[外電] Iverson might be the answer to Miami …
By GREG COTE gcote@MiamiHerald.com
Source:http://tinyurl.com/l6vnqm
His nickname was ''The Answer'' back before that became a question. At age 34
he is no long-term solution for the Heat or any other NBA team. But here, at
least, he might just be something worthy of a new nickname.
Allen Iverson: ``The Gesture.''
Miami signing the free-agent Iverson, and the interest is mutual, could be the
pacifier that serves to mollify superstar Dwyane Wade, who has gone public --
though tactfully -- with his displeasure over his team being passive so far
this summer while rivals all over the Eastern Conference are making moves to
get better.
Heat architect Pat Riley's focus has been on planning for the much-anticipated,
bounteous free-agent summer of 2010, which is fine except that standing pat now
surrenders Miami to one more season of so-so. Of barely getting into the
playoffs and quickly getting out of them.
It's hard to blame Wade, 27, for impatience with that idea when, all around him
, he sees the Cavaliers giving LeBron James a little gift called Shaquille
O'Neal; sees NBA Final-ist Orlando adding Vince Carter; sees recent champion
Boston getting Rasheed Wallace; sees Detroit adding Ben Gordon; and sees
Toronto landing Hedo Turkoglu.
Miami wants to hold onto Wade every bit as much as Cleveland wants to keep James
when both can become free agents in '10, but while the Cavs are offering their
superstar incentive to re-sign by getting better right now, Wade so far sees he
is still holding up a roster both not good enough and stagnant.
Like Shaq in Cleveland, Iverson in Miami would be a star in winter, but a
gesture, a good-faith effort to make it that much harder for Wade to go
elsewhere rather than commit long-term to Miami.
Who knows? It might even be a start in somehow persuading Wade to extend his
contract now (he is eligible to do so beginning Sunday) rather than wait a year
and entertain outside offers.
By the way, Wade revealed Tuesday on Twitter that his Pinecrest home is on the
market for $3.3 million, but don't take that to mean he's leaving. He wants to
stay with the Heat. But he wants reasons to.
Iverson is gettable and affordable as the free agency signing period opens
Wednesday. More importantly, popping the 10-time all-star into the guard
rotation makes Miami clearly better, right away. He would bring the playmaking
experience at point guard that rookie Mario Chalmers cannot yet offer. He also
would bring more pop with the ball to a team that still needs an offensive
complement to Wade. Iverson can still create his own shot; he averaged 17.5
points last season.
The one concern with signing Iverson is that Miami would be pairing a veteran
who can be tough to handle with a still-unproven second-year head coach only
five years older than Iverson.
Yet within that concern would exist a very good opportunity for Erik
Spoelstra to prove to Wade that he can handle it all and become a championship
coach, so that Wade isn't inclined to engineer a behind-curtains overthrow of
Spoelstra the way Shaq did with Stan Van Gundy in 2006.
Besides, Iverson would be a nice fit here as Chalmers continued to develop at a
less pressured pace with substantial minutes off the bench. Criticism of
Iverson has rarely centered on his effort on the court. There aren't many guys
who'll hustle more or fight harder for loose balls.
Miami taking steps to get better now is important if Wade says it is. That is
the truth Riley must accept. The colloquialism ''Ain't nobody happy if Mama's
not happy'' sort of applies here. Wade's happiness and confidence in the team's
move back toward championship contention are what will cause him to re-up or
depart.
As D-Wade said this week: ''I want to make sure we're on track to where I want
us to be on track before I sign back.'' And: ``Build me a team.''
Mollifying and keeping Wade work in tandem with Miami also adding a major
free-agent in 2010 -- ideally Chris Bosh, 25, the 6-10 do-everything forward/
center who already has declared he will not re-sign with Toronto.
Miami would be safer to try a sign-and-trade for Bosh this summer rather than
risk competing for him in free agency, but that gets complicated because
Toronto's interest in Miami's big trade bait, Michael Beasley, might be
lukewarm.
Consider that Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo is the son of the Team USA coach
(Jerry) who just left Beasley off his 25-man developmental list for the 2012
Olympics. That was a hard slap of a snub that underlines what a project Beasley
still is perceived to be, and it's hard to think Toronto's personnel guy would
be in love with a player his father has serious doubts about.
That makes waiting a year for Bosh most likely, at which time neither money
nor the famous lure of South Beach will be as crucial in enticing Bosh as the
certainty he'll be paired with Wade on a championship contender.
For the Heat it has never stopped being about the one absolute priority:
Keeping Wade.
That starts with keeping Wade happy.
And if signing Iverson is part of The Answer there, well, do it.
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