You can consider this an open letter to Comcast, at least the Comcast employees who are directly responsible for decisions concerning the Sixers. You can consider this a plea from a fan, or perhaps a segment of fans who love this once proud franchise. But more importantly, consider this as a business plan for not only returning the Philadelphia 76ers to prominence in the NBA, but filling the seats at the Wachovia Center.
Let's start with a quick recap of the current situation. You are failing. Attendance dropped to 26th in the league, despite desperate measures to salvage the season including heavily discounted tickets to all home games, ticket giveaways and re-signing Allen Iverson as a pure financial move. None of these measures were able to sway the fans, because none of these measures addressed the underlying reason for apathy, the direction of the franchise. Ticket sales, and I mean sustained ticket sales, aren't about hype, smoke & mirrors or theater of the absurd. Selling out NBA basketball games in Philadelphia is about one thing and one thing only. Winning, sustained winning.
The situation is dire right now, but trust me, it can get worse. You have fired your coach, but your general manager is left twisting in the wind. Recently he's mentioned the possibility of trading this year's draft pick for a veteran. He has been talking about getting back on track and immediate improvements to the team. Statements like this reek of desperation. To me, it seems like Ed Stefanski's head is on the chopping block and he's going to do anything and everything to move the needle in 2010. This is a terrible idea on a number of different levels.
First, there is no magic bullet deal Stefanski can make which will transform this team into an instant contender. At best, he will mortgage the future to get this team a low seed in the playoffs next season, and you, more than anyone, know that small wins like that do not translate into season ticket sales. Look at your books for 2007 through 2009. If Stefanski is operating under an assumption that he needs to show results in the form of a playoff appearance next season by any means necessary, you need to either replace him or tell him directly that you are taking a much longer view. Right now, he's acting like a CEO who is doing everything he can to boost his company's share price before he steps down, perfectly content to let his replacement clean up the long-term mess he leaves to achieve his short-term gains.
There needs to be a sea change from top to bottom in this organization. The first step is for you, the owners, to set the course. If you still believe Ed Stefanski is capable of making smart decisions, keep him. If not, replace him. Either way, the edict from ownership absolutely must be a long-term plan to build a winner. It may be painful in the short term, but you need to let your basketball decision makers know that you are willing to invest in a future for this team. That investment will be paid both in dollars for roster development and patience for the men you entrust to enact the plan.
When you've settled on your general manager and set the "building" tone for the franchise, the next step is to find the right coach. If a coach with an impeccable track record like Jeff Van Gundy can be had, you have to get him. If not, the search should be long and thorough to find a coach who will install a sound basketball philosophy, provide guidance and leadership to your young roster and grow with them as the team is built to contend. We cannot have another failure here. We cannot have another one-and-done head coach. If a coach has failed elsewhere, he's not worth the risk. If he has head coaching experience, he has to be a winner. If this is his first job, you have to be 100% confident that he's your man. I'd prefer either an assistant who has learned under one of the great coaches in the league (Sloan or Popovich, preferably). The team needs coaching stability to fully reach its potential. If you do not have faith in Ed Stefanski to make this decision, he must be removed. The "building" philosophy must flow directly from you to your general manager, to your coach.
From here, it's an iterative process. Before any personnel moves are made, the players on the roster must be comprehensively evaluated by fresh eyes. Strengths and weaknesses must be identified and used to make an informed decision about the identity of the team. The strengths of the team will create the team identity, and that will dictate the direction going forward. From that point on, any personnel move must be to enhance the team identity. No longer do you trade for misfit pieces. No longer do you hope a player can fit. Your coach is going to coach this team to a certain ideal, each new player must fit.
If you use your current roster to define the vision for the team, you've automatically got pieces in place. The goal is to keep adding pieces, and only subtract when you can add a better piece (or pieces). Personally, I think the team should be built to defend and run, meaning you have two ideal pieces right now in Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala. Every personnel move needs to achieve one of three goals: (1) Add a new piece that fits with the current pieces (2) Remove a current player who does not fit (3) Create an opportunity to add another piece that fits down the road. This can be accomplished by either creating cap space or collecting extra draft picks. If a trade does not fit those criteria, you do not make it. If a free agent does not fit, you do not sign him.
