NBA offers for former 76ers great Allen Iverson have dried up forcing A.I. to look elsewhere to try a final attempt to resurrect his basketball career.
Iverson, 35, is getting closer to inking a $1.5 million deal to play with Turkish team Besiktas, Yahoo! Sports reported citing sources.
The one-year deal could be worth about $2 million including bonus incentives.
The All-Star's manager Gary Moore summed up why Iverson would consider playing in Turkey:
"Allen absolutely wants to play basketball," Moore told the AP. "He has no hesitation going there if that's the best opportunity for him."
“We are in very serious negotiations with [Besiktas],” Moore told Yahoo! Sports. “Istanbul is beautiful from everything we’ve learned. It’s not that far from the U.S., and the competition is good which makes it all attractive.”
The deal, which could take more than a week to finalize, could a caveat that Iverson doesn’t want Besiktas to be able to fine him for more than one percent of his base salary, a source told Yahoo! Sports.
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Reports are that Iverson wasn’t offered any NBA deals this off-season.
There were rumors earlier this off-season that Iverson had offers to play in China.
The 14-year NBA veteran returned to Philadelphia last season after underwhelming stints with Denver, Detroit and Memphis. He battled through knee problems to play in just 25 games with the Sixers before leaving the team to tend to family issues.
Since he left the Sixers, reports about Iverson’s alcohol and gambling problems as well as a pending divorce have come to light.
Despite it all Iverson remained one of the most popular players in the NBA -- he was even elected to 11th consecutive All-Star game last season.
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