistons.
"I've had a lot of success in this league," Iverson said, "and when I hear those things about being uncoachable and not practicing — I never would've accomplished the things I've accomplished without those two significant parts of being a professional basketball player. It's a bad rap."
His image took an enormous hit last season because of his dealings with then-Pistons coach Michael Curry. In a recent interview with ESPN.com, Iverson accused Curry of lying to him about his role on the team when he was acquired in an early-season trade with the Denver Nuggets. Iverson said he had been assured by Curry that he would always be a starter before he began to hear whispers that he would be used off the bench.
He missed 16 games near the end of the season with a back injury. According to Iverson, Curry told him that his teammates would quit on him if he refused to come off the bench upon his return. Iverson played in three games as a reserve, but felt so disrespected that he decided to remove himself from the equation entirely: He sat out the final seven games of the regular season and the Pistons' playoff series with Cleveland.
In an interview earlier this month at FedExForum, Pistons swingman Richard Hamilton supported Iverson's account of the situation.
"M.C. lied to us a million times," Hamilton said of Curry. "He sat me and A.I. down one time and was like, 'I'm going to lean on both of you the whole year, just don't go to the media. Say you'll do whatever for the team and blah blah blah.' This was a week before he brought me off the bench. He lied. So I feel for what Allen said."
He added: "I think the person that we had didn't know how to take advantage of (our roster). Instead of taking advantage of it, he killed it."
Hamilton also discredited the idea that the Pistons, although upset about losing Chauncey Billups in the trade with the Nuggets, were unwilling to accept Iverson as a teammate. Asked if he ever had any problems with Iverson, Hamilton said: "Oh, no, no, no. We loved him, he loved us. We were all friends, we were all brothers. Like I said, certain people make it complicated when it shouldn't be complicated."
It appears that Curry violated one of the NBA's unspoken codes: A coach must be honest with his players. Curry, at least according to Iverson and Hamilton, was less than honest. And considering the star player with whom he was dealing, Curry could not have made a more disastrous blunder. That mistake, and others, wound up costing him his job after only one season. Attempts to reach Curry for comment were unsuccessful.
But Iverson also paid a heavy price — in the court of public opinion and on the free-agent market. By telling the media that he would rather retire than come off the bench, Iverson reinforced the perception that he was a me-first player. He is known for his candor, not his tact.
What Iverson demands more than anything is respect, which also helps to explain why he and Brown, his coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, so often sparred. It was the NBA's most riveting soap opera for six seasons.
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Originally Posted by Glan
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