What if Andre Iguodala and rookie Evan Turner can't coexist?
Rookie Evan Turner is finding it hard to be productive when Andre Iguodala is on the court at the same time.
What if Andre Iguodala and rookie Evan Turner can't coexist?
Bob Cooney
The Sixers have many problems - not exactly startling news for a team that is currently 5-13. But the biggest one of all right now is that rookie Evan Turner, this year's second overall pick, is finding it hard to be a productive player when he is on the court with Andre Iguodala.
Iguodala missed five full games this season with tendonitis in his right Achilles. During that time, Turner stepped into the starting lineup and showed glimpses of why he was taken No. 2.
Let's take a look at the numbers: In the five games with Iguodala sidelined, Turner shot 23-for-51 (45 percent) and grabbed 8.2 rebounds. The numbers were a direct result of Turner's activeness on the court and confidence.
Now, Iguodala has been back in the lineup for five games and during that time coach Doug Collins has kept Turner in the lineup. During the past five games, Turner has been practically invisible, shooting 23.8 percent (5-for-21) and has a total of 10 rebounds.
Collins hasn't hidden the fact that Turner struggles with Iguodala, but for now seems intent on keeping Turner in the starting lineup.
Iguodala might be one of the hardest players in this city, in any sport, to figure out. His numbers and all-around play are impressive, but he is not the superstar that this team can build around. He is certainly coveted by many teams in the league, but Philly fans have had a problem warming up to him.
And now, the coveted rookie is finding it hard to play with him. As long as Iguodala is here, he will be on the floor for major minutes. He has averaged over 38 minutes a game during his seven seasons and showed his worth in Tuesday's win over Portland. Though he scored just seven points on four shots, Iguodala was instrumental in leading a Sixers fourth-quarter defense that limited the Trail Blazers to 4-of-20 shooting from the floor.
I've said all along that my feeling is the Sixers will deal Iguodala at some point this season, probably after the midway point. Is the move now more necessary being that the No. 2 pick can't seem to play with Iguodala? Could be. Certainly the organization wants to build the future around the backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Turner. But if Turner's growth is stunted because of his inability to play with Iguodala, what's the solution?
Comments (37)
The Wizzards are John Wall's team, he knows it, the Front Office knows it, the players know it. And John Wall plays like it.
Who's team is this? Is it Iggy? Jrue? Turner? Brand?
Right now it's Iggy's team. Everybody knows it, and turner is playing his role on Iggy's team. Iggy is the captain and the rest of the team defers to him.
Unless the sixers get this situation resolved, Turner is going to end up in the same situation as Thaddeus Young.— dervin- billy king, ed stefanski....
nuff said
what can rod thorn do that would change a long term trend?
— jamzo 
if Iguodala took a squat in the woods and nobody smelled it...would it still stink?- For those to annoint Turner a bust after 18 games should turn in their basketball fan membership cards. Give me a break, for real. The good part of this article is the fact that other teams in the NBA covet Iggy. Iggy will be gone by the all-star break, and hopefully, Lou Williams will follow. He's a decent player but not what this team needs right now.— beegal99
First of all chemistry is something that needs to e developed over time. If you can get a young center for 9 then do it. Not because I want to see him go, but because by the time this team gets good it will be at the Igoudala will be almost thirty. Maybe he doesn't want to be in a rebuild situation. Same for Brand and Nocioni- the bottom line on anyone who has combo size and who is picked number 2 in the pro draft is if you can't exist with a player whose best skills are to play defense and play team defense then you are a bust. the proper path to take with Turner is to see if Collins can pull superior play out of him with the present group of players and if not then try to toss him off to another organization. the scouting reports on the young man hinted he had limited athleticism and I see flashes of those limits every time he touches the ball. no other team in the NBA in their right mind will trade away a good big man to the sixers for AI even if Andre could also hit 3 pointers at a 50% rate. tweeners are a dime a dozen. the lame brains calling for AI to be tossed away for scraps just to see ET perform sound like the same characters who wanted McNabb sent away so an obviously less talented player like Kolb could get a chance. the difference in the sixers case is that there is no Vick to come to rescue.— barrywil
- All this talk about Tuner is garbage. The fact of the matter is that Turner is too unselfish. he looks to facilitate his teammates too much. if he was with another team the centered him as the focal point his stats would be totally different. collins needs to make him shoot more. 2 shots a game? forgetaboutit— kerryt
- Turner, Holiday and Collins, does that put fear into the upper echelon of teams in the East? Someone said it above, but I'll say it another way, the Sixers got the #2 pick in a 1 man draft. Wall is already one of the twenty most influential players in the league Evan Turner will likely never even be a twenty point score in the NBA.
