To borrow a line from NFL Red Zone Channel man Andrew Siciliano:
Practicar? Hablamos de practicar?
After playing a couple years in Turkey but not being able to get a look from an NBA team, Allen Iverson is in negotiations to play in the Puerto Rican league, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.Iverson’s business manger Gary Moore has talked with Puerto Rico officials, and the league’s teams are discussing a bidding process to woo Iverson.
The Puerto Rican league, which starts its 30-game season in March, pays its stars about $20,000 a month, plus living expenses, sources said. The league’s commissioner is selling Iverson on the chance to work his way back to a possible return to the NBA.
While there is a rich tradition of basketball in Peurto Rico (their international team will take part in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament this summer and have a solid shot at getting one of the three remaining spots in the London games), the national league itself does not see a lot of guys jump from there to the NBA. They have former NBA guys — Ike Diagu is signed for this year — but while the level of play is pretty good its steps below the NBA.
That said, Iverson would be a huge draw in the island nation.
Iverson and his representative reached out to a number of NBA teams before the season but there was no interest. In 2010 Iverson played parts of the season for the Grizzlies and 76ers, but in both cases was not terribly productive on the court and a distraction off it. Which has scared teams off. He played last season in Turkey.