Knicks Will Sign Iverson Who Said They Wouldn't!!!

THIS WAS UPADTED AT 11:35 THIS AFTERNOON HE WILL HAVE A MEETING WITH HIM.





Allen Iverson became a free man again last night, clearing waivers and clearing the way for him to join the Knicks in time for next week?s West Coast trip vs. the Lakers, Kings and Nuggets.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh and Mike D?Antoni were planning on interviewing Iverson first as final confirmation of their desire to make this massive move that changes the entire face of this season?s club. There?s a possibility of Iverson coming to New York for a sit-down meeting ? the primary reason for the delay.
Walsh and D?Antoni said an official signing may not come until after the weekend. Walsh, who met with his scouts yesterday, is expected to offer Iverson a one-year, $1.3M deal unless the interview goes awry.
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AP
PACKING HIS BAGGAGE: Troubled NBA star Allen Iverson cleared waivers last night, opening the door for him to join the Knicks, perhaps in time for a West Coast swing that begins Tuesday.

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The Post reported in yesterday?s editions that D?Antoni told Walsh he endorsed the move. Walsh was leaning against pursuing Iverson, calling it ?a long shot,? until D?Antoni said he was all for it, a reversal of his position over the summer. A heavy recommendation from Iverson?s former coach Larry Brown also was a factor.
D?Antoni fears the Knicks? roster might not be better than its horrible 2-9 start and is concerned a 20-win season would scare away LeBron James. At one point yesterday, D?Antoni referred to the Knicks as ?dead in the water,? but he quickly corrected himself.
If Iverson sparkles and warrants a new contract, he could turn into a lure for James. Leon Rose is the agent for both James and Iverson, who has the Knicks on top of his list.
?We just don?t want to be rash about anything,? D?Antoni said. ?We want to try to make a good decision, make sure everybody is on board, make sure this is a positive move. It takes a little bit of time. We played 11 games so we have 71 left, so be it if it?s 68 or 66.?
The Knicks face the winless Nets and Celtics over the weekend.
?We?re at a point where, ?Do we need an influx of something else?? ? D?Antoni said. ?It?s always a fluid situation. We?re just trying to determine what is best for these players and this organization.?
Importantly, D?Antoni said he was not concerned about Iverson?s reputation ? something that worried him in the summer. ?I don?t think it?s going to be a problem, but that?s why conversations have to take place,? D?Antoni said.
Iverson would start ahead of struggling point guard Chris Duhon, who would become a backup. Nate Robinson, who is Iverson Lite, would also be greatly affected. D?Antoni would still keep rookie Toney Douglas in the mix.
Last night, Charles Barkley on TNT said, ?It won?t work. The Knicks stink.? Barkley added the New York press, which he called pejorative, would make life miserable for A.I.
Perhaps one other reason for the delay in his signing was the revival of Eddy Curry on Wednesday night in his season debut in Indiana, when he scored 10 points in 11 minutes and looked like the low-post threat that nearly made him an All-Star three years ago.
?I think it weighs in a little bit because we looked good in spots, but we?ve looked good before,? D?Antoni said.
A 10-time All-Star, Iverson is hardly the player he once was. After Denver traded him to Detroit last season for Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets became beasts and the Pistons struggled.
Iverson averaged 17 points for the Pistons and was bothered by a bad back. Iverson?s stint in Memphis was an unmitigated disaster, ending after three games.
?I don?t think anybody?s made a decision yet,? D?Antoni said. ?We?re going to keep looking at it. I don?t think we?re ready to say yeah or nay yet.?
A report Miami would pursue Iverson proved false, according to the Miami Herald.
 

Asimov

Benchwarmer
ESPN

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Eleven minutes of Eddy Curry helped doom the possibility of 71 games of Allen Iverson.

That was one of the nuggets of information revealed by Knicks president Donnie Walsh this afternoon as he explained New York's decision to pass on the opportunity to sign unrestricted free agent Allen Iverson.

Curry played 11 minutes Wednesday night in the Knicks' victory in Indiana, and Walsh said the continued rehabilitation and re-integration of Curry -- along with the fear that Iverson would take minutes away from the young players the Knicks are trying to develop -- impacted the decision.

"That's part of it, because Eddy is now on the team and we've got to develop a lot of attention to Eddy from a franchise standpoint, because he went out there in 11 minutes and I thought actually changed the game in a lot of ways. Their big guys were having their way with us, which big men do because David (Lee) is not a natural center, and when Eddy went in -- just the fact that he could take the ball and go at them -- I could see they went back on their heels and they weren't the same after that no matter who was playing. I thought he helped us win the game right there. He's got a lot of talent, he's got great size, you can see he's worked on his body tremendously, so yeah, Eddy is a guy we're very high on, and we wanted to work with him."
 

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.
 

SSj4Wingzero

All Star
Dolan wouldn't kill the deal, Iverson coming to the Knicks means more ticket sales, more jersey sales, etc.

What probably killed the deal was that if Iverson comes to the Knicks, he becomes their first option. Meaning Curry and Jeffries and etc. get fewer opportunities. Which is bad because Walsh needs to prove that Curry is tradeable..
 

Giants89FLY

Rotation player
Playing Gallo 17, Douglas 10 and Hill 3 Minutes but talking about “Development of the future”. Yeah, right…
Walsh better have a talk with Coach Mike about this ridiculousness.
I won’t shed a tear about Iverson. I guess he could have made the Knicks more watchable short term, but that’s not too important right now. This team’s young core need to be competetive. Not bringing in Iverson alone won’t cut it.
 

pat

Starter
Playing Gallo 17, Douglas 10 and Hill 3 Minutes but talking about ?Development of the future?. Yeah, right?


We all don't know what is going on behind closed doors. Maybe there is a reason why Dantoni is not playing them more. At the moment I am perfectly willing to let him do the coaching. As it has been pointed out by a lot of posters: talent-wise this team sucks badly.

We all got our hopes up because we expected some "coach-Carteresque" transformation based on work ethics and determination. This did not happen. Obviously. Maybe the player on the roster just don't have enough grit.

As I do not live in the US I cannot watch Knicks games on a regular basis, but what I saw tonight was that Duhon walks the ball up the court on every possession. This is not SSOL. If Dantoni is so desperate to play him nevertheless, it might be that N8 and Douglas obviously did something which limits there playing time.

Obviously this group does not work as a team. Gallo could have put 30 on the scoreboard tonight had they given him the ball every time he was open. There simply is no chemistry. Of course you can blame that on the coaching staff as well, but build a team which has great chemistry was just not on the agenda for last offseason.

I guess the management's idea was that players in contract years would at least bring a certain competitiveness and determination to the table. No they -- and we -- know they won't. If mike gets free agents which are worth their salary next year and we are still losing, I am perfectly willing to join in and chant, "Fire Dantoni", for now I just accept that we are in a rather dragging rebuilding-phase.
 

Paul1355

All Star
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.
Iverson would always feed Curry the ball. Iverson would be able to drive to the basket at will, like he always does, and that would leave Eddy open for the easy shot.

Iverson should have been here just because he could feed Curry better passes than Chris Duhon or Toney Douglas could.

Iverson was for 1.4 million, and we are paying Chris Duhon 6 million.

Donnie really had no excuse for not signing Iverson except for the idea that Mike D and/or James Dolan absolutely did not want that personality on their team, remember how they handled Marbury and you should not be surprised.

I hope you are right about Donnie getting a hint in trading Curry. If Donnie could trade Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and JEROME JAMES! in one year...then he should be able to dump Curry to some sucker team.
 
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