- I'm with slovak34 on this one, WOW are the "he's a bust calls" a little premature. Yeah, he's no John Wall, but guess what, so is *nobody else*. Who did you want? Demarcus Cousins with 2.4 turnovers per game? Favors averaging an enviable 6.8ppg/5.7trb/0.2ast? Or Johnson at 9.5/3.1/2.0? Seriously, there's a reason there called "rookies". In fact, here's a little something to think about: guess who's rookie line this belonged too: 7.6/1.9/1.3 ? Hint: rhymes with Sobe Fryant.— 3-hit shutout
- Iguodala was DOMINANT last night on the defensive end. Turner also played very good defense. The whole team played very good defense last night. That was winning basketball people.— JBP
Phillies mishandled Brown and the result was a 210 batting average on his resume. Look for the same thing for Turner.— pedge- You guys who want to trade Iggy now, and who diss Turner, have to chill out. Turner is a rookie. The Sixers starting point guard is only 20 and hasn't even played a full year in the NBA. I say give the team some time. Let's see how they do over the next couple of months. If they still stink, then maybe trade Iggy for some expiring contracts, or an expiring contracts and a young center with an upside. For now, let's see what coach Collins can do to develop Turner and see if he can play alongside Iguodala. By the way, I know it's too early to even think about the playoffs, but right now the Sixers are only 2 games out of the 8th seed. It looks to me like they are slowly improving game by game. Even Hawes looks like he's getting better as he gets into shape. With a lot of home games coming up, maybe they can slowly start to rise in the standings.— fufkin
- I love it that readers can determine that a player is a bust after 18 games in the pros. So I guess a guy who - over his first 18 games - averaged 5.3 PPG 1.5 RPG and 0.7 APG after being the 13th pick in the 1996 draft would also be a bust?— slovak34
- Andre I. is the Bobby Abreau of the Sixers. Puts up stats but doesn't win games for you.— Larry Griffin
- The only problem with making a trade is to find one worth doing. Turner needs to figure out how to play without being coddled. Being on the court with Iguodala doesn't mean he can't get open for a good shot, or go after a rebound. Iguodala is one of the easiest players for others to work with, as he showed on the World team. If he and Turner can't figure out how to share the ball, Turner isn't good enough to have been the 2nd pick! Having another good player on your team is no reason for you to not play your best, in fact the opposite is true.— ricky
- all u haters ,u hate the 6ers,yet u watch them.don't get that.u always critize them,not supporting them.brand is showing some signs of trying to get his play on.thats encouraging.evan ,this is his first seaon in the nba.he needs encouragement,from his teammates,as well as us, the fans.as far as playing with iggy,that can happen,and given time,it will.then, u haters will have to hate on someone else.everyone knew this is a rebuilding process,so let the process play out,after all we knew this was the rebuiding time,so either let em play it out,or root for another team.— t_darb_56
- Turner is like JVR. If Philly would have had the first pick in either draft we would have new dynamite star players in rthis rainy city today, unfortunately the drop off from Wall to Turner and from Patrick Kane to JVR is infinite.— rockinrob
