Iverson tweets that he's ready to return to NBA

ORLANDO - Former 76ers guard Allen Iverson has tweeted he wants to return to the NBA for his 15th season, saying his family situation is now "rock solid" and he wants to get back to doing what he does best.

Iverson returned to the Sixers last season after being traded on Dec. 19, 2006. He played 25 games for the team, averaging 13.9 points while shooting a dismal 41.7 percent from the floor. He missed several games with a knee injury, then more because of an unspecified illness to his young daughter, Messiah. He ultimately left the team to be with his family.

In early March, Iverson's wife, Tawanna, filed for divorce after 8 1/2 years of marriage.

Should Iverson return to the NBA, it will not be with the Sixers, who declined to comment about his messages on Twitter.

When he left the team last season, front-office members were clear that Iverson had their blessing to leave, but that he wouldn't be back. That stance won't change, now that the Sixers drafted Evan Turner out of Ohio State with the second overall pick last month and point guard Jrue Holiday showed progress in his rookie season. Lou Williams likely will be the first guard off the bench.

Iverson has scored 24,368 points in his career, for an average of 26.7 a game, but his game last season clearly had deteriorated from what it once was. His trademark quickness was no longer there, and his now 35-year-old body was showing the wear that 914 NBA regular-season games had caused. *

- Bob Cooney