Iverson to LA Lakers?

[Multi-Billionaire]

Like I said, points are cheap especially in the manner of being scored by AI. That's why his 23-24 ppg is worthless.

 

Corey Maggete can average 25 ppg if he is allowed to shoot even more and has guts to face the risk of being assassinated by loyal Warriors fans (Legacy)

 

If I were AI I would seriously consider Europe to be the Beckham of USA.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Snake

[Real Deal]

Like I said, points are cheap especially in the manner of being scored by AI. That's why his 23-24 ppg is worthless.

 

Corey Maggete can average 25 ppg if he is allowed to shoot even more and has guts to face the risk of being assassinated by loyal Warriors fans (Legacy)

 

If I were AI I would seriously consider Europe to be the Beckham of USA.

...and you still disregard the fact that Iverson and the Nuggets were a 50-win team, and so were Billups and the Nuggets (just 54 wins) with the addition of a healthy Nene, along with Chris Andersen, and no Camby (who was an overrated defender).

 

You take Melo, Iverson, Nene, Andersen, Smith, K-Mart and the others...and they still get to the WCF and drop to the Lakers in six. No difference. It's not like Billups had to be there to contain Fisher, and Chauncey was terrible in the WCF anyways, shooting under 40% against us. At least Iverson shot 43.4% against us when we swept you guys in 2008, and he averaged 24.5 PPG in doing so. Billups didn't even rack up over six assists against us, nor did he get over 18 points per...and he also didn't even touch 24.5 PPG against any team in the playoffs this past season.

 

But you'd be saying the same thing about Billups once he's done with the Nuggets. The truth is, it wasn't Billups that gave Denver the four extra wins, it was the frontcourt additions and subtractions.

[Years]

I heard rumors about A.I to the Lakers earlier this offseason so I don't see why Laker fans are suprised

[Real Deal]

I heard rumors about A.I to the Lakers earlier this offseason so I don't see why Laker fans are suprised

Yeah, but that happens quite a bit. I also heard rumors that the Lakers were going after Hinrich, Sessions, Marbury and anyone else who plays the point and wants a ring (which is everyone who plays the point).

 

Mitch had no interest in Iverson to begin with. He just doesn't make sense for the triangle offense, unless he's coming off the bench, and that makes him less valuable anyways.

 

We were shopping Farmar, but that's because Shannon Brown has proven to be a legit backup and potential starter for us.

[Poe]

Billups changed the attitude of a very talented, yet very immature team. Billups' leadership on and off the court and his ability to control the pace of the game was much more valuable to this team than Iverson's ability to score. Iverson would not have lead them past the first round.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Poe

[Mac Dre]

You take Melo, Iverson, Nene, Andersen, Smith, K-Mart and the others...and they still get to the WCF and drop to the Lakers in six. No difference. It's not like Billups had to be there to contain Fisher, and Chauncey was terrible in the WCF anyways, shooting under 40% against us. At least Iverson shot 43.4% against us when we swept you guys in 2008, and he averaged 24.5 PPG in doing so. Billups didn't even rack up over six assists against us, nor did he get over 18 points per...and he also didn't even touch 24.5 PPG against any team in the playoffs this past season.

 

But you'd be saying the same thing about Billups once he's done with the Nuggets. The truth is, it wasn't Billups that gave Denver the four extra wins, it was the frontcourt additions and subtractions.

 

Hmm.. while i do agree with most of your post, billups was way more important than iverson. billups was a great leader, a great role model, a great defender, and made all his team mates better, giving them confidence, unlike iverson. iverson did none of this. all he did was score and think about himself (which he will continue to do). you can't give me the excuse that iverson gives 110% every game. what's the point of that? iverson still ruined team chemistry and did all the bad things to a team.

[magicbalala245]

AI ain't coming to LA. I like the guy but he ain't coming. IT will stun the growth of Shannon Brown.

[Real Deal]

Amazing how the Nuggets won 50 games with Iverson, then. Someone is going to have to explain that one to me.

[Mac Dre]

Amazing how the Nuggets won 50 games with Iverson, then. Someone is going to have to explain that one to me.

 

i'm not saying that iverson is a bad player. i'm saying that billups had the better intangibles, he was a better leader, defender, and willing to take one for the team if you will. when you compare billups and iverson you say "oh iverson was by far the better scorer." but then we all know how better of a leader and defender billups was.

