But if he played out the 2008-09 season on another 1-year qualifying offer, Iguodala would have become an unrestricted free agent, meaning he could walk away, leaving the Sixers with nothing in return.
That was a risk the Sixers could not take - not after making the playoffs last season, and especially not after just committing almost $80 million to free-agent forward Elton Brand in hopes of taking the team to an even higher level.
The Sixers had to keep Iguodala - almost at any cost.
"[Iguodala] is a major and integral part of our team," Stefanski said at a press conference yesterday when he and Iguodala formally signed a contract believed to be worth $80 million over 6 years. "He is not replaceable. The way the league works and the [collective bargaining agreement] works, this man was not replaceable. [Iguodala's] option was to play for the qualifying offer and then become an unrestricted free agent.
"We didn't want to even get to that. We wanted to make a deal so that we'd have him for the long term."
If the Sixers are overpaying for Iguodala - and considering he averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.09 steals and is only 24 years old, I'm not convinced they are - it's because they had no other option.
If Iguodala had become an unrestricted free agent, it would have negated virtually everything gained from the Brand signing.
Inking Brand, a two-time All-Star, shifted the Sixers from rebuilding mode to championship-winning mode.
With Iguodala combining with Brand, the Sixers become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, one capable of challenging for a spot in the NBA Finals and possibly championships over the next 5 years.
Without Iguodala, you can simply substitute Brand for Allen Iverson and repeat the frustrating cycle of having a lone star on a team that always came up short.
