As part of a huge 4 team trade involving Dwight Howard, the Sixers have pulled off a major addition, acquiring Andrew Bynum from the Lakers while dealing off Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets. The details of the trade are still emerging, but as of now the deal looks something like this:
Sixers get:
Andrew Bynum
Jason Richardson
Lakers get:
Dwight Howard
Nuggets get:
Andre Iguodala
Magic get:
Arron Afflalo
Al Harrington
Nikola Vucevic
Moe Harkless
Three 1st round picks
While the Sixers did have to give up several more pieces besides Iguodala, including their two most recent first round picks, Bynum and Jason Richardson are huge additions for the Sixers. Bynum is certainly enigmatic but he is also one of the best centers in the league, probably better than all big men besides Dwight Howard. The one drawback to Bynum is that he is a free agent after the coming season and has indicated that he won't re-sign but he is from New Jersey so perhaps he will consider staying closer to home. Adding Richardson and his three point prowess to the team will also help spread the floor.
As for Iguodala, he been a key member of the Sixers for nearly a decade and he will be missed. While he was miscast as the leader of a team, Iguodala is still a great defender and a solid all-around basketball player. It's unfortunate that all of this went down when he was in London representing our country but the Sixers likely had to strike now to make sure the deal got done.
Huge, franchise changing move for the Sixers, and one that I applaud. Bynum could certainly leave after just one season but the Sixers have taken their first step towards becoming a team that can compete with the Heat in the Eastern Conference.