In 3 years who will be the best pro?

[tk76]

In 3 years who will be the best pro?

How will this player compare to Rudy Gay or god, err... I mean Brandon Roy and Josh Smith in 3 years?

[dbodner]

I'm very big on the Thaddeus Young bandwagon, but I don't see him having #1 type offensive ability, so I'm going to say Iguodala. But it could be very close.

[The Guilty Party]

I love Thaddeus but in 3 years... he'll be 22 and I believe he'll still be working on his game. Iguodala turns 24 it 2 weeks and so he'll be 27 and at the beginning of his prime years of his career.

I doubt that Young averages 19/5.7/4.5 in 3 years which is where Iguodala is now and I think Iguodala will improve those numbers.

Now..... I wonder if SendEm will choose Iguodala here.... hmmmm.

EDIT: By the way, numbers aren't everything for me so Young doesn't "have" to match those numbers but I do believe Iguodala will have more polish on his game at age 27 than Young at age 22.

[bebopdeluxe]

I think that Thad will benefit from playing his natural position - SF. Both Williams and Iggy are a bit challenged from where I sit...Williams is a combo-guard type that is a SG in a PG body...he can still be very productive, but I think he's best suited as a 25-30 mpg combo guard. Iguodala is another guy who doesn't fit any one spot...he can certainly be an excellent defensive SG, but I don't know if his offensive toolbox (or mentality) will get where it needs to be. While there may be some additional refinements to his game, I think that he is closer to where he will level off at that others on this forum have him...which is still a pretty good level, mind you.

Thad is a natural for his position (SF), and he still has SIGNIFICANT upside, IMO. Of the three of them, I think that Thad has the best chance to be a multi-year All-Star.

[The Sixer Fixer]

I'm going with Young here, but it's close. In 3 years, Thad will be half way through his 4th season and I expect his game to be light years ahead of where it is now. I think things on offense will "click" a lot faster than they did with Andre when he came into the NBA. I would not at all be shocked to see Thad averaging over 20 PPG in year 4. I'm not so sure Andre will be averaging much more than 20 PPG (especially if there's better offensive players around him). I think Thad's length will allow him to be as good a defender as Andre is. I do expect Andre to be better at setting up other players. On the flip side, I expect Thad to be a much better reboiunder than Andre.

To be honest, I expect both to have very close stats with Andre averaging more assists and Thad averaging more rebounds. Since I think Thad's ceeling is higher, I will pick him as the better pro. I think he had the drive to be great...since he's a hard worked, I don't see any reason why he can't get there.

[The Guilty Party]

Bebop... that's all good and I believe me and dbodner are with you on this.

That said, you didn't answer the question. The question isn't for their career but in THREE years. Is Thad going to be an all-star within 3 years??? And while Thad is developing, you don't believe Iguodala will improve? Do you believe that at age 23, what we see is what we will get with Iguodala??

[sec-106]

Gonna go with Young, but as stated before, it's close.

But I really can't wait for the summer.

[barkley34]

Iggy. If Young turns out to be better than Iggy we will be in really good shape at that point especially if we add a star in free agency.

That would mean Iggy is our #3 which probably also means we would be one of the best teams in the East.

[bebopdeluxe]

TGP:

I believe that Young will be better in three years than Iguodala.

Assuming that Iggy is still on the Sixers in three years, he will be playing the majority of his minutes at SG (I am assuming for the purposes of this exercise that we will have a LEGIT PF on this team, and we won't be playing the small-ball that we play right now - with Thad at PF in crunch-time). At that point - in three years - who is more likely to be dominant at their position: Iggy at SG or Thad at SF?

I think that it will be Thad.

I do believe that Iguodala can improve his game, but at SG there are still two areas where he needs material improvement - his handle and his mid-range/shoot-off-the-dribble jumper. These must be at a higher level at SG then they need to be at SF, IMO...so Thad's potential weaknesses in those areas won't be as much of a killer for his game then they could be for Iggy if he does not improve those areas materially (given the higher importance at SG for these two things).

I have said in other e-mails that I think that Iggy can be a better Bruce Bowen/Raja Bell-type SG...I know that is pushing it a bit, but unless he can get his handle and jumper closer to the state-of-the-art at SG (Wade, Redd, Roy, AI, Kobe, Manu, etc...), I think that he will always be that very-good-perhaps-one-time-but-not-perennial-All-Star-type player...a nice complimentary piece, but not a dominant player at his position.

While Thad is far from a lock to be that kind of player, it is hard not to like what we have seen in less than half-a-season...give the guy three more full seasons, and I think the likelihood of him being a better "pro" (which I am defining as better at his position and more impactful on a team's fortunes) than Iggy is reasonably high.

[tk76]

...How will this player compare to Rudy Gay or god, err... I mean Brandon Roy and Josh Smith in 3 years?

Anyone care to tackle this half of the quetion?

[AI2TY5]

I would say Young. He already has a more natural and smooth jump shot and offensive game that Iggy and will only continue to improve with experience and his body filling out. I think that Iggy will improve a little more offensively but not much more. I will not be surprised if his ppg avg. actually goes down as Thad and Lou continue to get more minutes and the stud PF we've all been hoping for arrives this summer.

I think that Young compares very favorably to Gay and Josh Smith. I think that he can become a 20pt scorer like Gay and a defensive stud like Smith at least in terms of steals and rebounds but will not be the shot blocker that J-Smoove is.

