Absolutely not. Although I've seen him play in person dozens of times, and observed his conduct in various dressing rooms, I've never met A.I. and therefore hold no personal animus against him.

Actually, I try to divorce a player's personal quirks from my evaluations of his on-court deeds — except when one illustrates the other. Just think of what a transcendent genius Picasso was despite his being such a universally despised jackass.

Not that Iverson is a bad guy. Far from it.

I greatly admire his courage as well as his extraordinary point-making abilities.

What I do object to is the fact that he still doesn't know how to play effectively without the ball in his hands. Which means that his presence in the game is ultimately detrimental to his team-of-the-moment during that 80-90 percent of the time when someone else had possession of the rock.

I'm especially critical of his inferior defense which relies strictly on gambling for steals. Also his ill-advised shots — which have somewhat lessened with the Pistons. Plus his high-volume turnovers and his reluctance to practice hard — especially since every coach worth his salt knows that games are won and lost in practice sessions.

But the NBA publicity machine has emphasized his genius for scoring points. And, given that their goal is to promote NBA action, this is as it should be. Too bad, however, that so many fans are so easily fooled.

It all comes down to Iverson's selfishness — which is the primary reasons why the vast majority of his ex-teammates haven't liked playing with him.

In other words, Iverson is the face and the (by a secretary) icon of too much that's wrong with the NBA.

Travels with Charley

The Albany Patroons were scheduled to play the Toronto Tornadoes, and Phil Jackson was driving the van when we were stopped at the border.

The guard flashed his light into the back of the van, and noting the slumped and sleeping bodies of nine rather large black men, said to Phil, "What's this all about? What's your business in Canada?"

"I'm smuggling slaves into the country," PJ said.

The guard was so flabbergasted that he let us go.