Source: http://tinyurl.com/nx43cn Grizzlies' owner, Iverson's agent in contract talks By David Aldridge, TNT Analyst Posted Jul 9 2009 6:21AM Free agent Allen Iverson is in talks with the Memphis Grizzlies about a new contract, but owner Michael Heisley said Wednesday that talks between the team and the 10-time All-Star are only in the preliminary stages. On the same day that he agreed to let his team take part in the three-team deal that sent forward Shawn Marion to the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal, with his Grizzlies taking the contract of guard Jerry Stackhouse, Heisley acknowledged in a telephone interview that the Grizzlies had had discussions with Iverson's agent, Leon Rose, and he said he would like to meet with Iverson in the coming days to assess Iverson's desire to come to Memphis. "It's something we've talked to his agent about," Heisley said. "We have not come to anything close to an understanding. We're just exploring." The 34-year-old Iverson is looking for a new home after last year's trade from Denver to Detroit ended disastrously, with Iverson chafing at coming off the bench for then-coach Michael Curry and saying he'd rather retire than be a reserve. Citing a back injury, Iverson and the Pistons agreed that he would be left off the team's postseason roster, and the team moved quickly to use the $20 million in cap room created by not giving Iverson an extension, agreeing to deals with Bulls guard Ben Gordon and Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva. In this economic climate, no team is going to give Iverson anything close to the money he used to make as one of the NBA's true superstars in Philadelphia. And it may even be difficult for Iverson to find a team willing to give him the full mid-level exception for next season, starting at $5.854 million. But Iverson has been linked by various reports to both the Grizzlies and Miami Heat, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported Wednesday that Heisley was giving serious consideration to giving Iverson a one-year, $5 million deal. Heisley didn't say that the Grizzlies wouldn't ultimately sign Iverson only that such a decision has yet to be made. "More or less, we're going to have discussions initially with his agent," Heisley said. "But it's very, very early. I don't want people to think there's more to it than that. It's very, very early and it's nothing more than exploratory." 以下略... --

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