I agree that Iverson has gone from being the lead man on a team to a grizzled vet searching for a ring. There is no way I would trade him for Brand or Miller.
Look, this is very simple. The Sixers learned how to win last year by playing to their current strengths and they found out they were good enough to make the playoffs, but not do anything other than lose. So, they decided to add an inside player to give them a better option in the half-court. The person who should take the last shot in the game should be a big man, since it is harder to stop him without fouling him, and even a miss can result in free-throws. So, eventually it should be Brand, not Iguodala shooting the last shot. What is clear is that even without Brand the Sixers did develop a half-court offense under Dileo. It's not at the Celtics or Magics level, yet, but it can be with this group.
You want your highest shooting percentage player taking the last shot. Brand shoots over 50% from the floor. Iggs shoots about 46%. Iverson shoots a lousy 41%! Just because a player is willing to take the shot doesn't mean you should let them. Iverson's lack of discretion makes him a much less desirable player. He never won a championship because he is not a good team player. His poor PER shows that he is a middle of the road guard now.
In the meanwhile Iguodala is arguably the 2nd best player in the entire league. Check out this from ESPN's True Hoop:
"Andre Iguodala
Adjusted plus/minus is a tough statistic for most people to internalize. It's plus/minus, but adjusted (with actual science!) for the quality of the other nine players on the floor. Like every measure, it's not perfect, but it does do something important: It at least attempts to encapsulate defense. Anyway, by that measure, Andre Iguodala is the second best player in the NBA. Just something to think about. Not to mention, since the last All-Star team was announced, the Sixers had some nice spells of making some noise in the East."
Now I didn't think that Iguodala deserved to be on the team, because of his performance early in the season. You can justify it any way you want to, but an all-star doesn't stop performing or making things happen, and Iguodala has the physical skills to make things happen. His PER lags Vince Carters and Devin Harris, but I didn't know about the adjusted plus/minus. That is a big deal since it is a better overall indicator than PER, since it also incorporates defensive stats that PER can't measure. For example, there is no statistic for defensive pressure, yet it is a big part of the game. Dalembert may not have impressive stats, but he changes a lot of shots, and that is very important.
Anyway back to Mr. Pryor's thread-
Dalembert is a significantly better player than Mutumbo was when he anchored the team. As bad and clumsy as Sam can be, Dikembe was worse, his post move was so slow that you could see it coming long before he got the shot off. His hands were made of stone. His lateral movement and overall speed are much slower than Sam's. The Sixers won a couple of playoff series with Dikembe, but the team was never as good as it was with Ratliff.
Based on PER and adjusted plus-minus stats, Miller, Iguodala and Williams are all better players than Iverson. That means based on objective measure, the Sixers got the better end of the trade to get Miller. That is why I say his offense offsets his defensive performance- the adjusted plus/minus bears that out.
If you can't see that Thad does everything better than Tyrone Hill, I don't think I can help you. There is not one aspect of Hills game that Thad doesn't do better, and Thad's been in the league for only 2 years. The same goes for George Lynch, although Lynch was a more physical defender.
This version of the Sixers is far more talented and far deeper. That team had no low-post players on offense. We have Brand and Speights. That team had slashers and good team defenders, this team has more of them and better overall talent. Miller, Williams, and Iguodala are a lot better than McKie, Snow and Iverson. This current version of the Sixers is as close to an optimal NBA championship team. Good rebounding and interior defense. Good running and fast-breaking team. An adequate outside team, but clearly needs to be better to be a championship group. An above average group of ball handlers and passers with the ability to create their own shot or get to the hoop.
This team should be able to contend for a title. If they can't then the players aren't quite good enough at their positions. But since many of them are all rookies or young players, all you can say is that they aren't good enough yet. Only Miller and Brand are so old that they aren't likely to improve. Even Sam is getting better. Iguodala continues to get better nearly every game it seems. He is closing the gap between himself and the elite shooting gards/small forwards. Lou Williams gives you everything Iverson did without the drama, and he's a better team player who continues to improve. Thad Young also gets better every game. He still hasn't quite put it all together, but he also projects to be an all-star. Speights is a big key as far as I am concerned. A big man who can score in the low-post is the most valuable player a team in the NBA can get. By the time the playoffs come about, the Sixers need Speights in the middle as their go-to player at the end of the game. If they do, they should be able to win in the playoffs, and if they can get their outside shooting kicked up a notch-they should compete for the Championship.
I wouldn't change anything about this team, except to make sure we get Miller resigned. Unless we can get an upgrade by trading Willie Green and/or Reggie Evans and Kareem Rush, I wouldn't make a trade. I'd love to pry away Carl Landry from Houston.
