FanHouse AllenIverson

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

The last time we got together, three different players scored 40 points or more on the same night. Well, maybe it's not as rare of an occurrence as we thought, since we were just a single point away from it happening again on Wednesday.

Chris Paul missed by one with 39, but Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade each delivered, with 41 and 40 respectively.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Four games into the Memphis Grizzlies' season, head coach Lionel Hollins says he's done talking about Allen Iverson.

Well, not done all together. But apparently done talking about what Iverson says. Two days ago, Iverson complained about a lack of playing time after he made his Grizzlies' debut in Sacramento, and it was clear those statements didn't sit well with Hollins.

"I'm not commenting on Allen," Hollins said Wednesday when asked if he was surprised by Iverson's comments. "I'm done commenting on what Allen says. Allen has a right to say whatever he wants to say. ... Most of you are ready to leave now, huh?"

DENVER -- Two guys sat in front of a locker at the Pepsi Center on Sunday night who have combined to win four NBA scoring crowns.

The stars on hand were Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. OK, it must be said Iverson, a Memphis guard who sat out Sunday's game due to injury and was visiting his old Denver teammate, has four titles to none for Anthony.

But just wait. Anthony might be this season's scoring king.

True, the Nuggets forward has played just three games. But the race isn't close. He's averaging 37.7 points to 31.3 for runner-up Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.

A to Z.

It sounds like the 1952 NBA All-Star Game, which featured Paul Arizin and Max Zaslofsky.

It sounds like the 1971 champion Milwaukee Bucks, who had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Zopf.

It sounds like the history of Lithuanian centers, from Arvydas Sabonis to Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

It also sounds like a good way to take a look at the 2009-10 NBA season:

FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.

Marc Gasol is svelt. No lie. Gasol spent the summer running up mountains in Spain. I've never run up a mountain anywhere, much less mountains in Spain. You always hear stories about players losing weight coming into camp, but Gasol's slimming is evident. He doesn't look like the same player. The big knock on him last season was that he lacked explosiveness. So Gasol shed 25-30 pounds to improve his speed and agility. It was a wise move by Gasol, who will fight for playing time with Zach Randolph and Hasheem Thabeet. But when you get down to it, if the Grizzlies are going to make significant progress this season, Gasol will have to be a large part of that journey.

FanHouse previews all 30 NBA teams in advance of the 2009-10 season.

The Grizzlies are not a joke. They are the punchline. That's where they've fallen to. They aren't even the setup for the joke. They're just mentioned as the end point.

A little under two years ago, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace (and by that, we mean owner Michael Heisley) traded Pau Gasol for cap room and some loose junk. The only valuable component they got out of the deal was Marc Gasol. The move elicited everything from mockery to outrage from pundits and even league personnel. Things have not improved considerably since.

Training camps by themselves provide a fresh start for every NBA team, but sometimes, players feel the need to take things to a more personal level to cleanse themselves of the previous season.

This was certainly the case for Allen Iverson, who has gone back to his trademark braids after a year where he was traded to the Pistons, and was unceremoniously used as one of the scapegoats for his new (now old) team's horrific downward spiral.

Step right up. Step right up. See the bearded lady. See the two-headed calf.

And see the one-time scoring king. Good seats are still available.

Unfortunately, it's come down to that for Allen Iverson. He has become a sideshow.

In the end, the Memphis Grizzlies were the only team that really wanted them. It sure smells as if they're looking more for Iverson to sell tickets than to secure wins.

OK, I take that back. Maybe they're looking for Iverson to lead them to the magic 30-win mark in the twilight of his career.

With rosters gathering for pre-preseason workouts and all the major free agents rumored to be finding closure, it makes sense that Allen Iverson would inch closer to a final destination of his own. On Sunday, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported that Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley and Iverson would attempt to meet in person to close a deal bringing The Answer to Memphis.

Late Sunday, Iverson confirmed via Twitter that he is scheduled to meet with Heisley on Monday. The Grizzlies can offer a contract of $4.5 million for this season; there haven't been any rumors that A.I. was seeking a long-term deal with Memphis. The idea, it is understood, is that Iverson would show in the 2009-10 season that he is worthy of a multi-year deal beginning in 2010-11. Given the A.I. has had this much trouble securing a one-year deal at a small salary, he has a tall mountain to climb.

Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle?

Less than 10 months after receiving a three-year contract extension worth approximately $27 million, Stephen Jackson now says he doesn't want to play for the Warriors anymore.

It's a pretty sudden turn for Jackson, who said at the time of the re-signing that he wanted to play the remainder of his career in Oakland. That kind of fickleness, when it comes from your captain and best player, can be a real headache for a team.

It got us to thinking about some of the NBA's high-maintenance players, the needy and delicate ones you must handle with extreme care. Whether it's their personality or game, here are five players who can make it very difficult for any franchise.