But the atmosphere in the office made Allen Iverson realize that the situation was complicated. Billy King stared at him, without any small talk, directly asking, "Allen, do you want to be traded?"
This question caught Allen Iverson off guard. He didn’t expect Billy King would want to trade him. He thought he would retire with the Philadelphia 76ers.
However, despite the shock, Allen Iverson maintained his dignity and pride. He didn’t plead, apologize, ask Billy King to keep him, or make any excuses. Instead, he calmly said, "OK, no problem."
Allen Iverson’s nonchalant attitude angered Billy King. He said, "Alright! I’ve decided to trade you! Trade you to a place that can control you and make you truly a basketball player!"
"Where?" Allen Iverson replied indifferently.
"A prison." Billy King replied, leaving Allen Iverson temporarily confused.
However, after this conversation ended, Allen Iverson calmed down, feeling he shouldn’t just leave.
He tried to reconcile with Cheeks and return to training, but Cheeks drove him out, saying since you claimed your body wasn’t well, then you should rest properly.
Allen Iverson also contacted his agent Leon Rose and wanted to issue a public statement expressing his willingness to stay in Philadelphia and make changes for it.
But it was all too late; the entire Philadelphia 76ers team ended their away trip in Florida and returned to Philadelphia, only to find, in the locker room of the training facility, no trace of Allen Iverson.
The nameplate above the locker was taken down, Iverson’s unique sportswear, sneakers were gone, and his presence was missing from the team promotional video before games. The strong impression left over the past 11 years disappeared completely, as if it had never existed.
Of course, fans’ memories of him won’t disappear. People began to wonder what had happened to Iverson, where he had gone, and why he was not participating in games?
Well-informed sources already smelled the scent of a big trade. NBA teams started considering trading for Iverson during the offseason, not just from a technical and tactical perspective, but purely from a commercial standpoint, Iverson’s commercial value is incomparable.
Especially some remote, small-scale teams lacking popularity and box office, such as the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Bucks, Hornets, very much needed a high-popularity player like Iverson to boost the local basketball market and sell more tickets.
As for Iverson’s rumored bad habits, vices, who cares, bear with it first and then earn a tidy profit.
This is the current mindset of many NBA managements, but the Las Vegas Glory team is an exception, Danny Ainge focused more on tactics rather than ticket sales.
Since 2004 until now, the Glory team has been unable to acquire a significant star to join forces with Ah Gan to hit the championship.
Ah Gan’s age is one reason, another reason is the resistance from league teams, who take money from Ah Gan but don’t want to give him support to help him win the championship.
After Jordan retired and left the Radiance, Danny Ainge very much wanted to trade for Ray Allen, Ray Allen also wanted to go to the Glory team, but the Bucks owner and management expressed, "If Ah Gan genuinely cares for everyone, then stop monopolizing the championship. Since we’ve received the money, might as well do good things to the end."
They almost said, "For everyone’s interests, just leave the money, people can go."
Such shameless rhetoric, even Danny Ainge, such a scoundrel, felt it was too brazen, wasn’t it?
In such a predicament, the Glory team relied on the draft and the foundation left behind to make adjustments and remain competitive.
Nevertheless, Ah Gan was no longer the omnipotent player he once was; they really needed a potent star to come, especially an offensive backcourt player, to ease Ah Gan’s pressure.
Thus, a "poisonous" player like Iverson became the optimal choice because non-poisonous, useful players won’t be sold to the Glory team, like those at Baron Davis’s level wouldn’t be offered.
Before the new season started, the Glory team discussed the possibility of trade with the 76ers, at that time Billy King was still hesitating.
According to Danny Ainge’s estimation, the trade might only be completed by the trading deadline, around the All-Star Game.
At that time, it would also depend on the situation; if the Glory team showed good chemistry and the young players improved significantly, they could opt not to make the trade.
But at the beginning of the season, the Glory team’s performance was just mediocre, the problem of weak offense troubled the coaching staff, they had to use Ah Gan cautiously.
