The losses just keep on coming, and each one seems worse than the last. Tonight's loss featured some of the worst defense you'll ever see. Some of the worst lineups the Sixers have ever trotted out there. A coach who has gone beyond losing his roster, he's alienated and weakened them as individuals and after the jump I'm going to blow off some steam. Make sure you check out the slideshow I put together to illustrate exactly how deplorable this defense has become.
Let me set the stage for you. After leading by seven points to start the fourth quarter, the Wizards went on a 24-11 run in the first 7:59 of the fourth quarter. With 4:01 remaining and the Sixers trailing 90-96, Eddie Jordan made a defensive sub, putting Samuel Dalembert in the game for Marreese Speights. He stuck with the back court of Willie Green and Lou Williams. A minute-and-a-half later, with the score 92-96, Dalembert blocked a shot, handed the ball to Andre Iguodala who started up the floor. He attempted a 40-foot alley-oop pass to Lou Williams which was way too hard and way too high. Earl Boykins collected the loose ball, pushed it up the court, then set up a play with the ball in his hands.
Click here or on the thumbnail below to see what happened on that play. It should tell you all you need to know about the Sixers defensive fundamentals and the priorities Eddie Jordan's system has set.
Elton Brand is the only player who did the proper thing on that play, he shifted to the outside of the screen, putting himself in position to hedge and or trap Boykins when he came off it.
The first breakdown came when Lou Williams, you had Lou Williams giving Boykins way too much space in front of the screen set by Jamison way out on the floor, essentially, Lou shied away from the contact (maybe because he's soft. Maybe because he shouldn't be playing yet because he broke his jaw less than a month ago, maybe because he doesn't have a clue, maybe because his coach doesn't care about defense, maybe about all of the above). Lou's lack of pressure opened up a clear lane for Boykins prior to the screen, he drove right through it.
The second breakdown came from Sam Dalembert, who was more concerned with giving an elbow to Arenas who was streaking through the lane at old-man speed. For some reason, Sammy kept watching Arenas even after he cycled out of the lane.
The third breakdown came from Willie Green, who failed to fight through the traffic in the lane (and there really wasn't much to fight through), instead deciding to stand four feet in front of the rim and watch Arenas on the baseline.
The fourth breakdown was Andre Iguodala who left his man on the weak side of the floor and further flooded the lane. You have to give Igudoala a modicum of credit because at least he was watching the ball, but honestly there's no defensive system in the world where a shooting guard on the weak side of the floor should be responsible for protecting the rim in that situation.
So, as the last lane shows you, Iguodala was the only one in the general vicinity who had any idea that Lou had been completely torched off the dribble, but he couldn't get in a position to do anything about it because not only was Dalembert standing under the rim watching Arenas, Willie Green was doing the exact same thing right next to him. Both guys with their backs completely turned to the play. They blocked Iguodala from cutting off the driving lane, Boykins went right to the tin uncontested and pushed the Wizards lead back up to six.
This isn't the only boneheaded thing the Sixers did, here's a short list of the highlights:
- After making offense/defense switches on several possessions (Dalembert for defense, Speights for offense), Jordan completely abandons the idea with 45 seconds remaining. Dalembert grabs a rebound off a Gilbert Arenas miss, the Sixers trailing 101-98. Instead of calling a timeout and getting Brand back in for Dalembert (Speights couldn't be subbed out because he was shooting a free throw on the prior offensive possession), he has the Sixers push the ball up the floor against a set defense.
- On that possession, Andre Iguodala dribbles the ball down the court and launches a contested long two (foot on the line), clanging it. Terrible shot in that situation, with 17 seconds left on the shot clock.
- The Wizards secure the rebound, with 34 seconds remaining and the Sixers still down by three, Eddie Jordan instructs Willie Green to foul Caron Butler intentionally.
- Butler hits both free throws and Jordan again decides against making the offense for defense substitution to get Brand back in the game.
