According to multiple reports, former Sixer Andre Iguodala will opt out of his contract with the Denver Nuggets next season to become a free agent.

Iguodala, whose lone all-star season came with the Sixers in 2012, is set to make $16.2 million next season. By opting out, he’ll have the ability to sign a five-year contract with the Nuggets or a four-year deal with another team.

The news is somewhat surprising, considering the Nuggets held a 57-25 record last season. Yet as a No.3 seed in the Western Conference, the Nuggets were upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors. Their head coach George Karl was fired and their GM Masai Ujiri also left for a job with the Toronto Raptors.

What’s more surprising is the move by Iguodala to decide to take less money in order to have a better shot at an NBA title.

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One of the best ways to improve yourself in any sport is to play on your country’s national team. A recent example is former Sixer Andre Iguodala. Iguodala joined Team USA for the FIBA World Championship’s in 2010. He went on to have his only all-star season in 2011-12, after practicing with players like Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Danny Granger, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon for a whole summer.

Team USA brought him back for the Summer Olympics last summer where once again he played exceptionally well and helped his team bring home the gold medal.

That’s why Sixers fans should be excited at the announcement that Jrue Holiday was selected today as one of 27 players to attend the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s National Team mini-camp, held July 22-25 at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

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The Sixers have been abandoned again.  It was another three seasons of wasted basketball instead of moving closer to the ultimate goal of a championship.  There were risks taken, hearts broken and blood vessels busted.

Yet, taking a trip down memory lane, what if I told you that the Sixers’ woes began way before the Andrew Bynum trade last summer?  What if I told you that if the Sixers had just taken my advice and hired Tom Thibodeau, that they’d be in the hunt for an NBA Championship right now as you’re reading this?

Without tooting my own horn too much, I’ll just let you see for yourself…
http://philadunkia.com/?p=263

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After sustaining serious mental and emotional damages from a carnivorous herd of media members at the Sixers PCOM practice facility, the 2012-2013 version of Andrew Bynum, along with his knees, is now for done for the season, the ailing center announced Friday.

“It’s getting really late [in the season],” the 7-1 nearly 300-pound center told reporters in regards to appearing on the court.  “I don’t know if I will play.”

As many have speculated for months, Andrew Bynum will most likely never play for the Sixers this season, as his deteriorating knees have now apparently cost him the 2012-13 just as they have done to the 76ers.  Bynum, who had practiced with the team for the first time just seven days prior to this horrific announcement, reported that his knees experienced swelling following that practice.  However, they most likely did not swell as large as many 76ers fans’ hearts did Friday afternoon, considering that for Bynum, it’s still all about the money.

“Being healthy is more important than everything else,” Bynum also said at PCOM.  “If I am healthy, I’ll get a deal.  I have to be able to play and I need to get to the point where I’m healthy to play.”

 
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Jrue Holiday (left) and Evan Turner have been crucial to the Sixers success this season.

As everybody already knows, the NBA is a star-centered league. It was never more evident then when one of the NBA’s most respected coaches, Gregg Popovich, was chastised for deciding to sit four of his star players in a game last night against arguably the NBA’s best team in the Miami Heat.

For the 2012-13 Sixers, it’s been more of the same. From the start of the campaign up until now, there’s been one man drawing the attention of the national media, while next to nothing has been said of the “team” that stands at 9-6, good enough for the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference. The focus has been on Andrew Bynum, the All-Star center who hasn’t been able to play a minute this season for the Sixers as he recovers from offseason knee procedures.

Before the Sixers’ first nationally televised game this season against the New Orleans Hornets, the Sixers were on ESPN.com’s front page. Instead of a story focusing on the promising youth and acquisitions the Sixers were able to make in the offseason, it was a story focused on questioning the Sixers ownership, calling the moves they made this season a “risk”. All of the negativity was built around the status of Bynum, the Sixers’ most talked-about offseason acquisition since Elton Brand.

Just 10 days later, as the Sixers stood at 5-4, another article came out about Bynum damaging cartilage in his knees while going bowling. Most recently, as the Sixers sat at 7-5, out came yet another article on Bynum only this time about him being out indefinitely for the 2012-13 season.

As the national media now steers its way away from Philadelphia (due to Bynum’s playing status being much clearer), maybe the NBA’s fans will be able to focus on the Sixers in a positive light and see who they really are this season as a team rather than who they’re not.

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This Monday edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews key upcoming 76ers games — features tonight’s opponent, the dreaded Los Angeles Lakers.

The Sixers — winning 5 of their last 6 — are about as hot as they have ever been over the last two years and outside of the 3^rd and 4^th quarters against the Heat, we really like the way the team is playing right now.  We’re getting contributions from everyone of offense – including the rookies Lavoy Allen and “Big Nik”.  On the other end of the court, we are playing the usual lights out defense that Collins preaches. 

Throw in the fact that this is the 3^rd game in a 6-game east road swing for the LAL as well as this stat — the LAL are 3-8 on the road this season — and we really like our chances of seeing the Sixers get their 13^th home victory of the year tonight.

That being said, this will not be an easy win for Philadunkia’s home team to grab.  There are a couple reasons for that statement.  The first is that this group of Lakers has simply owned the Sixers in recent years.  The Lakers have won 5 of the last 6 between the two teams, beat the Sixers twice last year and have won four straight at the Wells Fargo Center.  So history is not on the 7-6’s side in this match-up.  Of course the Sixers team that will take the court tonight vs. the LAL is vastly different then the one LA has faced in recent years, so this could be the night LA’s dominance of this Sixers roster comes to an end.

