Iverson is a Sixer again
Allen Iverson will once again be donning a Sixers uniform. Will it work out the second time around? (Al Tielemans/SI)
Talk about coming full circle.
We not just talkin’ bout practice. We’re talking about the Sixers’ first round pick in 1996, Allen Iverson, returning to the team with which he began his career.
At 9 a.m. this morning, the Sixers announced they have signed veteran guard Allen Iverson to a non-guaranteed contract through the rest of this season. The move comes after the Sixers lost starting point guard Lou Williams for up to eight weeks with a jaw injury.
The deal is believed to be for the league minimum for veterans. Since it is a pro-rated amount for Iverson, he would make $1,029,794. There is also a clause in the NBA bargaining agreement which gives the Sixers a kickback for picking up a free-agent veteran as old as Iverson, now 34.
This all comes because of an injury to Lou Williams, but out of the free agent pool, team president Ed Stefanski said in a statement released by the team that this is the right choice.
“In light of the recent injury to Lou Williams, which will sideline him for close to eight weeks, we felt that Allen was the best available free agent guard to help us at this time.”
Because of the recent youth movement the Sixers have taken on in the past couple of years, this will probably suit the Sixers best as a business decision first, and a basketball decision second. With his presence however, perhaps this young Sixers bunch will benefit from another veteran on the club, and as long-time columnist Bill Lyon described on Comcast SportsNet Wednesday morning, “cash in on nostalgia.”
Looking for tickets when Iverson ironically takes the floor against the team he was traded to on Monday? Here is the link for tickets to the Sixers and Nuggets contest on Monday.
back to the place where he belongs
This is gonna be something interesting 