Apparently these idiotic coaching decisions have finally pushed Elton Brand to the breaking point. Check out
this post from Martin Frank. My favorite portion:
Without naming anyone, it was clear that Brand was referring to Marreese Speights when he said: "Certain guys didn't box out, didn't rebound. Certain guys had a longer leash than others. They played longer and the mistakes showed."
Unless he was talking about himself, which is doubtful after Brand scored 18 points with 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, Speights was on the court for the first 8 minutes before Jordan replaced him with Samuel Dalembert. Jordan said afterward that he wanted to leave Speights and Brand on the court together to take advantage of mismatches offensively. But the defense was so awful that he had to put Dalembert in.
I bolded, italicized and underlined the portion that is most damning, in my eyes. With his team being essentially bent over on the defensive end, Jordan is lamenting the fact that he can't put his best offensive combo on the floor.
I can go on and on, and I will. Eddie Jordan decided to pull Lou Williams from the starting lineup at the last second, presumably because he needed some more practice time to knock the rust off. Then he proceeded to leave Williams in the game for the final 9:31 of the game and play him a full 14 minutes more than Jrue Holiday. Speaking of Jrue, he's the starter in name only. Jordan limited him to 14 minutes in the first half, then yanked him from the starting lineup at the beginning of the third, only playing him 4 total minutes in the second half. He is far, far below both Willie Green and Lou Williams in the pecking order right now. It's a shame, too, because Jrue and Elton Brand led the charge that brought the Sixers back from a double-digit deficit in the second quarter. Brand with his tenacious defense and Jrue with his near-perfect orchestration on the offensive end. In no way did the kid deserve to be benched for 20 of the 24 minutes after the break, and if this coach can't realize that Lou Williams getting torched by Earl Boykins is something he can solve, or at least dampen by putting his best perimeter defender into the game, he's a lost cause.
Here's tonight's rotation chart, if you can bear to look at it.
I do believe Brand's comments above were directed at Marreese Speights, and I don't want to make excuses for Speights, but I firmly believe he's playing injured right now. The other night, he was favoring the knee he injured (twice) earlier in the season, and tonight he had a bit of a hiccup in his stride the entire night. Something isn't right there and he should be examined and probably shut down until he's 100%.
Check out this split. In the second quarter, the Sixers attempted 21 shots, 17 of them were jumpers. They made 11 of those shots, but didn't attempt a single free throw the entire quarter. Eddie Jordan looks at that quarter as a success, I mean, they shot over 50% from the floor. What he fails to see is that his offense, his rotations and his priorities are turning the Sixers into the most passive team in the league, and for every hot shooting quarter they have like the 2nd, they're going to have 10 quarters where their "shooters" will miss 70% of those jumpers and the Sixers will get demolished.
I've been beating this drum for a while now, the press is starting to catch on, the front office has to, absolutely has to be scratching their collective heads after tonight's game. Eddie Jordan's days on the Sixers bench absolutely must be nearing an end. I don't know how anyone who cares about this team in the least can see what's going on out there on the floor, read what he's saying to the press, see what usually soft-spoken and classy veterans are saying to reporters and think anything other than, "Eddie Jordan needs to go." It's unfathomable to me that the discussions aren't taking place. Tony DiLeo should polish up his whistle, or maybe Aaron McKie should start thinking about how he's going to implement the triangle when he takes over. Frankly, I don't care who the replacement winds up being, I only care that he gets here soon. As in, before the Ice Capades trip is over soon.
Player of The Game: Willie Green. Just a solid effort all around for Willie tonight. He played the most minutes of anyone in the back court and he really deserved them. He couldn't shoot to save his life in the second half, but he wasn't taking many shots either, and he kept up the defensive intensity as well.
Team Record: 7-21
Up Next: @ Utah on Saturday
I'm sure I missed a ton of things from this game, and I apologize, but I'm still seeing red three hours after the game has ended.
The Sixers are on their way to lose the last fans they had. I'm pretty close to stop watching this team anymore. I just can't. I will stop this until Jordan is fired. I'm sure with his style of coaching he will destroy the next season too even if he isn't the coach anymore. Just because his style of coaching needs so long to get out of the players.