- I really believe Iguodala stunts Turner's growth. Is it coincidence that Turner's game flourishes when Iggy is out? I don't think so. Now the confusing thing is that even though Turner has been playing badly they are starting to win the past few games. We need to throw that out the window. Not neccessarily tank the season, but we need to go in a new direction. This isn't working. How long are we gonna wait (we've waited how many years with Iguodala?) Turner is the high draft pick. He's the one we're basing the future on. We have to go with him. Iguodala is expendable with his high salary and bad shooting. The rest of his game is good-great (though I think his defense is overrated see the end of the first Wiz game). Nice to see he's playing better, but I wonder if his motivation is to be moved or to stay here? Why would he want to stay here? He's the man here. On another team he would be 2nd or 3rd bananna and he knows it. We desperately need a Center. Hawes can play 15-20 minutes tops. Speights is at best a good offensive backup (when he gets enough time to score and be good). We need someone who can bring the whole package as a starter and play long periods of time. I go with Chris Kamen. He's already had experience playing alongside Brand so it will be easier for him to mesh with the team than it would be otherwise. Holiday-Turner-Young-Brand-Kamen— joecooler2u
- If Turner can play at a high level I will be shocked, I would not even take the chance because I do not believe he can. He is not representative of being the number 2 pick in the draft. I want to see some fire in a player and I just don't.— BCRock
- The Sixers had a decision to make a couple seasons ago when they had some cap space. Two Forwards considered good players were available. One would have slid nicely into the up tempo style of game they were already playing with moderate success. The other brought a a half court dimension. forgetting that Brand is not playing at the same level. From the outset, it made NO sense to sign him, if they weren't going to go a different direction @ 2 guard, and get a shooter. Signing Brand and resigning Iggy was moronic. His days as a Sixer were numbered the second they went with Brand. the fact that they refuse to pull the trigger and accept starting over, is why they perpetually linger in mediocrity with decent role players, but no stars. And explains why they never have the pick needed or the cap room to get the star.— gee1971
- Shouldn't they have thought of this in the off season and then ttrade Iguodala? Turner was being picked no mattter what casue he was the best guy after Wall but why is this a surprise now? Trade Iguodala and let Turner develop or fail. Either way, it's not like I'm going down to the games.— davekrieg
- The team won 27 games last year and are 5-13 this year, both WITH Iguodala on the team. Trading Iggy and seeing what Turner can do is the way to go, addition by subtraction. Iggy does not make this better and they must find out if Turner can play at a high level. It is vital to the development of Turner and to the organization to see if this kid was worthy of being picked #2 in the draft.— billro33
- ricky your analysis is correct but I still think they should trade Iguodala. After playing with this crew for the rest of the year there is no way Iggies value will increase. His career is at stake. Let him go. Did anyone happen to notice Brand is in the top five of overpaid stiffs. Pay somebody to take him off our hands. Will we be better? Who knows but we've seen what this group is capable of and things have to change.— notch44
- The solution is to fire the GM who thought that Turner was the best player available! It is past time to point out how stupid they were to pick a redundant player, creating the conditions to force a trade. Iguodala may not be the ultimate player to build around, but then again neither is Turner. Trading Iguodala to make room for Turner is about as stupid a basketball idea as there is. They should have drafed Favors and then we wouldn't be in this situation!
