Struggles of the Heavy Wallets: Andre Igoudala, Luol Deng, and Emeka Okafor

The other day, in my article about Carmelo Anthony's start to the season, I mentioned three of the players who signed contract extensions in the summer, namely the Sixers' Andre Iguodala, the Bulls' Luol Deng, and the Bobcats' Emeka Okafor.

None of these guys have been All-Stars, but each has the capability to become one, and have been close in the past. At some point they have all been "the man" for their respective teams, but so far this season it just hasn't been there for them.

Let's look at each individual case:

Andre Iguodala

After losing an Answer to the Nuggets, Andre quickly lost the 'other A.I' status and was seen as the new franchise player for the Sixers. Though he wasn't quite enough to get the Sixers into the playoffs, he did kick up his scoring average to 18.2 ppg in the only season in his career he didn't play all 82 games.

Last season Andre stepped up again, averaging a career-high 19.9 points a game. He was a huge part of the Sixers' run into the postseason, and you can't blame Philly for wanting to re-sign him.

This Season

Obviously the biggest difference this season is the arrival of Elton Brand, a new superstar for Andre to play with. The team has struggled to incorporate Brand into their team, while also coping with Louis Williams not being as productive off the bench. The team is a mere 7-8 so far, and are standing just out of the playoff berths. (Yes, behind Miami.)

Andre's struggles have been part of this. His scoring has dropped by six points, down to 13 per game. Last year he was shooting a decent 45 percent and 32 percent from three-point range, but both have plummeted to 39 and 26 percent, respectively. His steals have also dropped from 2.1 last year to 1.6. However, in fairness his rebounds and assists have both increased.

Some have mentioned that this drop has been due to playing more of the two-guard position, taking him away from the small forward role that he has become comfortable with. He lacks his aggressiveness of previous seasons, leading to the drop in percentages.

Perhaps it is the fact that Elton Brand is now clogging the lane, taking away opportunities for Iguodala to drive?

What could happen

There have been glimpses of hope through the season. He has scored 33 twice, but these have been marred by a two-point performance (against Miami?) and a seven-point game against New York. His assists and rebounds have risen, as mentioned earlier—but the team needs him to be the same spark that he was last year if they desire to make the playoffs in the tougher Eastern Conference.

Luol Deng

In 2005-06 and '06-07, the Chicago Bulls made the playoffs for the first time in years, and the team finally looked like a contender.  This was largely due to the play of Luol Deng, whose numbers improved steadily each season.

He and Ben Gordon combined to make a devastating scoring duo, and Luol improved the other parts of his game as well. His defense became renowned, as he rarely committed fouls but was still able to stop players who were bigger and sometimes better-skilled than him. He had a reputation as tough, being the only Bulls player to start all 82 games.

Last seaso, however, Chicago crumbled, and Luol missed the most games in a season since his rookie year.  His numbers dropped across the board, other than a vastly improved three-point percentage.

The Bulls had a large mess concerning contract extensions this summer, but getting Luol re-signed was a priority.

This Season

The Bulls introduced a new coach, a new system, and a new star in rookie sensation Derrick Rose, who has demanded most of the attention so far this season. This has led to the Bulls spreading the floor more, taking away the main staple of Luol's offense—midpost and pull-up jumpers. His numbers are down in every category aside from free-throw percentage and steals per game.

The most glaring of this is a woeful 13.1 points-per-game average. In just his third game of the season, Luol did explode for 38 against the Cavs, but he also scored only one point against Orlando and two points against Utah.

What could happen

The Bulls are still one of the weaker teams in the east, 7-9 so far. But the Bulls have a potential Rookie of the Year candidate and they will be putting the team into his hands.

The system won't change anytime soon, so Luol will need to try and adjust and get his jumper back on form if he doesn't want management to start regretting their decision in the summer.

Despite the start of his career reputed as a 'tough' player, Luol is quickly on the way to being labelled as injury-prone.

Emeka Okafor

A number-two pick, Rookie of the Year, and bronze medal-winner in Athens—in a lot of ways Emeka Okafor is underrated and not talked about as one of the top big men in the game. The reason for this would probably be that he plays on one of the worst teams of the decade.

Emeka has also only played in all 82 games once, and that was last season. In his sophomore season, injuries limited him to just 26 games. He's never been considered a first choice on offense—his career high of 15.1 actually came in his rookie season—but he has been powerful on the boards and as a defender.

In 2007, Emeka achieved career highs of 11.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a game. Though his numbers did drop last season, it was not drastic, and most were simply glad that Emeka was on the court.

This Season

Though there have been no major changes to the roster, Emeka's offensive game has gone missing. He is averaging only 9.9 points a game, and is making almost three turnovers a game—a very large liability to have on the court. His rebounds and blocks are also down, but only marginally.

Emeka is quickly turning into a Ben Wallace type, even though he is far more talented on the offensive end than his numbers are showing. There doesn't seem to be any particular reason—Emeka simply needs to look for his shot a bit more.

What could happen

Emeka isn't expected to be putting up 20 points a game—and even if he did, it's doubtful that would save the woeful Bobcats.  Of our three cases today, Okafor is in the worst situation.

But either way, if you give a player that much money, you expect at least a double-digit scoring average, especially since we know the big man is capable of producing at this level. He is filling his role well, but the Bobcats need more in order for that contract extension to be earned.

Of the three players, only Andre has the real chance of getting into the playoffs, and probably has the biggest impact on his team.

Considering all the excitement about clearing cap space for 2010, if these three continue to play unaggressively like they have, their respective teams will soon regret wasting their money.

If these players are going to prove their worth, it needs to be soon.