Regardless of how Andre Iguodala plays the rest of his career, mainstream media will run stories about how overpaid he is and how everybody hated the contract he signed, especially when a 27-win season followed it. They won't care that a great majority of fans realize he deserves the contract he has, and the fact that this team is better than last year's doesn't make that any more true.
Here's an excerpt from Marc Spears' article:
He’s averaging only 14.3 points this season, the third in a six-year deal. On the surface, that doesn’t bode well for a man making $12.3 million this year. But Iguodala is actually revered in Philly now for doing a lot of everything as the Sixers are poised to make the playoffs.
Way to dig deep, Marc. Odds are that if you're reading this website (indie cred!) you are aware of how talented Iguodala is. Furthermore, you probably also realize that he'll never be a number one scoring option on a championship team. But that doesn't discredit that in this inflating economic era of professional basketball, his $12.3 million is not at all too much. Andre is having one of his best seasons. It could be the best, but it's not a breakout season by any means. Because the Sixers are streaking, journalists are paying some attention and finally giving Andre his due.
I'm not sure why this aggravates me so much, but it does. He has been this good since his third year. The man is a stellar basketball player. And now people are taking notice. It's kind of like if you're a huge fan of a band because the guitarist is really good. Sure the lyrics suck and the dude on vocals can't sing for crap, but you really dig the guitarist. Music critics and your douchey friends just shrug off your opinions about your boy who can seriously play some stick until finally he goes to a different bad with a better reputation in critical circles. Then everyone's like ohhh man that guitarist is one of the best in the generation, he comes along once every ten years, blah blah blah SHUT UP. I knew about him when he was still with whatever band (lets call it "Porridge For Your Cousin") and you didn't give a crap.
Andre has been just as good at guitar basketball this year as he has since he signed the contract, for which he deserves every cent. Only three years later, some mainstream media have woken up from their coma. Once the Sixers lose in the playoffs they'll go back to insulting his jumpshooting ability. Thrilling.