NBA / Aug 28, 2009 / 12:21 pm

Billy King: “Allen never made the people around him better”

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Allen Iverson & Billy King

While I can understand after spending 10 seasons in the front office that former Sixers GM Billy King has a thing or two to say about Allen Iverson, but this just seems to be putting the future first ballot Hall of Famer on blast. Definitely not the kind of endorsement you want from your former boss when you’re currently unemployed:

“Allen never made the people around him better in the first place, because it’s always about Allen,” King told the Observer. “Everything is about Allen, and it can’t all be about Allen at this point in his career. He’s no longer that intimidating figure who can just blow by everybody. So he’s got to do other things, and I’m not sure he will.”

King believes Iverson is so conditioned to a certain mindset that it’s too late, at 34, for him to re-invent himself.

“(Iverson’s) personality is to say, ‘I can still do this. I can take all the shots and stay out late and do everything I did in my 20s,’” King described. “He needs to get to the foul line (to be effective) and if that doesn’t work, he’ll be very quick to yell at the referees for not giving him calls.”

I would have to disagree with King though, and say that Iverson would make the people around him better. While it might not show up in the stat sheet quite the same way as playing alongside Steve Nash or Jason Kidd, Iverson was able to make Eric Snow look like a legit NBA starting point guard for years.

Regardless of what team he ends up on, do you think Iverson will be a positive impact on the team?

Source: The Charlotte Observer

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  • K Dizzle

    This ain’t news…..at all.
    A.I. never really made anybody better offensively cuz the lineup was full of defensive studs who had to cover for his defiencies. Very few superstars actually make their teammates better. You gotta do that on your own. Durin the 3 year stretch where AI averaged 32 and 7, I still don’t remember Snow hittin a jumpshot or Lynch & Ratliff showin anything that resembled an offensive move. Even the all time greats didn’t really “make their teammates better” I say that to say this. With players like KG, Lebron, Magic, Bird, Mike, Kobe, they got smarter with experience and learned to pass outta double teams and find the open man by readin the defense, but that’s where it ends. It was up to Paxson and Kerr to hit those wide open looks. It was up to McHale and Parrish and DJ to create their shots when Bird found them. Same this past season with Gasol and Fisher hittin the big shots.

    This ain’t news. AI always been a score first, score second, pass when I feel like it guard. Larry Brown was just smart enough to realize this and make sure that the rest of the squad made up for AI’s style. I ain’t hear King talkin this shit when AI was in his prime, keepin him employed. Now dude is 34 and on the tailend of his career and King wanna spew trash. Weak

  • mellmeister_straightfromShaolin

    @38 lan…

    you have a point that he was able to bring the grizz to the playoffs but…
    he brought the grizzlies when the west wasn’t that stacked yet.

  • LaMont

    @ chitownassclown,

    i get down old school cutting through the park on my way home from school style, i ‘ll bust your ass in a pair of jeans , polo shirt and reebok classics, i don’t call fouls when a cat hacks me i put ‘em in the basket, and yeah a palm is a violation cause it creates an unfair advantage fo rthe offensive players what the fuck you don’t call travel either who you playin gwith Jerry’s kids?

    @ Ian & assclown,
    if iverson is hoggin gthe ball and bringing the offense to a standstill it falls on the pg to get the ball and run the offense and if that fails it falls back on the coach to get control. also if he gets the ball and cats just stand and watch why not shoot they gotta move without the ball (coaching), getting people easy buckets is primarily the job of the pg ( i will admit every player needs to pass to the open man when they have the ball in their hands), philly needed AI to do what he did and the coaching staff didn’t do their job. Melo still got his shots when they played together in Denver (say HUH?)

    @ Scott,

    I think you’re confused, you can’t pass to a player being double teamed because that is an illegal defense. if i pass to a player and he doesn’t react accordingly to the double team not my fault (coaching). someone just dunking doesn’t make them better either because what happens when they get pushed away from the basket, what if the guy doesn’t have a sweet spot or the defense forces him from that spot? you have to be a threat from all areas (coaching and working in the offseason). Meditate on this, larry brown told trevor ariza not to shoot when they were with the knicks, what is the worst part of trevors game his shooting but he has improved by what shooting, so if you have acoach telling a guy not to shoot he’s not going to be a threat which helps the defense (coaching) and if i know the guys not looking to shoot o rbe aggressive why pass him the ball where he can possibly turn it over it is better for AI to do his thing.

