26/11/16
Sixers agree trade to bring Iguodala back to Philadelphia
Philadelphia 76ers fans celebrated today with the news that one of their favourite players of the past decade was heading home. Veteran swingman Andre Iguodala had been traded to the Sixers from Golden State in exchange for Robert Covington, Nik Stauskas, a 2017 first round pick from Oklahoma City that the Sixers held the rights to and their own 2017 second round pick.
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It's a surprising move from the Warriors' perspective because Iguodala was a key part of their 2015 championship winning team and was named the Finals MVP. He has been the ultimate sixth man for them and it seems like this deal was motivated solely on financial considerations, rather than them not wanting to keep him.
The upcoming off-season is going to be critical for them with superstar point guard Stephen Curry coming out of contract, as are big man Andrew Bogut and Iguodala. After handing out large contracts to Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes over the past two years it seems as though they needed to move either Bogut or Iguodala in order to preserve enough cap room to pay Curry.
In the end they chose to trade Iguodala because Bogut plays a more critical role for them. They already lost Marreese Speights at the start of this season to free agency and needed to keep Bogut to ensure their big man stocks didn't dwindle even further. Meanwhile, they will be hoping that Iguodala's role can be adequately filled by either Covington, Stauskas or Kent Bazemore. Having to give up Iguodala will hurt for them, but it will be a lot less painful than if they were to lose Curry.
One of the main reasons the Warriors agreed to this deal would have been because both Robert Covington and Nik Stauskas have team options in their contracts for next season and won't take up very much cap room. Covington proved himself to be a solid, if not inconsistent scorer with the Sixers during their few years of awfulness. He should be able to at least match Iguodala's offensive input for Golden State, if not better it.
Stauskas could really flourish in the Warriors system. He never really got a genuine shot at playing consistently with the Kings or Sixers. Perhaps he can finally become the player that everyone thought he would be after an impressive college career with Michigan. If either Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can take him under their wing and help him gain confidence, maybe he'll be able to recapture the type of form that saw him named Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 2014.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers was regretful that Iguodala had to leave, but was realistic about his team's financial situation, "We're sorry to lose a player and person as highly regarded as Andre is, but the price of success is usually that everyone wants to get paid. Unfortunately keeping Andre was a luxury that we couldn't afford", he said today. "We're sad to see him go, but we thank him for all his efforts whilst wearing the Warriors jersey and wish him all the best in the future."
The Warriors currently sit in fifth spot in the western conference with a 10-5 record. They are striving to get back to the top of the mountain after getting eliminated by Oklahoma City in the conference semi finals last season as they attempted to defend their 2015 title.
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Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie seems to be on a roll lately with his roster moves. First his taking of Brandon Ingram with the eighth pick in the draft is looking like an absolute steal as the former Duke forward has been on a red-hot scoring streak in recent weeks and looks like a future all-star. Also on draft night he managed to turn Joel Embiid into Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker. The former has also been heating up recently after a slow start and the latter is emerging as a key bench scorer.
Next he persuaded guard Eric Gordon to swap New Orleans for Philadelphia and the sharpshooter has settled in quickly and has been a key in the Sixers' strong start to the season. Gordon has been plagued by injuries for most of his career, but after nearly two months in Philadelphia he hasn't even had a cold. Everyone is hoping for his sake that his run of good health continues for a long time.
This latest move should not only help his team on the court, but also give it a huge psychological boost off it as well. Iguodala played in Philadelphia for eight seasons after being drafted in 2004 with pick number nine and was a fan favourite due to his work ethic and great character.
He was traded to Denver as part of the Dwight Howard-Andrew Bynum mega trade in 2012 and then signed with the Warriors in 2013. He lost his starting spot to Harrison Barnes but stayed committed and led his team to the 2015 championship. He starred for the Warriors in that series against Miami and was deservedly named the Finals MVP.
Iguodala seemed really excited to return to Philadelphia, "This is a blessing for me. I had three wonderful years with Golden State and I can't thank all those guys enough for everything they did for me. But now I feel like I'm heading home. To be honest I always wanted to spend my entire career in Philly and was shocked when I got traded. I got no hard feelings though because God clearly had a plan for me and I got to enjoy the best moment of my sporting career with the Warriors. I can't wait to meet all the guys and hopefully do my part to get this team to similar heights."
It's unknown whether the veteran will return to his starting role with the Sixers or simply continue what he was doing for the Warriors and let Brandon Ingram continue to develop. Either way he will have far less pressure on him this time around with a much better team around him and the likes of Jahlil Okafor and Brandon Ingram taking all the media focus. Iguodala made his only career all-star appearance in his final season as a Sixer the first time around, but is unlikely to be in contention in the future now that he is entering the twilight of his career.
His role on this young team is simple: Set the example for the young guys to follow and show them all how a professional NBA player should act both on and off the court. He will join fellow veterans Samuel Dalembert and Carl Landry as part of the leadership group within the locker room and act as a mentor for rookie Brandon Ingram.
The Sixers have had a promising start to the new season and currently sit fifth in the eastern conference with a 9-7 record. They are hoping to make it to the conference finals for the first time since 2001.
Golden State receive
Robert Covington - 25 - SF - $2.1m - 2 years (2nd year TO) (75)
Nik Stauskas - 23 - SG - $6.8m - 2 years (2nd year TO) (71)
Thunder 2017 first round pick
Sixers 2017 second round pick
Projected line-up:
Andrew Bogut - Draymond Green - Harrison Barnes - Klay Thompson - Stephen Curry
Bench:
Robert Covington, Langston Galloway, Austin Rivers, Kent Bazemore, Kevon Looney, Nik Stauskas, Festus Ezeli
---Philadelphia receive
Andre Iguodala - 32 - SF - $11.1m - 1 year (78)
Projected line-up:
Jahlil Okafor - Nerlens Noel - Brandon Ingram - Eric Gordon - Eric Bledsoe
Bench:
Andre Iguodala, Tony Wroten, Dario Saric, Devin Booker, Carl Landry, Samuel Dalembert, Jerami Grant