By Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com He is a self-absorbed, immature a-hole. This is news to people? Not for nothing, the laughter, if not flat-out guffaws, being heaved in the direction of those who have genuflected at the mere mention of Allen Iverson now acting somewhat miffed by his recent irresponsible behavior is more than warranted. Yo, wake up. You grew up. D-bags such as your bromantic love interest, umm, no. They never do. We don’t need an all-out investigation headed by Columbo to determine that, or to somehow pretzel-logic his fetish for casinos as the excuse du jour and reason for sympathy. The latest act of “all about me” A.I., which saw the former Sixers fan favorite blow off a scheduled Big3 League appearance in Dallas this past weekend much like he did in Philly less than a month ago, is merely another example of an individual who has shown no concept of accountability, or concern for others, at any point since he became a prime recruit back in high school a quarter century ago. Well, unless there was some canned, staged event or team-fueled PR BS that served to put him in a positive light and didn’t cut into any of his late-night drinking or gambling binges. Then he might – MIGHT – get up off his keister and “invest” a moment or two of his precious time. Remember those good ol’ days of your youth, when you’d watch him flex his verbal muscles about practice being too valued by his Hall of Fame coach? When you’d watch him make George “Chucker” Constanza seem like a pass-first player? When you’d watch Your Team, Your Town, Your 76ers construct a squad of defensive-minded, never-shoot minions to cater to his massive ego? Fun times. Lotta entertainment. Lotta wins, too. Lotta substance? Kinda hard to nail that one down in the positive category. Even the one memory-making trip to the NBA Finals driven by Iverson, really, was nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan, lightning-in-a-bottle deal. There was never any chance, even with getting to that stage, of the Sixers becoming champions during his run in Philly. That first-game stunner in L.A. was nice, but strictly a precursor to the four-game mauling at the hands of the Lakers that quickly ensued. This legacy he has tarnished of late … what was it? Take away the teenage girl-like attraction to his stardom, heavily fueled by an ever-misplaced admiration for his acting like the spoiled child he was, and you’re left with one incredibly gifted athlete who forever marched to his own drum, and everyone else be damned. That hasn’t changed. Nor is it ever going to change. Self-absorbed, immature a-holes never do. By Jack Kerwin | ydkjack1@gmail.com It sounds fantastic. Almost too good to be true. Then Philly sports fans or media members, speaking for the masses, or trying to, in their eyes, enlighten those same masses, open up, share some ideas – of the knee-jerk, non-thinking kind – and, suddenly you realize, yeah, it really is too good to be true. Yo, not for nothing, but if the 76ers are gonna acquire LeBron James ... only they need to trade Ben Simmons in order to do so, no thanks. The whole point of getting the best player in the NBA would be lost. Lost? Well, here's a clue or a few to get: James' stay at the top of the game's heap, believe it or not, does have a shelf life. None of us may be sure exactly what it is, but at some point he will begin to fade from the elite. A bright mind, he is aware of this and entrepreneurial enough to want to be part of the passing-the-torch process if at all possible. Despite all the hullabaloo surrounding Joel Embiid and his “successful” 31-game run last season, not to mention Markelle Fultz and his being the latest name on the tip of everyone's tongue, Simmons is the one potentially transcendental talent on the Sixers' roster, and he already is being mentored by James. Umm, hello ... Wake up, people. If you want the optimum advantage of having the King hold court here, then you want him guiding Simmons on the youngster's journey toward greatness – because if the latter is every going to get there, it's more likely to happen with a little help, some understanding, and a lot of first-hand examples. Sorry, those whose memories only span back to the weeks leading up to this year's draft, but your 2017 No. 1 overall pick is a far better trade commodity in a situation such as this for multiple reasons. Chief among them being that his value will never be higher and, in this particular case, his being used as a chip could enable the James-Simmons connection to occur. The inability for so many to struggle with grasping what the team may have in Simmons is mind-boggling. Yeah, he's been outtta sight, outta mind for a year now, but still ... he is the one guy who possesses a skill set so rare that the self-proclaimed geniuses can't stop racking their brains at the concept of a 6-foot-10 guy playing the point on offense and anywhere that suits him on defense. Uh, that box you're stuck in ... trying stepping outside of it. Might find a lot more opportunities out there. More wins for the Sixers, too. Especially if they keep Simmons while acquiring James. Otherwise, nothing fantastic about it. Just pointless then. |
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