You would think that Allen Iverson's chief goal this summer would be to land on a contender, in the hopes of winning a championship. You would also think that the Los Angeles Clippers would be low on his list of choices, given that the Clipjoint aren't exactly, well, ever contenders.But the Los Angeles Times decided to warm up the WTF Machine this evening (first via Twitter) as they heard out in Vegas that Iverson and LAC are in "very serious" talks to bring the future Hall of Famer out west.
Talks between the Clippers and free-agent guard Allen Iverson have been characterized as "very serious," according a source close to Iverson who was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations.It seems -- to me anyway -- like an odd marriage, especially at this stage of Iverson's career. Los Angeles has a very solid backcourt, in theory, with Baron Davis and Eric Gordon, even if the two players are on the opposite ends of their career, time-wise.
Bringing in Iverson means, one would think, that the Clippers want to make a run at the West immediately and that they plan on bringing Gordon off the bench, even though that seems somewhat bizarre given their commitment to Gordon as the shooting guard of the future.
Additionally, while I think that Iverson's "bad chemistry" factor is a touch overrated, this is a Clippers team with an already pretty interesting mix of characters between veterans Davis, Marcus Camby and the youth of Gordon and Blake Griffin.
Now, I'm not saying that bringing in a controversial character like Iverson -- at the mid-level, naturally -- would disrupt whatever chemistry the Clippers have rolling now, or that it would have a bad effect on the youngsters. But I do think that two things can/will happen: first, you undermine Gordon's development, provided he's not uber-humble and willing to take a backseat to a legend in the late stages of his career. And secondly, if the experiment fails and the Clippers don't win right away, what happens then? Because the answer probably lies somewhere between "chaos" and "anarchy."
Big NBA Names on the Move
Shawn Marion is now a Dallas Maverick. The four-time NBA All-Star was traded from the Toronto Raptors to Dallas as part of a complex four-team deal. Click through see which other NBA stars will be playing in different uniforms next season.
Gary Dineen, NBAE / Getty Images
Shaquille O'Neal
New Team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Previous Team: Phoenix Suns
Jennifer Pottheiser, NBAE / Getty Images
Ron Artest
New Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Previous Team: Houston Rockets
Philip Scott Andrews, AP
Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon
New Team: Detroit Pistons
Previous Teams: Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls
Carlos Osorio, AP
Vince Carter
New Team: Orlando Magic
Previous Team: New Jersey Nets
Fernando Medina, NBAE / Getty Images
Richard Jefferson
New Team: San Antonio Spurs
Previous Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Eric Gay, AP
Trevor Ariza
New Team: Houston Rockets
Previous Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Bill Baptist, NBAE / Getty Images
Jamal Crawford
New Team: Atlanta Hawks
Previous Team: Golden State Warriors
Scott Cunningham, NBAE / Getty Images
Hedo Turkoglu
New Team: Toronto Raptors
Previous Team: Orlando Magic
John Raoux, AP
Mike Miller and Randy Foye
New Team: Washington Wizards
Previous Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
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