Sixers Sign Iggy

ESPN is reporting that the Sixers have signed SG/SF Andre Iguodala to a 6 year, $80 million dollar contract extension. This move, along with the resigning of Lou Williams back in last Monday, brings back two of the younger, more exciting components of last year's emerging Sixers team.

Couple these moves with the signing of Elton Brand and Sixers fans have plenty of reason for optimism this fall.

For all of Iguodala's problems in the playoffs, I have always like Iguodala as a player, but did not want to see him get a contract that would cripple the Sixers in the immediate future.

This contract, while probably slightly more than I would place his worth, is probably the right thing for the organization to do. If the Sixers hadn't resigned him, it is uncertain as to how the Sixers would have replaced a player who has generally gotten better in his first 4 years in the league and plays hard defensively every night. Best case scenario is that Iguodala becomes a full-time shooting guard (with Thad Young moving to SF) and improves his jump shot to the point where he is outperforming this deal 3 years from now. Worst case scenario, he's the same player he is today and at his number, he still wouldn't be as grossly overpaid as Samuel Dalembert.

With the core components of both the Pistons and the Celtics getting another year older and the Cavs refusing to get LeBron James any meaningful help, the relative youth and athleticism of the Sixers makes them an intriguing team to watch in a relatively weak Eastern Conference.

Sixers Reach Out for Brand New Power Forward

The combination of the Phillies' poor play, my sore back, and a roster full of thankless things to do at work was going to compel me to write an epic, Dallas Green-style asskicking of the Phillies today.

I'll leave the rant for later.

Right now, I'm sort of in shock at the fact that the Sixers were able to come to an agreement with free agent power forward Elton Brand on a 5-year/$82 million dollar contract. This deal makes the Sixers instant contenders in the East a year after they wildly overacheived in a relatively weak Eastern Conference.

The first reaction to the deal is the Sixers are obtaining a guy who is a low-post force that they currently do not possess. It will provide Samuel Dalembert with some defensive help down on the blocks. The move allows Thaddeus Young to go to small forward, which allows Andre Iguodala (if the Sixers choose to resign him) to move to shooting guard.

Brand has been somewhat susceptible to injuries over the course of his career, missing chunks of time from 2002-2004 and coming off of a ruptured achillies that he incurred last offseason. But otherwise, this move has nothing but upside for the Sixers.

The next big decisions come with Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams. Do the Clippers (already rumored to be losing Corey Maggette as well) come after Andre Iguodala in a fit of revenge, with an unmatchable offer sheet? Does a team come after Lou Williams with the promises of a starting job, something that might compel Williams to bolt? These are questions that GM Ed Stefanski will be dealing with over the rest of the offseason.

Hopefully, the Brand deal can compel Iguodala and Williams to stay put for now, but that is also the same hope that the Clippers and their fans had when they went out and got Baron Davis.

Conjecture aside, this move represents a tremendous job of shuffling the deck by GM Ed Stefanski. It started with moving Kyle Korver off of the roster to clear space when he got here. It continued even yesterday, moving Calvin Booth, Rodney Carney, and a first round draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for cap space. If you combine these roster moves, and consider the movement of personnel in a trade scenario, you have the Sixers getting Elton Brand for Cal Booth, Rodney Carney, Kyle Korver, and a 1st round pick. That's a move any amateur GM would love to pull off.