March 20, 2015
I'll go out on a limb and guess Allen Iverson isn't about that analytics life, but he still wants to be a member of the Sixers' front office. In an interview with CSN's Marc Zumoff and Malik Rose during Wednesday's game broadcast, the future Hall of Famer said as much:
"I would like to be even in that war room," Iverson told the two M's. "Even if they don't go with my decision, or whatever, just to have an opinion and putting out what I think and trusting the organization to do what's right."
It has been a pleasant surprise to see Iverson occasionally around the arena recently, as he was someone who provided this city with a lot of great memories. In a sustained rebuilding period like the one the Sixers are going through, the current ownership has placed a premium on keeping a solid relationship with the franchise's past greats. Along with Julius Erving, Iverson is maybe the most popular Sixer of all-time.
I imagine that the current front office would probably pass on having A.I. around on draft night, but I could be wrong. As a former player with first-hand knowledge of intangibles, he would be a fresh voice to have around during the draft process, if nothing else. Judging from his comments, it does sound like he mostly just wants to be a part of something, to feel involved. There will be no snarky comments coming from this direction, even if the scenario might seem unrealistic at first glance. If there's one thing Allen Iverson has earned in his life, it's the undying respect of Philadelphia.
I could imagine the first meeting going something like this:
"I mean, listen, we're talking about numbers, not a game, not a game, not a game, we talking about numbers. Not a game. Not, not … Not the game that I went out there and died for and played every game like it's my last. Not the game, but we're talking about numbers, man. I mean, how silly is that?"
