Who will be the better player in 3 years? Iguodala or Thad?

[LongLiveHinkie]

Who do you think will be the superior player in 3 years? Will Thad's upside surpass Iguodala by that time, or will Iguodala have grown too good for Thad to surpass by that many years?

[UptownPhilly]

In Three Years...Young

Iguodala wil be very good also, but I expect Young to come into his own in the next few years.

Iguodala will be entering his prime in three years though.

[Sixersftw]

I think that thad will ultimately be the better player but iguodala in 3 years should be officially in his prime.

thad will be 21/22 and while a good player probably won't have caught up to and surpassed a prime iguodala. I think it will probably be close butif he does surpass iguodala in 3 years, it will bode very well for this club.

[ankle420breaker]

If Thad is the better player in 3 years, we should be in fantastic shape.

[tk76]

Thad has as much or more upside as Dala, but I still think Iguodala will be the better, and more high profile star on this team. That said, they might both be in the all star game in three years.

Hope those guys gel a lead us for the next 8-10 years. Lou too. Bank it- as these guys start to lose a bit of their athletic ability in 6-7 years(10 in Thad's case) they will more than compensate by developing great jump shots and floor games.

[ProcessDoctor]

I think Iguodala will, but That will be a better pure scorer and rebounder. Iguodala will be a better defender, passer, and leader.

[freshie2]

Tough to call...my hope is they are both still here at that time. A 2/3 combo of Iguodala/Thad for the next decade is a nice thought. I think 3 years is probably still Iguodala, but if Thad's trajectory of improvement continues on this rate it will be very close. In three years, hopefully we're talking about Iguodala as a 22+/5/5 type player, and Thad as a bigger scorer/rebounder around 24/8.

[Skates]

The fact that you can ask this question and have no one mock it tells you a ton about the potential Young has. I think it's too close to call, but just saying that is huge props to Thad in itself.

[STChaser]

Both will be equally good but in different ways. Thaddeus will be our silent warrior who puts up big numbers and Iguodala will be our vocal leader and team motivator. As for natural ability though, I'd have to give the edge to Thaddeus. Iguodala looks the part, has a great NBA frame, etc., but has had to work much harder to get to where he is today. That being said, if Thaddeus adopts Iguodala's work ethic, he should be an outstanding player for years to come. If we add a solid allstar caliber PF to this team who attracts defensive attention, Iguodala and Thaddeus should get even more opportunities to shine. Really, the sky is the limit for these guys.

STChaser

[tk76]

In three years, hopefully we're talking about Iguodala as a 22+/5/5 type player, and Thad as a bigger scorer/rebounder around 24/8.

Those are some high expectations for two guys who aren't high volume shooters (like AI and Melo.) If they approach those kind of numbers we will be an elite team. I would be happy if Iguodala kept his current numbers on a team that was winning 55+ games (harder to score 20 on a great talented team then a rebuilding one as Sendem would say.) Thad hopefully will be a 18/9/3/1.3/.530 type of effecient scorer/all around force.

What I would like to see is both guys putting up those kinds of numbers without taking too many shots- leaving room for other players to add outside shooting and low post scoring to the equation. That would make us a great team- as opposed to a Washington or Denver, where 2 or 3 guys get all of the touches.

[Fire BK]

3 years?

How about RIGHT NOW.

And the answer is Thad.

If Thaddeus dominated the ball like Iggy does, he'd score just as many points and probably much more. Thad is smoother with the ball, has better post moves, a bigger body, has a more natural outside shooting stroke, and is a better FT shooter.

IMO Thad Young is already a superior basketball player to Iguodala.

[The Guilty Party]

Thad has been solid this year but to say he's better than Iguodala at this point is a joke especially with the way Iguodala has been playing in the month of March.

In 3 years time, I'm going to say that Iguodala will hold a slight edge since Iguodala will be 27 and in his prime while Thad will be 22 and still improving. That's not to say that Thad won't be a 17+ scorer but I think Iguodala will hold a slight advantage. In 5 or 6 years time I think Thad will be the better player.

[Fire BK]

a joke

I agree that Iggy is playing at a very high level right now.

But there is no doubt in my mind that if Thad got those minutes, those plays run for him, and all those shots.... he'd be putting up even better numbers than Iggy. And I couldn't care less about numbers. IMO Thad has better raw, natural basketball talent than Iggy. He's got an inborn sense for the game that you can't teach.

Which of these categories would you dispute?

Intangibles.................................Thad > Iggy
Size and length...........................Thad > Iggy
Smoother offensive game............Thad > Iggy
Pure shooting stroke...................Thad > Iggy
FT shooter..................................Thad > Iggy
Touch around the rim..................Thad > Iggy
Rebounding................................Thad > Iggy

Iggy gets 40 mpg to Thad's 20. That's what makes him better. Outside of 3-point shooting (barely) and leadership (solely because of age, not skills)... what exactly does Iggy do better than Thad?

[eyeatoma]

I'm on board with you FireBK, not entirely, I think Iggy, has really improved in the last couple of months, but even if Thad was given more time, I don't see him putting Iggy's numbers this year atleast.

His fg% would not be .530, I would say it would be closer to .480

His turnovers would be higher, because he would be trying to create a lot more.

His rebounding number would be a lot better though. And I could see him averaging about 16 ppg...

But one skill set that Iggy definitely has on Thad is passing. And at this point, its not even close.

[Mozy-76er Fan]

In 3 years time, I'm going to say that Iguodala will hold a slight edge since Iguodala will be 27 and in his prime while Thad will be 22 and still improving. That's not to say that Thad won't be a 17+ scorer but I think Iguodala will hold a slight advantage. In 5 or 6 years time I think Thad will be the better player.

That is how I feel. On another note I accidentally clicked on this link that shows how all the websites predicted the 2007 draft. Nobody had Thad going to Philly. Some had Thad going 13 and many didn't have Thad going in the lottery:

http://www.nba.com/draft2007/board/mock.html

[tk76]

A lot of Thads opportunity baskets are a direct result of Iguodala driving and either drawing defenders or dishing the ball. Thad has been making the most of his opprtunity, but he is not playing at an all-star level like Dala has.

Miller and Iguodala are the engine. Young has been the turbocharger that has helped take this team to a winning level.

[IggyTheBEaST]

If Thad is the better player in 3 years, we should be in fantastic shape.