NBA AM: Moving Andre Iguodala?
Andre Iguodala On The Move: At the end of the 76ers season Andre Iguodala was a no-show for his exit interview with head coach Doug Collins and GM Ed Stefanski.
The team and Andre played it off that he had an excused absence and there was a scheduling mix up, but from that moment sources around the 76ers started talking about a future in Philadelphia that did not include Andre.
Over the last few weeks more and more trade rumors have surfaced with Andre’s name on them, and it’s starting to look inevitable that Andre Iguodala is going to be traded, and it’s likely going to happen around the NBA Draft on June 23rd.
Iguodala has been linked to the Orlando Magic in a deal built around Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson, although sources near the 76ers say that’s the least attractive offer they have received.
Iguodala was linked to the Golden State Warriors in a straight up transaction involving Monta Ellis and just yesterday word surfaced of a deal with the Clippers involving Chris Kaman.
The 76ers have had their share of suitors, with Cleveland offering to absorb Iguodala’s $13.5 million salary using their $14.5 million Traded Player Exception.
So there are tons of options out there for Philadelphia.
The 76ers maintain they are not close to anything with anyone, and still deny that Iguodala is being shopped or traded.
This could be a case of the media hanging on to a name, but with so many rumors floating around it’s hard to imagine how Philadelphia manages the situation if a deal does not go down and with Evan Turner waiting in the wings, Iguodala seems like the best chip to cash, especially for a team that will not be permitted to spend any more money.
The Sixers hold the 16th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and are believed to be locked in on Kansas big man Markieff Morris.
Finding A Home For Enes Kanter: Every year in the NBA Draft there is a player ranked towards the top of the draft that no one really seems to covet. This year that player is Enes Kanter.
Kanter seems to be the third name on every team’s board. He is just good enough of a prospect to be ranked, but not good enough to bump other guys off.
Kanter has worked out well, and most teams speak highly of him, yet there doesn’t seem to be any level of commitment to him.
Several teams love Brandon Knight. If he does not go #3 to Utah, there is a chance he goes #4 to Cleveland and they try and trade him, if Cleveland passes (as they should), Toronto will grab him at #5 – because teams want Brandon Knight.
Kawhi Leonard has half dozen suitors that want him; teams are talking about trading up to get him. Yet finding a NBA team that says they want Enes Kanter has been tough.
The Washington Wizards, who hold the #6 pick, have not even scheduled a workout with Kanter and he has openly shown affection for playing for the Wizards.
As our friends at Draft Express pointed out this week, Kanter poses a unique problem – He really has not played.
Between sitting out last season for Kentucky due to eligibility issues and a limited 100-minute career with Turkish team Fenerbache in 2008-09, there just is not a lot of game film for NBA teams to sink their teeth into.
Even when the NBA allowed high schoolers into the NBA those players had high school seasons to scout and evaluate and dozens of AAU tournaments and All-Star games.
Kanter’s biggest stage so far was The Nike Hoop Summit in 2010.
Hard to commit a top 5 pick to a kid you have never seen play. That’s the quickest way to lose your job in the NBA as a GM is muffing a top 5 pick.
There is no getting past Kanter’s size. He is a legit 6-11 in shoes with a 7-1 ½ wingspan and a 9-1 ½ standing reach. He passes the “eye test”, meaning he he looks the part.
But with so little background to work from, Kanter is a tough guy to draft because there is not a lot of historical data to back him up and that makes him something of a risk.
Kanter is going to get drafted in the top 10 in the 2011 NBA Draft, mainly because 6’11 centers do not grow on trees, but Kanter looks more likely to be drafted because he is there more than because a team really covets him.
Kanter’s best bet is #4 to Cleveland and his floor has to be #6 to Washington, but they continue to say he is not scheduled to work out for them so who knows how far Kanter falls if the top of the draft order doesn’t pan out.
Kanter looks like he could be a decent NBA player, but when you wonder why there is so little buzz about Enes Kanter in this draft, it’s because teams don’t typically get excited about players they haven’t seen play.
