What does everyone think of Iggy for this year? He should be playing a lot of SG next to Lou Williams, who isn't a true PG, so his assist numbers could go up. Is he a legitimate 2nd rounder and does he have any upside? Or is he just a 19/5/5 guy with 2 steals, one 3ptm and poor FT%.

NOT a legitimate 2nd rounder, but he'll probably be picked there anyway because of name recognition and the notion that he's a better roto player than he actually is. I'd take him mid-to-late-3rd round, but that will never happen because someone will scoop him up much earlier than that.

He does get drafted 2nd round and I can't understand why. It can't be name recognition since he really isn't that big of a name in the league is he? I mean the average NBA fan most likely doesn't even know who he is.

people draft him in the 2nd round because everyone is drafting in the 2nd round. lol . I think he's a worthy late 2nd round pick

He could be worth a late second round pick in leagues that are at LEAST 12 team, but I also am not that high on him.

He is going to lose shots to Elton brand and without a true point guard, his percentages are going to go down. He has no outside shot which completely prevents him from creating his own shot. He needs a true pg. Brand my also slow down the offense which will hurt him even more.

Let others take a flyer on him...

Eddie Jordan is the reason why AI2 is worth a 2nd round pick. Iggy on his own is easily a 3rd rounder. Caron Butler is a very good NBA player but was a fantasy superstar in EJ's system (even when healthy, never the same without him). Arenas (like Lou Williams) wasn't really a true point guard, and Caron (who is practically identical to iggy in skill set) became a do-it-all figure. That team had lugs like Brand, but in the system, those lugs couldn't clog things up for Arenas, Butler, Jamison, and the like. In all areas except FT, Iggy will improve from last season and probably set career highs in points and assists. 40 minutes a game playing princeton-style ball without a true PG dominating the ball, Iggy can go 21, 6 and 6 easily. Also, the faster pace game tends to lead to more steals, so there's no reason the think that he won't get back to his usual 2 steals per. Lastly, he's coming off his dominant performance in the playoffs last year, he's the undisputed star of a not-so-talented team, and he's only 24 years old and still improving his game. You might want to reconsider that second round selection...

You make some good points, but the one thing Iggy lacks that Butler has is an outside shot. Butler can hit the 3. Iggy can't drain it from the elbow consistently. It makes a huge difference.

If the only point you disagree with is the "fact" that Caron shoots the 3 and Iggy doesnt, then you actually agree with me. In four seasons with the Wizards, Caron has averaged .6 3's/per game with a high of 1.1 and a low of .3 %wise, he shot between .250 and .350 during that time. Iggy is Caron with more hops and no Arenas to score 28 a game. Now that you make me look, Iggy is looking even a little better...

That's not the only thing.
Caron is an excellent FT% contributor, shooting 85.8% on 6.0 FTA last year.
Iggy is actually quite harmful on FT%, shooting 72.4% on 6.4 FTA last year.

13.4% on 6+ FTA/game is a significant gap.

Iggy has a slight edge in FG%, but not enough to make up for that FT% disparity.

FT is a concern. But 74% isn't exactly a killer, 77% is very likely, and if he shoots 80% like he did three years ago, he's a high 2nd rounder...

your right 74% isn't a killer, but it sure isn't good. If he can return to 80% then he can be very good, but I'm willing to assume his 4 years of 74% shooting is the norm and not the one 82% year.

Or at least I will be drafting him expecting the 74% FT shooting.

74% with that type of volume has a major impact...

Major impact, and killer are two different statements.

You can still overcome AI2 FT%. Howard FT% is a killer, and you cannot overcome that.

Iggy's FT% is about as harmful as Rondo's.

Anyways, the point wasn't that Iggy would murder a team's FT%, but that it's a significant disadvantage for him when compared to Caron Butler, who is a top 20 helper in FT%. To ignore it would be as big a mistake as ignoring Iggy's superior durability when compared to Caron.


Also -

Andre Iguodala is open to playing some point guard for the 76ers this season.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a...laying_some_pg/

Interesting, if he were to get PG he would be eligible at 3 positions.

So If Iggys numbers go up across aside from his negligible FT% (Caron's numbers under Eddie Jordan suggests that they will) then Iggy is a sure fire second rounder. End of story.

This is a great, well-reasoned post. It's almost enough to make me change my mind about AI2. But here's a counter argument. Last season, he was pathetic whenever he was forced into the SG role. Going into the season, the question was whether he could thrive in that role, with Young emerging at SF and Brand's arrival. The answer was an unqualified "NO". He was awful, and consistently ranked around #100 in standard cat leagues through the first two months of the season.

Then Brand goes down, Thad goes to PF, and Iggy goes back to his natural SF spot. And then he proceeds to light it up. So yes, the Princeton offense will help, but will it solve Iggy's problems at SG? Call me skeptical.

Iggy playing SG is a concern for sure, because he's struggled in that role in the past (and the sixers have struggled with him). Considering that they're very short on guards this year, it's not much of a surprise, but I don't like it for Iguodala at all. It is a reason to consider Thaddeus Young as a possible sleeper, though, because I've seen him really slipping in some drafts.

in my eyes Iggy is basically a poor mans lebron, whom id love to take in the 2nd round. Iggy basically contributes in all categories just like lebron, only to a lesser extent.

I never have been a big fan of AI2, and thats not going to change with the prospect of a healthy Elton Brand looming in the background. The lack of threes, poor ft%, and tos are absolute killers. Also in league settings like mine that count 3% he loses even more value. I could totally see a substantial drop in scoring this year with Brand back, Thaddeous possibly becoming more established offensivly and Lou Williams jacking up shots. He always seems to be drafted one or two round too early for my liking. I woudl consider him in the 4th if available, which he wont be.

I cant get on board with that comparison.

he's worth 2nd rd

He was ranked 45th last year.
You expect him to improve over 20 spots this year? I just don't see it happening.

it's worth mentioning that he was HORRIFIC for the first month or two last year. it's hard to imagine him being that bad for an extended stretch this year.

I would be willing to draft him mid 3rd. I think.

If he was that bad before for that long, why would it be hard for him to do it again?

Many players go through hot and cold streaks, overall his numbers over the 3 years looks pretty much the same. I don't see why I should expect it to change that much in either direction.

Yeah that is a good point, I thankfully traded for him at his low point last season. In H2H you can capitalize on these streaks but Roto it doesn't matter, it is all about totals. There is nothing that says he will not repeat his cold start to the season.

Anyways, not including the first two months of the season he was ranked 33rd - a late 3rd rounder.

Iggy isn't bad if all the solid options in 2nd round are gone (al jeff, duncan, calderon, garnett, billups, etc). it's definitely a reach, but if a manager has dwight i think owning iggy and rondo type players are necessary.

there's a big drop off in talent after the mid-late 2nd round imo, so certain managers will definitely have to reach. i wouldn't be surprise if someone reaches for arenas in the 2nd to be honest.

I wish you guys were in my league. He might end up worth 2nd round, but it's a big mistake to draft him there. Way too much risk, and zero upside. I'm glad people think this, and I hope there are managers in my league who think this, so I can get a solid 2nd and 3rd rounder.

Unfortunately, my computer crapped out right when it was my turn to draft at the end of the first round/starting of second in one of my leagues. I got Gasol and AI as opposed to Amare and Al Jeff. I wanted to quit the league right then and there, and AI is the main reason for that. I hope he's a 14ish overall player this year, but I bet he's not.

Try to trade him. There should be one or two guys in your league who value him highly.

just dunked in the lane with the ferocity of 12 bison.. yikes