Grizzly reality: A.I.-Memphis just marriage of convenience
We kept waiting for people to see the light on the Allen Iverson signing, and apparently, nobody did. By signing a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies and then invoking the vertical pronoun so often during his news conference, he betrayed himself as self-absorbed, self-fixated and self-ish.
Well, except for a few things.
One, he didn't get a contract offer from the Lakers, Spurs, Cavaliers, Celtics, Magic, Nuggets or any other title contenders. As near as we can tell, Memphis was all there was.
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| A.I. will get the band together when the Grizzlies tip off the regular season Oct. 28 vs. Detroit. (Getty Images) |
Three, they knew what they were getting, actively sought it, and are giving him $3.1 million to do exactly that. He is supposed to draw folks to the tumbleweed-infested Memphis arena, and if the other players learn from his A.I.-ness, then all the better.
And if not, well, that's really on Memphis now, isn't it?
• A.I.: 'This year for me is so personal' | 
Iverson
Iverson is older, he has lost a step, his body has been battered from years of playing hurt, and he never met a shot that he didn't treasure as he does his own mother. All these things are undeniably true, and those who say them aren't being unkind, they're being accurate.
But it's when his motivation for signing with the Grizzlies is questioned that we scratch our heads. He went to Memphis because he was wanted nowhere else, right? He does not have the power to make the Grizzlies a playoff team, and he wouldn't if there were two of him, correct? He would be mocked if he had said, "I'm going to make this a playoff team; look out Kobe, here I come," true?
This is not a deal designed for the long-term advancement of the franchise, he knows it, Wallace knows it, you know it and I know it. He is supposed to draw fans, which seems unlikely. He is hoping to inspire a contender to acquire him for the stretch run, which is possible. This is a marriage of convenience, not one meant to last, and everyone understands that.
And this, must we repeat, was all there was. It wasn't like he had reached J.R. Rider status, considering an offer from the North Texas Fresh of the ABA after not playing organized ball in eight years. Iverson wanted to stay in the NBA, and despite the mountains of evidence, Memphis is in the NBA.
So when Iverson said, "This for me is so personal," and that he wanted to prove his critics wrong, he was being genuinely A.I. He was also adapting to the conditions that prevail, which is that he had no other options. You cannot play when they don't let you in the gym, after all.
In other words, if you hate this signing, you need to take it up with the Grizzlies. But hide any surprise you have in your voice. This is the kind of deal that bad teams that don't draw make because they need the quick hit too badly to be choosy about the long-term view.
Plus, as big names go, Iverson was the only one out there, and beggars don't get choices.
In short, this is not a testament to Allen Iverson's inherent selfishness nearly as much as it is a testament to Memphis' desperate flailing. This is, in their view, a gamble for a few extra ticket sales at the cost of a year that wasn't going to be very good anyway.
Now that's selfish.
Ray Ratto is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.
