Memphis owner Michael Heisley says he is not sure what Allen Iverson's future plans are, though he hopes Iverson returns to the Grizzlies soon.

Heisley granted the 10-time All-Star permission Saturday for an indefinite leave to deal with a personal matter. The Commercial Appeal newspaper reported yesterday that Iverson is contemplating retirement.

"I'm not in Allen's head. I don't know what he's thinking," Heisley told The Associated Press yesterday.

"I know he went back to take care of a personal problem. Whether he does something else, I don't know. I'm hoping he comes back. I think he could still play for us, somebody else, what have you. In my opinion, there's two, three years of outstanding play that could come out of Allen Iverson."

However, Heisley said the 34-year-old Iverson is struggling playing at what the guard feels is less than his previous best.

Iverson, who signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal in September, missed the preseason with a partially torn left hamstring. He made his Grizzlies' debut on the road a week ago in California, playing in three games at Sacramento, Golden State and in Los Angeles with the Lakers.

Iverson averaged 22.3 minutes coming off the bench, and he hit 57.3 percent of his shots. He averaged 12.3 points per game for the Grizzlies (1-6).

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Wizards: Washington backup guard Mike James is expected to miss up to five weeks with a broken bone in his left hand. The injury was diagnosed yesterday, two days after James was hurt in practice.