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Griz majority owner Michael Heisley said Tuesday that there is no deal in the works for the Philadelphia 76ers' guard.
"I would say no," Heisley said on the eve of his visit to Memphis today along with NBA commissioner David Stern. "(Team president) Jerry West handles that side and I haven't heard anything from him. That would have big implications salary wise so I don't think the Grizzlies are in the hunt. If we were actively pursuing Allen Iverson I would think I would know about it."
Iverson is available after 11 seasons with the Sixers.
He has been inactive for the last three games after asking for a trade. The Sixers, on an eight-game losing streak, are reportedly looking to close a deal soon and have made the divorce all but final.
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Meanwhile, Pat Riley has Dan LeBatard and all the Miami beat writers in a tizzy over his recent comments, which almost seem like pleas for Iverson to force Philly's hand to trade him to the Heat.
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This was a sales call. Let's understand that up front about Pat Riley's comment. He should be trying to get Allen Iverson, should be pressing whatever buttons available and should be working every angle to land such electricity on his team.
That's exactly what he did Wednesday night, too.
The Heat coach was asked the question he surely had expected, linking the Heat to Iverson trade rumors, and he hit it out of the park.
"I would be delinquent in my responsibilities if I didn't have interest in Allen Iverson," Riley said after the Heat's 99-89 loss to Phoenix. "That's all I'm going to say. I'm not going to comment further."
And then he smartly did.
"Just like when Shaquille came out [on the market from the Lakers], I was frothing at the mouth. So my level of interest can be gauged on that comment."
Here's the fun part: That frothing comment isn't meant for you or I.
It's meant for Iverson.
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This is the difference between a proactive, winning franchise and a cautious, neurotic loser of a franchise.
Memphis in the Jerry West era has walked on eggshells to avoid trading for a superstar or All-Star caliber player. They'd either hurt chemistry or cost us depth or were too expensive or too big of headaches. On the other hand, Miami just won a title with two superstars (and some of our role players...) and now they're wanting to add a
third superstar.
All the while, Jerry West hasn't done anything significant enough for the owner of the team to catch wind of. And it's not like we don't have the pieces to get it done. Miami papers are talking about Jason Williams, James Posey (oh, the irony) and Dorrell Wright. We could beat that, but we don't choose to.
Whether Iverson would make Memphis a championship team is irrelevant. This franchise needs to something to spark the community's interest again. Unless they
still believe Mike Miller is in our core of "untradeable" assets.
Riley wants Iverson; West doesn't
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