Source: Bynum coming to Sixers, Iguodala gone
According to a league source, the big man the Sixers have long coveted will be arriving in town via trade Friday morning.
Source: Bynum coming to Sixers, Iguodala gone
Bob Cooney
According to a league source, the big man the Sixers have long coveted will be arriving in town via trade Friday morning.
The source confirmed to the Daily News that the reported deal that will bring Los Angeles Lakers 7-0, 285-pound center Andrew Bynum to the Sixers will be announced at a press conference Friday morning.
A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com that the Denver Nuggets will get Sixers All-Star Andre Iguodala, the Lakers will receive Dwight Howard, the 76ers will get Bynum and Orlando’s Jason Richardson, and the Magic will get Denver’s Arron Afflalo, and Al Harrington, the Sixers’ Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the other three teams.
In addition, the Magic will be getting other pieces, including the 76ers’ No. 1 draft pick, Moe Harkless, a source told ESPN.
Lakers forward Pau Gasol had been in and out of talks, sources told ESPN.
Should the deal go through, it will be quite a coup for 76ers president Rod Thorn. When asked how the team can become a possible contender for a championship, three words usually weren’t too far from coming out of his mouth: “Dominant big man.”
Coach Doug Collins has commented on how nice it would be to have that hulking force in the post.
That force appears to be on the way.
Bynum, who will turn 25 in October, entered the NBA draft after his senior year in high school at Saint Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, N.J., and was selected by the Lakers with the 10th overall pick in 2005. In his seven seasons with L.A., Bynum, who grew up in Plainsboro, N.J., averaged 11.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Last season, his best in the league, Bynum went for 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and shot 55.8 percent from the floor in 35.2 minutes per game. He missed just six games, the fewest since his second year in the league. He has been dogged about his leadership and maturity issues and has been hampered by injuries throughout his career. He has missed 130 of the Lakers’ 394 regular-season games, mostly due to separate knee injuries.
Iguodala is currently a helping hand on an Olympic team that seems headed to winning the gold medal in London. This past season, Iguodala was an All-Star for the first time and earned the unending praise of Collins for his defensive prowess and overall game that produced 12.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
Iguodala, 28, has spent all eight of his NBA seasons with the Sixers after being taken with the ninth pick in the 2004 draft. The durable Iguodala has been struggling with nagging injuries over the past couple of seasons, with tendinitis in both knees and a recurring Achilles’ strain.
In Bynum, the Sixers will be adding a possible expiring contract. Bynum is scheduled to make close to $16.5 million this coming season. Iguodala will make $14.7 million and has a player-option deal to make $15.9 million with the Sixers the next season.
yes - he has been the heart of this team for years. I find it strange that they let Harkless go hearing how high DC was on him..— chollie- can not be more happy about this trade. The Iguodala Era ran its' course. It was time to move on. Now it's time to give the key to Evan Turner and let him run this team.— FireCollins
- Still stunned: Sixers traded Vucevic, who was buried in DC's doghouse and would probably see little playing time, Harkless, who was rumored to be ticketed to the D League to work on his game and get back into shape after his injury; Iguodala, their best on-ball defender but whose time had come to be moved; and a protected first round draft pick (the second such pick to be moved thanks to the Moultrie deal) in return for a 24-year-old All-Star center with an edge and a 31-year old 6:6 quality shooting guard. Sixers just went from a likely 38-win season to a potential 50-win season. They are loaded!— chuckw
- Bob Coony is without a doubt the worst sports writer in history. Also learn how to use commas— jbzuck
- Can't hate on this deal. THE SIXERS ARE GOING TO BE ILL SON!!!!!!!!! YA DIG PHILLY?— Darryl Cofield
- Positive step, but those heralding the Sixers as Atlantic champs need to take a breath. They still have a lot of work to do, as the team is terribly imbalanced. J Rich makes either or both Nick Young and Dorell Wright redundant -- three guys who do pretty much the same exact thing. Kwame signing now seems like a waste of time and money...if it wasn't before. Hawes as a starting 4? Far from a sure thing, especially defensively...can he run with the likes of Amare and Humphries? How does Thad fit in? And still no legit back-up for Holiday - sorry Wayns. Again, a hard move not to like, but this team is in no way a finished product that will contend for a title.— jmk1512
- One side note: Offseason pickups Nick Young and Kwame Brown are not dead weight.— Richard S
- are 'now' dead weight— Richard S
- Much love and respect to a classy and under appreciated guy Andre Iguodala... With that said you have to love the direction the current Sixers ownership is moving... Great Trade...— ghostr1der
- Ditto ghostr1der (last comment).— Steve Jeltz, the home-run king
- I'll miss Iggy too a little bit, but he was a bad fit for this team. The Sixers need scoring, rebounding, basically a big presence in the middle, and Iggy couldn't provide that. So this trade had to happen and is a great move for the Sixers.— mjc1
- I'll miss Iggy too a little bit, but he was a bad fit for this team. The Sixers need scoring, rebounding, basically a big presence in the middle, and Iggy couldn't provide that. So this trade had to happen and is a great move for the Sixers.— mjc1
jbzuck: you've clearly never read a Sixers article by John Mitchell.
— Leegles- Cheers to Iggy getting a fresh start elsewhere coming off the Olympics. Always liked him but he needed a new scene. Love all the moves this offseason. Only a little worried about not resigning Bynum and losing Harkless, who admittedly I'd never heard of before the Sixers drafted him. I guess if Bynum gets injured or fails to mesh this year, Sixers can trade him at the deadline or gain tons of cap space they can use to sign whoever's available next summer. Can't wait to see how Jrue, ET, Thad, and Bynum look out on the floor. A little worried about defense but the Sixers still have a very good defensive coordinator in Michael Curry. Excited in August -- rare for a Sixers fan.— Leegles
- Nice trade, now let's make a deal for Thad Young and Hawes for a true power forward !!!!— Peanut997
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
