Wikipedia CommonsThe Philadelphia 76ers have a deal in place which will send A.I. to the Denver Nuggets. Sound familiar? Andre Iguadala, the face of the franchise since the original A.I. was traded to Denver six years ago, appears to be on his way out of town. Iguadala’s lack of leadership and inability to score on a consistent basis have put him under scrutiny by fans and media since he signed a six-year $80 million contract in August 2008. While Iguadala is a talented basketball player (talented enough to make this year’s USA Olympic team), he is not the franchise player that his contract says he is.
That franchise player, which every championship contender needs, is coming to the Sixers in the four team deal which will send Iguadala to the Nuggets. That franchise player’s name is Andrew Bynum. Bynum, a true seven-footer, comes to Philadelphia with seven years of NBA experience and two NBA championships under his belt at only twenty-four years of age. Bynum put up career numbers with the Lakers last season when he averaged 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while being named to his first NBA All-Star team.
The dominant big man took a huge step forward last season, and he will look to take another giant step forward this year in Philadelphia. Bynum will be the number one player on his own team for the first time in his NBA career after spending his first seven years in the league as a teammate of one of the greatest basketball players of all-time, Kobe Bryant. Like Bryant, the former Laker is very familiar with the Philadelphia area. Prior to being drafted 10th overall by the Lakers in the 2005 draft, Bynum played his high school basketball at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen NJ, about an hour from Philadelphia.
Iguadala and Bynum will not be the only two players changing addresses after tomorrow. In a four team deal which will send Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard to the Lakers, the Magic will be receiving the Sixers first round draft picks from the past two drafts, Moe Harkless and Nikola Vucevic. The Magic will also receive a protected first round pick from the Sixers, although it will not be their 2013 first round pick which was already sent to Miami in the deal which landed Arnett Moultrie. It looks like the Sixers will not be making a first round pick again until 2015. Their best player, previous two first round picks, and a future first round picks may seem like a lot to land Bynum, but that is the cost of a franchise player in the NBA. The Sixers will also be receiving eleven year veteran shooting guard Jason Richardson from the Magic.
Whether this deal will be worth it depends on whether the Sixers can resign Bynum, whose contract will expire at the end of the upcoming season, to a long term extension. ESPN basketball anayalst J.A. Adande tweeted that Bynum will resign in Philly. However, Adande quickly retracted that tweet after his original source clarified that he was "not sure." During the season the Sixers could only sign Bynum to a max contract worth three years and $60 million, but things becomes more interesting after the season. Philly.com's John Mitchell breaks it down for us:
Bynum is in the last year of his contract and will be looking for a new deal. However, the Sixers have his "Bird" rights and, as a result, will be able to offer him a five-year deal in the range of $100 million in order to keep him in the fold beyond next season. Other teams wishing to sign Bynum will only be able to offer him a four-year deal in the range of $78-80 million.
This does give the Sixers a signficant advantage in their persuit to sign Bynum to a long term deal. For now, Sixers fans can look forward to their first season with a true franchise player since Allen Iverson was in his prime.
Eric Koeck is a Contributor for Sixerdelphia. You can follow him on Twitter @koke1034
