Coach K: Iguodala will be a key guy
by Derek Bodner on Jul 25, 2010 7:00 AM PDT
in News
35 comments
Team USA basketball is going to be trimmed down from 24 to 19 people this weekend, and It had previously seemed that Andre Iguodala was in danger of not making the cut. According to John Schuhmann it's looking like that's not the case anymore after Andre Iguodala has had a strong week, including a 17 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist performance in the scrimmage last night.
Quotes from coach Krzyzewski, via John Schuhmann:
"He just had a great week. I think any of these guys will tell you he’s an easy guy to play with. He doesn’t need the ball. I told him right after the ball game right out on the court I thought he was beautifully efficient.
"He can defend. You need guys out there who don’t have to touch the ball long. He’ll be one of the key guys for our basketball team."
Two questions:
1) Do you think Iguodala should make the team?
2) Do you want Iguodala to make the team?
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Do I think he will make the team?
Yes I do since the USA team has lost a lot of stars this year. Dre is a great player player who will do great as long as he is not the main player. Coach said it best he doesn’t need the ball in his hands and defends and defense is one of the main points in the international game. Do i think he should play on the team sure why not. He is smart enough not to get injured and he gets to actually play with good players.
Once again, an ESPN (Sheridan) employee makes a declaration with no facts available and turns out to be wrong. It’s excellent.
He should make the team, I don’t care if he makes the team, it’s not like playing on the team will make the sixers any worse next year
by SportingFanaticism on Jul 25, 2010 8:39 AM PDT reply actions
IMO, this is important for Andre’s career to make the team and to shine on it. When you read the posts attached to the scrimmage, everyone is talking about Durant or Rondo.
The most important thing was coach K’s assessment: “he doesn’t need the ball!” That’s a great compliment and makes him a real asset on a team with a bunch of big ego’s.
It amazes me that so many don’t think Andre is a great player or one worthy of all-star consideration. Participating with USA basketball helps to elevate him in the conversation.
It will also reveal how Andre “fits” onto a winning team, and how Collins can use him to make the Sixers a better team. There are lots of reasons why Andre hasn’t made an all-star team yet, but the biggest is that it is easy to ignore a player on a bad team. At least this way AI gets some respect for his talent, and that should help him to deal with the disappointment of being on a team that hasn’t competed (Though no fault of his own!)
The biggest thing that people understand is that Andre is an easy player to build around. Just don’t ask him to be your primary scorer, although going 3 for 3 from the 3 point line in the scrimmage is at least a good indicator that he’s been working on that shot.
Is any profession as impeachable as sportswriters? So much drivel and so little of real analysis. Blame their editors. They keep getting paid for their crap.
Agree.
But for to maximize Iguodala’s talents he needs to be paired with other top players. Asking Iguodala to be the focal poingt of the offense is like asking Rondo to be your designmated shooter. This makes it really key for Turner, Jrue, Lou and Speights to step up as go to offensive weapons so that Iguodala can assume his nature role as elite glue-guy in the Pippen mold.
I think he makes it. I’ve heard nothing but glowing endorsements from coach K and others. I want him to play b/c he should be playing a similar role for team usa as he should be, eventually, for the sixers
Also, Not exactly conclusive evidence that he makes the team but KD, Andre and Chauncey (in big solo pictures) are the only non redeem teamers on the cover of the media guide.
I want him to play b/c he should be playing a similar role for team usa as he should be, eventually, for the sixers
I think most people recognize that if Andre was let to play to his strengths, he’d be a great complementary player. The question then becomes his contract, and whether his contract helps prevent the Sixers from accumulating enough talent to put him in that role.
Derek Bodner
LibertyBallers || @derekbodner || derek.bodner@draftexpress.com
by Derek Bodner on Jul 25, 2010 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions
It’s more EB’s contract than his.
by Jordan Sams on Jul 25, 2010 12:22 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Its more that Stefanski committed to both Iguodala and Brand’s contract that ill-fated Summer of ‘08. You just can’t expect to contend if you commit 60% of your cap to those two players.
Iguodala is a top 40 player, maybe worth his contract in the right setting. But even had Brand returned to Clippers form, the combination of Iguodala/Brand would not have been enough to make that type of long term cap comittement.
Hindsight
I just disagree on 2 fronts. You could commit to two players like that. And if we were guaranteed the old Brand, it wouldve been worth the commitment.
Everyone was on board at the time except, unfortunately, Bill Simmons. His objection was unfounded though citing an Andre miller and Brand combination not performing well enough. Our collective frustration and regret should not cloud the reality of the time was that getting Brand was a huge coup. The common belief was that a Baron Davis and Brand combo was destined to be solid/great and he was huge LeBron-like (even tho i disagree with the lebron hate) defector for bailing. Lotta people were lovin us and puttin us in top-4 seeding position.
Iguodala is very solid player. At the time he was overpaid, but that was part of the team plan at the time. And hes probably, from an ideal cap standpoint, only making 2-3 mill more than he should per year. Considering the contracts and money being thrown around this offseason and in recent years to not much better or even lesser players, we should be almost thankful.
Its in Stefanskis other moves beyond that situation that should be criticized. The only strength he has shown has been in the draft (although we’ll see with the turner-cousins possible travesty).
Iguodala should definiely make the USA worlds team and he will make a contribution. Just wish his shooting numbers in the international game translated. That extra 3 feet (soon to be less) will kill ya.
by saveourbluths on Jul 25, 2010 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Sorry to go again off on my favorite tangent…
3 teams were after Brand: Sixers, Clippers and Warriors. That represents 3 horrible GM’s. Saying that these 3 GM’s and the majority of fans were behind it does not make it right. It is a GM’s job to know his team and to do what is right. Not to make the fans choice. Or else you draft Ricky Williams instead of McNabb.
