Ronald Tillery of the MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL-APPEAL reports this morning that Allen Iverson is now contemplating retirement, something that has Grizzlies Owner Michael Heisley surprised:

(To fall back on modeling career?)

I just think if he was going to retire, he’d tell me first,” Heisley said. “I expect him to come back. If he does retire, I’ll be tremendously disappointed. I feel bad because I don’t think that’s the way he should go out.

As he’s the owner of the Grizzlies, we’ll give Heisley a pass on his naive reaction.

There isn’t a soul reading this who doesn’t think Iverson is manufacturing a ‘personal matter’ to either force coach Lionel Hollins to start him or initiate a trade.

But Tillery reports there is some substance to Iverson’s so-called personal issue.

A source close to Iverson confirmed the 34-year-old is indeed attending to a personal issue, and his discomfort with the Grizzlies also factored into the abrupt separation.

I don’t doubt that Tillery was told that by a source close to Iverson, but if that is the case, it certainly is a remarkable coincidence.

In case you missed it, last Friday night Iverson also had some delightful comments about being role with the Gristle:

“I’m not trying to figure out how to contribute to no team. I contribute to a team by just playing. That’s it. … I don’t have to figure it out. Obviously, they signed me for a reason. They’ve been watching me play this game for 13 years, and they know what I do on the basketball court, so I don’t have to figure out how I’m going to play or anything like that. I just go out and play basketball.”

Can I rescind my earlier statements about Iverson’s personal problem?