The Philadelphia 76ers and star forward Andre Iguodala are reportedly close to a 6 year deal worth $80 million. While it is largely assumed that the deal will be completed either Wednesday or Thursday, there has been no official comment.

Sixers’ GM Ed Stefanski has repeatedly stated that negotiations were progressing, but that there is nothing to report. On vacation in California, Stefanski attended Tuesday’s Phillies Dodgers game, and when asked by Phillies’ broadcaster Tom McCarthy on whether a deal had been finalized as had been reported, he replied that

“Right now we’re still negotiating. I hope it comes to fruition, but there’s no deal yet.”

The Iguodala signing would cap off a very busy off-season for Stefanski, who has so far lured free agent Elton Brand from the Los Angeles Clippers, re-signed restricted free agent guard Lou Williams, and signed free-agent guard Royal Ivey and Kareem Rush.

Getting a deal done with Iguodala, who was one of only three Sixers to appear in all 82 games last year, became even more critical last week when it was reported that center Jason Smith had torn his ACL and would probably miss the entire 2008-2009 season. Iguodala has been the Sixers’ go to guy since the departure of guard Allen Iverson in 2006. Last year he averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals in 39.5 minutes.

While Iguodala has been the Sixers’ primary option over the past couple season, he is often criticized as someone who is only good enough to be a second or third option. No other team extended Iguodala an offer sheet this summer and many of his critics have questioned the wisdom of paying him money comparable to what Brand received when he may not even be the second best player on the team. Those criticisms were fueled by his lackluster performance during the first round of last year’s playoffs against the Detroit Pistons, when he averaged just 13.2 points a game and shot a dismal 14.3 percent from the three-point line.

While I like Iguodala, I find it hard to argue with those that question the wisdom of paying him $80 million. I think Iguodala is a viable offensive weapon, and adding Brand to the roster will take a lot of the pressure off of him to be the go to guy for the Sixers. I think it’s likely that with that pressure gone, Iguodala’s game will open up and he will become the player everyone has hoped, and expected, him to be. But $80 million is a lot of money and it’s a definite gamble. In the end, however, I think it could seriously pay off. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The Sixers, after seriously exceeding expectations last year and making the playoffs, they have added some key components and put themselves into position to be a playoff contender for several years to come. It’s an exciting time to be a Sixers fan.