LouWill is a natural scorer and combo guard probably best suited to coming of the bench rather than being our starting PG. His defense will most likely only get marginally better while Thaddeus is already more of a 2-way player than LW is.

[ITK9]

iggy will be in his prime and will be a 22/6/6 player.i can't see how lou or thad can be better at that point.

[MicrOLak3R]

I'll go with the underdog. LouWill be better. He's just getting over his toe injury and you know that affects his lift. He's coming around now and everyone will be on the wagon.

[AnSweR07]

I'm going with Lou as well. I believe in this kid. True, his size and lack of true position may indeed hurt him, but his maturity and poise is well beyond his years for someone his age. He has the most natural playing ability out of the three and possesses that takeover mentality, making shots in the clutch which I like.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

I love Lou Williams. His size and his lack of a true position does hurt him. But he'll definately be a great pro. I see him in the Jason Terry like role. Especially if he improves his D just a little bit more. Prennial sixth man or offensive starting PG.

But the best is Thaddeus Young. Every time he steps onto the floor, he makes a play. He's showing his athletic ability and he's not forcing himself. You could say, like Iguodala his play is beyond his years.

I think Iggy and Young could be the combo of the future for the sixers.

[SendEm]

Iggy has already maxed out his potential. We are looking at Iggy at the greatest production level he will ever reach. Sure his jump shot could develop over the years and become even automatic, but that's it. The only other road Iggy has yet to explore in his career is playing with very good to great low post scorer like an Al Jefferson or Shaq. But as far as playing with great to good perimeter players we have seen him play with AI and he wasn't productive. That wouldn't change much if he were playing with Lebron, Jordan, or D. Wade.

Lou Williams is a career bench player. I don't have high hopes for this player. He was a good second round draft pick that has proven that he can be a professional NBA player. His best days will come when he can play on a team that can use him as a spot up jump shooter and slasher. Something like the reverse of how Golden State uses Monta Ellis.

It's still early for Thad. We all know that his handle is suspect but I seen him use a jump stop move on Battier during the Houston game which surprised me. Either he is developing the ability to change directions while going full speed, or he is getting more comfortable on the court.

I will have to go with Thad. I have seen Iguodala have far too many mentally weak moments where he loses confidence in his abilities or just gets dominated by Super Star players. Thad looks like a nice guy, but he seems to have that ability to stand tall amongst all competition.

Jason Smith has an outside chance. If he can play on a team with a great passing system and he can improve upon his body control while in the air he could be a VERY good player.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

Sendem: In all HONESTY, what do you hate about Andre Iguodala?

He's a versatile swingman that can score the ball.

[SendEm]

Sendem: In all HONESTY, what do you hate about Andre Iguodala?

He's a versatile swingman that can score the ball.

Iggy is by no means a "scorer". No credible scout or anyone with a paid evaluation/opinion will ever mention Iggy and "scorer" together. You had versatile right. He's inefficient while not producing nearly enough for the playing time and opportunities he's given out on the court. Iggy has reached his zenith so it's best to sell high or give him a contract that reflects that he has limited potential.

[AnSweR07]

Iggy has already maxed out his potential. We are looking at Iggy at the greatest production level he will ever reach. Sure his jump shot could develop over the years and become even automatic, but that's it. The only other road Iggy has yet to explore in his career is playing with very good to great low post scorer like an Al Jefferson or Shaq. But as far as playing with great to good perimeter players we have seen him play with AI and he wasn't productive. That wouldn't change much if he were playing with Lebron, Jordan, or D. Wade.

Lou Williams is a career bench player. I don't have high hopes for this player. He was a good second round draft pick that has proven that he can be a professional NBA player. His best days will come when he can play on a team that can use him as a spot up jump shooter and slasher. Something like the reverse of how Golden State uses Monta Ellis.

It's still early for Thad. We all know that his handle is suspect but I seen him use a jump stop move on Battier during the Houston game which surprised me. Either he is developing the ability to change directions while going full speed, or he is getting more comfortable on the court.

I will have to go with Thad. I have seen Iguodala have far too many mentally weak moments where he loses confidence in his abilities or just gets dominated by Super Star players. Thad looks like a nice guy, but he seems to have that ability to stand tall amongst all competition.

Jason Smith has an outside chance. If he can play on a team with a great passing system and he can improve upon his body control while in the air he could be a VERY good player.

Lou Williams a career bench player?? I usually agree with most of your assessments but that's just laughable.

[SendEm]

-= original quote snipped =-





Lou Williams a career bench player?? I usually agree with most of your assessments but that's just laughable.

He's a 6'1 PG (good height) with a developing outside shot, very good speed, average scoring ability and below average playmaking ability. At 21 years of age one of those attributes atleast needs to be excellent. Sure us Sixers fans have high hopes for him but if he is a starter for a NBA franchise they better have a pure dominant low post player like Shaq. I think what makes the average person believe that he is somewhat special is his ability to dunk in games. But all his dunking ability does is take away from his scoring creativity. He is looking to finish over players like he is 6'5" when he should be more focused on absorbing contact and putting up a contortionist layup ala Allen Iverson, Boby Jackson, Chris Paul, etc. In a couple of years when he begins losing some of that vertical leap if he doesn't have that skill or improve his jump shot to compensate for the lack of it, it could be curtains for Lou Will. A ton of 6'1" guards come out in the draft every year. He's really only around more so because he has alot of potential, not because of what he adds to your basketball team. He takes too many dribbles not to be a great scorer.