    Ulitmately it is the coaches responsibility to make the other players better because part of that is getting your best player or best scorer or dominant ball handler to run your system and as larry always says play the right way. everyone is syainf yeah AI should have made his teammates better but who was trying to help AI become better? and if you gonna say larry brown keep you rmouth shut and just act like you did.

  • control

    Chitownrilla (illa illa illa) is correct.

    All the other AI haters are correct.

    Billy King is correct.

    I am correct when I say that AI ain’t shit. Almost everything people give him props for isn’t something that is due to him doing anything other than being stupid.

    AI jockslurpers always say “he’s a tough guy, he always goes up against the bigs and he’s just so small, he’s fearless and has heart!”. Wrong, he is just stupid. If you are under 6′ and weigh less than 150lbs and you keep flying into guys who are 7′ and 300lbs, you are a fucking sadomasochist, or retarded. That ain’t heart, that ain’t fearless, that’s just stupid.

    AI jockslurpers always say “he’s one of the best scorers in the history of scoring a basketball!”. Wrong, he is stupid because he jacks low % shots when being double, triple or quadruple teamed. Over his career he has probably jacked more ill advised shots than the entire Spurs team has. In one year he can put up as many bad shots as “Bad Porn” can in his entire career.

    AI jockslurpers always say “AI is great defensively, he has a shit tun of steals!”. Wrong, he is a horrible defensive player. Every steal he gets costs the team 3-5 points in plays where he MISSED getting the steal because all he does is gamble. Even if you convert every single one of his 2 steals a game into a 3 point play, he still gives up more points than the team gets. Guy is a HORRIBLE 1on1 defender, Shawn Livingston could beast him in the post (a week after that knee accident).

    AI dick riders should really take an honest look at the fucker, don’t admire him just because you are a weakass midget like he is, don’t admire him just because you are a selfish ‘gangster’ like he is, don’t admire him at all, because there really isn’t anything to admire.

  • http://www.random-ish.com Sccob

    I dunno. Billy King may have a point.

  • http://www.nukedasouth.net Chicagorilla

    LMAO@control, tell us how you really feel

    @K-dizzle
    here is my response to what you wrote.

    This ain’t news AI always been a score first, score second, pass when I feel like it guard<— (THAT’S THE KIND OF PLAYER YOU THINK OTHER GOOD PLAYERS WANT TO BE AROUND HUH?).
    Larry Brown was just smart enough to realize this and make sure that the rest of the squad made up for AI’s style(REALLY? SEEMED LIKE BROWN HATED EVERY MOMENT OF HIS TIME IN PHILLY. THAT’S LIKE WATCHING A CHICK TAKE A 12INCH COCK WITH A SMILE ON A PORNO AND TRUELY BELIEVE SHE WANTS THAT GUYS MAN JUICE ON HER FACE AT THE END… NEWS FLASH KDIZZLE BOTH LARRY AND THE PORN CHICK DO IT FOR THE MONEY)
    I ain’t hear King talkin this shit when AI was in his prime, keepin him employed.(A.I. MAY BE THE VERY REASON KING IS UNEMPLOYED NOW. NO SUPERSTAR WOULD’VE ENJOYED PLAYING WITH A.I., Now dude is 34 and on the tailend of his career and King wanna spew trash. Weak

  • Clutch

    I agree he doesn’t make the players around him better. for example look at Iggy, or Webber, or Detriot etc. In his 20s he could get away with this by being such a force as a scorer.

    At 34 and no longer an elite player thats not going to work and that is why he doesn’t have a job.

  • doc

    Billy aint said nothing wrong.Thats the mans legacy right now.Yeah he was the star of our 01 team that went to the chip but them players to all you cats that dont really know the ins and outs of this basketball thing was just as important to AI during that run as he was to them.AI was able to get MVP because Snow kept the floor balanced with his floor play as much as you possibly can with AI.And he did it while locking down whoever was the best scorer out the 1 or 2 spot everynight so AI wouldnt get worked over.Aaron was a certified do everything player off the bench from sticking every open shot to making the right pass or clamping the hot guard everynight as proved by his 6th man of the year trophy i see in his living room.Lynch and Hill were defensive kingpins who both equaled out to Big Ben in his nobodies scoring years.Tum Tum was Big Ben that year as proved by the Defensive Player of the Year trophy.Raja Bell came off the bench and hit big shots while clamping down on D.And what made that team so good was anytime them so called bums had to take a shot in a clutch situation -it went in.Now top all them players off with Larry Brown one of the goats of coaching who cursed AI the fuck out when he needed it and molded that unit into one like Voltron for 48 everynight win or lose and you got more than a one man team.i had a dam family pass from Aaron and went to EVERY game when I didnt have a game and they just knew how to win.AI is a all time great player due to the fact he can score a lot of points and looked good doing it.He’s basically the next gen Nique.