At the same time, you as owners have a financial responsibility. You cannot start the team down this road then deny your general manager the tools to get the work done. In the past the edict has been that you are willing to pay the luxury tax if that year's team has a chance to contend. You're going to have to change that logic. Getting this team on the right path may require paying the luxury tax to add a long-term piece, without immediate contention. There can be no financial constraints if the move fits with the plan. The mid-level and bi-annual exceptions should be tools at the GM's disposal this summer, provided he only uses them to add pieces that fit. He should also have the leeway to trade expiring contracts for long-term contracts, if the players added fit and move the team closer to the ideal identity. It's also vital that the GM have funds to buy draft picks.
This isn't a complex idea. Simply put, your fans are passionate, they are smart and they want to root for your team. They want to buy your product. You need to open communication with them, share your plan, do not deviate from it and build a team they can get behind. Build an identity they can call their own, choose a man to lead them who they can call their own, and build a roster of players who fit. This city will rally around a group of young players who grow up together and play hard on a nightly basis. If you lay the proper foundation and create your own luck along the way, this city will rally around you just like they've rallied around the Phillies for the past several years.
If you choose to stay on the current path. If you choose to try to pull the wool over the fans' eyes and mortgage the future for a pointless short-term run you're only going to further alienate the fan base. The long line of failed head coaches will grow longer, players will come and go and you will never create something this fan base can sink its teeth into. Instead of Sixers jerseys, Philadelphia kids will continue to buy LeBron jerseys.
Give us a light at the end of the tunnel. Give us a plan that makes sense. Give us a coach who not only inspires his players, but inspires us as well. Hope. I don't think that's too much to ask for. The irony in this situation is that if you have the courage of your convictions, the product on the floor will probably be better in the short term than if you continue to use these half measures and desperate moves to create the illusion of relevancy.
Well stated.
Somehow during the AI tenure the team started down a road of coach and player turnover, acting like they were always just a piece away. But hopefully this season will serve as a wake-up call that their current path leads to further mediocrity, worse finances and fan apathy.
There is no sure fire way to guarantee your path to contention. There is always some luck involved- especially if you look to the draft for a superstar... But there is a guaranteed path to mediocrity- a path this team is very familiar with.
Weber deal maybe? Was that the first patch work deal?
Kukok
Big Dog
What was the Mashburn deal?
I never understood that deal. They took on an extra year for a guy who would not play? Was there some financial or cap reason for that move?
I really don't remember. Maybe an insurance payment?
I believe it was paid by insurance - yes - and per usual the sixers didn't actually use the expiring contract
If I remember correctly, Coach O'brien really wanted Rodney Rogers, who was part of that trade. O'brien really wanted his outside shooting to spread the floor.
Why would Jeff Van Gundy want to coach the Sixers when there are more attractive destinations?
Just in terms of roster talent and financial flexibility, the Sixers rank 5th in attractiveness of the teams looking for a new coach:
1. Chicago- Good core of Deng, Noah, Rose, Gibson, and cap space
2. New Jersey- Good core of Harris, Lopez, high pick, and excessive cap space
3. New Orleans- Arguably the best PG in the league
4. LA Clippers - Good core of Kaman, Griffin, Gordon, Baron, nice draft pick, and cap space
5. Philly- Iggy, Holiday, draft pick, and cap space in 2011 which isn't very attractive since Sixers coaches don't seem to last more than one season.
Philly would have to seriously over pay to get Van Gundy (but they're still on the hook for Eddie Jordan) or offer him Stefanski's job.
Do you have a problem with overpaying and offering him Stefanski's job? I don't.
You're right, they'd have to offer him more than anyone else, in terms of money and incentives, that's the only way they could get him. It makes me a little sick to think LAC is a more attractive job than ours, though.
Look back at the teams Van Gundy has coached. He has had success with vet laden teams led by HOF centers and jump shooters but with lousy (marginalized) PG's... while playing the slowest pace in the NBA.
Seems like the antithesis of these Sixers.
That does not preclude sucess- and he preaches defense. But I'm not sure if his prior success translates well to this team.
Yeah, the pace doesn't concern me. It's a misnomer that the Sixers should want to play at a fast pace. They should be grinding out defensive possessions, forcing teams to settle for their fourth or fifth options. Their running game is predicated upon the defensive plays they make, not just pushing the ball off makes and jacking up quick shots.
