Iverson Story Conclusion Provides Look At Current NBA Decision Making

Try and hang on here, because this is a little more complicated than the naked eye would leave you to believe.

Now, the easy way to do this would be to have headlined this sucker 'Report: Allen Iverson Close To Signing With Bobcats'. Dime Magazine broke that story Saturday night, claiming a league source informed Aron Phillips that a deal is done, but can't be announced till next week.

Nice, and simple, right? Let's all start the Larry Brown-Iverson reunion discussion. And that could very well happen. But the fact is, this thing is a bit more complicated. And why wouldn't it be? It's only been going on for three months.

So, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who's kind of awesome, has refuted the Dime story, saying it's possible/likely, but not done. And he goes on to point out a plethora of reasons why it may not happen. Things like chemistry, minutes, and roster makeup all constitute logical basketball related reasons for this not to happen.

But you know what they say. Money talks, actual shooting guard that may create an actual effective offense at the cost of limiting an owner's ability to pursue his own interest walks.

A few years ago, we marveled at the decisions of NBA GMs who used to hand out long-term contracts to sub-par role players, trade valuable assets, and draft like they were loaded on Stoli at the roulette table. Now, we've learned a new phenomenon. The owner protecting his business interests.

Iverson's been linked in the last week to New York, Miami,and Charlotte (you may remember this sequence from such films as "Grizzlies Thinking About Doing Something Positive (Just Kidding!)" and "The Clippers Need Another Guard (Like They Need A Hole In The Head)"). But there are reasons why nothing's been struck yet, and surprisingly, they probably don't have much to do with the disaster in Detroit last year. Sure, Iverson's got baggage, but Jason Williams just got signed for God's sake. We're at the end of the free agency tunnel, guys and gals. After Iverson, the options are Puff The Magic Dragon and Jeff George (if you're Jason Whitlock).

No, the hold up with Iverson is that both New York and Miami are looking at their checking accounts with a nervous eye. New York has to somehow throw enough money around next year to land LeBron James, which at this point looks like a max-max-max deal AND signing another superstar to lure him. Miami's got to re-sign Dwyane Wade after whiffing on Lamar Odom while Wade's visiting Chicago and having his hometown chant his name. Memphis is too busy trying to shorten the floor for Zach Randolph (and figuring out a way to LoJack him from going into strip clubs). The Clippers are done with overpaying for a while, thanks. So really, Charlotte's the natural choice, right?

Well, not really. Bobcats owner Robert Johnson is rumored to want to sell this team as soon as possible, but he's hit some snags. The S.S. Bobcats Titanic is taking water and RobJohn's got his eye on the last raft. Some believe he's gone so far as ditching the franchise center for a shorter-term investment to get the price down. So from that angle, taking on Iverson, even short-term, is probably not advisable. He raises the value of the franchise. He's not going to be shopping for a long-term contract, he'll sell tickets and jerseys, and for all his faults, he's still, you know, good. Not 2002 good, but still, not Jason Williams, either. All of that makes him less attractive to an owner trying to inch down the price to lure in a buyer without tanking the value. And that's before all the PR issues surrounding an Iverson acquisition.

Now, it's still highly likely that Iverson ends up in the new Bobcat unis this seaon. A reunion with Brown has to be attractive for a guy trying to regain former glory, and the Bobcats desperately need a legit scoring 2. However, even if Iverson does end up with the Cats, it provides a stark example of the new NBA conundrum. Owners are now the complicating factor, and while teams aren't throwing out as many Jerome-James-esque contracts anymore, the problem now manifests itself as inefficiency thanks to ownership issues.

And don't even get me started on the Hawks.

Good basketball moves being bad business decisions is not a new development. But we're talking about a major shift in player movement based on a lack of confidence in the product. There are bad signs about the economy, and then there are bad signs in team ownership.