Allen Iverson is Knicks' only chance to upgrade
November 17, 2009
By ALAN HAHN 
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - With nine losses in the first 10 games of the season, Donnie Walsh admits it does change the way you look at things.
"One-and-nine makes me look at my wife differently," he said.
So after twice bypassing on acquiring Allen Iverson over the past year, Walsh is now willing to "talk about it" as an option for his desperate team. Walsh is willing to consider almost anything at this point to save a season that already seems lost barely an eighth of the way into the schedule.
Coach Mike D'Antoni, upon whose record this season - rebuilding or not - will be permanently scarred, is apparently open to anything that will improve the talent level on the team. Even Chris Duhon, who stands to lose his starting role if Iverson arrives, said (though somewhat begrudgingly), "If it's going to help us win, I'll welcome anyone."
But the Knicks will stop abruptly short of anything that results in giving up their precious salary-cap space for 2010, which would remove Warriors guard Monta Ellis, who could be next on the trading block in Golden State, from the conversation. Ellis is under contract through 2013 at $11 million per season. "Whatever it takes to make us competitive right now, I think we'll do as an organization, but we're not going to mess up 2010," D'Antoni said. "We've come too far to mess that up."
Which is why Iverson, who was officially placed on waivers Tuesday by the Memphis Grizzlies, may be their only option for a talent upgrade. The Knicks have tried to engage the Houston Rockets in conversations about injured star Tracy McGrady, who has one year left on his deal at $23.2 million, but so far the Rockets aren't selling.
It is not likely the Knicks will put in a waiver bid on Iverson, who has a one-year, $3.099-million contract, mainly because it appears no one will. Instead, the plan would be to wait for Iverson to clear waivers Thursday and wait for him to become an unrestricted free agent. If they decide to sign him - and there are no indications that it would be immediately - it would likely be for the $1.4-million veteran's minimum.
Iverson over the summer listed the Knicks - who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday - among his preferred destinations for several reasons, including D'Antoni's guard-friendly system. Though the system isn't really suited for a score-first point guard, D'Antoni seems willing to bend the rules to make it work. In fact, D'Antoni already has started adjusting his style to better fit the talent on the current roster.
"Obviously, I like to play a certain way," he said. "I think I can coach any way and he can play any way. So I don't think it's a deterrent at all."
Among the pros to signing Iverson are his ability to carry a team offensively and inject some competitive fire into what is a very flat team. The cons? His demands to be a starter and the separate set of rules that apply to him (i.e. practice).
The Knicks' big concern is the potential negative impact Iverson could have on the development of young players, such as Toney Douglas and Danilo Gallinari. "You try to consider everything," Walsh said.
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