Has Andre Iguodala Played His Last Game as a Sixer?

With the Sixers season coming to an end last night, Andre Iguodala's future as a 76er will be at the center of Philly hoops fans' attention this summer.

The Sixers will negotiate with the restricted free agent, however the team expects him to receive an offer sheet worth significantly more than than what they are willing to pay their leading scorer.  Last year, Iguodala turned down a contract extension thought to total around $55 million, and he likely commands even more money after having his best season so far.

The upstart Sixers are said to have a tight, friendly locker room environment, but sources suggest that Iggy may not be in step with the rest of the club.  It is also believed GM Ed Stefanski does not feel the small forward is good enough to be the team's #1, a sentiment that has been echoed by other NBA talent evaluators.

There are still options on the table for the Sixers.  They could work a sign and trade deal with a team, or they may decide to simply part ways.  Under former GM Billy King's direction, the team managed to draft a series of players at essentially the same position.  Rodney Carney was acquired in a draft day trade in '06, and Thaddeus Young was their top selection last season.

The one thing that appears certain, while they would love to keep their best player, the check the Sixers are willing to write for A.I. may not meet Iguodala's financial demands.

Comments

[Gaze]

I think his shortcomings were exposed in the playoffs and the tail end of the season. I don't see any team offering A.I. the numbers that he turned down earlier in the year.

[j13]

Fine with me. Ov-er rate-ed, clap clap clapclapclap.

This isn't to knock Iggy. He's a nice player, a serviceable starter in the NBA. That's as much as I think of him, though - he's good, but not as good as he seems to believe he is. A good #2 or #3 talent and strong complement to a good team, but not someone you can build around. I think you could get a comparable player at a more reasonable price tag (possibly with a smaller ego than he seems to have) and put the extra money towards a genuine #1 guy. I think any view of him being a real #1 comes from his playing on a series of teams with a real dearth of talent, making him the de facto #1 on a series of weak teams. He was just the best we had, but not at the top of the league at his position, much less one of the best overall.

I like Stefanski, and I think he'll either pay him what he's actually worth or let him go and use the cash put the right pieces in place. I mean, Christ - he turned the Nets into a winner, he can do it for Philly.

[Michael C]

I like Iggy, but he is NOT a #1 scorer, and his defense has not improved to my eyes in the last year or two- mind you, he was already an excellent defender, so this isn't a huge knock, except that I expected him to become even better, but I don't really think that he has. Prince exposed that in the playoffs.

I really doubt they pay him, since everyone seems to think Thaddeus Young's future is at the 3, and I don't know if Iggy can guard the faster 2 guards. I would love to work out a sign-and-trade for a 2 who can shoot the trey. Plug in Young at 3, have Carney as a decent swingman off the bench. Anyway, I am very excited about this team next year!

[Joe]

Six words:
Forget Iggy. Max out Josh Smith.

(Unless the Hawks max him out. Then they might as well sign the guy.)

[KD]

Here's the deal:

*He's a restricted free agent.

*Few teams have cap space.

*Few teams would pay him anywhere close to the offer he turned down last fall.

*Few teams have the money to pay him anywhere close to the offer he turned down last fall.

*No team with money would, save for Philly.

*I'm having a hard time believing any team with space would offer him even eight-million a year, and I don't know if Iggy would even accept that. If he would, Philly would match in an instant.

Sign-and-trades are pretty hard with these sorts of players, because of something called Base-Year Compensation. It's a long story, but the bottom line is that -- should Philly sign him to 11 million a year and sign-and-trade him to another team -- they could only take back half that number in salary.

So they'd only be able to take back 5.5 million worth of players back. Not a lot of warm options, there.

[GreggyD]

I say good riddance. He was worthless in the playoffs and this team can definitely function without him. He's inconsistent except with the highlight reel dunks. I'll miss his solid defense, but he's a team's #2 or #3 option. They can do better than him. He should've taken the deal they offered him last year.

[Mike]

"iggy is a #2 or #3?" on what team? - probably only the top 5 or 6 teams in the league, who are in real contention for a championship and somehow lucked into a no.1 pick (duncan or shaq) or into a phenom (kobe, t-mac, or possibly iggy)

iggy has gotten better every year, i'd rather pay him 10-20% over "fair value" and wait for him to become an all-star next year rather than wait for thadyo/carney/lou to become as good as iggy - by which time, andre miller will be gone and maybe even dalembert and we're back to the lottery

pretty much every non-rookie contract player is overpaid, so how much would the sixers really overpay for a hard worker, guy who cares/plays defense, unselfish, trying to be a leader this year, and loves philly?

besides he's not that bad in the clutch: http://82games.com/SCSORT11.HTM

[MG]

My bet . . . Iggy is going to go with the most money but his poor performance against the Pistons cost him. It actually helped the 76ers though since other teams are going to be more reluctant to offer him that fat deal Iggy wants. I bet Iggy is back here next year for slightly more money than the $55M the Sixers offered earlier this year.

The bigger issues with the 76ers is that Dalembert looks like he was maxed out his progress. On a good night, Dalembert will be a decent second-tier big man but there are still way too many nights where he is a stiff. If this team also wants to make it back to the playoffs next year, there is no way Willie Green can be starting and playing 25+ minutes a night. On a good team, Willie Green would be a 9th or 10th man off the bench/play 10-15 minutes a game.

[MG]

This season was a great story but I just don't understand this optimistic outlook on this team in the short-term especially if Iggy goes. Yeah Young looks like he will be a real player down the road and Williams (who the 76ers will likely resign but you never know because NBA teams area notorious for throwing out stupid contracts) has shown some flashes but what about the rest of the roster?

Dalembert (who is easily my least favorite 76er in recent memory) continues to say a bevy of stupid things off the court and looks like he has maxed out as a player. Still disappears way too often for large stretches of game or complete games entirely.

Miller had a hell of a season but will be 33 next year with a ton of miles on his legs. Not saying he will be a terrible player next year. Just have to real worry because it is not uncommon for point guards as they enter their mid-30s to lose it rather quickly.

Willie Green always does more foolish things (like taking his share of unwarranted 3s) on the court than good things. Green has no business starting or playing 25+ minutes. Best utilized as a backup guy who might give 10-15 minutes a night/occasional spark off the bench.

Going to be interesting to see what his role is next year if the 76ers resign Williams as expected and potentially bring in another 2 via the draft/free agency.

Carney hasn't seen me anything more than that he will be a reserve F either. Useful player but a role play nevertheless. Feel the same about Jason Smith.

This offseason is going to be really interesting for a change. Sixers actually have some money to send and a real reason (power forward). I just don't see how this team improves much over the 40-win season they had.

[Lakers Blog]

I doubt it. He's got the potential to be a franchise superstar, Philly can't pass up on the guy.

[darkboy]

he can't dribble and way too many turnovers

[Kulp]

""iggy is a #2 or #3?" on what team? - probably only the top 5 or 6 teams in the league, who are in real contention for a championship and somehow lucked into a no.1 pick (duncan or shaq) or into a phenom (kobe, t-mac, or possibly iggy)"

What about LeBron? Garnett? Dirk? Dwight Howard? Chris Paul? Allen Iverson? I can keep going...

"He's got the potential to be a franchise superstar, Philly can't pass up on the guy."

You guys have a severe case of Lito Sheppard syndrome. There might be 50 players in the NBA better than Iguodala right now. He's a very good player, but he's not good enough to carry a team. 26 wins in 06-07, 40 wins in 07-08. I'd love to see him back, but only if the money is right.