A few weeks ago Kate Fagan came to the conclusion that "It's time" to trade Andre Iguodala, and most Sixers fans agree. 87% of Liberty Ballers readers wanted Iguodala traded at the time of our latest poll.
The push for a trade has little to do with Iguodala's talent, but rather his skill-set and fit with the team. At 27 years old he's in the middle of his prime, while the rest of the team remains a few years away. Another thing to keep in mind is, Andre Iguodala is second to only LeBron James in minutes played over the past seven seasons. For a guy who relies on his athleticism as much as Iguodala, his 30s won't be pleasant. Also, the early returns on the Holiday/Turner/Iguodala threesome doesn't look promising.
The thing is, trading Iguodala isn't as easy as it sounds. I've logged thousands of hours making fantasy football trades and video game trades, yet after dawdling away on the Trade Machine for the past two hours I could barely come up with a single trade that seemed realistic.
Ironically this was the very first trade I came up with. The remaining two hours accomplished nothing other than making me realize how difficult trading Iguodala would be this season.
Blazers receive:
Andre Iguodala - 4 years, 54.6 million
Sixers receive:
Luke Babbitt - 5 years, 12.3 million
Rudy Fernandez - 3 years, 6.6 million
Joel Przybilla - 1 year, 7.4 million
Draft Pick(s)
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This would've been more realistic in October, but now that Greg Oden is out for the season and Brandon Roy is limping around I'm not sure Portland would be willing to take on Iguodala's massive contract.
Another problem with this trade is how Iguodala would fit in Portland. Having a lineup of Miller, Roy, Iguodala, Aldridge and Camby desperately lacks three-point shooting, and it'd also send both Wesley Matthews and Nic Batum to the bench – two guys the Blazers are supposedly in love with, and probably better fits next to Miller and Roy.
That said, if Portland still believes it can compete with its banged up roster – both this year and beyond – trading three bench players for a player of Iguodala's caliber seems like a logical move.
For the Sixers to make this trade they'd have to be willing to trade Iguodala for pennies on the dollar. Babbitt is nothing but a project, Fernandez is a decent bench player, and Przybilla is a combination of cap relief and stop-gap until the Sixers find another capable body to defend the paint. A first round pick or two would be necessary to sweeten the deal.
In the end, I'm not sure either team would pull the trigger. Acquiring a massive contract is probably the last thing the Blazers want with the uncertainty surrounding their roster. And the Sixers would have be completely desperate and/or fully committed to rebuilding in order to trade Iguodala for such an underwhelming package.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure how much better the offers can get.
Thoughts? Trade suggestions?