Funny, I was looking at one of his 50-win Houston teams, check out the ages. McGrady and Yao were 24 and 25, pretty much everyone else was in their 30s.
I think he has a really bright basketball mind, and he's had top defenses really in two different eras (rule-wise). I think he'd adapt to the personnel.
Interesting that they had 2 top stars in their prime and were unable to find the right supporting cast- and they both broke down physically at a young age.
They had 23 players on the team that year! Including Spoon.
If you take away Sam, do we have the makings of a good defensive team?
Sure we have 2 good perimeter defenders in Jrue-Dala, but how good can you be without solid interior defenders.
2 years ago they had Sam, Theo and the promise of a rehabbed Brand as cornerstones to a good dfense. Now they have Speights, Smith and Thad.
It's going to be a long road. This is why I really want Favors, to be honest.
That's the least likely pick (IMO) if Stefanski is still here. Favors is a bit of an offensive project, and has to grow into his frame to really be dominant at the NBA level. And I don't think Stefanski will pick a guy that is a few years away from exciting the fanski's. At 3 I expect he drafts Cousins. Fits his draft history, and it would be more of a short term hit with the casual fanski's.
Yep, that's the fear. It's also why I don't really want Stefanski making any key decisions if he's got one foot out the door. I think DiLeo goes more for upside than college production, I'd assume he favors Favors :)
I'm not sure. Cousins was one of the most dominant young bigs in a long time. His freshman numbers compare favorably to Shaq.
It sounds like the personality issues push things towards Favors- but that presumes he projects to be a star talent.
Honestly haven't watched much of favors, so am relying on what I read.
I'd rather take a guy who has been with Adelman for years since Van Gundy himself admits Adelman did better as the rockets coach than he did
Adelman has the stench of the princeton offense on him for me, and he runs some version of it now in Houston, doesn't he?
I have no idea
He's had SUCCESS with the princeton offense and I think is slightly smarter than Jordan.
I think the problem is that the princeton offense has the stench of eddie jordan
I realize that the princeton is not a natural fit for their personnel- but was the offense that much of a problem this year?
And even if it was - how much of that probelm was the 'princeton' - didn't the sixers just give it up at some poitn?
EB and Sam are the biggest problems. but is that a reason not to hire a coach?
depends, how is he with 3 hour chalk talks?
The key is taking your jacket off at the 1.5 hour mark, really dig in after that.
Can you imagine the amount of spittle there must've been on that poor chalk board after three hours of EFJ talking next to it?
would stefanski really hire another guy who runs the princeton offense? wasn't he blaming the bad play on the princeton offense earlier last season? i feel like he can't hire somebody who specializes in that without admitting the eddie jordan hire was a complete disaster that is stefanski's own fault.(we all know it is but i don't think he's admitted it) plus, how is the team going to completely abandon the offense in the first half of the season and say it doesn't work with this roster then hire somebody who does the same exact thing? unless they completely change the roster around which probably won't happen because stefanski said there is enough talent on this roster.
Except if yo uread later on - he doesn't run the princeton offense - Adelmans staff takes the parts that work from many systems and integrates it into their roster - smart coaching - writers too lazy to parse just say 'princeton offense' because it's easier and takes less thought than analysis of the offensive system they actually run
gotcha just read the rest of the comments
To me - the comments from turner are exactly what I want to hear from a guy - not slavish to a system but knowledgable about many
Well, considering we have a PG who can create, and a SF who can create, I'd rather not run an offense predicated on getting the ball out of their hands and into the hands of jump shooters who can't shoot.
Fair enough.
Here is an article about his offense
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5194395.html
It has some similarities to the PO, but it is not really that. It is definitely a motion offense, though. With this team, I would not mind certain motion aspects, though I'd also include some DDM elements to open the floor for drivers & loads of Screen/Rolls
From the article... BTW, Jem asked before and Turner has coached w/ Adelman for both teams.
"I think the back-cutting is Princeton," Turner said. "There is a combination of the triangle, Princeton and other things going on. I hear we run the Princeton offense all the time, but if you saw the Princeton offense, it's not really that.
