michael jordan
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Legendary head coach Larry Brown once claimed that he urged Michael Jordan to bring Allen Iverson to Charlotte in the final years of his career. And despite having a respect for “AI,” the NBA great flatly turned down the idea.
Since NBA basketball returned to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2004, the franchise has always had trouble acquiring or developing a no-doubt star. However, back in 2010, then-coach Larry Brown wanted to reunite with the player he saw become a superstar in Philadelphia. But owner Michael Jordan had no interest. And his reasoning was fair.
“I wanted to bring him to Charlotte,” Brown said [h/t Basketball Network] in an interview from a few years back. “And Michael admired Allen. And Allen loved Michael. But Michael said, ‘Larry, if we bring him back, you’re gonna play him ahead of some of these young kids and that’s gonna prohibit our progress.’ And he was right.”
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Why Michael Jordan was right to turn down an Allen Iverson trade
michael jordan
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When Iverson was available in 2010, he was coming off an 11th trip to the All-Star game. However, he was also 34 years old and played in just 28 games the previous season due to injuries. His vote into the game that season and the year before was more the habit of fans voting for him on their ballots after being one of the best players in the game for a decade.
However, at that point in his career, he was clearly a shell of the dominant talent he once was. Because of his resume and their previous history. Brown definitely would have given Iverson ample minutes. Furthermore, it would have helped the then-Charlotte Bobcats sell tickets. But would it have made them a far better team? Probably not.
They were coming off their first trip to the playoffs in six seasons and seemed like a team on an upswing. While that never happened, and Brown was fired the next season after a 9-19 start, Iverson would not have saved them from the awful start. And developing their young talent in the hopes that they could be perennial All-Stars was the right move at that time.
Iverson signed with no teams in free agency that year and ended up walking away from the NBA.
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