[Philly Inquirer] Trade rumors swirling around 76ers' Iguodala(McGrady)

You keep riding that superstar train your dreaming of the rockets can get. While you're at it, see how far you get next yr with a 7m dollar player and resigning scola and lowry and then go play La again. Its about maximizing and in those same quotes morey has said if they can get a high impact player they have to do it this year, not next. I've never said Iggy was a superstar, but he is all star quality for sure. He's in the toy parker/manu mold which is a pretty good player. Can you find a 7m player better than him? Probably not. Is he overpaid? I don't think so when you factor in he's a very,very good defender, just turned 26 and has missed 1 game a yr. Is martin a better scorer? Yes, but misses alot of games and can't play defense to save his life. Is butler a better scorer? Probably, but he's 30 and also misses games. Those are the kind of players the rockets have in their crosshairs. Tracy's contract is a big expiring, but teams have to give up multiple players just to make it work. Its attractive, but not as much as people think.

 

Gereld Wallace

 

Im with leeb, you need constant improvement and stop trying to label people as franchise player, no past success, etc. If we are crafty enough, we should try and turn McGrady, Ariza and maybe Battier into Iggy, Martin and Sammy. I think Les has indirectly profitted from our injury problems and that money should be dumped back into the team in the form of paying the lux tax. Bite the bullet on the tax for the next two years and when Sammy expires you are still a FANTASTIC team without paying the tax.

How about something simple like:

Philly Gets:
McGrady
Cook

Sacramento Gets:
Ariza
Rockets 2010 #1

Houston Gets:
Sammy
Iggy
Martin

 

^

Brooks/Lowry/Conroy
Martin/Budinger/Taylor
Iggy/Battier
Scola/Landry/Hayes
Yao/Dalembert/Dorsey

 

as i've stated many times, I will take my chances with a 7mm dollar player and a lottery pick or a trade acquired impact player through packaging the lottery pick and a good player with a significant contract (battier)

quit trying to act intelligent when you are not considering all sides of the equation. we are in the catbird seat and have no reason to pick up iggy. if morey were offered him alone (w/o dalembert) i do think he'd make the move, but I'd be happier not making it.

 

it's getting to the point that we don't have a shot at getting a more talented player than Iguodala via trade or FA

if we can get thad young, holiday, and/or speights involved and not ship out Brooks and Landry

you probably go ahead and fax the league office

unless you guys think Monta Ellis is better than Iguodala

 

Go and look this offseason and se what players signed for 7m. You can start with Charlie V. Every other player either signed for more or less than that with most signing for the mle in the case of artest,ariza,bass,gortat to name a few. I'm not going to say for 7m you cant get a good player nor will i say a late lotto pick won't get you a good player, but this window is 3 yrs after this one. From early indications, bynum is getting better, gasol is the same, and kobe is kobe. Dirk is still a really good player,kidd is still balling even though he might fall off, and terry is still a good player. Duncan is still the bets 4 in the game, parker is a top notch guard, and manu is declining with jefferson having a off year. Carmello is a stud,billups is still all star capable,nene is a good player, and smith is the return of benny anders. Those teams will still be good in 3 yrs not to mention memphis,ok city, and portland on the come up. The rockets need to maximize these last 3 good years with yao or blow it up altogether. Being in the middle wont do anyone any good. The only high upside players the rockets have is brooks and landry, so thats cool, but they need another guy that can trend up also while yao declines a bit and they really don't have it. In the end,maybe it is just time to start over. This magical superstar you think the rockets can get just aint going to happen. Like I've said, if it turns into somekind of bidding war the rockets won't win that one either. So believe the fantasy all you want and thats cool and you can talk about what iggy isn't and thats cool too, but i bet if the lakers or spurs had the chance to get him using a broken down players contract, they would do it and think about the rest later. The chance to get into the conf finals is appealing enough to be called a contender to me and I'm as harsh as they come.

 

if Artest, Yao (partially), a less experienced Brooks and Landry, Scola, and co. can roll the Blazers with Brandon Roy going nuts...and then take the Lakers to 7

rest assured they'd HATE to see Iguodala, Yao, a better Brooks and Landry, Thadeus Young or Scola, Dalembert, Budinger and co.

depending of course on who we hang onto

 

What no Airza

 

I almost didn't include Scola either bc I figure Ariza, Battier, Scola, Lowry, or even Budinger (hope not) might be included in a trade

 

Everything you just said in that post is what exactly im thinking.

