This comes as no surprise, but someone it's finally been put to writing. Sources have informed Steve Kyler, of Hoops World, that a trade of Andre Iguodala is 'highly unlikely' heading into training camp.
If the 76ers draft was any indication of the future, it's clear that the 76ers are thinking about life after Iggy, but sources close to the process say that anything involving Iguodala is something they look at down the road and that much of what's being done is being done around Andre, not exclusive of him.
Last week, I wrote that keeping Iguodala doesn't make any sense for the Sixers, which remains true. The question now becomes, will they trade him before the 2013 Trade Deadline – or more importantly – will they trade him before his contract expiries, at the end of next season.
I touched on all the reasons why the Sixers should trade Iguodala last week, but it even goes beyond that. What if Iguodala gets hurt? What if Iguodala starts to decline? What if rumors surface that Iguodala and Collins have a toxic relationship, and other teams are scared off? His value can only go down, so trading Iguodala now – or immediately following the Olympics – would be the ultimate time to sell. He's coming off the best season of his career and, at 28 – he's already shown signs of breaking down – there's no better time, than now, to trade Andre.
So many things can go wrong, as a result of retaining Dre this off-season, while not a whole lot can go right. The Sixers will likely have a new GM with next month (Tom Penn plz), but Collins is still calling the shots. The best case scenario from here on out is, Doug Collins and his starting frontcourt of Hawes-Kwame implode, Dre stays healthy, Collins is let go, and Tom Penn sells high on Dre at the deadline.
That's where we're at.