 

if you take away billups from the current nuggets team, the one thing you notice that they need is a pointguard and a LEADER.

[Real Deal]

...so the Nuggets still won 50 games without a leader? That's pretty damn good then. I'd say that Carmelo should have gotten an MVP over Kobe in 2008, in that case.

 

I've been hearing the excuse that Iverson was never a leader. I heard it in 2000. I heard it in 2002 up until today. But I don't remember anyone saying it in 2001, when he joined the ranks of guys like Hakeem, that were able to lead a team to the NBA Finals without another offensive threat on the floor.

 

But I'm going to assume that it was Matt Geiger who led that team.

 

Chauncey sure didn't do much leading against us in the WCF. He also didn't in those previous seasons with the Pistons, especially when Daniel Gibson lit him up in a deciding game in the playoffs.

 

Billups is about as overrated as they come, especially when you start hearing a gullible Denver crowd chanting "MVP" during their games, when we all know he didn't touch Melo's production on the floor.

[Mac Dre]

...so the Nuggets still won 50 games without a leader? That's pretty damn good then. I'd say that Carmelo should have gotten an MVP over Kobe in 2008, in that case.

 

I've been hearing the excuse that Iverson was never a leader. I heard it in 2000. I heard it in 2002 up until today. But I don't remember anyone saying it in 2001, when he joined the ranks of guys like Hakeem, that were able to lead a team to the NBA Finals without another offensive threat on the floor.

 

But I'm going to assume that it was Matt Geiger who led that team.

 

Chauncey sure didn't do much leading against us in the WCF. He also didn't in those previous seasons with the Pistons, especially when Daniel Gibson lit him up in a deciding game in the playoffs.

 

Billups is about as overrated as they come, especially when you start hearing a gullible Denver crowd chanting "MVP" during their games, when we all know he didn't touch Melo's production on the floor.

 

The 08-09 team was obviously better, not just because of billups. injured people/suspended came back, but mainly billups was there to lead this young/inexperienced team. ok, heres what i think...

 

billups was a better fit for 08-09 because they needed a leader rather than another scorer, iverson was better for 07-08 because they just needed another scorer.

[Poe]

Billups is about as overrated as they come, especially when you start hearing a gullible Denver crowd chanting "MVP" during their games, when we all know he didn't touch Melo's production on the floor.

You can't be serious..

[Real Deal]

You can't be serious..

So Billups was more of an MVP candidate than Melo? I'd love to hear that argument.

[Heir Rose]

Iverson would be a bad fit for the Lakers. If you look at statistics alone and see how effective Iverson has been in the league, you would be wondering why no Lakers fan here wants a piece of him. But basketball is a much more complex game than many people think. Iverson can light up the scoreboard, but the Lakers have enough big-time scoring threats. Kobe commands most of the shots on the wings, averaging 27 PPG in the regular season. He and Iverson alone wouldn't work out together in the backcourt.

 

Then you've got Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom. Each of those players is very capable of creating a shot and scoring on isolations, and there's a good inside-out balance. If I recall correctly, Bynum was complaining of a lack of touches during the season. Imagine how frustrated he and the rest of his teammates would be if the Lakers brought in Allen Iverson to take away 15 or so shots away and disrupt the team's chemistry.

 

It just doesn't work. Iverson needs to sign with the Bobcats, period.

Edited September 5, 2009 by The Big Three

[Poe]

So Billups was more of an MVP candidate than Melo? I'd love to hear that argument.

07-08 The Nuggets were lead by Iverson and had 50 wins, but were an 8th seeded team and were out of the playoffs in the first round. The Pistons that season, being lead by Billups, had 59 wins, were a 2nd seeded team, and made it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals to lose to the team that won the Championship. The following year, Billups and Iverson get traded. With Billups as the Nuggets' new leader, the Nuggets increase to 54 wins as the competition in the West grew, increase all the way up to being the 2nd best team in the West, and made it to the Western Conference Finals and winded up losing to the team that won the NBA Championship. The Pistons, however, with Iverson as their new leader, fall to the 8th seed with 39 wins, and, of course, are out in the first round. Sure, AI was injured for that series, but would you have expected a different result if he had played? And what about Billups? Remember, he got the same Pistons team to win as many regular season games as Orlando did that year.

