Allure of Griffin Bringing A.I. to L.A.? - 籃球

Source: http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13334


Allure of Griffin Bringing A.I. to L.A.?

Posted: 7/16/2009 4:44:00 AM Bill Ingram of HOOPSWORLD


The buzz here in Las Vegas at the NBA Summer League is that the Los Angeles
Clippers are close to signing aging NBA star Allen Iverson to a one-year
contract for the team's MLE ($5.8 million). And while the impressive press
corps gathered to see 21 NBA teams compete at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center and
Cox Pavillion are all talking about, few actually think it's a good idea. The
reason is simple: we've now all seen Blake Griffin play.

There was a collective moan when the Clippers won the NBA Draft Lottery,
meaning they would land the highly-covered Griffin. The Clippers are one of
the worst-run teams in the league, with a glut of underachieving big men and
guards who don't understand the meaning of the word "pass." Far from being
the fiery spark he was with the Golden State Warriors, Davis turned into a
me-first player concerned more with his own stats than winning basketball
games from the first moment he donned a Clippers uniform. Sure, he averaged
7.7 assists per game, but he also shot a telling 37% from the field, putting
up his worst numbers since playing with the Charlotte Hornets during his
first two years in the league.

In the NBA a big man is typically only as good as the guy who's setting him
up, meaning Blake Griffin has his work cut out for him . . .and that's before
you talk about adding Iverson to the mix.

It comes as no surprise that one of Iverson's negotiating points is that he
wants to start. His other suitors - Memphis and Miami - have talked about the
value of having a veteran like Iverson as their sixth-man, which might make a
little bit of sense. He certainly sells tickets in Memphis, which is about
the only thing about adding Iverson that makes sense for the Grizzlies.
Dwyane Wade is waiting for the HEAT to make a splashy move before he signs a
contract extension, and Iverson could be such a move (though Odom would be
far better). But do you really undermine Mike Conley or Mario Chalmers to
give Iverson 40% of your team's shots? That worked wonders in Denver and
Detroit, didn't it?

So the big question is this: Why on earth do you saddle the top rookie in the
2009 rookie class with Allen Iverson when he's already going to have trouble
getting the ball away from Davis?

That one has all of us scratching our heads . . .and feeling even sorrier for
Blake Griffin. This guy is the real deal. Any team that doesn't run their
offense through him is crazy. But then . . .that's the story of the Clippers,
isn't it?


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