Iverson meets with Grizzlies officials

Memphis Grizzlies officials met with Allen Iverson(notes) on Monday in Atlanta, but have yet to reach agreement on a contract with the free-agent guard, sources with knowledge of the meeting said.

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, coach Lionel Hollins and general manager Chris Wallace attended the meeting. The source said there isn’t a timetable for Iverson to make his decision.

The Grizzlies have offered a one-year, $3.5 million dollar contract that could potentially be pushed to more than $4 million if the rights to guard Juan Carlos Navarro(notes) are renounced. While Iverson would like to be reunited with his former coach, Larry Brown, in Charlotte, the Bobcats have expressed only mild interest in him, given the franchise’s financial restraints. For now, Memphis appears to be Iverson’s only strong option to return to the NBA.

According to comments attributed to him on his Twitter page on Sunday, Iverson said he was looking forward to meeting with Heisley. “I want to help them develop a winner,” Iverson’s most recent tweet said.

Despite Iverson’s preference to start, the Grizzlies would likely try to bring him off the bench while starting Michael Conley and O.J. Mayo(notes) in the backcourt. Hollins doesn’t want to slow the development of Conley and Mayo, the source said. The Grizzlies hope that adding Iverson would boost ticket sales and their profile.

Iverson averaged a career-low 17.4 points in 54 games last season with Detroit. He was upset when the Pistons’ then-coach Michael Curry tried to bring him off the bench late in the season after initially promising him he’d remain a starter.