 

The results don't lie. Yea, we all know AI can score, but does he actually make his team better? Perhaps in the right system, but the thing about Billups is that he actually makes his teammates perform better. It's more than just distributing the ball well, and hitting the open man. It's his leadership. Coaches say he's like an extension of the coach on the floor. A floor general. AI, on the other hands, is what you call a "ball stopper". He kills ball movement out of pure selfishness. He prefers to have pretty stats than to win games. Even during this offseason he continues to prove how much of a selfish player he is. At his age and point in his career, he still refuses to go anywhere less than the #1 option on his team, even if it guarantees a championship.

 

Another special thing about Billups is how he affects his teammates both on and off the court, but the thing is, so does AI, but not in a positive way. When Billups is able to get fellow "Thugget" teammates J.R. Smith and Carmello Anthony to show up in games wearing dress pants, AI is inviting his teammates to party all night (yet he still has enough ego to say that he leads by example).

 

And about Carmello, perhaps there is still an argument that he could be more valuable than Billups to the Nuggets, but one thing is for sure, Melo is a much better player with Billups on the team. And whether or not Melo is more productive than Billups on the court, Billups is still the one controlling the pace of the game, talking to his teammates and giving them advice, setting the example.. things that you can't put a stat on.

 

 

I consider the former Finals MVP to be more valuable than both AI and Melo for one main reason: Leadership. It's the most important role on the team. You never see any team win a Championship without a great leader. Kobe, Shaq, Wade, Duncan, Garnett. When it comes to dominance, Billups doesn't touch those guys. When it comes to the amount of impact he has on a team, he's right up there with them.

[Multi-Billionaire]

...and you still disregard the fact that Iverson and the Nuggets were a 50-win team, and so were Billups and the Nuggets (just 54 wins) with the addition of a healthy Nene, along with Chris Andersen, and no Camby (who was an overrated defender).

 

You take Melo, Iverson, Nene, Andersen, Smith, K-Mart and the others...and they still get to the WCF and drop to the Lakers in six. No difference. It's not like Billups had to be there to contain Fisher, and Chauncey was terrible in the WCF anyways, shooting under 40% against us. At least Iverson shot 43.4% against us when we swept you guys in 2008, and he averaged 24.5 PPG in doing so. Billups didn't even rack up over six assists against us, nor did he get over 18 points per...and he also didn't even touch 24.5 PPG against any team in the playoffs this past season.

 

But you'd be saying the same thing about Billups once he's done with the Nuggets. The truth is, it wasn't Billups that gave Denver the four extra wins, it was the frontcourt additions and subtractions.

 

And what did that 50 win Nuggets team do? 1-8 in the playoffs, exit in the first round.

 

You're acting like just because I hate AI, I blame those seasons on him. I never blame him for those seasons.

 

And your saying we'd go to WCF with AI, and all those stats you threw are ridiculous... I didn't know you go with stats as much as this until now. Wow. You think I give a crap if Billups scores 5 pts or 35 pts? What he does on the court (and often off the court as well) is much more than junk teenager stats, it's called "leadership", which is what we didn't have in the pre-Billups era. We didn't get leadership from Melo, Karl, or AI. Billups stepped in and did that. You watch Nugget games as I'm sure, watch Billups on EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION directing players where to go, what to do, especially defensively. He makes us focus and makes EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION count, again especially defensively.

 

I'm sure you know what leadership is. What Kobe did last season was leadership, what you do on OTR is leadership, holding everyone accountable, getting in their faces without being afraid of stepping on anyone's toe.

 

AI is a chiken[expletive] because all he cares about is himself and he doesn't give a [expletive] about holding anyone accountable. He only holds one person accountable... himself. He has no interest in outside world.

 

Billups, through two rounds, was possibly the best PG in the playoffs. The first two rounds were probably the best Billups ever, even surpassing his own the 2004 NBA Finals MVP Billups. He guided us there. What does his poor performance in WCF have to do with getting us to WCF? He has history of wearing down as the playoffs go on.

 

 

I am not blind, I knew then when we still had AI we didn't have a chance to win with streetball style although that's my logical sense, my Nuggets sense still hoped us to win. But did I ever blame AI for not turning our streetball ways into an organized team? No. I was just hoping desperately he'd get traded so, like Camby, we cut down all the problems one by one. Even when my wish became true when he got traded to Detroit, I don't remember having a hate feeling towards him. All I cared about then was how happy I was that not only we got rid of a problem but we traded that problem with a solution. But did I ever imply he was the MAIN PROBLEM? Never. All I knew then he's being himself, he can't change his game but he wants to win very bad... which is what I respect.

