As reports are coming in that AI's going to be out for the rest of the season, and the talking heads are speculating about him taking the MLE or moving to Europe next year, you have to wonder if this is really the ignoble end of Allen Iverson's career. 

If so, despite all the discontent and frustration he has caused this year, I can't help wondering if this is incredibly sad.  AI's a competitor, and if ESPN is right about anything, it's the fact that this is not how Iverson envisioned his career ending.  Despite all his foibles in regards to practice and pride, we're talking about a 27.1 ppt 6 assist per game guy who was one of the most entertaining players in the league for a long, long time.  A former MVP.  A guy who led the league in scoring 4 times, averaged more than 30ppts 4 different years.  And that's all going to disappear, not even in flames, much less a happy ending, because of a little less than one year's worth of griping and malcontent.  If he could have just put it all aside for one year, to shut up and play basketball for one year, it didn't have to be that way.  He could have been Ray, or Paul, or Kevin, or even possibly Steph.  But instead he's talking about retiring after the least inspiring season the Detroit Pistons have seen in a long, long time.

Then again, someone on this board said that his pride is what allows him to stay in this league.  That might very well be true.   But it may very well be the reason he's getting pushed away from it as well.