The Philadelphia 76ers' went into full-on tank mode during the 2012 offseason, and that included trading away Andre Iguodala, who made the All-Star Game the previous year.
On Thursday, Iguodala spoke on The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick and said that he didn't realize the 76ers were tanking until after he left (1:19:30).
"I didn't realize until I left that the organization wasn't trying to win, so what do you do in that scenario?" Iguodala said. "You gotta be selfish, right? Because now...this is survival. I gotta eat. I'm going into a contract year."
Led by general manager Sam Hinkie, the 76ers dismantled a team that reached the playoffs and came one win away from making the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
Two years after that season, the 76ers were winners of just 19 games. They then went 18-64 and 10-72 before as the team collected lottery picks and young talents.
Philadelphia has since risen up out of those doldrums thanks largely to the efforts of reigning MVP Joel Embiid, although the team has yet to make the conference finals since the tanking took place.
As for Iguodala, everything worked out well for him after the 76ers traded Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets in a four-team deal.
One year later, a trade to the Golden State Warriors started a great run for Iguodala, who won four championships and the 2015 NBA Finals MVP award with the team. He retired after this season following a prosperous 19-year NBA career.