 

Ariza? Come on. He has little to none trade value with the horrendous on court show he's been putting on. You may see one of these players moved if something big is to happen: Brooks/Landry/Budinger. They're the ones that are appealing to other teams. TMac's contract is nothing more than one giant filler to match salaries and take money off another team's book.

 

We keep telling ourselves over and over its all about Iguodala. Though I doubt there's anyone else, never know if there's a darkhorse player in the mix to come out of nowhere. For the good of discussion though, I think Iguodala's about the highest standard Rockets can expect back in a trade this season.

It simply comes down to...pay the tax and the Rocket will be a better team. Not my money, but its on Les.

I would just trust Iguodala + vet player deal more than a $7 mil free agent + possible non-lotto pick deal. McGrady's ending contract frees up room, just that the "gain" is the same gain plenty other teams are going to have. Did the Rockets "gain" with Trevor Ariza and Yao's injury exception?

 

Not even the Mavs are willing to take on Dalembert according to Stein's sources. They would have think about taking on Iggy's contract alone because it's a bad contract itself.

 

Somebody rep this man.

 

why is the window 3 years after this one? What if yao breaks down next year? what is the window then?

quit focusing on the damn 7 mill dollar player. How many freakin' times do I have to state that the added impact player can still come through pairing a contract with the lotto pick. Hell, Morey generally doesn't like spending a full MLE on one player, I seriously doubt he would spend the full 7 mill on one either. He's also stated that he believes it a higher probability to get an impact player through trade than throgh draft, and has a history of trading lotto picks for players.

btw, detroit's off-season was terrible. You had to be blind or dumars to think that V. and Gordon were worth that money. You don't spend just to spend. Hell they had saved up all their money that offseason and had plenty of room. I'm merely advocating using the room to resign our own developing players, of which, we already know their baseline production.

Would la make a move for iggy? sure. they'd pair artest and crap and send him out for iggy to upgrade the three. and they would say financial impact be damned. Of course, they've got kobe in the waning years of his prime and are trying to leverage it for every drop of blood they can get.

We are not there and still have significant questions about the future. First and foremost, what is the longterm impact of Yao, if there even is one.

 

1) Iggy isn't nearly as good as the other guards and swingmen that you named.

2) Do you believe that Yao can recover fully for the 2nd and 3rd year, if he breaks his foot again?

If they don't somebody better, they might as well blow it up now, if their goal is a championship instead of being 1st round fodder.

 

I agree. I don't think any superstar will be knocking on our doors, so let's try to make lemonade out of a lemon (McGrady). I would be exstatic if we could land Iggy and Dalembert for McGrady and Scola (I like Scola, but we can only keep one of Landry or Scola). It seems the Sixers want another player in addition to McGrady, so Scola is it.

 

It is posts like this that make Clutch the best bb board, bar none. You bring urgency to our situation with your 3-year window.

I agree, it is NOW or never.

 

from today's Philly.com:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...ull_the_trigger_on_a_deal_.html?viewAll=y&c=y


POSTED: January 31, 2010
Inside the Sixers: Ready to pull the trigger on a deal?

By Kate Fagan

Inquirer Staff Writer

One year ago, the 76ers watched the trading deadline pass.

The reason was as simple as a foul shot: Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski believed in his young nucleus. The belief made sense. His team - the core of which was that young nucleus - was on its way to making its second straight playoff appearance. The Sixers seemed to be one of a handful of young NBA franchises with better days ahead, not in the rearview mirror.


Elton Brand has surged in recent weeks, but his contract is probably still too forbidding.

A year later, that vision has been tossed into a blender. This season's Feb. 18 trading deadline is rapidly approaching, and chatter within the league has the Sixers as one team likely to make a move.

On Thursday, Stefanski said: "We're very active in talking to teams throughout the league, and we're listening to any option to improve the basketball team. . . . I don't think there are any untouchables."

For the right price, no player has ever been untouchable, but the team's 15-31 record seems to have thrown open the doors.

What follows is a list of the Sixers most likely to be traded, and those least likely.