 

But then I began to lose respect when he said he couldn't come off the bench, and would rather retire... So where does this "I WANT TO WIN" fire go all of a sudden? Vanish into thin air with his reduced role? This is the guy who says all he cares about is winning, but when a team says to win, he has to take a reduced role, and all of a sudden, he says, "ookay I'll take it back, winning is not the most important thing anymore."

 

It's [expletive]. I don't care if he has the most beautiful and graceful crossover in the NBA history. I don't care if he's one of the most explosive scorers the NBA has ever witnessed... I don't care if he has a heart so BIG it would explode. The heart was big when he was the first option, when he's delegated to the bench, the heart becomes very [expletive]ing small, which is [expletive]ing pathetic... It's all phony [expletive] to me. So all these years, he's trying to sell us the image that AI is this tough warrior who only wants to win goes down the drain in that instant. I don't know how many people realize this, I'm sure some give this a blind eye, but this is the [expletive]tiest selfishness I've ever seen. And I can understand and tolerate selfishness to some degree, as I'm quite selfish in a way, but not this [expletive].

 

 

 

 

And then of course, came news Michael Curry said the team always played poorly (aka zombies) on Sunday games, that's because they all went crazy on Saturday nights. Of course, the main culprit was, according to the article, AI who partied like crazy. And then another rumor came saying, AI did this often in Denver too, influencing Melo and J.R. That's when I started to lose respect and hate him.

 

Do you think if say Pau Gasol goes wild, party on the weekends, and ask other Lakers to join him, have disregard towards games, don't you think Kobe won't chop off their dicks?

Edited September 7, 2009 by Snake

[The Artesticle]

Good post Snake.

 

Do you think if say Pau Gasol goes wild, party on the weekends, and ask other Lakers to join him, have disregard towards games, don't you think Kobe won't chop off their dicks?

But...

 

we have that guy. His name is Lamar Odom. The same guy who stayed up until 2 o'clock in the morning partying and smoking weed at clubs the day before an NBA Finals game (two yrs ago when Boston spanked us). Kobe didn't do much

[Multi-Billionaire]

lol I don't know about that, but I think 2 years ago Kobe was warming himself to be a leader. For the full 2008-09 season, as he warmed up to new teammates, especially Pau Gasol, overcome his own social demons, you have to give it to him... he tried to be a leader, maybe not perfect, but on good intentions.

 

AI, on the other hand, is like a 34 year old being possessed by the unreasonable selfishness of a 12 year old. Can you imagine that? A 30+ yr old person acting like that? That's disgusting.

[Real Deal]

Haha, if the Nuggets had played the Lakers in the first round in 2009, with Melo and Billups, you wouldn't be saying any of this because it would've been another first-round loss.

 

Iverson was irate about coming off the bench because he wanted to win, and anyone that knows the game of basketball knows that a team will not win bringing AI off the bench.

 

You act like he's not a winner, but he's a former MVP and a player that led his team to the NBA Finals. Before 2009, Carmelo was in the same boat as Tracy McGrady, losing every single playoff series he ever played in since being drafted.

 

All I'm saying is that I find it very, very funny that you were telling me the Lakers were going to get killed against Denver in 2008. You had all the faith in the world in Allen Iverson. Then, you witnessed a sweep, mainly because Carmelo Anthony played like a D-Leaguer against Luke Walton.

 

Now, a year later, you're pointing fingers elsewhere? Please. Iverson shot 43.4% in the playoffs, scored 24.5 PPG, while Carmelo shot his 36.4% and scored 22.5 PPG. Hell, Iverson threw more assists, that selfish piece of trash...more than twice as many as Melo.

 

Carmelo also had five more turnovers and 14 more personal fouls in those four games.

 

I believe I know where the fingers should be pointing.

 

Iverson is probably glad he left Denver. I sure would be if some young failure was getting all the credit for the hard work I was doing.

[Real Deal]

Snake posted this right after the database was transferred, so it won't show up on the site now.

 

^Just like any other team would lose in the first round against those Lakers, because they're the champions... what's your point? Any team would lose.

 

Wrong... there's other ways you can show you want to win. You don't have to be the first option or starter. If you really want to win, you'd do whatever it takes. Gary Payton and Karl Malone took pay cuts and much reduced roles to join the Lakers although they didn't get it, they nearly did. Superstars have their days, and they know when it's no longer their time, especially when no 30 teams in the L are eager to sign them. But this piece of trash, as you put it, thinks the world revolves around him and he thinks he still has a chance to be that AI the freelancer and ballhog. Someone needs to twitter him it's 30 days away from training camp and he still has no team.