Tell me how Iguodala and Brand, bot at their best make you a contender?
And with such a huge proportion of the cap assigned to those two, there would be no room left to add the top flight superstar needed to make that team a contender. Saying the GM’s of
The whole “Piston’s Model” was a failed attempt to lock Philly into being a 45-50 win team (at best) with no shot at eitehr contending or adding the pieces needed to contend.
Brand’s last healthy season he averaged 20 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2+ blocks. Do you not think that kind of production wouldn’t be worth a big contract.
It’s unknown whether Brand would have ever been able to come back from his achilles injury. The shoulder injury he got as a Sixer kinda ruined any chance to find out.
by yosoysean on Jul 25, 2010 5:21 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Worth a big contract… yes.
But my problem is that Stefanski took a team with no superstars, and comitted the next 5 years to a core of Brand/Iguodala. Neither player in itself is a mistake. But you should not tie up all your cap space for 5 years when you only have 2nd level stars. That all but ensures that you cannot contend for those 5 years.
I’m fine with being good instead of great- but you can make that you 5 year goal.
Then again maybe Stefanski thought Lou or Thad would become a star or at least good enough for his “Piston’e model.” Either way- if I were a GM, I would not tie my hands until a star worthy of building around was in place.
Q: If a bad decision is one you agreed with does it make it any less bad?
Say you agreed at the time that Oden was the better prospect than Durant, or that guys like Beasley, Darko or Thabeet were worthy of being chosen at #2….
Does this somehow mitigate that it was the wrong choice and that the GM should be held accountable for the results of their decisions? Should the fact that we made a bad judgement mean that the mistake was any less egregious?
For the record, I thought Beasley and Oden were going to be studs and were the right picks at the time. I was wrong. So were the GM’s that picked them. And my poor judgement or fan popularity of a decision is not something that a GM should be able to hide behind.
Oden is a stud. Just an injured stud.
Derek Bodner
LibertyBallers || @derekbodner || derek.bodner@draftexpress.com
by Derek Bodner on Jul 25, 2010 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, did not want to go into details… but suffice to say, Durant in hindsight would have been the better pick.
9 players last year had PER’s of > 20 and WS/48 > 0.200. Oden and Durant both in that list.
(LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Chris Paul join them).
Not bad company. Oden’s still only 22. If he gets healthy watch out.
Derek Bodner
LibertyBallers || @derekbodner || derek.bodner@draftexpress.com
by Derek Bodner on Jul 25, 2010 4:23 PM PDT up reply actions
I’ve never been surprised that he hasnt been an all-star, because of the team he plays on not to mention everything thats wrong with the selection process. But I’ve always thought Iguodala is a perfect complementary player to a USA team, doing the little things. And some people seem to forget that he is a good shooter only in certain situations. If he finds himself wide open while the other team is focusing on the other stars, if they pass it to him he’s gonna knock it down more times than not. Hes great in a catch and shoot situation, but everyone focuses on his shortcomings as a pull up shooter.
Other than the chance of injury, there’s literally nothing negative about him making the team.
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fatigue as well. He plays a lot of minutes as is.
Derek Bodner
LibertyBallers || @derekbodner || derek.bodner@draftexpress.com
by Derek Bodner on Jul 25, 2010 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions
Wasn’t there some stat about players who played a ton of minutes early in their careers are likely to fall off a cliff in terms of production at some point earlier than you’d expect?
Sort of related… I remember comparing Brand and Webber’s stats. Both played almost the exact amount of games (600) and minutes, before an injury turned them into shadows of their former selves.
To me it would be nice to see a 76ers on a USA team and maybe be an integral part of that team. My question is, if he does, does it make him a better or worse NBA player? Does he hog the ball more (not saying he does or that he has had a choice over last few yrs) or does it help him see what it is like to be a team player
Philly born and raised with plenty of Orange in my blood!
He’s very much a team player. He ends up taking some shots that we all might prefer he not take because he has been given to understand by everyone that this is his role on this particular team. He is supposed to the The Man here. If there was someone for him to defer to, and he was told that his role was to be Pippen to Player X’s Jordan, he would do that. And I suspect he would be far more effective. But I don’t think that reflects in any way on his not being a team player.
My post really didn’t cover the game, just coach K’s comments and the implications of that.
Derek Bodner
LibertyBallers || @derekbodner || derek.bodner@draftexpress.com
by Derek Bodner on Jul 26, 2010 7:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Sure
Sixer basketball needs something to talk bout lol
Yes. And yes.
He should make the team. There aren’t enough guys in the league like Iguodala, who plays a team-oriented game, plays hard on D, rebounds, gets assists, can get out on the break, and…ok…his jump shot isn’t what we would all like it to be, but he usually finds ways to score (especially on a team where there are likely to be other shooters).
And I feel pretty silly for saying this, but there is a need for a little Sixer Pride out there. We have a pretty apathetic/cynical fan base, for the most part, and it would do us all some good to see one of ours being included with the best in the game and helping put on a show in front of the world. And I think it would be good for him, too, in terms of feeling like a “leader”, knowing he’s been there. Assuming he manages to avoid injury (always a consideration, but he’s never been at all injury-prone, and seems to know how to take care of himself physically), I can’t really see a downside here. Unless he gets hazed for being on such a crapola team, which, well, OK. :)
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