The Labor Flip Flop: If you are starting to feel like a jilted lover with the NBA labor situation, you are not alone. One day its optimism the next day its pessimism. Just when you think there is progress, there is failure.
After two labor meetings deemed as positive the NBA and its Players left yesterdays’ meeting saying both sides were still “far apart” and a deal was not close at all.
“I think one of the owners indicated at the conclusion of today’s meeting that he was very pessimistic as to whether or not they’d be able to reach an accord between now and the end of the month, and I’m forced to share that sentiment,” Billy Hunter the director of the NBA Players Association said to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. “I think maybe it’s going to be a difficult struggle.”
There was talk all week of a change in the negotiating posture and that both sides seemed to want a deal.
“No change at all. What has changed is maybe the mechanism, the system somewhat in maybe how we get there. We tossed around some ideas in that regard, but there is no hiding the fact that the main components of what we originally received in their proposal have not changed at all,” union president Derek Fisher said. “So from that standpoint, there hasn’t been much of a negotiation because that really hasn’t changed.”
There had been talk that the Players had proposed changes to the system that would increase the share of revenue for the owners, but only under a frame work that kept the NBA cap system soft and allowed for free movement of players.
“We do not believe that a hard salary cap system is something that is good for basketball,” Fisher said.
Equally Fisher said that the NBA’s insistence that profitability is guaranteed in the next labor deal was a fatal flaw.
“We don’t necessarily feel it’s the employees’ responsibility to guarantee that,” Fisher said.
Hunter, who has stated dozens of times that his players were prepared for a lengthy work stoppage if it came to that, remains hopeful that the NBA comes back to the table with a more reasonable solution.
“We were here in ’98 and they wanted a hard cap and it was only on the eve of losing the season that we were then able to strike a compromise,” Hunter said. “We’re hoping it doesn’t go that far this time, but we’re still waiting.”
The current labor deal in the NBA expires in 21 days. There are two more bargaining sessions scheduled for next week and both sides say they will keep meeting in hopes of reaching a deal.
So while yesterday was the positive day, today is the pessimistic day, maybe tomorrow swings us back to positive.
Iverson Wants Back In?: Allen Iverson played in just three games last season for Besiktas JK Cola Turka in Turkey and he banked a couple million for his efforts.
Iverson returned home to Atlanta to have surgery to remove a calcium mass that developed on his right calf, ending his season in Turkey. Iverson opted to rehab the injury rather than surgery and has still not been cleared to play, but Iverson has bigger goals than getting back to Turkey, he believes he can still contribute in the NBA.
{AUTHOR_BOX} “I know what I can do. Everybody in the world knows what I can do. Everybody knows what I can do on the basketball court,” a confident Iverson said to Dan Gelston of the Associated Press, pledging that he is ready for a return to the NBA.
“Just give me a training camp,” Iverson said. “Maybe I’ve rubbed people the wrong way as far as saying the things I’ve said in my life and in my career. But if any team needs me to help try and win a championship in any capacity, I’m waiting.”
“If that doesn’t happen, I just want to play basketball, so I’ve got to weigh my options and do what’s best for me and my career,” he said. “If that doesn’t happen, I don’t want to not play basketball. I don’t have any more years to be wasting.”
Iverson, who has been vilified for most of his career, says he is not concerned with what the public thinks about him and he is not going to let the negativity that seems to follow him distract him from his goal.
“The only thing that I give a damn about is that the people that care about me know that I’m all right,” he said. “All I want is my real fans to know I’m fine, my wife is fine, my kids are fine. I’m fine and I’m looking forward to getting back on a team and being productive like I have been my whole career.”
Iverson will turn 37 in July and is currently ranked 22nd all-time in scoring with 24,368 career points, one spot above Charles Barkley and one spot below Patrick Ewing.
In 14 seasons in the NBA, Iverson has earned more than $154 million in salary.
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