You hit on all the key points. I am glad that Brand is finally calling Jordan out. The fact that he did might bring some extra attention to the issue. I do think Speights and Lou ought to shut it down, they don't look right at all out there, and we can lose with them not risking their health thanks to Special Ed.
BTW, Great job on the slides Brian. Just a quick note, the last part is slightly out of order.
It should be in the right order now if you refresh.
I love basketball and the Sixers, but I really don't know what to think right now. I think the coach is a bad guy who throws his players under the bus. He threw in two guys who hadn't played in awhile in Rodney Carney and Jason Smith. The two combined for the most apathetic defensive play of the night where they gave up an offensive rebound and ran to the same guy with the ball. This left a man open on the wing (Nick Young) and Carney didn't even move when Young was his man originally. Smith gave a half-hearted late close-out. Rodney gave up two offensive boards to McGuire in his short time and he didn't even put a body on him.
The players don't play hard for him anymore. The AI9 shot at the end of the game epitomizes a team that quits on their coach. It was like they didn't even care. Down the stretch, they reverted to one on one ball which looked like an Eff You to their coach.
The coach tried to save himself by saying that his best player only looks like he has his old form against- He "hates to say it" (HE LOVES TO SAY IT AND ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS SAY IT)- second-teamers! This is after the guy carried the team to a win at Boston and before he carried a sorry first-half effort tonight. Besides Boston, I have to say Eddie Jordan has shown great ability to win against- second-rate teams. Even if that were true, for a coach to throw a player under the bus like that shows a lack of integrity. I don't support this guy from a personal standpoint.
I still can't believe our fucking dipshit coach had the balls to say one of his players was only playing well because he was going up against second stringers. How in the hell is that not a front page story? Oh wait, I know why, because no one outside these small communities online even gives a shit about the Sixers anymore.
That was the craziest thing. The problem is that the media meme is that Brand doesn't fit, and is a bust, so he gets away with doing whatever without recourse
And just in case Jordan wants to rip Brand for his performance in this game, EB played 31 of his 33 minutes at the five in this game. Meaning, he was being guarded by Haywood, Blatche or Oberto the entire game, all guys with big size advantages over him. He finished 7/13 for 18 points with 12 boards and 3 blocks.
Yeah, that's the sad thing. There is a huge lack of interest in the 76ers from the local media. Wouldn't you say from watching the game tonight that Elton Brand had no help from Eddie Jordan? I'm going to look at the game tomorrow morning and see how many of Brand's buckets were pulled out of his one on one ability. That's it. EB was creating for himself a la Kobe from inside the arc. If Eddie Jordan was smart enough, he would praise Elton Brand for playing his ass off for a coach who continually verbally abuses him in the media.
That Brand quote is really a shot across the bow and he hasn't been known for stirring up any trouble. Brian, you said before Stefanski does read up on the Sixers in the papers and blogs to get a pulse for what people are thinking (I think he said that first interview you did). What do you think he'll think about the Brand comment? Do you think that'll get his attention at all or he'll just ignore it.
Say what you will about Brand's contract but he has been 1. coming around and 2. he is playing hard even when things are bleak.
Watching this team is very frustrating. They were a pretty good defensive team prior years and now saying they play matador defense would be giving them too much credit. :-(
I'm sure Stefanski heard that comment long before it made it to any blogs, and you'd think he's going to have to do something about it.
My guess is we'll see one of two stories pop up over these off days (1) The Sixers are actively trying to move Brand (2) Eddie Jordan's grace period is nearing an end and his job is quickly becoming on the line.
It may be than neither is true, but the team is sort of testing the waters to see what kind of reaction they'd get from either bit, but I don't see Stefanski just ignoring a problem that is obviously tearing his team apart.
Jordan has his full complement of players now (I'm not counting Iverson, this is the roster Jordan took through training camp). His excuses are drying up.
Great post Brian.
