Andre Iguodala is the 49th best player in the NBA

[geiger]

On a different note, this should be a career building year for Iggy. He's 24, he's mature, he's been in the league long enough, he's at position he's best qualified for size wise, he no longer has to be the number 1 option, he has a long term contract and security, and he will have a true post player and a pass first PG playing with him. Either he takes a leap forward this season or the Sixers made a mistake in giving him the big deal that they did. The leap forward doesn't have to be purely statistical - in other words, I won't judge him solely on his totals, it's his overall game and versatility that need to improve. I want to see new skill sets and a renewed focus to defense.

[Loose Cannon]

On a different note, this should be a career building year for Iggy. He's 24, he's mature, he's been in the league long enough, he's at position he's best qualified for size wise, he no longer has to be the number 1 option, he has a long term contract and security, and he will have a true post player and a pass first PG playing with him. Either he takes a leap forward this season or the Sixers made a mistake in giving him the big deal that they did. The leap forward doesn't have to be purely statistical - in other words, I won't judge him solely on his totals, it's his overall game and versatility that need to improve. I want to see new skill sets and a renewed focus to defense.

I don't think his skill set necessarily needs drastic additions, more so refining, honing his arsenal. And that jump shot is something that I want to see him improve, above all.

[geiger]

That's the most important one. On defense, he just needs focus. He knows how to play it, he just takes plays off from time to time.

On offense, he needs a lot of work. He needs to improve both his ball handling skills and his decision making with the ball. He also needs to learn how to shoot off the dribble, improve consistency on his jump shot, learn how to come off screens for quick shots, and improve his three point shooting. Another thing I would like to see from him is using his superior athleticism and strength to shoot fade away jumpers from the low post over other SGs, most of whom aren't strong enough to handle him one on one in the post. He has a lot he can work on.

[Loose Cannon]

That's the most important one. On defense, he just needs focus. He knows how to play it, he just takes plays off from time to time.

On offense, he needs a lot of work. He needs to improve both his ball handling skills and his decision making with the ball. He also needs to learn how to shoot off the dribble, improve consistency on his jump shot, learn how to come off screens for quick shots, and improve his three point shooting. Another thing I would like to see from him is using his superior athleticism and strength to shoot fade away jumpers from the low post over other SGs, most of whom aren't strong enough to handle him one on one in the post. He has a lot he can work on.

Well, the bulk of the scoring load isn't on his shoulders anymore so I can see him working harder and exerting himself more defensively like his beginning years.

He definitely has a lot to work on which is why I said it's more so refining (i.e. fine tuning his jumper with a better release point) -- there's no way he improves that drastically this offseason, the fundamentals and intangibles will come with time. I'd agree with the assessment for the most part, though.

[geiger]

I think he certainly has the potential to make all of those improvements. For one, as you said, he will no longer be forced to be the primary scorer. Secondly, he will have a true low post presence to play with and will as a result, get more space to drive and more open looks from the outside. Those two things alone should make him better.

The other skills will take a lot of work and I agree with you that its unreasonable to think he can develop all of them in one off-season. But what works in his favor is that he has good size, great strength, and outstanding athleticism for the position of SG. At SF, he had to go up against bigger players with similar or better strength and more length and height. At SG, he will be the guy with the physical advantage on most nights. Also, if Thad Young can hold his own at SF, Iggy will mostly be guarded by SGs, which should help him when shooting over people and give him a chance for more post ups. I don't think you need a SG who shoots 40% from 3's to win. If Iggy can bring that 31% shooting to 34% or 35%, that should be good enough and that is doable. The other skills he should approach as Jordan and Kobe did - working on one outstanding skill in the off-season to add a new offensive dimension to their games. By all accounts, he's a hard working kid who puts in time at the gym. Hopefully that continues.

[Loose Cannon]

I think he certainly has the potential to make all of those improvements. For one, as you said, he will no longer be forced to be the primary scorer. Secondly, he will have a true low post presence to play with and will as a result, get more space to drive and more open looks from the outside. Those two things alone should make him better.

The other skills will take a lot of work and I agree with you that its unreasonable to think he can develop all of them in one off-season. But what works in his favor is that he has good size, great strength, and outstanding athleticism for the position of SG. At SF, he had to go up against bigger players with similar or better strength and more length and height. At SG, he will be the guy with the physical advantage on most nights. Also, if Thad Young can hold his own at SF, Iggy will mostly be guarded by SGs, which should help him when shooting over people and give him a chance for more post ups. I don't think you need a SG who shoots 40% from 3's to win. If Iggy can bring that 31% shooting to 34% or 35%, that should be good enough and that is doable. The other skills he should approach as Jordan and Kobe did - working on one outstanding skill in the off-season to add a new offensive dimension to their games. By all accounts, he's a hard working kid who puts in time at the gym. Hopefully that continues.

I wasn't talking about him not being able to make improvements to his percentages and effectiveness, that's just **** crazy to imply that. I was saying that I didn't think he'd drastically improve his skill set to the magnitude that you were suggesting.

[Loose Cannon]

I'm not sure if you guys are paying attention or not, but he updated his piece of ____ list again:
http://nba.fanhouse.com/tag/NBATop50/

Tyson, Battier, Gay... yes, he's serious. He's got me convinced: he's a former lobotomy patient. Sorry if that's insulting to any of you former lobotomy patients out there, though.

[The Guilty Party]

Salaries not being an issue, if the Sixers called the Pacers and said... "We'll trade you Iguodala for Granger straight up"... could the Pacers possibly decline it?? I say no hence there's no way Granger should be #44 and ahead of Iguodala.

[Loose Cannon]

Granger is at least arguable -- Gay isn't better than Iggy, Tyson is a product of Paul (although his defense and rebounding isn't, he's purely a utility, complementary player), and Battier isn't even better than Artest, and he's ranked above him.

[The Guilty Party]

I think Granger is a really nice player.... just not better than a younger Andre Iguodala who does more on the floor. Either way, these type of lists usually accomplish their mission which is to get people agitated hence talking about what some guy wrote on his website.

[geiger]

Presuming Granger signs a 6 year extension for $80 million with the Pacers, if we called to trade Iggy for Granger - I guarantee they would say no. Not because Granger is necessarily the better player, but because their entire system is predicated on ability to shoot the 3, something Granger did very well last season and Iggy did not. Also because Granger is a much bigger, more natural SF and is a better rebounder whereas Iggy is more of a SG/point forward - something they don't need with a glut of other SG and SFs there - they need rebounding, 3 point shooting, and ability to play the 4 in a small line-up. But again, that doesn't mean in any way that Granger is a better player than Iguodala - it just means that for the system the Pacers run and their current team, he's a better fit.

As for Rudy Gay, he is not better than Iguodala today because of his defense, but it's easy to argue that one would rather have Rudy Gay than Andre Iguodala. Gay is 2 years younger, is already a better shooter, better 3 point shooter, better rebounder, better free throw shooter, better shot blocker, and better scorer. He's also a lot bigger and is a natural SF where Iggy is a tweener between SG and SF. Gay is not as good defensively and he is sloppy with the ball and no where near the passer Iggy is. But he does have a bigger upside. But on today's performance, taking potential out of the equation, I would say Iggy is a better player. In a year or two, maybe not.