Love Boat: Memphis Officially Make Offer to Allen Iverson

RealGM is reporting that the Memphis Grizzlies have given Allen Iverson a contract offer, they write:

The Grizzlies made free-agent guard Allen Iverson a contract offer on Tuesday.

"Well I am about to begin another workout session. Agent informed me that Memphis made us an offer on yesterday. Stay tuned," Iverson wrote on his official Twitter page Wednesday morning.

Over the jump is a silly bit of video I'm sure you've already seen and some limited analysis. It's not really worth going into in depth because, as Heisley has noted in the past, Memphis is likely Iverson's fallback location. I don't expect that anything is imminent, and there is almost no chance that anything official will happen for at least a few days.

"Press Hop"- Iverson feat. Mora, Green, Namath, Gundy & T.O.

Well I'm glad I got that out of the way in this pre-Iverson, Allen Iverson analysis. I think its fitting to remind Grizzlies fans a few things about Iverson, which I will list in bullet form below:

• Iverson will likely come off the bench, but still play decently big minutes. He could definetly be an impact player off the bench.
• Reports that Iverson will stifle the growth of our young guards is likely overblown. If anything it will benefit Conley to have some time on the bench, I see him as a 30 minute starter with Iverson on the team. Additionally Iverson has been most effective with a game-managing point guard on the floor with him. Can Conley fill this role? Will Hollins make a point to have Mayo or Conley bring the ball up? Who knows, but doing so could be beneficial.
• Mayo played too many minutes for a rookie last season. His numbers plummeted in the second half because he lacked an effective backup. Iverson will ensure Conley and Mayo a capable backup.
• The Grizzlies will probably have very poor ball movement this season already. Iverson probably will not benefit in any regard. Yes, he averaged decent assists in Denver, but keep in mind that he basically touched the ball every play in an absurdly faced past offense.
• Signing Iverson wouldn't make the Grizzlies a playoff team. He is a contingency plan at best.
• Iverson is probably still better than he showed in Detroit. He is a player who requires a certain system, namely an isolation offense, to excel. With Mayo, Gay, and Randolph the Grizzlies look to do a fine impression of the Iverson Nuggets. I could see Iverson averaging similar numbers to Jason Terry last year if he does sign with the Grizzlies.
• Iverson will give the Grizzlies a roster composed almost entirely of offensively minded players. This isn't a recipe for success, but will be a lot of fun to watch.
• Addendum: Adding Iverson will likely raise the Grizzlies profile in the national media. I'm struggling to think of a comparison point, but I feel fairly sure the Grizzlies might get some face time on ESPN that isn't a Rudy Gay dunk on First Take. (from Ollerblueboy in the comments).