I share your frustrations about Eddie Jordan. HE NEEDS TO GO! They need to fire him and replace him with a real coach. It's fine to cut new coaches some slack but he's made one bad decisions after another -- frustrating ones. They're not even judgment calls...they were just plain DUMB MISTAKES that a novice coach wouldn't make.
With a 7-21 record and losing to a bad team like the Wizards, it's about time the press, the management of the Sixers and the fans call for the removal of Eddie Jordan as coach. We need to start a petition or something because you can surround this team with the NBA all star team and he'll still probably manage to turn those players into a sub .500 team. He's that bad of a coach.
In any case, I truly enjoyed Elton Brand's comments after the game. It's about time he spoke up. I know he's a professional and he'll do it with class, but I'm glad that he's being vocal about it now instead of sitting back and watching the team lose like this. He wants to win and that's what winners and leaders do. They call out people who aren't doing their jobs -- people like Coach Jordan.
Elton Brand was the only player tonight who played good defense -- who kept the Sixers close throughout the game. He made key defensive stops, pulled down tough rebounds, made key blocks down the stretch and hit big shots when they needed it the most. If there's one thing I don't agree with your post Brian, it's that the MVP of the game was Elton Brand, not Willie Green (though I do agree Green was commendable in his efforts).
I debated Brand vs. Willie, but I thought I had to recognize Willie because his contributions were so unexpected. Brand is good, very good, whether our coach wants to admit it or not.
And the saddest part of all this is that next game, Elton Brand will still be a bench-warmer, and the Sixers will lose again because we have a dumb coach who doesn't know what he's doing and should be fired already...
During the 4th quarter we were for 2-3 minutes on the floor with two guards (wg and ai ?) plus brand dalambert and speights.
This was my favorite Brand quote from Kate's article.
Was Jordan frustrated in his postgame message to the team?
"Not really," Brand said. "Maybe because he said foul with 34 seconds left, maybe he was upset at himself for that."
It seems we aren't the only ones who see what a joke this guy is.
Things I want to hear in the next few days; 1] E.S. and Deleo will be traveling with the team to the road trip to evaluate the coach and teams performance. 2] A.I. and Marreese will be shut down for 2 more weeks to heal properly. 3] Elton and Jrue are in the starting lineup whether our G.M. orders it or not. I take off work between Christmas and New Years and usually look forward to this road trip but this year , unless given a glimmer of hope, I don!t even want to watch.
Love a good soap opera and love to play GM. Should be interesting on both fronts over the next month. I guess the frustration finally has caught up with Elton. After a couple games of Speights and Lou Will's unaccountability on the defensive side of the ball he just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe, he feels EJ's leash is tightening. ALso, he's playing at a consistant higher level. Much easier to speak up. After reading yesterday's BLOG, I was actually rooting for a loss. Just see no reason to root for a win until the coach is gone OR he completely changes the way he coaches.
Brian, please keep up the good work. Hopefully management will read these posts and get the hint that EJ is destroying our beloved team. This is not basketball - it's a joke. Oh and Brand not starting is a fucking disgrace.
Great work, Brian (as usual).
Loved this quote:
"I can go on and on, and I will."
Brian, I cannot believe the energy you put into the 76ers that we all love. It is ashame that our coach does not even put in half the amount of time you do (and if he does, I will not believe it!).
I hope that this coach will be put out of our misery real soon. I am afraid to see what will happen if it does not happen soon.
If you read Kate Fagan last blog it was a good one which kind of summed up where this team is at right now. Everything pretty much seems to point at the coach. As Donyell Marshall said on the Post game show this team is by far too talented to be under achieving like they are. To me that points to the coach. EJ talked about defense last night but it is his offense first mentality that costs them games. Speights is a great talent but you need to have Sam out there with him to help. In fact EJ should have known his best options down the stretch would be Sam, Elton, Andre, Thad and Jrue. Andre could have locked up Arenas and Jrue could have and did control Boykins. Lou was absolutely torched by Boykins. This lineup that I mentioned may have turned around 6 more wins.
