Let’s get something out of the way right up front. I love Allen Iverson. No, seriously. He is my favorite NBA player of all time. I’m completely irrational about him. I make excuses for him and purposefully overlook all of his flaws. I blame Billy King for mismanaging his prime years and hold King, not Iverson himself, fully responsible for the 76ers’ inability to win the NBA title while AI was here. I was crushed when Iverson was traded. I am an enabler and an apologist and I am not ashamed of it. I did everything but camp out in front of Knicks’ GM Donnie Walsh’s house when it looked like New York might sign Iverson, hoping that I would get to see my favorite player finish his career in a blaze of glory in the city where I reside. But the Knicks passed. And Lou Williams broke his jaw. And the next thing you know, Allen Iverson is back with the Philadelphia 76ers. I have no idea how to feel. Actually, that’s not true. I just don’t want to deal with how I feel. Because deep down, as much as I love Allen Iverson, I don’t think this is the right move for the Sixers.
Then again, since the 2001 Iverson MVP/Finals season there haven’t been a whole lot of right moves for the Sixers. From ill-fated attempts to find AI the second scorer he didn’t really need (Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber) to awarding absurd contracts to marginal players (Willie Green, Kenny Thomas, Samuel Dalembert) it’s safe to say that the percentage of successful moves made by Philadelphia GM Ed Stefanski and his predecessor Billy King is far lower than Allen Iverson’s field goal percentage ever was. So my while my angle is probably becoming clear at this point, it doesn’t change the premise. The Sixers signing Allen Iverson is the wrong move, but it’s not Iverson’s fault.
What we have here is just about a no-win situation. I mean, what is the absolute best-case scenario? Even with Iverson in the fold, the Sixers have two key players in Lou Williams and Marreese Speights who will miss the next two months or so with injuries. They still have no idea what they can expect to get out of Elton Brand. They have the wrong coach and they don’t play any defense. But let’s say Iverson has something in the tank. And you’ll be surprised to find out that I think he does. What is the best that could happen? The Sixers could make the playoffs and maybe, MAYBE make it out of the first round. That’s the ceiling, and I doubt that they even get that far. But say they do. What then? Do they re-sign Iverson for next year? Does he retire after the season? Essentially, even in the off chance that the Iverson signing turns out to be a success, the chances of his second tenure in Philly ending well for everyone involved are close to zero.
Of course, there are reasons for the Sixers to sign Iverson, and some of them even make sense. Just not from a basketball perspective. There is the “buzz” that AI generates and the boost in attendance that comes with it. But as a fan who follows the team closely no matter what, I don’t care about either of those things and neither should you. How does it make a difference to the hardcore fan if casual fans are talking about the team? If anything, it gets a little annoying. And while it’s nice to see the team do well at the gate, the extra money doesn’t necessarily make the team better. It just lines the pockets of the Comcast corporation. The 76ers are already over the salary cap and they more than likely wouldn’t go over the luxury tax no matter how much extra income they generated. They might be encouraged to spend their mid-level exception next season, but there isn’t a player available at that price that makes them a title contender any time soon. In fact, it might be nice if they were a little more diligent with how they spend their money.
That leads us to a convoluted way in which the Iverson signing makes basketball sense, but not really. The 76ers are SO screwed up, that their only option is to acquire as much talent as possible and make a “run” at…um, I guess the second round of the playoffs. But that’s dumb. It’s not the only option, it’s the easiest option and an option that allows Ed Stefanski to keep his job for a while longer. Again, I ask: What is the end game? What is the plan? There isn’t one. The Iverson signing will get the fans fired up for a little while, and for a while it will look like Philadelphia is embracing basketball again. But it won’t last. The fans, even the casual ones, aren’t dumb. They know. And next year, the 76ers will have the exact same attendance problems that they are having this year, because the fans know this is a rudderless, boring team that is is ultimately headed nowhere.
I was chatting with a friend the other day who was frustrated about a situation with his career. He was dealing with an organization that was involved in something he wanted to do (though only tangentially) and the organization was giving him a hard time because they couldn’t see how what he wanted would immediately benefit them even though, if they really thought about it, the long term benefits were immense. In his frustration, he said something to me that, as I thought about the Iverson situation, made a whole lot of sense. “I don’t understand people who are task-oriented but not strategic.” Sure, the Sixers have been doing stuff, but rarely has there been a strategy in mind. They had cap room burning a hole in their pocket before last season, so they spent it on Elton Brand. They locked Andre Iguodala up to a long-term, big money contract even though he wasn’t a superstar. They drafted Jrue Holiday even though he was a project (albeit one with a lot of potential) when there were point guards who were more ready to contribute immediately available in the draft. They hired Eddie Jordon to coach the team and install a system that did not fit a roster full of athletes who should have just been turned loose to play an exciting, up and down style of basketball. And that’s just the last few (Ed Stefanski) years. What was so valuable about Sammy Dalembert that they needed to spend all that money on him? Why did Willie Green need all those years? Why trade Iverson for a veteran point guard in Andre Miller when they didn’t have the roster to do anything more than just make the playoffs with him? Why not rebuild and/or flip Miller for some assets? I’m sure you can some up with more moves like these, and some of them even make sense in and of themselves. But there is no overarching philosophy that unites them, and combined they only contribute to mediocrity.
So now we’re in a position where the 76ers are relying on a bailout from Allen Iverson. The absolute ceiling for this acquisition is that it becomes an exciting distraction. What they need to do is rebuild, but they can’t. Or they won’t. Rebuilding would mean bruised egos and an admission of mistakes, and might even cost Ed Stefanski his job. There is a young core in place that could be the foundation of a championship team. Thad Young, Marreese Speights, Lou Williams, and Jrue Holiday should be playing together, making mistakes together, and forming the heart of a team that the city of Philadelphia could embrace. There probably isn’t a superstar among them, and one would be required eventually. But one could be acquired either through the lottery picks that would certainly come from letting those guys develop or through the cap room that would be available from only investing reasonable money in core players and not overspending for mediocrity. Alas, this is mostly a pipe dream. Instead, the Sixers have big money invested in Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, veterans who, while nice players, do not form the 1-2 punch of a championship caliber team. Instead, the Sixers can’t give away Sam Dalembert, who, while he may be playing some of the best basketball of his career this year, is still mostly boneheaded and can not seem to get it out of his skull that even though he is paid to be a star, he isn’t one. Instead, the Sixers give 40 minutes a game to Willie Green. Instead, the Sixers sign Allen Iverson and try to emotionally manipulate fans into spending their money on a directionless team.
Clearing house and building around the young guys would be extremely difficult, but not impossible. But it would take someone who is forward thinking to be making the decisions for the organization, and I do not believe that person is currently employed by the organization. I love Allen Iverson. I believe I mentioned that. I will enjoy his time back in Philly and hope for the best. But I refuse to be sucked in by the move. I refuse to contribute more money than I would have already to an organization that insults the intelligence of its fans. There might be some short-term benefits to bringing back AI, but it really only delays the inevitable. We’re all going nowhere just a little bit quicker.
