Quote:
Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson
I don't agree with one single part of this. (edit: except for the part about him not being as good a shooter as stevenson, but that's neither here nor there)
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I'd figure I'd get a few responses like this. Yes, the refusal to take him even if Philly gave him to use was a little bit of hyperbole. However, I stand by these two points: Shawn Marion is a better defender than Iguodala, and Caron Butler has been better this year offensively. For Marion, its just from what I read. Iguodala is a good defender, but Marion is still one of the best. Statistically, they have similar defensive win shares, and their defensive stats (steals and blocks) actually slightly favor Marion when you look at them per 36.
Now to Butler. I'm not going to bother with posting any stats, because Caron Butler's playing 8 less minutes on a much better team. However, before you start talking about how Iggy is being forced to be the "man" on the Sixers, let me point out he is not option #1 anymore. At the very least, he's sharing the load equally with Brand and Holiday. Their FGA's are similar, around 12 per game, though both Brand's and Holiday's are higher in less minutes. If we go by usage %, he's actually 7th on the team (actually 8th, but Craig Brackins, who's played 10 minutes this year, shouldn't count). Butler and Iguodala provide very similar offense, except that Butler has shot much better from three.
I definitely think that Iguodala would probably be a little bit better on a good team rather than one of the worst. But how much better? I don't think enough to justify taking on his contract and then giving up whatever has to be given up. As long as Stevenson is earning minutes at the 2 and Butler and Marion are splitting at the 3, there's not really a lot of minutes for Iggy to get. The reason I mentioned Stevenson was to point out that he's playing too well to be shoved to the end of he bench, so Caron can play the 2, Marion the 3, and Iggy the 3/4.
Anyway, we're forgetting one key reason that we don't need Iggy: team chemistry. It took Caron almost a year before he's finally finding his groove. There's no reason to screw it all up by exchanging very similar pieces that do not clearly make the team better. Might Iggy's game be a better fit? Sure, I'd love to get a slasher/driver in here (though Iggy still takes 75% jumpers, so let's not pretend he attacks the cup everytime he touches the ball), but what we have right now is working. 23-5. Why mess it up?