Andre: "You Suck, Team!"


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Published: May 6, 2009

Last week, after a promising start to a first-round playoff series, the Philadelphia 76ers came up derisorily flat in a must-win game. Facing a Magic team missing its best player, Dwight Howard, the home team lost by 25 in front of its home crowd. After the game, things got worse. Reggie Evans, whose number was never called, labeled the team's performance "embarrassing." Veteran center Theo Ratliff took a few shots at the coaching staff, and both he and point guard Andre Miller failed to show up at a mandatory team meeting. All this was nothing compared to the verbal barrage that putative star Andre Iguodala unleashed. "We weren't always there," the young forward opined. "We had a tough time understanding the importance of communication." He chided the team's younger players for failing to play within themselves. "I'm going to sit down with [76ers President and General Manager] Ed [Stefanski] and discuss what I think will get us over the [hump]," he declared. When asked directly about the future of his boss, Coach Tony DiLeo, Iguodala responded, "We'll see about that."

IGUODALA IS RIGHT!

A lot of what Iguodala said rings true. No matter which young player he was referring to — Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights and Lou Williams are the three active 76ers younger than AI2 — he was right to say their playoff performance was disappointing. The older guys didn't exactly set a great example — Andre pointed out that center Samuel Dalembert seems to "enjoy his vacations," and indeed, Sammy's never been accused of being a pro's pro. And no one in management improved the situation.

BUT ONLY KINDA RIGHT

That said, while AI2 correctly identified some symptoms of the 76ers' struggles, he also displayed a fundamental ignorance about the underlying cause: the team's lack of a true star. When Iggy calls out the young guys, or promises to sit down and talk with "Ed" about personnel decisions, he's suggesting that he is that centerpiece. Not every employee believes he can fire his boss.

But he has seriously misapprehended his role on the team. Two summers ago, when Kobe Bryant went public with his wish that the Lakers trade young big man Andrew Bynum for the aging-but-still-relevant Jason Kidd, it was a dick move, but it was Kobe's dick move to make. Bryant, with three championship rings, is a cut-and-dried superstar. He can give himself a nickname (the unintentionally hilarious "Black Mamba") and plausibly fire his boss. If you want to toss it down with the GM over brews and draft charts, you'd better be Kobe.

Andre Iguodala is not. He's never been selected to an all-star game, nor even been seriously snubbed for the honor. He's never gotten past the first round of the playoffs, or led a team to a record on the good side of .500. After Iguodala hit that game one winner, he puffed up his chest and mugged for the SportsCenter cameras. Unfortunately, the lights were on only because he had missed a couple of gimmes about a minute earlier. Forget giving himself a nickname; in this town Iguodala can't even get his own — he has to borrow AI's.

WAIT, THERE'S MORE: ELTON BRAND SUCKS, TOO

Still, Iguodala is a guy who can handle the ball, wants the big shot and is an elite defender. If he's your second-best player, you're doing OK. The fact that he's reimagined himself as a star isn't wholly his fault — he's supposed to be the Sixers' second-best player. But when Elton Brand didn't pan out the way the organization hoped, it began to push AI2. It tried to create a star in the absence of one. Unfortunately, as the less-than-capacity game six crowd showed, the only one who really bought the hype about Iguodala was Iguodala himself. That's bad communication.

AHA! IT'S STEFANSKI WHO SUCKS

While AI2 kept his criticisms fairly broad, Ratliff got more specific: Management wouldn't tell guys who were sucking that they sucked. Why? The 76ers don't have anyone with the personality to do so. No, Tony DiLeo wasn't brought in to be a taskmaster; he was brought in because he understands talent (and was cheap). Stefanski was hired because he was the brain behind bringing Nenad Krstic to America. But from the front office down, the 76ers have a leadership void. Because of that, players tend to overestimate their roles.

Iguodala shouldn't have tossed his teammates under the bus, but the fact that he thought he could is strong evidence that something's wrong. If this team could communicate, maybe someone would have let him know he's not a superstar.

And while we're here, will someone please tell Willie Green he stinks?

E. James Beale overestimates his role at citypaper.net/sports.

Comments

Iggie should keep quiet.. How many All-Star teams has he played on? Zero. Nuff Said. He should keep quiet. his butt is on the trading block anyway.

by Mike Smith on May 7th 2009 11:40 AM

On the bright side all the core pieces will be back next year

by Phil Lee on May 7th 2009 12:04 PM

Bring back the original A.I.!!!

by derfliw on May 7th 2009 9:35 PM

I think you're reading too much into AI's perceived place within the organization. He's been the central player on the team longer than any other. If Elton had been healthy and typically productive this year, perhaps AI2 wouldn't have been the centerpiece, but he does have some seniority at least, on the team. No need to stir ish.....the Sixers did this well without EB? They'll be real dangerous next year. They're a serious, serious dark horse.

by TC on May 8th 2009 9:04 AM

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