MOST LIKELY



Andre Iguodala

1 ($14.9 million this season, $51.2 remaining, including a $15.9 million player option for 2013-14.) Trade rumors don't create themselves - most of the time. And with Iguodala, they are not just rumors: The Sixers have taken calls and made calls about Iguodala.

Last season, Iguodala's play mirrored the Sixers' as a team, meaning on the rise. This season, he appears to have slipped, and his relationship with the fans - always tenuous - seems to be hanging by a thread.

Stefanski said he would make a trade only if he gets "value back, basketball-wise," which seems to rule out a deal with the Houston Rockets for Tracy McGrady's $23 million expiring contract. But the crunch of trading deadline could always change that scenario.

Other possibilities include the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks. If Iguodala is traded, it's almost certain he'll go to one of the contender franchises, because they are the only ones that might be willing to take on his hefty contract.



Lou Williams

2 ($5.0 million this season, $17.8 million remaining.) Lou Will's slide from the anointed one to doesn't-get-off-the-bench against the Los Angeles Lakers has been remarkable. Earlier this season, trading Williams seemed impossible. He was coach Eddie Jordan's go-to guy for a stretch and seemed to be in the midst of a breakout season.

A broken jaw and the signing of Allen Iverson has shifted his fate, leaving his future with the team uncertain and Williams - as confirmed by ESPN.com - mentioned in trade talks.

What makes Williams desirable is his relatively affordable contract combined with an explosive upside (remember, he was averaging 26.3 points a game for a short stretch in November). When other GMs suggest that if they're going to accept a hefty contract it must be paired with young talent, Williams fits that description.



Samuel Dalembert

3 ($11.4 million this season, $12.2 remaining.) Surprised? Yes, Dalembert's $3.5 million trade kicker, along with his rather expensive contract, has made him impossible to trade. But as his contract nears its end - only one full season remains after this one - the likelihood of finding Dalembert a new home increases.

Recently, Dalembert's play has been worthy of his paycheck, so it wouldn't be outlandish for a team needing inside presence to consider the previously unthinkable.



And keep this in mind:

Allen Iverson (prorated veteran's minimum, $650,000 this season). If a team in contention found itself with an injury, or in need of a sure-fire scorer for its playoff run, the Sixers would likely allow Iverson that opportunity.

LEAST LIKELY



Elton Brand

1 ($14.9 million this season, $51.2 million remaining.) In the last few weeks, Brand has become the power forward Stefanski promised when he was signed in July 2008.

But will this monthlong resurgence be enough to persuade another franchise to take on his contract? Not likely.

Many sources have confirmed that Brand's contract, by itself, is untradeable. Stefanski has pledged to make only basketball decisions. Trading Brand's contract would require pairing him with more desirable players and contracts, lowering the possibility of receiving equal basketball value.

There's also the question about Brand's new-found effectiveness. Do the Sixers even want to trade him?



Jrue Holiday

2 ($1.5 million this season, $1.6 million next season.) There are a few reasons Holiday won't be going anywhere. The kid is this team's future point guard, and his low-level rookie contract will bring back virtually nothing in return.

Now, when teams say they want talented toss-ins, this also means guys like Holiday. The only difference seems to be Holiday's insanely high upside.

More than in any season in recent memory, this coming trading deadline will almost certainly see the Sixers make at least one move. At least for a few weeks of this NBA season, the Sixers will be a topic of league-wide discussion.



Inside the Sixers:

Read Kate Fagan's 76ers blog, Deep Sixer, at http://go.philly.com/sports.



Blog response of the week

Posted 10:08 a.m., 01/28/2010

XmarksTheSpot

Iguodala is our best player. Period. Now with the team we have, that's not saying much. But he is a very good player. Is he worth his huge contract, no. I think mngmt thought that he would [be] though eventually. When Iguodala leaves and is playing well for a playoff team, the fans here [are] going to go, "Why couldn't he do that here?" Because this is not a well put-together team. We've got talent, that's for sure, but the pieces don't fit. Wheeling and dealing is the name of the game for our GM if he wants to keep his job. But not just for change. What is up with our NBA scouting department? There's talent on teams that might not fit where they are and could fit very well here. How's that Stephen Jackson trade working for Charlotte? And he was considered a misfit in GS. Right now the team seems to have a losing attitude. Like A.I. said, they're playing not to win but not to lose. With that kind of attitude, you will find ways to lose instead of ways to win.

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.