"There are principles, helping each other out, back-cutting and reacting based on what the guy in front of you does. That's all Princeton concepts. But the actual movement and some of the plays are different. Princeton is more dribble handoffs and ball screens. They pass the ball more times looking for a good shot. We're trying to get the first available good one."
In summary - what it sounds like he's saying to me...
"There are a few systems out there that have parts that are useful for our roster...we took the useful parts from each system, combined them, discarded the rest"
Hit the nail on the head there, John. Adelman adjusts to his personnel, unlike a certain former Sixers Coach(or current Eagles Coach, for that matter). It is those qualities that I'd like to see Turner bring here
JVG always had Thibodeau and he always gave him more credit for those team's defense than he did himself. That's been my man all along and still is.
Me too, Thibodeau would be great for a new hire. Him, that Pop assistant, Turner, maybe even Casey. Just not a retread. Let's get Rooney on this and hire the best person for the job.
So you aren't concerned that the past two seasons the 'hot' name Thibodeau hasn't impressed anyone enough (including Ed Stefanski) to be hired?
Or he just thinks he's worth more money than a first time head coach actually should get so his ego is getting in the way?
The fact that THibodeau doesn't have a job yet is a warning flag to me.
There are only 30 NBA jobs - someone ALWAYS takes the Raiders job, someone will always coach the clippers - why hasn't thibodeau gotten a job yet if he's so good...two straight off seasons...it's still off to me
Did he even interview? It seems like we all want him to be a coach and yet he is never on the "rumored" interview lists that are all over the news. Last year it was all JVG, Avery Johnson, and Doug Collins.
There are so many retreads and the coaching carousel never seems to stop. I'm too lazy to go over it right now, but if you'd look at all the coaching hires in the past 5 years or something it would probably be very strange.
The Sixers interviewed him twice, I think.
Maybe he said he was committed to defense and winning and Stefanski got scared and confused?
I'm not sure he interviewed with the sixers, but I'm pretty sure that the past two off seasons he's interviewed with teams - and hasn't gotten the job - two years running - it's a concern to me - that's all
Heat wears off, if the celtics crash and burn in the first round this year and people see it as a 'defensivve failing' rightly or wrongly, how will that affect his rep?
Being with JVG all those years should precede his potential failings this year due to KG and his old pals becoming jerks.
Yeah, he interviewed with the Sixers.
I tried to track all the interviews last year.
Good job Brian.
The eyes of the organization must be on the ultimate prize. They should take a note from the Phillies and be willing to progress in stages around a homegrown core. Phildelphia fans are willing to be patient if they can believe in the big picture.
If they identify a guy in this draft who projects to be a superstar- and can make a move to get them... No cost would be too great IMO. Start with the right keystone and then take your time assembling the right supporting cast.
This is how it should've been once we realized the mistake of trying to make a Detroit style team around Brand and AI9.
Stefanski needs to go. He's made the same mistake twice and doesn't seem to understand the strengths of the team in anyway. He also gave up our second round pick in a loaded draft (because all those young players will eb going for the money now) when we could have used it in a trade to move up to get someone important.
The team needs to announce to it's fans that it's time for a rebuilding process that never really happened after AI left, we just kept getting number 10 picks when we should have been starting over. We need a new Gm, New coach, and new staff. Get an identity and start building toward something.
Drop the ticket prices too if the team is sucking. Making fans pay full price for games no one wants to go is insane.
Getting a top 3 pick in the draft will be a great start. So would getting a new GM (not some retread or crazy person like David Kahn).
And get that damn assistant coach from Houston. If Doug Collins was named our new coach I'd be sad. :*(
So yeah, I basically typed what Brian said. I can't wait till we are all sad when Stefanski stays, trades down from our no 3 pick to get Cousins, and has Jay Wright come to coach.
It's going to cost $17 to park your car next year. seventeen freaking dollars. Frankly, I wouldn't pay that much for a ticket at this point.
I was dumb and bought tickets off the rebound thing when I could have gotten them off of stub hub for like 1/4th of the price.
The raping of the fans is always depressing. Especially when you start seeing lame "Guys night out!" packages all the time. That's always a bad sign for a franchises attendance.
linked on truehoop!
Saw that, thanks to whoever sent them the link.
