CHARLOTTE
Allen Iverson needs a team and Larry Brown needs a scorer. They could reunite and talk about practice.
Seven years after his famous rant in Philadelphia during a feud with Brown over missing practice, Iverson is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Brown is coaching the low-scoring Bobcats, and Iverson was recently spotted in Charlotte.
That has fueled speculation that Iverson, who had a difficult season in Detroit after his November trade from Denver, could be paired with Brown again.
"I love Allen," Brown said yesterday. "Everybody documents our issues, but think of the body of work when he played for me. Pretty incredible. And I know he has a big chip on his shoulder now. He told me he'd been to Charlotte."
Brown just isn't sure Iverson as a Bobcat would be a good fit for the team or the player. For one, Iverson would have to play for a lot less than the nearly $22 million he made last season, and the Bobcats would have to clear salary-cap space to sign him. Iverson, who will turn 34 Sunday, would also have to adjust to a lesser role -- something he struggled to accept with the Pistons.
And would Iverson want to join a team that hasn't won more than 35 games in a season?
"I want him go to where he knows he can win," Brown said. "I think from my standpoint, I don't know if we're ready to win at the level I think a kid at his age, what he's done, should have. I want to see him go where he could win a championship."
But Iverson's agent, Leon Rose, said that Iverson would be willing to play for Brown again.
"AI has the utmost respect for Coach Brown as both a person and coach," Rose said in an e-mail. "I believe he would definitely be interested in playing for him again. Seeing first-hand Coach Brown's ability to build a culture and a team that plays the right way, he knows Charlotte will be a team to contend with as they continue to add pieces. I'm sure at the appropriate time these things will be discussed."
Iverson had the best stretch of his career under Brown, when he was voted league MVP and helped the 76ers reach the NBA Finals in 2001.
But Brown often bristled at Iverson's practice habits. It led to Iverson repeating the phrase "We're talking about practice!" countless times after the Sixers were eliminated from the 2002 playoffs.
"He was telling me how he made some mistakes," Brown said. "I said, ‘Wait a second, you've scored 30,000 points or so in our league.' I don't think anybody his size has done what he's done. So I told him to not even worry about that. Think of what you've done and what you've accomplished and move forward."
The Bobcats, who have to decide on whether to re-sign restricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton, ranked last in the NBA in scoring last season.
Enter Iverson?
"You'll have to ask Allen about me," Brown said. "But I think he knows that I know how to use him and what to expect. There are no surprises with me and him….
"He wants to win, he competes every night, he plays hurt. But I want to see it end the right way for him."
Brown also said yesterday that he would be "nervous" if an ownership change stripped Michael Jordan of his role running the team's basketball operations.
Brown said he hasn't spoken to majority owner Bob Johnson, who is interested in selling after losing tens of millions of dollars. Jordan owns a minority stake, but Johnson has granted him the final say on basketball personnel decisions.
Jordan, who gave Brown his record ninth NBA head-coaching job before last season, said in February that he would someday like to become the majority owner, but he has declined to address Johnson's desire to sell. Also, a different owner might force Jordan out of his position or demand that he first pay more for a larger stake in the team.
"If Michael is not involved, I'd be nervous about that," Brown said after putting six prospects through a draft workout. "I came here because of Michael. He's special."
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