Allen Iverson deal with Griz born of desperation

[La Bomba]

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Chris Wallace was struck by the silence. There was a stillness that he found disconcerting at The Westin Buckhead Atlanta on Sept. 7. Even the hotel's posh restaurant, The Palm, was closed for Labor Day.

 

If nothing else, Wallace and the rest of the Grizzlies' brain trust were guaranteed an unexpected, almost unprecedented level of privacy for their meeting that night with Allen Iverson, who arrived at the hotel by himself, without an entourage, wearing sneakers, jean shorts, an oversized white T-shirt and a New York Mets baseball cap. No one hassled him in the lobby, because no one was around.

 

But there was nothing to hide from the public by then, not really anyway. It was more or less a formality -- one that Wallace, the Grizzlies' general manager, likened to a prenup, though this was the first time he had met Iverson face-to-face. And in a conference room on the fourth floor, they sat across from each other at a large oval table, Wallace flanked by owner Michael Heisley and coach Lionel Hollins, Iverson sipping from a bottle of water.

 

During their two-hour meeting, there was an understanding that each party sought something important from the other. The Grizzlies, the faltering franchise, wanted a veteran star. Iverson, the fading icon, wanted another shot. And it became ever more clear as the minutes ticked away that this was going to happen, that Iverson would agree to a one-year deal.

 

It is a grand experiment that will formally begin when the Grizzlies gather for training camp in Birmingham on Tuesday, but it also was the result of a restless process that unfolded in stages over the summer.

 

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/sep/27/iverson-deal-born-of-desperation/