The big news of the night was the Sixers officially retiring Allen Iverson‘s #3 during a halftime ceremony at tonight’s contest with the Wizards. Iverson had officially announced his retirement back in October. He averaged 26.7 PPG and 6.2 APG in 914 career regular-season games, and scored 29.7 PPG in 71 career playoff games. Iverson, who also saw action with the Nuggets, Pistons, and Grizzlies, was an 11-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, a three-time member of the All-NBA First Team, and won the MVP award in 2001. Congrats go out to A.I..
More from around the Eastern Conference:
- Gary Neal is overjoyed at the trade that sent him to the Bobcats, writes Dan McCarney of MySanAntonio.com. Neal told McCarney that he got on the first available plane out of the city, as he wasn’t fond of how he was utilized in Milwaukee, nor about the direction of the franchise. Neal stated, “I’m excited to be playing meaningful basketball again. After three years of being with the Spurs, with every possession of every game counting I’m just glad to being back to that. I’m a little too old for the tanking situation.”
- Jay Yeomans of the Deseret News analyzes how Jimmer Fredette fits in with the Bulls, who he is rumored to have reached an agreement with earlier today.
- With free-agency right around the corner, Carmelo Anthony must be taking notice of how much has gone wrong with the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
- If ‘Melo is really committed to winning, then he should follow the example of Miami’s “Big-Three”, writes Moke Hamilton of SNY.tv. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all took less to fit in under the salary cap, and Anthony should consider that before signing his next contract, opines Hamilton. It will be the only way for him to bring other star players to New York.
- The Knicks might attempt to acquire Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau after the season if they let go of Mike Woodson. Marc Berman of the New York Post looks at why the Knicks should try, the probability of the Bulls letting him go, and what it might cost.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media looks at what Sixers GM Sam Hinkie can do with the five second-round picks the team has in this year’s draft.
- Metta World Peace has interest in joining the Pistons, according to his brother, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Allen Iverson is one of the greatest 2 guards ever, definitely the greatest 6 feet and under player. Prolific scorer and a good defender, with a just plain nasty crossover. He left everything out on the floor every single night regardless of what injuries he played with. A true winner. Definition of a gamer. Probably one of the toughest players of all time. Would have definitely won multiple championships on a better team. He was the face of the league IMO after Jordan left, and was a big part of inspiring me when it comes to basketball, but also as a hard worker. When I played basketball as a kid, I gave more than everything I had in every game b/c I learned it from The Answer. He deserved so much more than how his career came to an end. My Iverson jersey unfortunately is a kid’s jersey, so I wasnt able to wear it tonight, but I definitely enjoyed watching his go into the rafters. Amazing ceremony and speech. It is well deserved, and we will only await the day Allen Iverson is called into the Basketball Hall of Fame
Would it make sense at all for Carmelo NOT to opt out this season? He’d still get a higher salary, and potentially set himself up for a higher max contract, plus he would be a free agent with the rest of the 2015 free agent class (that’s considered much better than this summer’s) and he could embark then on a Big Three quest with those free agents, finding a team with cap space for potentially three of them?