Iverson on his way to play in Istanbul

Speaking of sports, as I often do, Allen Iverson is in “serious talks” with a Turkish basketball club. And we’re not talking about practice.

The United States and Far East might not want him, but it looks like the Near East does. Which would be good for AI because Turkey straddles the line between Mideast traditions and Eurotrash aspirations.

Here’s the story from ESPN:

“We are in very serious negotiations with [Besiktas],” Iverson’s manager Gary Moore told Yahoo! Sports. “Istanbul is beautiful from everything we’ve learned. It’s not that far from the U.S., and the competition is good, which makes it all attractive.

“Allen wants to play basketball.”

Besiktas coach Burak Biyiktay confirmed that the Istanbul-based club has offered Iverson a one-year contract, telling The Associated Press that the former NBA MVP would bring a “new vision to the team.”

“Iverson is a great trademark and would be the biggest name to come to Turkey,” Biyiktay said.

What’s the hang up? Iverson wants the amount the team can fine him for individual infractions capped at 1 percent of his one-year $1.5 million contract, which, according to Terrell Owens, is like playing for less than free.

I’m not entirely surprised that Iverson is already anticipating lots of fines. Practice, player conduct issues, even games. Who knows if he would even survive a season in Istanbul—see Grizzlies (2009-2010) and 76ers (2009-2010).