| | Associated Press
HAMPTON, Va. -- Allen Iverson said Friday he wants to remain
with the Philadelphia 76ers but that his contentious relationship
with coach Larry Brown will make it difficult.
"It will be hard. It will be extremely hard," Iverson said
during a brief session with reporters before a reception for the Allen Iverson Celebrity Summer Classic charity event.
"It would be crazy for me to say that everything is peaches and
cream, because it's not."
Brown benched Iverson for the final 20 minutes of a loss at
Detroit last December, and Iverson then said he should be traded if
Brown was unhappy with his play.
In March, Iverson was suspended for a game in Miami after
missing a shoot-around practice because of a headache. The high-scoring
guard, who frequently has been late to practice, reportedly was
fined nearly 75 times for showing up late last season alone.
Iverson's comments about Brown came on the same day 76ers
president Pat Croce gave North Carolina permission to speak with
the well-traveled coach about its vacancy.
Iverson, who initially said during a news conference to promote
the charity event that he hopes Brown does "whatever it takes to
make him happy," met with reporters again later and said he and
Brown don't have to be friends to work well together.
"If I have to play under coach Brown, I have no problem," he
said.
Iverson also said speculation that he might be traded because of
his frequent clashes with Brown has been keeping him away from
Philadelphia, and that he was annoyed that no one from the team
contacted him to tell him his status with the team.
"They owed me that," he said. | |
ALSO SEE
Sixers' Brown is North Carolina's next top choice
|