Similarly, things were not good for the Philadelphia 76ers; Iverson grew increasingly defiant, and finally, Billy King decided to listen to multiple offers, then called An Ji.
Overall, An Ji could offer quite decent terms; Andre Miller + Trevor Ariza, plus two future first-round picks.
Billy King knew sending away a superstar would certainly incur loss; commercially speaking, Miller and Ariza combined couldn’t match the commercial value of even Iverson’s little finger.
Miller was only valuable in the Glory team, beside Ah Gan and Yao Ming, with some commercial worth in China; leaving the Glory team, he was just a player close to All-Star level.
Ariza had a lot of potential, but when it would be developed was uncertain, plus the 76ers had Iguodala, the positions overlapped, the 76ers weren’t very interested in acquiring Iguodala, they wanted more to get Gerald Wallace.
"There’s no way Gerald’s name would be in this trade. If you want him just because he’s also number 3, I can only say, it’s impossible, the trade is off."
Danny Ainge very firmly expressed he wouldn’t put Wallace in the trade, as he was an important supplement to the Glory team’s front line, a key player. Trading him would collapse half of the team’s defense; it was better to not trade, keep the roster and await the right opportunity.
Facing An Ji’s firm stance, Billy King could only say, "I hope we can reconsider and provide a more satisfactory plan."
He wanted to delay a bit, inquire other teams for offers, see if there were better options, or pressure the Glory team.
Originally, An Ji intended to wait until around the All-Star Game to take action; however, by the end of November, the 76ers were eagerly trying to trade worldwide. The cunning Danny smelled the scent of blood, knowing the 76ers couldn’t afford to wait, they were compelled to act, Iverson hadn’t joined team training or games for almost a week.
Consequently, An Ji didn’t accept "reconsidering" but instead issued a final ultimatum over the phone, "No, no need to consider more, Billy, this is our team’s final offer, there can’t be any possibility of changes anymore. You either accept it or reject it. The deadline is... noontime at twelve o’clock, enough time for you to notify the players, issue a statement, and report to the league office. Alright, that’s it, I’m waiting for your news, Billy."
After that, Danny Ainge didn’t give Billy King much room for maneuver and directly hung up the phone.
It’s 9:30 in the morning now, with two and a half hours left till 12. Danny Ainge applied extreme pressure expecting Billy King to make a decision quickly.
In fact, An Ji wasn’t sure if Iverson coming to the Glory team was a blessing or a curse, though Iverson’s abilities were outstanding, but his attribute as a team cancer and off-court messes indeed posed a big risk.
However, An Ji had his considerations because, as the general manager, these few seasons his actions had been too few.
Since the 2003 season, after the "double god" combo, Glory team achieved nothing; this sense of disparity made An Ji very uncomfortable.
He even once thought about trading away Ah Gan, so the Glory team could rebuild, gain young players and a large number of draft picks.
Yet considering Ah Gan’s status in Las Vegas and the group of people willing to serve him, An Ji quickly dismissed this idea.
Now, the Iverson trade was an opportunity to showcase his presence as a general manager, he was eager to seize it.
Ten minutes later, the phone rang, An Ji didn’t answer it immediately but let it ring for a while; he didn’t want Billy King to think he was anxious and concerned.
"Hi, how’s the consideration?" An Ji asked.
"Consider what? Damn it, why did it ring so many times before you answered!" Ah Gan’s voice came from the receiver.
An Ji hurriedly explained, "Oh... Jina’s on vacation today, there’s no one in the secretarial office to help me answer the phone, I’m alone in the office."
"Did you know Philadelphia wants to trade Iverson here?"
"Well... I, of course, knew, I was just talking with Billy King..."
"Stop talking, the 76ers owner called me, they agreed, ready to send a file to the league office."
"Alright, no problem... Sonny, such things don’t need you to worry about."
"I only needed to offer one first-rounder and one second-rounder, you’re asking for two."
"..."
"The 76ers owner owes me, he still has some conscience. Get ready to announce, damn team bringing in another unruly person."
Danny Ainge thought, why say ’another’?