Knicks Will Not Sign Iverson

LJ4ptplay

Starter
Knicks Will Not Sign Iverson

Nov 20, 2009 10:19 AM EST

The Knicks have decided not to sign Allen Iverson.

The team had been considering whether to add Iverson to the roster after starting the season 2-9. As of Thursday evening, a deal appeared imminent. One source put the percentage likelihood of the Knicks signing Iverson in the high 90's.

Knick owner James Dolan was reportedly hesitant about signing Iverson for the remainder of the season.

Via Twitter (Howard Beck, New York Times)

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/62902/20091120/knicks_will_not_sign_iverson/#

I guess Dolan said no. Oh well.
 

smokes

Huge Member
I don't understand what source this is from, all the article says is Dolan was reportedly hesitant. That doesn't mean anything to me.
 

p0nder

Starter
dolan is just hesitant because of all the shitty deals we've had in the recent past and the fact that A.I. was trouble in Memphis. He wants donnie walsh AND D'antoni to sign off on this. They'll take their time, but i am thinking that by the end of the weekend AI WILL be a KNICK.
 

Asimov

Benchwarmer
i definitely think they will sign him....or risk pissing off people who really wanted him (like dolan cares?
 
D'amnphony.

The worst coach in the game, does not wanna look like an ass by signing Iverson to do what he thought his genius would help Duhon do. And he's makin too much money to upset him. donnie wanted Steph to at least play his last year, d'amphony said no. He probably did the same for AI.

They dont care about the fans. Team is crap, and no one is signing here. The will blow all that cap space on second tier players and then we'll watc0h the Jazz get the #1 pick.

Nice being a Knicks fan.
 

Asimov

Benchwarmer
lol..everyone got all excited...knicks were relevant for about 3 days

now back to nothingness...:teeth:

I guess Dolan was afraid AI would pull a sprewell on him
 
dam I Wanted Iverson We Need Him Now Dantoni Probably Said No Cause He Might Take Shitty Ass Duhon Spot **** Duhon He Will Never Be Shit I Hate The Way He Plays Hes To Slow Hes Not Aggresive He Cant Shot He Has No Defense He Barely Got Any Court Vision Iverson Gots All That And Could Take Over A Game I Hate This Move Not To Sign Iverson.
 

New New York

Quiet Storm
Damn Larry Hughes for that one good game! LOL

Cant miss something you never had. Wouldve made things interesting -in a lot of ways- but bottom line may have disrupted things more than it wouldve helped.

I was interested but not all that sold.

Truthfully we need a PG right now not another scoring guard
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
Its been confirmed. Knicks will not sign Iverson.

Dumb move IMO because it doesn't affect the 2010 plan and you wanna keep the fans interested. I guess they figured he was going to disrupt the great chemistry they have going on right now lol. I bet if they lost that game on Wednesday he would be here. They must feel they're turning the corner or something.

This is proof that this season means NOTHING to Knicks management.
 

RunningJumper

Super Moderator
Its been confirmed. Knicks will not sign Iverson.

Dumb move IMO because it doesn't affect the 2010 plan and you wanna keep the fans interested. I guess they figured he was going to disrupt the great chemistry they have going on right now lol. I bet if they lost that game on Wednesday he would be here. They must feel they're turning the corner or something.

This is proof that this season means NOTHING to Knicks management.
The plan too.If they do as bad as usual it might be hard to convince somebody to sign with us.
 

LJ4ptplay

Starter
Knicks' Answer: No to Allen Iverson

By BRIAN MAHONEY,
AP Basketball Writer


GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) The New York Knicks have decided not to pursue Allen Iverson.

Team president Donnie Walsh said Friday the team won't make any additions at this time despite its 2-9 record. He added the decision to pass on the former MVP had nothing to do with Iverson's ability to play.

"I've always admired him," Walsh said. "I think he'd be a great addition for a team that's in a different position than we're in and I hope he gets picked up."

Iverson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and became a free agent Thursday night. Walsh said he didn't feel Iverson was the right fit at the beginning, but began to think otherwise because it's "enticing to think that you can get a guy that can score the ball that way."