  • Child, Please

    First-ballot Hall of Famer? Now THAT is funny.

  • Russ

    billy king…talking about making anything ‘better’. and we care because? if it wasn’t for isah thomas he may very well be the worst gm in nba history. there is a reason he is unemployed as well

  • K Dizzle

    @ control
    “AI jockslurpers always say “he’s a tough guy, he always goes up against the bigs and he’s just so small, he’s fearless and has heart!”. Wrong, he is just stupid. If you are under 6′ and weigh less than 150lbs and you keep flying into guys who are 7′ and 300lbs, you are a fucking sadomasochist, or retarded. That ain’t heart, that ain’t fearless, that’s just stupid.”

    Vince Carter appreciates your support. Rippin a dude for playin hard and thru injury is like bitin the hand that feeds you…

    @ Chi-rilla

    Thanks for the analysis. Unfortunately, blamin everything involved with the Sixers franchise on Iverson is pretty weak. Other players? Brown’s coaching? Billy King not havin a job? Please stop. King knew what he had and if you can’t bring in players to complement your star, then you a shitty gm. point blank.I understand it’s easy to hate when players are past their prime and say crazy junk like dude was never shit is straight comedy. Sixers hoops is broken into 4 eras: Wilt, Dr. J, Sir Charles and BubbaChuck. All Hall of Famers so I appreciate the AI hate now that the dude is strugglin. Point is, I didn’t hear jack from anybody just 2 seasons ago, but one bad season on a junk Pistons team and now all this? lol ok…

  • Maynard

    @nerditry: Point taken. I still think that one man simply cannot take a team to the finals, and though I don’t discount their contributions within the structure of what they were trying to do, I believe he elevated that team. But your points about the way they utilized him are valid, as is the fact that he never really modified the way he played or grew in terms of repertoire as time went on.

    Still, why now, for King? Isn’t it just piling on?

  • Hakim

    The propaganda machine has to be given a round of applause for thoroughly programming the American public on the issue of Iverson. I wonder how many of these A.I. haters still place their teeth under the pillow in hopes that the tooth fairy will magically appear.
    Billy King was a cancer to the Sixers. Pat Croce was the glue that helped keep management together. After Croce left, Billy got rid of all the Philly defensive players (Lynch for Jamal Mashburn who never played one game for the 76ers, Mutombo for Todd MaCulloch, Tyrone Hill, and eventually Snow for Kevin Ollie and McKie for nothing).
    As a result, the Sixers began a demise, not because of Iverson, but because of poor management BILLY!!

    Billy King comments are irrelevant. Had King kept the nucleus of that Eastern Conference championship team, they would have continued to be a force in the East.

    Contrary to the propaganda, Iverson is still one of the best players on the planet. He is in the elite company of Jordan and Chamberlain as a career scorer because he can play at a high level.
    The media has never been comfortable with the image of Iverson. He’s never had the clean cut image that NBA’s brass want to project. Michael Jordan was Jackie Robinson and Iverson is akin to Satchel Paige. He’s rough around the edges. His image is one that was crafted, by his impoverished and tough upbringing. It’s one that many that grew up in similar circumstances can relate to. It’s why he’s been able to play through adversity.

    So why would they want to dismantle the character of Iverson you ask?? I think you already no the Answer!

  • Shama

    I would usually trust a GM’s comment on a player, but not one who paid close to 150 million for Kyle Korver, Sam Dalembert, and Chris Webber.

  • layton

    Billy King as a GM made Isiah Thomas look like Jerry West.

    Yes, Iverson is tough to build around, but Iverson bringing Philly to the playoffs year after year was probably the only reason why Billy King stayed employed for so long.

    His comments are too personal to be taken seriously. These guys never seemed to like eachother at all. Billy King surrounded Iverson with overpaid players and Iverson failed to win a title for the Sixers. They both “failed” at their jobs.