I'm too conflicted to watch the games anymore. I just can't see how you can root for them to win. I think we have a halfway decent roster but its obvious we're going nowhere with Jordan at the helm, and I think each win (or almost win) is just delaying his departure.
Thank you Eddie Jordan, you're the motherfucking Alvin Jones of coaching. You're the equivalent of Matt Geiger as coach - just wasting talent. I hope once you're fired your idiocy and egomania doesn't blind the fact you are the problem, not the team, not the organization, not the city. Asshole.
Ok, I'm done. I really needed to get that off my chest.
The intentional foul with 34 seconds left was one of the biggest fundamental blunders I have ever seen a professional coach make. He isn't even smart enough to lie to the media and say he didn't think the defense could get a stop there...he just said it was "his mistake" If Andy Reid made a blunder of that magnitude, it would be talked about for a month.
Seriously, what can we do to bring more attention to the fact that Eddie Jordan needs to be fired??????
I almost think a second road trip to a game is in order so that everyone can show up with "fire Eddie Jordan signs" and a movement can be started. I wasn't able to go to the Clippers game, but there is no way I would miss a road trip to a home game to protest EJ. We should purchase tickets directly across from the Sixers bench so that he can't miss our signs.
I'm literally just 100% done with EJ. I refuse to not watch a Sixers game, but Jordan is just making it so painful these days. If the media (and everyone else) doesn't care about the Sixers enough to write articles about how bad Eddie Jordan is, maybe a protest in the stadium will force the media to take notice of the situation.
Kate Fagan made a revealing comment in her long blog post prior to last night's game: "I'd be shocked if this team finished with only 21 wins" [the pace that they are on]. Taking that thought further, I wonder if the front office is equally shocked that this team is on pace for 21 wins after 28 games?
You've all done a good job in detailing Eddie Jordan's deficiencies as a coach. So here's an interesting question for you to ponder: what would the Sixers' record be at this point if Tony DiLeo were still the coach? I wasn't a big fan of DiLeo, but I think back to the Sixers last spring and my recollection is that (a) they were playing better defense and (b) they weren't taking as many jump shots. This allowed them to go 11-5 down the stretch (prior to the season-ending slump) and compete in almost every game. And we know that they competed well (for the most part) against the eventual NBA-finalist Magic in the playoffs.
So, unless you think the Sixers miss Andre Miller that much (or, to a lesser extent, Evans, Ratliff, or Marshall), we are left with the "Eddie Jordan Effect" -- what happens when you replace a mediocre coach (DiLeo) with one of the worst in NBA history (barely over the Mendoza line at 8-31 in his last 39 games). Maybe Eddie Jordan is the Sixers' version of M.L. Carr, who was allowed to mis-manage the Celtics to a 15-67 record in 96-97 in the hopes of netting them Tim Duncan ...
If the media (and everyone else) doesn't care about the Sixers enough to write articles about how bad Eddie Jordan is, maybe a protest in the stadium will force the media to take notice of the situation.
10 guys? Probably not.
And you're paying for tickets.
Only way to hurt comcast is to stop giving them money - not give them more
I don't think it will be long. If they go 0-5 during this next stretch of games(very possible), I don't think Jordan will keep his job. Stefanski has to look out for himself first, and right now EJ is making him look like an idiot. If firing Jordan and admitting he made a mistake buys Stefanski some time than that is the move he will make. Coupled with the fact that Ed Sniders baby(The Flyers) are equally awful, I wouldn't be surprised if hes got a quick trigger right now with both franchises.
Yes EJ is making him look like an idiot, firing him after less than half a season however just accentuates that Stefanski made the wrong hire...combine that with the fact that the sixers seem to have given up on Brand, carney and kapono aren't exactly solid contributors and that Tony DiLeo runs the draft...what exactly has Stefanski done to warrant keeping his job?
