Like a fox, maybe. Not quite a year after walking away from $57 million, Iguodala re-signed with the Sixers for a contract that will pay him $80 million over six years with incentives on top of that.
Throughout last season, Iguodala said he never doubted his decision. As a result, the raised expectations the team will face this year won't faze him.
"There's some pressure to win; that's just with this city, period," Iguodala said. "But I don't think there's any more pressure that a player can put on himself than when he turns down $57 million and people look at him like he's crazy. They said there's no way he should turn that money down, and then I've got to go out and perform. That's the most pressure a player can have on himself.
"As a team, we've just got to stay focused from Day 1 and have the understanding that every minute of training camp will go into the season and every minute of the season goes into the playoffs and every minute of the playoffs goes to winning the championship."
Championship?
"We're good on paper right now," Iguodala said. "We haven't had a chance to really work with each other, but the sky's the limit for us. Last year, I said we were going to get to the playoffs, you guys looked at me like I was crazy. This year I'm saying we're a team that can get to the Eastern Conference finals or the finals. Once again people are going to say that's farfetched, but my whole thing is, I think we can reach that."
Ed Stefanski didn't - and won't - go that far. But the president and general manager said locking up Iguodala was the last piece of the puzzle.
"This is the final (signing) to make an exclamation point on the team we're going forward with, not only this year, but years to come," Stefanski said. "Andre Iguodala is an integral part of our franchise. What you have to realize as a basketball person is Andre's unique skill as a basketball player. For a player who's 6-6, a swingman who can score, he makes plays for other people with assists. He can rebound and defend, which is huge, too. There are not a lot of players like Andre Iguodala in the league."
Iguodala averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season. Stefanski, no doubt primed by Iguodala's agent, said only seven other players had numbers like that - Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Caron Butler, Hedu Turkoglu and Tracy McGrady.
Still, Iguodala's production went way down in the playoff series with Detroit. Stefanski said that was because the Pistons keyed in on him.
"One thing I find, people talk about Andre like he's a grizzly, seasoned veteran," Stefanski said. "Andre is 24 years old. He hasn't hit his prime in basketball. I don't want to say he's scratching the surface, but we believe there's upside in Andre Iguodala because of the person he is and his work ethic. We think he'll be better as we go forward.
"Today shows our intention to build a long-term contender in Philadelphia. This is the piece we needed after we signed Elton Brand."
Iguodala believes he has room to grow and has spent this summer, as he does every offseason, working on his conditioning. For him, that means work in the gym as well as the pool. It also includes, he said, anywhere from 300 to a 1,000 shots a day.
That said, he seems to believe that the jump shot isn't that important.
"I know Rob (Pelinka) had this stat, but we looked at what (Michael Jordan) shot from the three his first four years and it was like 15, 18, 17 percent," he said. "I don't think you have to be a great shooter to be effective, you just have to become a good shooter, and I think I'm becoming a good shooter, and teams are going to have to pick their poison."
Iguodala believes his contract is based on his résumé, not what he'll do down the line. He also said he won't have the sense of complacency that often seems to plague players after they sign a big contract.
"I don't like to talk about myself, but I think I've done enough to earn where I'm at," he said. "I think I still have so much room to grow. I'm working on what's after this contract. I'm just looking forward to continuing to be a great player in the league. And that's just my main goal ever since I've been playing ball."
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The Sixers have 12 players under contract and must add one more to reach the league-mandated 13.
Stefanski said he expects to sign a big man in the next 48 hours. Two weeks ago, that big man would have been a developing player, but that changed when Jason Smith tore his ACL. Now, he's seeking a veteran.
While Stefanski wouldn't give out specifics, Theo Ratliff's name has surfaced in rumors. The former Sixer center played the end of last season with Detroit.
The Sixers have the veteran's minimum to offer. In the case of Ratliff, that would be $1.26 million, the minimum for a player with 10 years experience.
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