 

I thought the only thing that matters to him is winning, and now he can't do it? You're telling me if AI was willing to come off the bench, buy into whatever system, and be an offensive threat the contenders won't sign him? I bet the Spurs, Celtics, Cavs, and yes Nuggets would all be interested. But it's his ego that won't let him.

 

You and your theory, if AI was willing to come off the bench, and genuinely wants to accept his role, any team would be dangerous. Contenders would be even stronger. If AI was willing to buy into whatever system he's put into, you don't think a great scorer like him wouldn't help?

 

If you state all you care about is winning, all you care about is the trophy then you do whatever it takes to get/ earn it. It's clear he's no longer capable of convincing any team he can be a first option that takes 25-30 shots a game.

 

I hate him because the image AI himself had successfully established since he's in the L, "I'm all about winning, I have the biggest heart" is all fake, proven that he can't accept being a bench player to win. If he could do these, he would be on the Spurs, Celtics, Magic to contend for a championship. Instead he's talking with the Grizzlies, because...?

 

---

 

I don't see why you keep bringing Denver and Melo into this. This has absolutely nothing to do with them. I don't give a crap if you want to badmouth Melo or compare AI to him... it doesn't matter to me... because this is not what it is about. I hate AI not because what he did or he didn't do when he was in Denver. Only thing that I hate when he was in Denver the rumor said he had a lot of parties after games, instead of focusing on the games. But the point is even if he had never been a Nugget, I would still hate him because of this.

 

You don't understand when you have sold your image to millions of people, that you're a winner, for nearly frickin 15 years, you being a superstar, not some Brian Scalabrine talking on the podium, then you have to walk the talk... and when he revealed he can't come off the bench, he would prefer jacking up shots than winning, he betrayed what he'd been saying up to that point about winning being the most important thing and he betrayed people and his fans who believed him for 15 years when he said that.

 

Like Tony Montana said, a man who ain't got his word is a cockroach.

 

This is what I hate about AI, so please do not bring Denver into this anymore because it makes me want to laugh about the irrelevancy. You can say I bought AI about him being a winner, but he's a sore loser because he can't be a winner when he doesn't take 25-30 shots a game. That's just some [expletive]ing crybaby selfish 12 year old chicken[expletive] in a 34 year old man body.

[Real Deal]

Then if this has nothing to do with Denver, and you're just pissed off at him because he didn't want to come off the bench, you need to understand that Allen Iverson cannot come off the bench as a contributor. He's a volume shooter. If he's not getting his shots, he's not effective. Same with Reggie Miller.

 

In fact, I can almost say the same thing for any NBA superstar that puts up 20 shots per game.

 

Coming off the bench, Iverson never saw fourth quarters in Detroit...at least not the last six minutes of them, and there were games he didn't even get to play at all in the fourth. Really? That's a good idea? Don't even try to debate that.

 

If you have Allen Iverson on your team, and he's not 45 years old, you stick him in the game in the fourth, especially when your team is down by 10 points or so. No Rodney Stuckey will bring you out of that, and it's well-known that Rip Hamilton plays off the ball better than he does with it in his hands, and Prince is a better spot-up shooter than anything.

 

So let me ask you one question: what player, with the ball in his hands in the fourth, was going to draw enough attention to get everyone else shots?

 

Haha, don't even answer.

[Multi-Billionaire]

It doesn't matter really. Those things in Detroit are situational, a fruit of his own ego.

 

What Stephon did last year with the C's actually was one of the most admirable things a supposedly selfish former superstar can do. He said he was going to be a team player and not a headcase in the lockerroom. I thought when he said that, it's all BS, but he really did that. He walked the talk. Steph used to score 25 pts regularly but he could do it. He went into a game, he was patient, stayed within the offense, he passed the ball, took shots when he's really wide open, and was genuinely 100% concerned about doing his role right. Now I don't know what happened to him in the off season with all the videos, he's gone back to being self destructive again. But had he not done that, Steph would be on an NBA team now, easily.

