Collins & Iguodala To Meet In LA
Doug Collins plans to visit several players next week, including Iguodala
Collins & Iguodala To Meet In LA
Doug Collins will be meeting with all his players before the potential lockout, which could occur beginning 12:01 a.m. on July 1 if the players and owners don't finalize a new collective bargaining agreement.
There is better chance at this point that Rod Thorn will offer this reporter a tryout than then there is of things getting settled on time.
If a lockout occurs, Collins and any member of the organization is unable to have any contact with the players.
And speaking of players, what are the chances that Andre Iguodala will be a Sixer next season?
Who knows, but Collins says he has texted Iguodala and the two plan to meet next week when he's in Los Angeles. Collins will be with with others out on the West Coast, including Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday.
The coach insists he wants Iguodala to return, even though Iguodala didn't exactly embrace the idea when asked following the Game 5 playoff loss to Miami. Still, Collins' public stance is that the team is better with Iguodala. So he is looking forward to a sit-down.
"We want Dre," Collins said after the press conference on Friday for draft choices Nikola Vucevic and Lavoy Allen at PCOM. "We want him back. He got nicked up last year and was hurt and we think Dre is one of the reasons we are a good defensive team."
Collins will tell Iguodala that all the pre-draft trade rumors didn't come from under the Sixers bunker.
"Nobody is out there shopping Dre," Collins said.
Of course the Sixers aren't exactly hanging up the phone when teams call to inquire about his availability.
While Collins, Rod Thorn or anybody in the organization would not admit it, the Sixers likely wouldn't be averse to dealing Iguodala. The problem is getting equal value.
We know the tired argument that Iguodala isn't truly a first or even a second offensive option.
No kidding.
Yet Collins and people around the league realize that Iguodala brings a lot of talent to the court, both offensively and especially defensively. No he isn't the best shooter and should try to avoid taking three's at most costs, but he is an adept passer. And the one thing Iguodala should do is drive to the basket more instead of pulling up and settling for J's.
He has value, even with a bloated contract. So the Sixers at least at this point, don't want to accept 60 cents back for a dollar.
This entire situation could be settled if Iguodala came out and declared "I want to be a Sixer, no doubt about it."
We haven't heard that yet and more importantly neither has the team. So in place of a declaration of love for being on the Sixers, we will continue to hear the rumors.
The fact that the coach is going to the West Coast to talk to Iguodala appears to be the Sixers way of telling him how much they think of him.
It is expected to be the last meeting between Collins and Iguodala before the lockout. The big question is whether it will be the last time the two meet when they are both employed by the same team.
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That being said, if the Sixers keep Iggy, why wouldn't they jump on Kenneth Faried, who would instantly fill that defensive toughness,rebounding hole that would further fuel an up tempo transition game?...Instead Vucevic, while a decent prospect in his own right, will not reach his potential until some of this core are well past their best days.— bearsfriend- No, I want him gone. He is standing in the way of the development of young players like Thaddeus Young who represent the future of this organization. In True Holiday, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young the Sixers have a good future The new center should fit right in. He was a steal as most draft boards had him going much higher. Go Sixers!— Horlet
- Iguodala for Monta Ellis. It's now or never. Get 'er done. -- Nollis Marie Milo— mariemilo
- trade iggy PLEASE!!! no team wants a player with his huge contract! SO OVERRATED BY SIXERS!!!!!!!!!!— bill poore
- Seems like we would just be replacing Iggy with a worse player or bigger problem anyway if we traded him. I'm alright with bringing him back. Ellis would be a good trade but they're not going to go along with that. Nobody is going to give us a good deal for him.— DeanoP44
- Almost July and we are still talking hoops and that cant be bad!!!
Lets talk about the team here and not about the players.I believe the division(atlantic-if there is a season)is up for grabs with the Sixers and the Knicks the co favorites.Knicks were right there with the Celts and they drafted defense and still have a few #$$$ to spend.
Celts legs will do them in.— HO HUM - I think Iguodala is an outstanding player on both sides of the ball. The one aspect of his game that drove me nuts last season though was his free throw shooting. He has to get above 75%. Period. No excuses. Make your free throws!
He is A+ in transition, and he is an A+ passer and an A+ team player. Not the greatest shooter and will be handing over the late game offensive duties to Holiday and Turner (who are also better free throw shooters). His value to the team in the next few seasons will be large. Philly fans need to stop booing him so that he might actually want to return.
Some idiotic posters claim the Iguodala thinks he is better than he is. Listening to his interviews, he is nothing but humble. And he plays with a large dose of humility to boot (doesn't shoot a lot, searches for the open man, plays great defense). So what makes these yahoos think they know different about what he is thinking?— incog69 - Reading this board makes it clear to me that many of you could use some basketball education. Here is 11 minutes with Doug Collins:
http://www.nba.com/sixers/video/2011/06/24/110624collinsmov-1744150/index.html— incog69 - His attitude says he doesn't want to be a Sixer.... Trade his sorry behind!
— madaboutit - Incog, the fans that say "trade him now" don't like him ,period...His professorial attitude is not "philly" as he rarely shows his emotion. He actually is "warrior like", his late season playing with the tendinitis is a testamount to that...If the Sixers had the right deal, it would have been done however...Blowing off management, especially a new (Thorn) transitional one, is not a way of saying "I'm all in"...I think he's had it with playing here....Why else would Collins be going out West to cajole him?— bearsfriend
- 1. Collins is visiting with every single player on the team before July 1.
2. I am not convinced Iguodala blew off management at the exit interview. He had a scheduled medical appointment with the team physician. If he fails to show up for his meeting with Collins, I will consider that a problem.
3. If the right deal involves a player as good as Iguodala, then maybe I'll support it. Currently, the team has a winning attitude so I am not in favor of shaking things up.— incog69 - Too many fans want to play Fantasy GM. Forcing trades on other teams where in reality the trades don't happen for reasons (money, players, interest, etc). The simple fact is that as bad as you perceive this team to be it would be much worse if you guys were calling the shots. You'd be making trades to make trades and never give time for anything to pay off. Winning teams take time to develop. Unless if you happen to be a destination city (Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando or a historic franchise like Boston) players will only want to play for your team if you develop a winner or promising team. Most winning teams have a core that grow together. Even superstars like Kobe and Shaq or Jordan and Pippen had to go through their years of growing pains before they started winning bigtime. Quit looking for the quick-turnaround and either be in it for the long haul or jump off the bandwagon...— joesmooth2u
- If you haven't noticed, most people have jumped off the bandwagon. If you haven't gone to most regular season games, it's a half filled bandwagon. I am really worried the new owners don't just want to "clean house" with this team. They may want to "clean out" from this town.— xing
I don't think I can stand another year of Iggy as the first option on offense. The only reason he wasn't traded was because of the inflated contract that he/his agent demanded and that Stefanski gave to him. No more league pass for me if he's not moved.— Skeletor- The Sixers probably had the most balanced offense in the league last season, so it seems you weren't watching on league pass last year anyway. Collins gave Iguodala the ball down the stretch of close games (probably to take pressure off of the younger guys) and folks like to exaggerate it as if he were Monta Ellis, leading the league in FG attempts when in REALITY he was THIRD on the TEAM in FGA (behind Holiday and Brand). — incog69
Keith Pompey has been an Inquirer reporter since September 2004. He takes over the Sixers beat after covering the Temple men’s basketball team for the past three years and Temple football the past two seasons. Pompey also previously covered the Penn and Drexel men’s basketball team and Villanova football team after initially focusing on high school sports.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh. Follow him on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers or reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
