How much should an NBA team reasonably expect to pay for an exciting young player who has been playing entertaining ball and basically has been a solid if not model citizen? How much should an exciting young player playing entertaining ball and being an OK locker room presence expect to get paid once his rookie contract expires?

If the East playoffs started now the surprising Philadelphia 76ers would come in as a No. 7 seed. Not too shabby for a team that seemed destined for the usual abyss known as “rebuilding” this season after letting Allen Iverson go a couple seasons back. A lot of Philly’s current success is being attributed to its coach and its core of young players. Coach Maurice Cheeks, himself a hoops god in the City of Brotherly Love, lets his track and field team loose every game: swingman Andre Iguodala, forward-center Samuel Dalembert and rookie forward Thaddeus Young make it a contest to beat the 40-yard time the whole game, while veteran pointguard Andre Miller keeps every one involved and gets some good numbers.

But what exactly does this nice little run mean in the long term? The reason they fired King is because they wanted to take the team back in the right direction, i.e. winning consistently and making deep playoff runs if not outright contend for the NBA championship. Does this run really help that?

Philadelphia spent the off-season trying to negotiate an extension with Iguodala, the fourth-year swingman who just might be the team’s next great star. That’s typically when teams seal the deal their key lottery picks as long-term building blocks, i.e. Orlando locked up Dwight Howard, the cream of the Class of 2004, with a five-year deal worth about $80 million last July. This is where things with Igoudala become mighty interesting.

The same just did not happen for the Sixers and Iguodala. “AI 2” turned down King’s old offer of $55 million for five years, an apparent holdout for more money. After this season, the Sixers can either offer Iguodala a contract of $3.8 million for one year under collective bargaining rules, after which he becomes an unrestricted free agent; match any offer he receives from other interested teams (New Orleans or Detroit, say); or let him walk for absolutely nothing, the unlikeliest of scenarios.

Philly will finally write off Chris Webber’s albatross of a contract this summer, giving the Sixers some $29 million to offer Iguodala. At the rate they are going it seems ludicrous not to give him what he wants, but the team has been rather cautious for a good reason. Iguodala is not unanimously seen as a legitimate superstar, not even as one who will be such in a season or two. There is simply too much inconsistency about him. Is he a real player or more of just a runner-jumper? This seems to be a common concern with other young players as well. Atlanta’s Josh Smith, Luol Deng and Ben Gordon of Chicago and Emeka Okafor of Charlotte all turned down generous offers, looking to get better money, superstar money, Dwight Howard money. They probably should not hold their breath.

It is significant to note that of this group, only Howard has so far proven he is a legitimate superstar around whom a team can build its present and future. Smith has solid numbers and ranks high in the stats boards but has focus and health issues that have prevented him from being ranked right up there with the likes of say Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire. Deng and Gordon are part of a young core of Bulls but neither seems to have a real fulltime position. Deng is allegedly a power forward but seems to play more as a small forward. Gordon is neither a true point nor 2-guard, and seems to bring only ball-hog scoring off the bench as his hat-hanger. Okafor was in a tight race with Howard as to who between them would eventually be the Number 1 pick of 2004. Now four years later it seems perfectly clear that Howard did indeed deserve to be picked ahead of him.

If Philadelphia makes the playoffs and actually make a credible run at least into six games of the second round, the cries will become louder to keep Iguodala in the black, gold and red. Heaven help the Sixers if he should produce in the high 20’s and throws in a near triple double per game in the playoffs. At that point every one will forget the doubts and declare him, rightly or wrongly, as the real deal after all and make max offers that the Sixers will be pressured to match.

Perhaps a reality check is in order. Miller is a 32 year old pointguard who does not have more than three years left in his legs, max. How much of his veteran wiles and court vision is actually responsible for Igoudala’s newfound greatness? If Philly keeps Igoudala should they also keep Miller even at his age? Even if the team can indeed afford and even want to throw money at these two (Miller makes a little over $10 million this season) should they? New GM Ed Stefanski should probably take a long look at what else is out there. Elton Brand for instance will be available soon.

It is hard not to notice the way Igoudala’s eye candy hops sells tickets and sends fans screaming and hooting. But beyond that the so-called “other AI” has not come within a mile of the real AI’s warrior ways and ability to lead his team to the W. Cheeks may also want to look at the rest of his roster: Dalembert is hardly the second coming of Moses Malone. Young may or may not become better in the coming seasons. Every one else after those guys is basically just filling up the pine. That is certainly not the way to success. Overpaying Igoudala now will likely assure the way to failure.