The Answer has been the subject of a lot of questions recently. Is he worth the trouble? Can he co-exist with other good players (besides in the All-Star Game)? Is he the same player that he once was? Will he ever get a ring? The answer to those questions is still unknown, but it’s starting to look like it will be a no for all four of them. On AI’s past two stops on his road to becoming a bonafide journeyman, he has openly expressed his unwillingness to come off of the bench. Teams were willing to put up with foolishness from the young, tough, lightning quick, cold blooded, thirty a night Iverson. He was irreplaceable so Philly had no choice but to put up with his crap and he knew that. Everyone has seen that infamous press conference. “We’re sitting in here, I’m supposed to be the franchise player, and we’re talking about practice. Not the game. Practice!” There are only a select few guys in the past decade who could’ve gotten away with that. But AI is not that guy anymore. He can’t do whatever he wants. He has to realize that at thirty four years old he’s not going to carry a successful team on his back. He is now in the House Party 3 stage of his career as opposed to his House Party 1 and 2 days in Philly and Denver. House Party 3 wasn’t awful, but mediocre at best compared to the first two installments which were amazing. He was spiraling toward HP3 at the end of his stay in Denver. The trade to Detroit ( which was probably one of the most lopsided trades in recent memory) pushed him over the edge. He is drifting dangerously close to House Party 4 status which will indubitably force him into retirement. Either he will accept being a role player and try to get on a championship caliber team, or both he and his ginormous ego will fade into obscurity.
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