The second is the obvious one — that guy named Kobe.  “The Black Mamba” loves to put up big numbers in front of the perceived “hometown crowd” that hates him so much.  Much like MJ he feeds of the hatred spewing from the seats at the WFC and it drives him to put the dagger in our hearts every trip to Philly.  Last season the Sixers tried Holiday, Iguodala and others on Kobe in an effort to slow him down and were met with mixed results.  At the WFC in early December last season, the Sixers (mostly Iguodala) held Kobe to 9 points on 3-11 shooting.  Then late last December in LA, Kobe rang the Sixers up for 33 & 4 when Dre missed the game because of injury.  For the record that’s a 21 ppg. average vs. the Sixers in 2010-11.  We think the 9 point effort was a rare happening for #24 in blue and gold and you know the moment the booing starts tonight you’ll see the fire in Kobe’s eyes and a wicked grin on his face – so look for another big run from Kobe tonight.  

The third reason the Sixers will need a max effort tonight in order to pull of a win is the two headed monster that is the Lakers frontcourt.  Andrew Bynum is back and looks great and Pau Gasol has been rock solid this season.  Gasol absolutely owned the Sixers during 2010-11 as he averaged 20 & 10.5 in the two games between the teams in last year.  In the first game last season Bynum had 8 & 15.  Because of injury, Bynum was a non-factor in the second run last year.  Just as an FYI, Bynum is hitting for 21 & 10 in his last four games.  The stats say the Sixers interior defense has improved only slightly since last year, which is not good, thus we expect the Lakers to pound the ball inside and let these two go to work.  Unless Hawes, Brand, Allen and Vucevic can make a surprising stand against the Laker bigs, that LAL game plan will spell tough sledding for the Sixers.

Still if the Sixers can slow down one of these two facets of the Lakers attack, while also getting out on the break and running vs. the ancient Lakers and playing up to the solid overall standards they have established for themselves over this 2011-12, a win is an absolute possibility tonight. 

For a little more insight into the Lakers team the Sixers face tonight, we turn to our man Brian Kamenetzky from ESPNLA.com / Land O’Lakers to answer four questions on this Lakers squad from an insider’s perspective 

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Dei Lynam at csnphilly.com is in Chicago for the NBA combine and has some quotes from the various bigs the Sixers are considering at #16. 

You can watch the NBA Combine live on ESPN3 and ESPNU today.

Staying with the 2011 NBA Draft…

• nbadraft.net and foxsports.com still have the 7-6 drafting 7-0 Lithuanian prospect Donatas Motiejunas.  We don’t think will happen as for some reason Motiejunas is sky rocketing up the 2011 Draft Board and probably won’t be around at #16.
• Over at SI.com, Sam Amick believes Rod Thorn & Co. will go with versatile forward Tobias Harris (Tenn.).
• Via Yahoo Sports, Jonathan Givony at DraftExpress.com predicts the 76ers will select 20-year old power forward Tristan Thompson.
• Sean Kane at csnphilly.com has the Sixers grabbing Kenneth Faried out of Morehead State.  We wouldn’t be against that as Faried is a monster on the glass and played four years of college ball, so he should be ready to contribute next year.  Here’s Faried’s profile from draftexpress.com.

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This Monday edition of “Fo’ with the Foes” — Philadunkia’s advanced scouting series which with the help of an accomplished journalist from around the NBA beat or blog world, previews upcoming 76ers opponents — features tonight’s foe, the Chicago Bulls, who are arguably the hottest team in the NBA. 

This is going to be an interesting game to watch tonight as it is match up of teams going in completely opposite directions.  On one hand, the Bulls are absolutely rolling right now and have their sights set on the #1 seed in the East.  Meanwhile, Philadunkia’s home team has struggled of late – losing 2 in a row and 3 of their last four.  To be honest the Sixers have played solidly from tip-off to final horn in only one game (W at ATL) since the big home win over Boston on March 11^th. 

If it wasn’t for the fact that the Knicks can’t do anything correctly right now, the Sixers would be clinging to the 8 seed instead of sitting comfortably as the 6^th seed.  Hopefully Collins can pull a rabbit out of his hat and help this team put together a complete game tonight, because the 7-6 will need it to down the Bull in Chi-town. 

From an X&Os standpoint, we think the Sixers are in a lot of trouble tonight.  First, the Bulls feature All-Star Derrick Rose, one of the best scoring point men in the League.  We know that starting Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday is a defensive standout, but even Holiday will have a lot of trouble containing the MVP candidate.  In the Sixers 105-99 win over Chicago back in January, Rose lit the Sixers up for 27 & 9 assists and he did it on 8 of 21 shooting from the field. 

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As well all know Andre Iguodala survived the last round of cuts for Team USA.  However, Coach K still has three players to let go.  SI.com’s Chris Mannix predicts that AI9 will NOT be one of the last players cut and he will make the 2010 version of Team USA, saying, ” The Sixers’ swingman was one of the standouts at camp last week, drawing praise from Coach K and Colangelo for his energy and defense. Iguodala can probably play three positions — shooting guard, small forward and power forward — in Turkey, a valuable asset on a team placing a premium on versatility.”

Good news, Foxsports.com does NOT have the 76ers ranked as one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA.

They have added a new coach, a host of new additions to the roster and Evan Turner, the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, but what NBA team would be complete without the dance team.  So, the Sixers recently announced their dance team for 2010-11.  You can check out the final auditions video here.

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