"When asked (again) yesterday whether he saw himself coming back to the 76ers next season, forward Andre Iguodala responded by saying: "I don't control that, so that's not a concern of mine. I just know I'm always going to be prepared. My No. 1 goal is to want to compete for a championship."

That neutral answer, given during the Sixers' final media session of the season, followed similar ones he gave the night before in Miami, when Iguodala said he expected to be back in the NBA next year, not specifying that it would be with the Sixers.

Yesterday, without comment, he made perhaps his biggest statement about his future in Philadelphia when he did not show up for his exit meeting with coach Doug Collins, president Rod Thorn and general manager Ed Stefanski, according to multiple sources. The absence was not excused, a source said.

After arriving from Miami around 2 a.m. yesterday, the entire team gathered at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and met as a group with Collins around noon. Shortly after, Collins and the players met with the media for a final time this season. Players were then scheduled for their individual meetings.

Thorn said last night: "He had a doctor's appointment, which all players who have played with injury do. They always go to see the appropriate doctor. He did not come to [his] exit interview. We did not know he wasn't coming, but it's not a big deal.""