Which includes this:
The Sixers are only growing more determined to make a deal before the deadline. I’ve heard that in strong terms from three different sources this week already.
Which tells me we should expect to keep hearing more trade scenarios that include Andre Iguodala’s name.
Foiled in its longstanding attempts to move Samuel Dalembert and/or Elton Brand, Philly has apparently come to realize that its best shot at a shake-it-up move is convincing one of the risk-taking/big-spending teams out there – such Houston, Dallas and Cleveland – to absorb the four years and $56.3 million remaining on Iguodala’s contract after this season.
Not that I’d give the Sixers great hope of hooking Cleveland.
The Cavs are still chasing a big man that can stretch the floor with 3-point range and continue to hope they can get one by peddling Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ expiring contract.
Washington’s Antawn Jamison and Indiana’s Troy Murphy remain Cleveland’s top targets – with the further hope that Big Z will be released by his new team and thus eligible to be re-signed after a 30-day wait like Antonio McDyess in Detroit last season — as opposed to pursuing the likes of Iguodala or Golden State’s highly available Corey Maggette.
Iguodala and Maggette have both been known to masquerade at the 4 spot in a small-ball setup but can’t really be classified as power forwards.
It will be very, very interesting to see how this plays out. The four players discussed, by last season’s numbers:
Andre Iguodala
WP48: .193
RAPM: 3.056
Corey Maggette
WP48: -.007
RAPM: -1.588
Note: Last year for Maggette was a statistical anomaly.
Troy Murphy
WP48: .369
RAPM: -.449
Antawn Jamison
WP48: .157
RAPM: -1.279
While I know there’s been a lot of analysis about the Cavs need for a stretch 4, I think the real concern is scoring. Efficient scoring, obviously. The reason for this is simple - Mo Williams is a streaky player. On the nights where he doesn’t have it going, the Cavs’ offense struggles. The team could use another player who can get 30 if they need it.
I’ve written about how crowded the Cavs are up front. Obviously, they also have a lot of options at the 2 … but they also, potentially, have more trade chips there (Jawad and Boobie), and Iguodala is not only very productive, he’s also a fantastic defensive player.
I still feel that Troy Murphy is probably the most likely addition to the Cavs roster before the deadline, but there’s no denying that “AI9” is a top tier 2 guard, who’s still young, and who - with Shaq and LeBron already on the roster - would probably make the Cavs the strongest team in the NBA.
