"I probably would have preferred someone like Stephon Marbury" - Jerry Stackhouse on why it was difficult to play with Allen Iverson

Roster fit is a vital component of an NBA team's success. A squad can try to have five All-Stars starting, but the team will likely underperform if their skill sets don't mesh well. In the NBA, it's not uncommon for star players to struggle to find the ideal fit on a team. Sometimes, two like-minded players simply can't coexist, and their chemistry suffers on the court.

This was the case for Jerry Stackhouse and Allen Iverson , teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1996-97 season.

Stack had already established himself as the team's go-to guy with impressive averages of 19.2 points, 3.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game in his rookie year. However, to his surprise, the Sixers' front office selected Iverson as the first pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, creating a conundrum that none of them could fix that season.

A disjointed fit

As the former North Carolina Tar Heels ace showed in his rookie campaign, he needed the ball to be effective, as evidenced by his 15 field attempts per game. However, it appears that Philadelphia's decision-makers did not consider this when they decided to draft Iverson in 1996.

Granted, the 6-foot guard was the most talented prospect of the draft class, but pairing him with an established ball-dominant guard in Jerry Stackhouse seemed like a questionable move from the start.

"It was a little difficult. We were both scorers, and I think they kind of realized that later on. Allen was a scorer like me," the two-time All-Star said on "Legends of Sport."

Jerry, who has transitioned to coaching and recently joined the Golden State Warriors coaching staff, said that if he had been consulted about the draft pick, he would have recommended a different approach.

"I probably would have preferred someone like Stephon Marbury, more of a distributing point guard," Stackhouse shared, referring to the dynamic guard from Coney Island, the fourth overall pick of the same draft.

Related: "USA Basketball better get some NBA stars that know how to play a role" - Devin Booker's tweet accepting Kyle Kuzma's challenge resurfaces

Stack and A.I. were better apart

Although both Iverson and Stackhouse scored more than 20 points per game during the 1996-97 season, the Sixers finished with a miserable 22-60 record and failed to make the NBA Playoffs. In December 1997, Jerry was sent to the Detroit Pistons for Aaron McKie, Theo Ratliff, and a 2003 first-round draft pick.

The 6-foot-6 wingman eventually found his niche with the Pistons, rounding out his game and becoming an MVP contender and an All-Star. The same was the case for "The Answer," who put the Sixers on his back and carried them to the 2001 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I think we both were able to grow our games once we went our separate ways. When I went to Detroit, I was able to really find my niche with Grant. And when Grant left, I had my own team there for a while," Jerry, who averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in five seasons with Detroit, said.

Getting stuck on a team that doesn't fit your style of play can be detrimental to a player's development. This was evident in both Jerry Stackhouse and Allen Iverson's careers, as they were able to flourish once they found the right system and teammates to complement their skills.

Related: "One guy who didn't know how to fight and another guy who didn't want to fight" - When Jerry Stackhouse fought Allen Iverson at a shootaround