Yesterday, the Grizzlies and Iverson agreed to terminate his 1-year contract. The team is expected to waive him.

"Because of personal matters that forced him to leave the team on Nov. 7, Allen will step away from the game at this time, allowing him to focus on those matters," general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement. "As a result, we will be ending our contractual agreement with Allen, which will allow both parties to move forward. We wish Allen the best."

Iverson, who won four NBA scoring titles and an MVP in his 10 seasons-plus with the Sixers, made it through three games, then asked for permission to go home to Atlanta to attend to a personal matter. It didn't take long for word to spread that he might be contemplating retiring.

What we do know is, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley ran out of patience. Heisley initially told the Memphis Commercial Appeal yesterday that it was time for a decision. He said he told Iverson's agent, Leon Rose, the Grizzlies would not deal with the uncertainty beyond this week.

Iverson had been away from the team for 10 days. His Grizzlies era included three games, a 12.3 scoring average and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes.

Originally, Heisley told the Commercial Appeal that he would be treating the situation like a "personal leave."

"But either he's retiring or coming back to play," Heisley told the newspaper before terminating the contract. "I'm not upset with Allen. We'll be happy to accommodate Allen. If he retires, then he retires. If he wants to come back, we'll gladly accept him back. But I have personally made it clear that there's going to have to be a decision made."

Consider it done.

What we do know is, Iverson abhors coming off the bench. He made that clear last season with the Detroit Pistons. He was sending the same tired message to the Grizzlies.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins, a onetime Sixers guard who won a championship with the Portland Trail Blazers, views the situation as "strange."

"He got hurt in training camp, so I hadn't even had a chance to fit him in," Hollins said. "But I do know that every issue was addressed before we ever started. Our owner told him he was being brought in to mentor the young guards, to come off the bench. He didn't blink.

"I said he could compete [with Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo] for a starting spot, see whether it works. I asked him if he could handle it if it turned out he would be coming off the bench. He didn't blink.

"I told him I wasn't out to prove I was the boss; I wasn't out to break him. I told him, 'You're stubborn, and I'm stubborn, but if we react to each other like that nobody wins.' He laughed."

Hollins has heard all the stories - the good, the bad, the hard to believe.

Pat Croce, the Sixers' former president and part owner, tried to tell the Memphis media what to expect.

"I told them I love Allen, that I'll never forget him, that he's special," Croce said before the news of the contract termination broke. "But is he going to change? No. I told them he'll pass the ball to teammates once, twice, but if they can't score he won't pass the third time. He gets frustrated when things don't go his way.

"I told them I sat him down to talk a lot, probably more than my two kids together. To me, the secret is twofold; he has to believe in you, and you have to stay on him all the time. You can't give an inch. Look back at the people who have given an inch; he's run them over. He has to know you're not giving in. When you give him a contract, you also have to give him your rules."

With Larry Brown coaching, Billy King running the front office and Croce serving as chief mediator, the Iverson-led Sixers reached the Finals in 2000-01, their first appearance in the championship series since 1982-83.

"There are a lot of things Allen values that I value," said Brown, now coaching the Charlotte Bobcats. "He competes, he wants to win, he has grit and toughness. The issues I had with him were more about his habits, but we all figured out how to best utilize him. We built the team around him.

"I can't believe it's not working out in Memphis. I saw him during the exhibition season, and he was in the greatest frame of mind, had a big smile. Then I heard all that was going on. It kills me that it has gotten to this point."

Hollins said, "What I do know is, he left of his own volition."

And since then, the Grizzlies have signed free agent guard Jamaal Tinsley.

"I told [Tinsley] if he's good enough, he'd start," Hollins said. "But let's see how it fits."

Sound familiar?