The time to re-sign Andre Igoudala?
Jul 29th, 2007 by Jordan Rosenberg
With the recent announcement that Andre Igoudala has been invited to join several other promising young players at scrimmage in preparation for the FIBA America Championships word is also spreading that Billy King is in talks with Igoudala’s agent, Rob Pelinka, in regards to a possible extension for rising star. However, one must question whether this is the appropriate time to discuss a contract extension for Igoudala. This summer has already been marked by the tragic overpayment of Rashard Lewis. Now, despite Igoudala’s talent and potential, 76ers fans should be a little nervous about what Billy King and his historically generous front office is prepared to offer to young player.
If they waited til next offseason, when C-Web’s contract comes off their books, the Sixers could have some serious cap space to lure a free agent, and then re-sign Iguodala under the Larry Bird rule, I would have thought.
I think it would be crazy for the 76ers to offer a contrat extension this early. Igudala has tremendous upside, but he hasn’t proven he has a reliable jump shot to strech defenses. If Billy King was smart he would wait till after this season to offer Igudala a contract extension.
I think Iggy has played well enough to show that he can be built as a cornerstone or at the very least a great 2nd option for his team.
If Dalembert can get 12 mil out of BK, then Iggy should be good for 21 mil!
The 76ers need to till next summer to offer him a contract, that way they will be under the salary cap by about 20 million and they can pursue a power foward, maybe Elton Brand. Andre Igoudola still needs to prove he is worth a max contract which he will probably demand. The 76ers woudl be foolish to give him that if he does not improve upon his field-goal percentage. His three-point percentage was an abysmal 31%. Thats not the type of player who should make max money, but hey Billy King gave Sameul Dalembert money he didn’t deserve. Billy King is notoriously known for dishing out monster contracts to average players. AI could be a future perennial all-star but he needs to prove he can get off better shots and then he will be worth max money, because he is already an elite defender.
Honestly, Iguodala is less proven at this point than Lewis, so King might be able to sign him to a not-too-ridiculous contract. If A.I. improves even more this season, he’ll expect nothing less than the max next summer…