But the Knicks remain committed to building with young players such as Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, and felt a player who shoots as much as Iverson could hinder that.

"We feel like that could hurt our development in the future, so we want to go the way we're going," Walsh said. "There will be other things we can do during the year that will be more in line with what our philosophy has been entering into this."

I'm not very disappointed with not signing AI. But what bothers me is that Donnie said he won't make any additions and wants to build around Chandler and Gallo. Building around Chandler will only lead to many, many more losses.

He's got a one-track mind right now. It's all about next year. I doubt he'll even look into Ellis or Paul. The 2010 plan needs to be adjusted a little. Lebron (or any max free agent) is not coming here in 2010 and we'll be left with the scraps or resigning all of our players again and having the same team next year.
 

TunerAddict

Starter
Walsh explains Knicks' pass on Iverson
Comment Email Print Share
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
Archive
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Allen Iverson will not be the answer for the New York Knicks, who decided bringing the four-time NBA scoring champion aboard would be at odds with the franchise's long-term rebuilding plans.


Iverson
The decision was reached late Thursday night after discussions between team president Donnie Walsh, coach Mike D'Antoni and owner James Dolan.

"It did get interesting for a while because Allen's a great player and has always been a great player," Walsh said Friday. "You're 1-9 and you're thinking, 'We've got to get some help in here.' But when we rethought it and I talked to Mike and he talked to me, we feel that could hurt our development of the future, and so we want to go the way we're going.

"There will be other things we can do during the year that will be more in line with what our philosophy has been entering into this. And I want to really make it clear that this has nothing to do with Iverson. He's a great player, I've always admired him. I think he'd be a great addition for a team that is in a different position than we're in, and I hope he gets picked up."

It was unclear what the next move would be for Iverson, who was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and became an unrestricted free agent at 6 p.m. ET Thursday.

Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown has been calling NBA teams, including the Knicks, to lobby on Iverson's behalf.

Iverson has made it clear, though, that he sees himself as an NBA starter and would only be comfortable in a situation in which he would at least have an opportunity to compete for a starting position.

The Knicks easily could have plugged Iverson into their backcourt in place of struggling Chris Duhon, who also is not part of their long-term plans.

"In the beginning I didn't think it fit," Walsh said. "Then I started thinking about it, and it's enticing to think that you can get a guy that can score the ball that way. But as I went on, I started to think that he's going to take time from some of the players that we want to develop, he's probably not going to be there when the team is at its full strength down the road, and so we're better off sticking with what we've got.

"And trying to add to that, if we do, it'll be with people we think we can go forward with. Our goal this year was to develop the young players and to see which of the young veterans we have fit in to what we want to do in the future."

The Knicks never met with Iverson, instead conducting their discussions with his agent, Leon Rose.

Walsh said he would have scheduled a face-to-face meeting if the Knicks were leaning toward signing Iverson, but the situation never progressed to that point.

Walsh also realized that some Knicks fans might be disappointed by the decision to pass on Iverson, but he again reiterated that the franchise's long-term future is more important than the type of short-term fix a player of Iverson's caliber would provide.

"Yeah, I'm always concerned about that, but I don't think you can build a basketball team based on polls," Walsh said. "I hope we do the right thing, I hope the fans eventually see why we did what we did. There's always a second stage to this, and I hope it's favorable to us. In other words, 'Well, they were smart not to do that then, because now this guy's good.' So we'll see. But I did my best in trying to analyze this."

Walsh also tried to squelch speculation that the team's ownership dictated this decision.

"I think there's an idea that Mr. Dolan is calling me up and telling me what to do, and that hasn't been my experience here. I do talk to him, just like I did with my owners in Indiana, I tell him what I think we should do. There are times he plays devil's advocate, which I appreciate, to be honest with you, because sometimes you don't think things out as well as you think you do. And it usually comes down to that type of repartee. But other than that he's been very supportive 99 percent of the time."