  • kevin k

    you know i had to come into this discussion after reading so many retarded comments.

    Iverson never passed? he took all the shots?? wtf have you been watching???????????????

    yea AI never made anyone better when his starting 5 was eric snow, george lynch, old derrick coleman and keith van horn and deke. Deke was the only one respectable. his 6th man was Aaron Mckie. AI lead his team to the NBA finals and Aaron Mckie was taking about 12-15 shots per game. You guys who said,” Oh it was eric snow that held the team together…” you freaking serious? he would have been a bench warmer if he was playing for any other team.

    Yea Ai never made anyone better when King brought in washed-up Mashburn, Todd Mcculloh, 40 year old Tyrone Hill and Kenny Thomas. Where are they now? Where are all the players that AI played with now?? Yea it’s AI’s fault that King overpaid some scrub named Korver, Dalembert, and No-knees Webber.

    You freaking haters hating on AI now saying oh the East was washed up when he went to the finals… Kidd’s record is 0-8 in the Finals and he had much better talent than AI. Can you imagine if AI had pre-surgery K-mart over Tyrone Hill and Keith Van Horn??? Ai was 1-4 but every single game against the Lakers were close and AI was carrying the freaking team.

    I could go on and write a bible length but imma stop now you dumb haters.

  • doc

    @kevink-DC was long gone that Finals year pimp.Get your history right before calling cats dumb when you saying shit thats just wrong.@layton-I dont know what years you was watching because we wasnt shit for about 3 good years before we shipped his non conforming ass out of town with Billy King.Because BOTH of them jokers was FUCKING UP.So what AI yall favorite little scorer ever hes aint no fucking winner.Hes a stat producer.

  • doc

    Thats why nobody want his ass now.But yeah yall know what yall talking about because you seen AI 6 times a year on TNT or some shit and he scored 35 so hes the one.Best scorer with Mike and Wilt?Are u fucking crazy.Do u know they both average more with like 10 percent better shooting.Not to mention Kobe.If he so good then sign his ass to yall local winterleague because it look like he gonna be free.

  • doc

    Mash was a salary dump we knew he wasnt playing.Todd Mac was a hell of a backup but his feet aint hold up so he had to retire.Ty Hill was a beast,and Kenny Thomas was a bad signing.And we traded for Webb didnt sign him.And basically all the shit you said was bullshit anyway because Pat Croce brought everybody you stated in except for Kenny Thomas and C-Webb.So I think u the retard kevio.

  • Ransom

    Ive been reading through these responses and there seems to be a common missconception,that being that if a team has a good record, that the best play made his teamates better. that is not the case especially not with Allen Iverson. We all agree that the bunch of dudes that made it to the NBA finals with him was rag-tag at best. But, when Iverson got better teammates, even when he was still in his prime success was harder to come by. For example, a team of Iverson, Dalambert, Igguodala, Chris Webber, kyle korver and willie green pre-injury is more talented than iverson, snow, lynch, hill…etc. However look at the results. In fact most of the post finals-run teams were more talented, but without larry brown. and without a system tailor made for iverson to answer and defer to no one. In this players case, the variable was coach, larry brown minimized his weaknesses while brining the most out of his teammates. Look at what Iverson was able to do with a loaded Nuggets team. Melo is a future HOF plaer, JR smith is talented, Martin is solid, camby was league leader in blocks…and they lost in the first round, pretty badly i may add. That is the most talended roster Iverson has dealt with thus far in his career, and look what happened as soon as he left? Wester conference finals. Why? because billups makes his team better. Iverson does not, and never has.

  • SagJism

    @70, Totally agree and also look at what he did to the pistons in the same timeframe. AI = good player, horrible teammate.

  • David

    Lamont I agree. Players should make their own individual selves better. They shouldn’t rely on someone else to do all the hard work for them. I wonder how many of Billy King’s colleagues are improving in the front office because of him. None probably. They came with a certain set of skills and must enhance them on their own. Who is he making better? That making a teammate better and leadership quality is Bullshit. It is too subjective and not objective meaning it is too hard to measure and keep score. Its about an opinion. Its just an excuse to use when one is looking for a weakness.

  • lg

    If Billy King really thought that why didn’t he try to trade him for someone who could make his teammates better?

  • http://www.nukedasouth.net Chicagorilla

    @72,

    Lamont, we know that’s you or one of your friends.

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