 

Payton used to score 20 pts, then when his days are over, he sacrificed money and shots to join the Lakers. He didn't get the championship and Billups yo-yoed with him throughout the Finals and made him look like complete trash. So it further validated he's old and done. What did he do? Retire? No. He joined the Heat as a mere afterthought noone thought he would make a difference, but in the Finals he did his role and nailed clutch shots and contributed and finally got his ring.

 

That's the true definition of "winning is the only thing that matters". You don't care if you do it as a top gun or 8th/ 9th man. You just want to win it, you want to taste it. That's walking the talk, that's living the image that you establish.

 

 

Is this still year 2000? Because this is not the AI who used to regularly drop 40-45 pts and strike fear into opponents' heart, and ask him to reduce his role. He has aged, although he's still a very capable scorer, but he's no longer the same. If he can't be effective not taking 20-25 shots, then he should consider other things: facilitate the offense, move the ball, be a bug on double team, pass, and knock down shots when the defense neglects him. You have to realize when 30 teams won't sign you unless you're willing to accept a reduced role (e.g. coming off the bench) that means you have changed too into an aged, more ineffective your former self. What do you do about it? What did Steph and Payton do? You have to adjust.

 

If he is really about winning, then simple, he would be talking with the Cavs, Magic, Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Nuggets about joining them as a role player. In fact, he would have been on one of those teams by now. Instead he's talking with the Grizzlies about joining and he's in limbo now thinking about whether or not he should join them. So my question is why is AI thinking about joining a team that is not contending for a championship? When he, since he joined the L, maintained, he's all about winning? Hasn't he contradicted himself and his own image?

 

 

As you become older, you should gain more wisdom, but AI is still fighting for more shots and the alpha dog role, something that rookies, 20-24 year old players are worried about. All the stars/ superstars who have taken Payton route, sacrificed roles and money to win or try to win the championship are laughing at AI.

Edited September 8, 2009 by Snake

[Multi-Billionaire]

Sorry for double post, but don't want to keep editing so it's not confusing...

 

 

But to me, if you say "winning is all that matters to me" then you can taste winning as either a top dog or a role player. It still tastes good. If winning tastes good with you as the top dog, but does not taste as good with you as a role player, then it says a lot more about you and your own ego.

 

What, as the star you feel superior to other players, you feel you're important, otherwise you don't feel like you're not part of the team?

 

 

When Sixers reached the 2001 Finals, AI yelled "that's team yo" in the lockerroom to his teammates who had been fighting for loose balls, doing dirty work, on the receiving ends of elbows, knees, while he took all the shots. At the time, you just love AI, he just wants to win. But after all this, you rewind back to that point, when he says that, you know he didn't really mean that. It's just a player who's basking in his own glory as the superstar and he was addressing his maidens. It makes my head spin and turns my stomach.

[Real Deal]

Marbury took a lesser role and did little to nothing for the Celtics. Most Boston fans will tell you it was a waste of a roster space.

 

Gary Patyon came to the Lakers, took a lesser role behind Kobe, Shaq and Malone, and completely sucked in the Finals, scoring just four points per game, and never actually got the offense down to begin with.

 

Payton went to Miami, didn't even start half of his games (only started 30 because J-Will was hurt), shot 42% from the floor and scored 7-8 points a game, and rode Wade's coattails to a championship.

 

I respect Iverson for trying to take a bottom-feeding team to the playoffs. If he goes to a contender just to win a ring, he's just like every other superstar that gives up when they are in their mid-30's.

 

You see it as a heroic act. I see it as being a quitter, when he is still fully capable of scoring 25 a game.

 

It's really that simple.

[Multi-Billionaire]

It's not a heroic act, it's living your own legacy as a winner, not a loser. Do whatever it takes. You can't do it on your own during your prime, then you have to ride someone's coattails to do it, if you look at it that way.

 

AI was this "tough warrior who gets knocked down to the floor 10 times and he gets back up each time and drives to the rim even stronger and stronger each time. It's his drive to win, he has the biggest heart."

 

And now he's talking with the Grizzlies? That's his own legacy he's tearing apart. From a winner with the biggest heart, to a selfish immature old man.

 

 

You know when players sacrifice stats and money, they don't do it for the sake of living their image as a winner. They do it because they genuinely want to win and they do it for themselves. It's up to the public to view it as "heroic", "riding someone's coattails", or whatever, they don't care. They sacrifice it because they love winning. When AI is in talks with a team not contending for championship, when he's 34, you know he's not about winning, and all that image he had maintained up to that point has been shattered to pieces.