From espn.com
 

Asimov

Benchwarmer
Donnie is right.

the knicks already have a gimmick player on the team- NATE

robinson.jpg
 

p0nder

Starter
This is retarded. You let Duhon play starter minutes that you could EASILY have given to AI. you ****ed this season for nothing but minutes for the young guys.
 

mafra

Legend
I think the fear Walsh has is that Iverson comes in and hogs the ball. I think in order for the Walsh plan to move fwd....Curry and Jeffries have to be dealt.

Sure, if we bring in Iverson and let him run the offense.... We might win 35 games. Iverson-Hughes-Gallo-Lee-Curry makes for a decent starting 5. BUT, is winning 35 games worth it if it means we can't deal Curry?

I think Walsh wants to run the offense through big Eddy. Pump up his value, drive up his stock and deal him the moment somebody makes a worthwhile offer. HECK, Walsh might even be cocky enough to think he may be able to get something more than just cap relief and escaping from Curry's 2010 committment- dare we say we also get a young player or a draft pick?

OR... as somebody suggested.... Maybe Walsh received a phone call from another GM and hinted another deal could be possible (Ellis, Mcgrady, Bayless, Augustine)?

Maybe even after 12-15 when we can deal Lee or N8?

OR, perhaps the owner (Dolan) stepped in and killed the deal.
 

tiger0330

Legend
It was a long shot given how tight Walsh has been with Dolan's money, the Knicks would have had to pay double for him with the LT. AI would have been a rental player for this year and probably could have helped the Knicks this year but I guess Donnie is looking at 2010 and beyond.
 

automatic

Rookie
hey, first post here, just joined the board, but a long time knicks fan.

I think the question is what would the knicks have gained by signing AI for a year. I think walsh figured that even with AI this team probably wouldn't make the playoffs, so really what would you gain? a slightly less painful losing season and a few more wins.

what would you lose? well, you'd have a player with a notoriously poor work ethic in your locker room alongside your prospects, and you'd have a constant distraction with at least the possibility of another marbury-like meltdown midseason. locker room turmoil and bad press and a player fueding with a coach all season is not exactly the best way to lure a top free agent next year.

and you'd probably end up drafting lower next year if you did manage to move up from 13-15 in the east to (at most) 9-11.

unless you really thought that AI would be enough to drag this team in to the playoffs, there didn't seem to be much point.
 

mafra

Legend
hey, first post here, just joined the board, but a long time knicks fan.

I think the question is what would the knicks have gained by signing AI for a year. I think walsh figured that even with AI this team probably wouldn't make the playoffs, so really what would you gain? a slightly less painful losing season and a few more wins.

what would you lose? well, you'd have a player with a notoriously poor work ethic in your locker room alongside your prospects, and you'd have a constant distraction with at least the possibility of another marbury-like meltdown midseason. locker room turmoil and bad press and a player fueding with a coach all season is not exactly the best way to lure a top free agent next year.

and you'd probably end up drafting lower next year if you did manage to move up from 13-15 in the east to (at most) 9-11.

unless you really thought that AI would be enough to drag this team in to the playoffs, there didn't seem to be much point.

Knicks do not own their draft pick this year- they traded it away (UTAH now has it) in the Marbury deal. SO, this season would be a disaster if they end up with a top-5 lottery pick and have to sit back and watch the JAZZ make their selection.

I think this team desperately needs to find a way to avoid that fate. THEY MUST won 30-35 games. I think with Curry back, and the idea that something better will present itself on the trade front, is main reason they decided to pass on AI.

We'll see what happens.

FOR NOW, the Knicks must forcefeed Curry and Jeffries. They have to do this b/c they need to trade both of them. After that, they'll look to see if anybody will give us something for Lee or N8 or anyone else.
 

automatic

Rookie
my bad on the draft pick. winning would be nice, but for me, i won't be satisfied with winning 30-35 games, or even going .500 or so and sneaking in to the playoffs. i wanna see a contender, a team that is going to be there year after year, and that's going to challenge for a trip to the finals.

if that means some short term pain while we play youngsters and prospects and bump up the trade value of some guys who aren't in our long term plans, so be it. it's more important to me to see this team take positive steps to build for the future than it is to see it make short term moves to barely shore up the present.
 
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