If you remember Iguodala had problems developing as a player when Iverson was here. The Sixers continually create problems for themselves because they can't think clearly. Some players need the ball to be effective, but you can only have so many of those on your team. You keep the ones that can shoot at a high percentage and play solid defense. At this point Iguodala is a much better more effective player than Turner. Unfortunately he's the only one who can attract any attention on the free agent market. Still there is no trade opportunity out there that justifies trading Iguodala. The Sixers are in a bad situation of their own making. I have no sympathy either, I told everyone that this would happen before the draft, seeing it as obvious. Most of you are a bunch of tools!— ricky - UncleEddie,
Some people still love their Sixers win or lose just as many others love the Eagles, Flyers and Phillies win or lose. I am honestly still a big Sixers fan (All Philly teams actually) no matter what. Although I must confess I am extremely dismayed by the situation as it has been for the past 7 or 8 years...it is a shame that year after year we are left with a non-competitive team. It is a problem when you have a professional organization and if you allowed any fan to take over as GM it could not possibly be much worse than it is. What the hell do you do at that point? Personally if it were me I would get the best available players from European teams and field them as a team but then maybe they would lose support of the city due to many foreign players on the court. I don't know but what do you all think of that? Maybe they could outscore the opposition with three's, surely their defense couldn't be any worse. Yes uncle I am frustrated and it does not sound as if I support them but I do and will continue to do so every game.— BCRock - Turner doesn't stink. He's an actual combo guard whereas Iguodala is a small forward who can't shoot and has an awful handle. The problem is he thinks he's the man because of his ridiculous contract so he jacks up one of the all time worst jumpshoots whenever he gets the chance. He's a piece, not a player. Someone above mentioned Clarance Weatherspoon and I laughed because at least he had an offensive game. AI2's offensive game has never evolved from high school.— phillyabe
- Turner doesn't stink. He's an actual combo guard whereas Iguodala is a small forward who can't shoot and has an awful handle. The problem is he thinks he's the man because of his ridiculous contract so he jacks up one of the all time worst jumpshoots whenever he gets the chance. He's a piece, not a player. Someone above mentioned Clarance Weatherspoon and I laughed because at least he had an offensive game. AI2's offensive game has never evolved from high school.— phillyabe
- Your assumption that Turner can't play with Iggie is foolish. He plays with whoever his coach wants him to play with and if he can't don't use him. What a soap!— LaCroix,Nolet,Gendron
- No, they won't trade iggy because he can't co-exist with Turner. They will trade him because Iggy puts up empty numbers that never coincide with the flow of winning basketball. Iggy is a good piece on a winning team with many good players. He is not and never has been a building block. And then add on his way overinflated ego where he thinks he's a franchise player and you have the makings of a player that fans can't warm up to. His best moment as a sixer was right after the season ended a couple years back and he told the media that he would have to sit Ed Stefanski down and talk with him about where the team was headed. Hahaha. That was a classic. Like this guy is Jordan or somebody. It took about until the next day for Stefanski to slap this lunatic right back into place. What a joke.— Sewellmatt
Iggy is all flash and no substance. To me he is a Sperts Center highlight version of Clarence Weatherspoon. Very good stats that never seem to equal wins. Since the whole league 'covets' him- make a deal now, get an exp contract and some fodder and hope for one more very high pick next June, then let this young team grow.
Turners' body language is terrible. After being the man in college we're seeing that he is having a rough time playing within a team concept. With Wall you see those flashes of greatness. With Turner all you see is him wallowing in self pity. God I hope I'm wrong about him.- BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG PROBLEMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— bill poore
- I can't believe both newspapers still have a Sixers beat. Why, just why?— UncleEddie
Comment removed.- Trade Iggy for a real center. Chris Kaman? As one of the few Dalembert supporters (at least while he was on the court), this team would be at least a .500 team with him. They have no inside presence and truly miss his rebounding and shot blocking. They need a big...NOW!— bdc333
If Turner cannot figure out how to play with Iguodala, then he probably isn't the player we hoped for anyway. How about giving it some time. He's a rookie and will have ups and downs anyway....he should try to keep rebounding and playing defense first until he can figure out the rest of the stuff.— srvdove- Who cares if they can't coexist? They're both horrible. Evan Turner is the number two pick, yet some games HE DOESN'T EVEN ATTEMPT A FIELD GOAL FOR A 5-13 TEAM. WHEN YOU HAVE 0 FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS ON A 5-13 TEAM, YOU ARE NOT A GOOD BASKETBALL PLAYER. Turner has shown me NOTHING.— brmorgen81
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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.
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