By the way, I got my Synergy account working tonight and it's awesome. I'll have a post tomorrow on some of the research I did, and you can expect a ton more posts this summer.
:)
I feel guilty having had it all this time.
Derek
If you're still interested in looking, brian told me a lot of what it does have - and i'm going to get it - but i'm curios as to what is missing - is it just the archives or are there other aspects not available to all
Haven't had a chance to install yet. Just got home from work. Know for a fact archives aren't there, ncaa isn't there, high school isn't there and euroleague isn't there. Full version goes back to 2004-2005 for all of those, only 2009-2010 for just the nba.
as for features, haven't gotten a chance to give it a whirl. check tomorrow am.
Got it installed.
First impressions:
- The interface is slick, but a little sluggish. Videos that I have no problem streaming on the full synergy are choppy now.
- Not as detailed. On this interface, I can tell you Andre Iguodala's efficiency on isolations. I can't tell you his efficiency when isolated on the left side of the lane and driving to his right. Another example, I can tell you Speights efficiency on post-ups. I can't tell you how frequently he goes over his left shoulder vs his right, which side of the court he likes to post up on, or whether he prefers a hook shot or an up and under.
It breaks down to the first level (what type of play, i.e. isolation, p&r ballhandler, post-up, spot-up, etc), but not the deeper levels the full version does. I can go 5 levels deep on the full on (I can tell you Speights stats when he post-ups -> left block -> turns left shoulder -> jump shot).
Another example, in the full one I can tell you Iguodala's efficiency in half-court only. I can tell you Iguodala's efficiency on quick jump shots. I can tell you the difference in his catch and shoot when guarded and unguarded. The level of detail is insane.
I can also take 5 players, compare their situational breakdowns in graphs.
This post may sound critical, but it's not. Synergy's amazing. The fact that you can look at Marreese Speights player page, see that 17.2% of his field goal attempts were from spot-up jump shots and 16.6% were from post-ups, see his efficiency on both (41.6% vs 41.9%), see where that ranks among all league players, see how frequently he turned it over in those situations (3.2% vs 10.9%), and view video of all that from your computer screen is amazing. It's not the full version, but then again, you're paying $30, not $30,000.
IMO they did a great job creating a product to generate additional revenue and fill a void while not making their cash cow obsolete.
Cool, that was actually pretty fair and balanced, that combined with brians drooling over willie greens offensive rebound analysis are all i really need :)
John and Brian, check your email ;)
Dude, and I thought some girls knew how to tease...
I called W.I.P. on a sunday to specifically ask B.King about young hot assistants and since he is still trying to get work he couldn!t go into his short list, but he mentioned Dw. Casey as a guy that stressed defense and sort of got jobbed in Minn.. When I brought up Thibedeax he said to him he is a little "rough around the edges" and may not be someone that can be the "face" of an organization. But his final sentence to me was " if he can coach that shouldn!t matter". If that is all that is holding him back, can his press conferences be worse than our last coach ?
I have heard the same thing about Thibodeau from Celtics fans I know, that he is a little different and that was the reason he has not got a head coaching job yet.
Sounds like Belichek, actually.
Brian, excellent thoughts. I really do not care if Ed S. stays or leaves if they follow your thoughts in general. Not a rush for a winner, just want to see improvement and a plan each year. I am one that does not just write but put my money where my mouth is each home game.
This may be off topic but we can't miss with this draft pick. I'm watching the Heat/Celtics and Michael Beasley is a bust. Coming out of college he was projected as a sure thing but in hindsight he is a tweener sixth man at best. The guy plays like freaking Al Harrington.
I'm not sure beasley was seen as a sure thing - eh was seen as the second best player in a weak draft
I'm also pretty sure people were unsure which position he would play and that he would end up being a tweener.
He was very highly regarded.
I called him being a bust at the time, though. I'll try to find one of my posts about it.
And by that I mean I predicted he'd be a bust, not that you CAN be a bust without ever stepping on an nba court.
Oh i got that.
I just have grown to dislike highly regarded tweeners...it's just not working out for a lot of them :)
Especially ones that don't pass or impact a game defensively.
Also has person issues. Those types of red flags can't be ignored.
Aside from the alcoholism which came out afterward did he have 'issues' of the personal nature before the draft?
