Mavericks, Sixers and Blazers

[Rnd Mnd of Rbnd]

Thad will not become a better overall player than Iguodala. Could be the better scorer, though. But Iguodala does everything else very well. If I had to pick one, it would be Iguodala. But I'd rather not decide. We should be keeping both...

Yes and yes.

[corwin]

We're all going to disagree about who will be the better player but I agree that both should be kept right now. IMO Iguodala could be a great defensive player; he was only good last year. On offense there are some serious limitations to his game. He'll never be a good shooter. He can't break down his man, yet he needs to have the ball in his hands to be effective. That means that other distributors will have to watch him hog the ball. Without the ball in his hands, he's a 3rd option at best on a good team. If his ego would allow it, he'd actually be perfect complementary player for Portland. He's also 25 while Young is 21. Young in contrast is not a good defensive player or rebounder yet. He has an uncanny ability to score inside without plays being called for him. He has been playing out of his natural position. I think he's going to be able to abuse small forwards. His handle is much improved & IMO not much worse than Iguodala's even now. He's already a better shooter. He has the potential to be a 1st or 2nd option on a good team.

[sixerswillrule]

We're all going to disagree about who will be the better player but I agree that both should be kept right now. IMO Iguodala could be a great defensive player; he was only good last year. On offense there are some serious limitations to his game. He'll never be a good shooter. He can't break down his man, yet he needs to have the ball in his hands to be effective. That means that other distributors will have to watch him hog the ball. Without the ball in his hands, he's a 3rd option at best on a good team.

Did you watch last season?

You also forgot to mention that Iguodala is one of the best playmakers in the league among non-point guards.

And I'm not trying to put down Young. I'm a big fan of his and know for sure that he's only going to get better. But Iguodala has been an all-star caliber player and is a much better overall player than Young right now.

[corwin]

I watched all of the games last season. I like Iguodala. I just think that there are holes in his game that will prevent him from being a 1st or 2nd option. Mostly he is a mediocre shooter without a decent mid-range game. He also needs to dominate the ball to be effective on offense & like I said he can't break down his man. I agree he's a good distributor when he dominates the ball. I also agree that he's better than Young right now but I think that won't be the case much longer.

[sixerswillrule]

So he can't shoot and he can't drive? That would make him a very, very poor player offensively in a half-court set. In reality, he did very well there last season(which is the reason why I bolded that statement and asked that question). He got by his defender on a regular basis. If he wasn't able to do that, he wouldn't be the excellent playmaker that he is and he would shoot a much lower field goal percentage. But that's not the case...

[Rnd Mnd of Rbnd]

Well, they have different skill sets and hopefully the Sixers keep both.

[corwin]

So he can't shoot and he can't drive? That would make him a very, very poor player offensively in a half-court set. In reality, he did very well there last season(which is the reason why I bolded that statement and asked that question). He got by his defender on a regular basis. If he wasn't able to do that, he wouldn't be the excellent playmaker that he is and he would shoot a much lower field goal percentage. But that's not the case...

I don't agree with you on any of Iguodala's offensive skills. When you say he gets by his defender, this is simply not true. He doesn't have the handle or quickness. How many times did we have to watch the junior high school weave at the beginning of last season to open up the offense a little. His shooting speaks for itself. He's improved but it's still downright ugly at times. Will it be good enough? I doubt it. One of the problems that the team had at the beginning of last season (not the only one) was that he was put in the position to be the #1 offensive option. It didn't work because he simply doesn't shoot well enough. In terms of being an excellent playmaker, I think he is pretty decent there & has nice passing ability. He has to dominate the ball to do that however so we'll see how he does in a more open offense. In terms of shooting ability his season & career stats are close to Andre Miller's & no one has ever accused Miller of being a good shooter. That & the fact that he doesn't get all of those dunks. I trust my eyes when it comes to Iguodala's offensive game. There have been & will continue to be holes in it which IMO will prevent him from being a #1 option.

[sixerswillrule]

No one is saying that he is a #1 option. But you're saying that he can't drive and he can't shoot, which would make him more of a #5 option. Or someone that wouldn't be starting, or even be in the NBA for that matter, if not for other abilities. That's a joke...

Decent playmaker? I guess when you're only behind Wade, LeBron, and Joe Johnson in assists per game for non-point guards, that's decent...

[ecuhus1981]

Let's end the Iggy debate right now. Send him to the Mavs, so no one in Philly will have to worry about him!

I can understand why you wouldn't want to trade him. But I do feel that this trade gives PHI a fair value return, and a better, more cohesive and more competitive team this year and into the future.

[corwin]

No one is saying that he is a #1 option. But you're saying that he can't drive and he can't shoot, which would make him more of a #5 option. Or someone that wouldn't be starting, or even be in the NBA for that matter, if not for other abilities. That's a joke...

Decent playmaker? I guess when you're only behind Wade, LeBron, and Joe Johnson in assists per game for non-point guards, that's decent...

I'll split the difference with you. I actually see him as a #3 option. Still can't shoot or break his man down but passes well, dunks with the best of them & is excellent in the open court. I've never denied he can make plays with the ball in his hands but then again that's the problem IMO since he needs to dominate the ball to be effective. His APG is an indicator of just that. If he would just work on his mid-range game instead of his 3-point shooting he could be much more effective offensively.

[sixerswillrule]

If he can't shoot and can't break down his man, then his scoring ability is on the level of someone like Gerald Green...
Guys that can't do those things aren't #3 options. As I said, they aren't even in the NBA if they have no other skills.
You don't average 5.3 assists from fast breaks and passes standing outside the three point line. And guys who can't break down their man don't average 18.8 points on 47% shooting when only 3.7 points come from dunks...

[Rnd Mnd of Rbnd]

There's no question that Iggy is a mediocre shooter, but toward the end of last year, he was breaking his man down and creating his own shot on a regular basis.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Weakens Portland's frontcourt. Adds a good wing while removing another. Howard is a good player, so at least the value isn't horrible. Portland still passes.

Brutal for Philadelphia. I love Rudy, but a backcourt starring Terry and Rudy would get abused on a nightly basis. The Sixers get A LOT worse here. I think this premise insults Iguodala.

Quite nice for Dallas.

[corwin]

If he can't shoot and can't break down his man, then his scoring ability is on the level of someone like Gerald Green...
Guys that can't do those things aren't #3 options. As I said, they aren't even in the NBA if they have no other skills.
You don't average 5.3 assists from fast breaks and passes standing outside the three point line. And guys who can't break down their man don't average 18.8 points on 47% shooting when only 3.7 points come from dunks...

Is Gerald Green still in the NBA? Why are you using him as a basis for comparison? I never said Iguodala didn't have skills or that he wasn't a valuable player. His skills unfortunately are primarily on the defensive end. My criticism is with his offensive skills. You have to trust what you see & I'll stick with what I've written about his shooting and ability to break down his man. We'll just have to agree to disagree!

[sixerswillrule]

I compared them OFFENSIVELY. Exactly, he's no longer in the NBA. That's my entire point. Guys that can't shoot and can't break down their man are TERRIBLE offensive players. Absolutely useless. Without other skills, they aren't in the NBA at all. Terrible offensive players aren't all-star caliber players, like Iguodala is. Unless you're absolutely elite in other areas, like Ben Wallace. Terrible offensive players aren't among the league's best in playmaking, like Iguodala is. After all, how in the world can you make a play for a teammate when you can't do anything offensively? And terrible offensive players certainly don't average 19 PPG, like Iguodala does. No way, no how. It just doesn't happen...

[sixerswillrule]

Sixers board.