If Stefanski comes out and admits he made a mistake I just think it will buy him some time. He gets a new coach in here and they play a little better that at least shows some progress. Either that or he rests all of his faith in EJ and inevitably he's going to go down with the ship.
Actually, it's kind of a serious question now.
Take out the drafting, cause that's DiLeo
What has Stefaski done since he was hired to warrant keeping his job?
The simple answer is nothing. Right now, his coach is making him look like a fool for signing Elton Brand. His coach is making him look like a fool for choosing him to coach the team. If I'm the owner of the team, I'd probably clear the deck of both guys, promote DiLeo to GM and promote McKie to head coach.
But, if Stefanski does have enough rope left, getting rid of Jordan right now would say one very important thing to me. He cares more about this team winning than he does about getting egg on his face. The only thing worse than making a mistake is compounding that mistake by refusing to correct it. Admit you made the mistake, make a public statement saying this guy was the wrong guy to hire and this time we're going to get it right, and maybe, just maybe, he's got one more shot. Stick with Jordan and let him steer this ship right into the iceberg and you do down with him.
Evans for Kapono - meh - yes he got rid of reggie evans, but Kapono isn't exactly lighting it up (though I think he got broke in Toronto and is irrevocably broken)
Rodney Carney / Primoz Brezec / Royal Ivey - bottom of the barrel free agent shopping - not exactly lighting it up - other GM's have had more success scrapping the barrel.
Willie Green still plays an AWFUL lot of minutes
Other moves some could have issue with
Many think Iguodala is over paid
Lou williams - he's a back up on a good team - is he over paid as a back up
I'm just airing my grievances - if there are positives in the Stefanski tenure (and I'm now even beginning to think that Mo got a raw deal) - please let me know
Actually, I think of Iguodala as simply "paid." He is one of those rare players where, for his true value, he's not getting too much or too little. His salary is in the right range. Would I love it if he made less? Sure, but that is not the same as being overpaid.
Everything else is a wash. Lou is a supersub, until he learns to spell defense. He is not making starters money, but he's a tick below that.
Kapono doesn't need an offense that gives him autonomy. DiLeo would dust off the Korver playsheet and let him run off some screens or have him be the post entry passer to Thad, Speights or Brand.
Iguodala IS way overpaid, so is Brand. They are both getting superstar money when neither are superstar caliber players. Nobody else wouldve given Iggy more than 62 million but Stefanski gave him the max deal for no reason, i remember cringing when that deal was made.
Not a max deal for Iguodala, and look at his salary compared to other players making that much. He's paid a fair wage.
You are wrong about Dala's salary. Iguodala is a top 20 player(if not better) who does not make even top 30 money.
Not sure if i agree that Iggy is a top 20 player, who does he make comparable money to? Regardless, I don't think he is a guy that you can build a team around. He is a very good player, a kind of guy that you NEED on a successful team,but can he really be your centerpiece? I don't know about that...
Check back later tonight for a post on Iguodala's salary vs. production, and how he ranks with other guys in the league.
You do a great job on this site btw, its refreshing to see some people that actually give a shit about the Sixers
Also, I really do think Mo got a raw deal. Dumping Mo because this guy came available? Crazy talk
Jordan is also making it easier by constantly badmouthing the big ticket item. How many employees performing this badly could get away with endlessly ripping their boss's biggest investment without repercussions?
Sigh.
Bold moves are needed. Really bold moves. The first is keeping the coach for the rest of the year. If ES and EJ can single handedly lead us to the top of the lottery, then hooray! With the way our GM's blow the cap this is long overdue and needed. Drafting near the teens every year just isn't cutting it. We are in desperate need of more talent.
Ship the best assets (the bigger contracts and most valued players) and bring in some new blood that can do at least two things - shoot consistently and defend while providing just a semblance of leadership especially on but off the court too. It pains me to say it but Dre is your best piece to shop with EB next. To remove those two overpaid contracts would do wonders for the future. You clear more than enough room to be able to manuever and rid yourself of a wannabe egotistical 'star' (in his own mind - I mean did you see Dominic Mcguire manhandle him in the 3rd last night) and ship out a league-wide phased out 'post-up' power forward on the downslope of his career.