I don't know. But he has the talent to be a much better player than he is.
A tweener who (and I quote but make the english work out better) that doesn't pass or impact a game defensively.
Speights has the talent to be a much better player
Sam has the talent to be a much better player
Thad has the talent to be a much better player
It takes more than talent - i've said it before - i'll say it agian - talent can only get you so far - when you get to the NBA if you don't have the mental make up you will not succeed no matter HOW much talent you have - and that's where the draft fails REPEATEDLY
But those 3 were not dominant at a high D1 level.
On the flip side, sometimes tweeners who donate in college struggle in the NBA, but I am surprised at how much Beasley struggles. He reminded me of a buigger, tougher Melo coming out.
He never struck me as Melo cause I always personally thought melo was a better shooter coming out of college.
Definitely better range. But Beasley was solid up to about 18 feet.
Bigger bust:
Tyrus Thomas or Michael Beasley?
Check out how cheap the Clipper owner is:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers-dunleavy-20100421,0,5432659.story
Clippers have stopped paying Mike Dunleavy
Dunleavy, who resigned as coach in February and was fired as GM in March, is owed $6.75 million under a guaranteed contract that runs through the end of next season. He has filed for arbitration.
A. Duh - Sterling is cheap - he's also a racist and a womanizer and loves his prostitutes - that's not news
B. Guaranteed contracts are the dumbest things in sports, this won't go to court, they'll settle, and Sterling will not have to pay dunleavy the full amount - so how stupid is he if he ends up paying less than the full contract?
C. In most seasons Donald Sterling runs the most profitable team in the NBA
D. Donald Sterling is one of the biggest douchebags alive.
But he ain't cheap...he's smart, and has more money than everyone who posts here - combined (probably) - possibly then we will all make in our lifetimes combined (probably)
He's despicable - but he's savvy
Well that might have just dropped the Clips below the Sixers in terms of desirable coaching destinations :)
Yay!
Then again
The clippers job has la weather, la women, and frankie muniz
And you get to hang with the Caveman. Probably the TV one too.
But Philly has steak sandwiches w/ cheeze wiz.
Fracking tourist - cheese whiz - ARGH
Though I heard on the radio comign home from work there's a placein LA called Phillys Best and they use REAL AMOROSO ROLLS so it must be good (god i miss cheese steaks)
hey, what's wrong with philly women?
Nothing, I'm miss philly women, philly food and philly weather (hell i miss madison wisocnsin weather and mid west women are hotter than philly women - plus nicer - sorry)
Just saying, people think LA has great weather and great women - which is you like anorexics made almost 50% of silicone who care more about your bank balance and care than things that matter and are looking for a way to get their own reality tv show, then yes LA is better
If Beasley was made available this summer you guys wouldn!t have interest? His numbers are comparable to Anthony and Durant!s after their 1st 2 years and he is only 21. To me he could be the player they wanted Thad to be, at the 4, with 2 differences, a better rebounder and more of a scorers mentality.He is inconsistant but I wonder if playing with Wade and getting less touches helps him or hurts him.
And Derek, curious what you thought of J.Alexander on draft night and would he be worth taking a flyer on this summer? He was termed a project of sorts coming out but Milwaukee gave up on him quick. He seemed to be athletic as hell at W.Virginia and defended well.
I really don't want Beasley. If I'm going to go with a tweener four, I want a guy who's going to add to the pressure defense, I don't see Beasley as that type of a guy. I can see the appeal, I think he's probably capable of being a 20+ ppg guy, but he's a little too much like Aldridge for my liking (long twos).
Not to mention the off court stuff and the salary, which isn't all that cheap.
beasley is a scrub. and he is a loser.
Beasely and M16 are similar in their play, IMO. We don't need another one!
Similar in play I'll take the guy who is the 'right height' :)
You said, "Statements like this wreak of desperation."
You mean "reek," not "wreak."
Fixed. I'm actually kind of shocked that's the only mistake you found.
I'm actually kind of shocked someone bothered to fake up a screen name to correct a minor thing...it's not like you said 'should of' or anything
I hope the Clippers win the case w/ Mike Dunleavy. Maybe the Sixers could stop paying Jordan. He has already stolen money from the 76ers and should be locked up for being a thief and deception.