Ya know, I've had real mixed emotions with Allen Iverson throughout his career. I've defended him, I've chastised him, and I've respected him. But this is not the way I wanna see him go out. Not like this. Family is more important, obviously... and his ailing daughter needs his dad. But I just wanna see Allen Iverson leave the league without incident, not because something went awry off the court.

I get it. Iverson clashed with his coaches frequently. He hated coming off the bench. We all know what he thinks of practice. And he's skipped team events which were mandatory for him to go. Hell, his music wasn't very good (40 Bars by Jewelz was atrocious). I understand that he carried a lot of baggage wherever he went.

But I'm not going to lie, either, that he is just so fun to watch. Did he embrace team basketball? Not always. But I compare Allen Iverson to a guy who thinks he can save the world by himself. It's not the best way to go about things but Allen wanted to do it his way and it's quite an admirable quality. When he's out on the court, he just keeps attacking and that's just a player you cannot question when it comes to effort and perserverance out on the basketball court. It's like he's had a chip on his shoulder forever and with his diminutive size compared to the rest of the league, I can't exactly blame him.



For Allen to be coming off the bench, it's an insult to him. He probably thinks that people doesn't think he's good enough. To Allen, his best interest is to be the man leading his team to battle even if his body has betrayed him. Can he still do it? I still see flashes of #3 going into the basket without much trouble. But he's also 34 years old... and if he plays one more season, he'll be 35. Most people don't think he can lead his team to a championship but that's the only way Allen Iverson knows how to play basketball. It's frustrating for everyone else around him even if it is an admirable quality but, at some point, he has to know that he can't do it anymore.

That's why he took offense to Detroit. That's why he took offense to Memphis. He may have the green light to do so in Philly but, at this point, we may never know.

Like I said, I have mixed feelings about the way he exited. Of course, I'm sorry that his daughter is ill and I hope she recovers fully. At the same time, for my selfish wants, I don't want to see Allen Iverson leave the NBA like this. Even if it frustrates me that he doesn't want a supporting role. But I just want him to get one more shot at leading a team. He hasn't really had that chance since he left Denver. If he does come back and gets one full season of leading a team then we may get closure on the Allen Iverson saga. He'll either retire because of his pride or accept a supporting role and get one last gasp at a title run.

I just hope this saga isn't over yet.