Clean full house in the front office. All of 'em. ES, DiLeo, Witte etc. (and if I had to dream, Snider and Luukko would be first). Bring someone in that doesn't have a mortgage background (for crying out loud) and was another guy's sidekick with no experience. What the hell did Snider see in this guy to think he was this hidden gem that could finish the clean-up job that Billy King had started? (Where are you now, BK?)
King finally had us out of cap purgatory and ES trades away our only shooter (wouldn't he be nice right about now) and then goes to catch the biggest fish in the pond without even thinking about how that fish is going to taste. But he had to outdo himself and give a glue-guy role-player a near max contract when no one else was bidding against him. Great. Then ES felt he hadn't added his *stamp* to the team yet and jettisoned away a family member that had the kids believing in him and his system AND a guy he gave not one, but two, contract extensions to. You are some kind of manager Ed. Brilliant.
The head coach may receive most of the heat and need to be blown up, but really the whole shebang needs to be blown up. Soon.
(But Ed, if you will just continue to be stubborn and keep this coach that the players have tuned out from Week 1, I may let you slide slightly back to my good side b/c we desperately need that talent that comes along with a game-changing high draft pick)
I want that feeling from '83 and '01 again, these 39, and 41, and 45 win seasons aren't from shit. This current cast put together, regardless of coach, has a max of around that. And while I thoroughly enjoy the journey of a season, the destination and ultimate goal has been way-short for far too long.
First, Iguodala doesn't make near max, or even close to Max money. 2nd, He actually is a star, if you don't see that...
3rd, Moving the Eds is fine, but I'd keep DiLeo and Witte, they've done a solid job of talent evaluation in their niche(drafting), and I would not mind seeing them get a crack at trades and free agents.
This team also needs a better public face. The Eds won't cut it. Croce was a marvel in that role.
Iguodala makes close to the max a player of his experience can make. Max a player of his experience can make is about 13.5, Iggy's make 12.2.
Technically, that's not true. When he signed the deal, the maximum for the first year of the contract was $13,758,000, so with the 10.5% annual raises, a max extension would've put him at $15,202,590 this season. Which is quite a bit more than the $12.2M he's making. The first-year figure on his contract was $11.3M and they didn't even max out his annual increases.
If you look at the entire contract, we're talking about a very, very big difference between the $80M/6-year deal they gave him and the maximum they could've given him, $104.2M/6-years.
I did say "about". I made the comment without looking it up (henced why I included the key word "about").
You are right that the FO needs some new blood, they're always 2 or 3 years away from being 2 or 3 years away. There is no real sense of direction or purpose. Snider will become Al Davis as he becomes older and more stubborn, in my opinion he is a complete joke. However, I don't see how Iguodala is our biggest asset, he is terribly overpaid, and I have been reading around from a lot of fans that assume he could net us a lotto pick and some nice pieces in a deal, I just don't see that. I think they'd have an extremely difficult time moving Brand and Iguodala, complementary players aren't worth 80 million.
Brian, great post, once again.
Re: the Brand quote, I'll be shocked if EJ doesn't cut Brand's minutes as punishment for telling the truth like that. The stupidity of how EJ is handling the Brand situation is hard to swallow in itself, but the malice that seems to be behind it (especially the media swipes, like Brand only being good against second-tier guys) really rubs me the wrong way.
And I also agree with all the comments -- this team is unwatchable and the new system has sucked any possible enjoyment out of watching the games. I can barely bring myself to turn it on anymore.
I disagree on the Sixers 'desperate need' for more talent.
I think there's a LOT of talented players on the Sixers. There's too much talent on this team to be 7-21 and the only explanation for that is a horrible coach that doesn't know what the heck he's doing.
Calling for a foul w/ 34 seconds left when you're down 3? That's a one-posession game...a junior varsity coach in high school can the right decision there.
There's no need to try to end up last place and get a lottery pick. Like I said, there's a lot of talent -- talent's not the problem.
The problem is Eddie Jordan and as long as he's coach, you can let him coach the talented players on the Dream Team or the NBA All Star team and they'll still lose every game.
There's not enough talent on this team to win a second round playoff series
Talent and fit of talent is two different spectrums. And talent that can't shoot isn't really that talented to begin with is it?
There very well may be too much talent on this team to be 7-21 but if you feel there is A LOT of talent on this team then you must be happy with approximately 40-45 wins a season and a 7th-8th seed 1st round flameout. And making the playoffs as that low of a seed in the Eastern conference is nothing to write home about. This conference is so weak at this point in time it's not even funny. Just look at the Hawks as an example.
"Talent and fit of talent is two different spectrums. And talent that can't shoot isn't really that talented to begin with is it?"
We're 17th in the league in 3pt% and 18th in 3ptm. Shooting isn't NEARLY this team's biggest weakness.
Speights can shoot. Brand can shoot. Young can shoot. Kapono can shoot. Willie can shoot (sometimes, when he takes good shots).
By far not our biggest problem.
Lou can't shoot, Iggy can't shoot, Dalembert is a disaster, Jrue can't shoot(yet),Carney can't shoot,Smith can't shoot,Ivey can't shoot.
Thad can SCORE but is he really a knock down jump shooter at this point?
This team has some guys that score the rock, but the truly talented squads are 8 or 9 deep of guys that can hit an open jumper.
Really? The Lakers have maybe three guys who fit that description, barely, in Artest, Fisher and Vujacic. That's it.
Boston has Allen, Pierce, Pierce, Garnett and maybe Sheed. That's it.
Orlando had Lewis, Hedo, Lee, Nelson, Redick last season. This year they don't have that many guys.
Cleveland has Boobie Gibson and Mo Williams, that's it.
Show me one roster that has 8 or 9 guys who can really shoot, there isn't one.
Youre right,8 or 9 is an overestimation on my part, but I guess my point was that guys in the rotation on winning teams can knock down their shots. Those Spurs teams always have guys that come in and hit their shots. I guess I just don't see this teams shooting woes as "fixed" simply because they've moved up to middle of the pack this season. In a playoff series I still doubt this teams abilities in the half court is all.
Smith can shoot. Wrong about that one
The question in evaluating this teams talent:
How many wins can we expect form this core in 3 years.
I could care less if a bunch of 19-23 year olds can win now. But if they don't project to be a winning core when they hit there prime then you have to find a way to shake things up.
No way to answer that question as long as this guy's the coach. Also no way to quantify how much damage he's doing to this young core right now with his asinine comments/priorities/system/rotations and now the questionable handling of injuries to the young core.
Absolutely true. Ironically, DiLeo was brought down for making evals, yet now that process is thrown to hell
Dleo did not help by moving Thad back to starting PF and burying Speights on the bench. But he sure can evaluate talent for the draft. Not sure if that makes him a good GM candidate or not.
I think that makes him a Heckert-type, at least.
Once Brand down, I'd have moved Miller for picks and another expiring salary, stuck Lou & Speights in the lineup and ran with it, but that is neither here nor there.
I do know that if he is the GM, he cannot be the franchise face.
My big concern for DiLeo when he made the move to head coach was that the scouting for the draft would take a hit, that doesn't seem to have been the case, DiLeo seems to be very good at evaluating draft talent, and I have no idea if that makes him qualified to be a GM...how does one qualify to be a GM in the league, how did stefanski 'qualify'?
Scouting/apprenticeship in NJ, plus Wharton education I suppose.
The NBA cap doesn't seem as complicated as the NFL but I think 'capologists' are something smart teams should start to look at hiring.
Until a guy is in on trade negotiations and contract negotiations, I wouldn't ever let him be a GM - so I don't know what DiLeo has done in that arena before promoting him as a GM.
Personally, what I'd do this off season is something truly radical...I'd throw tons of money at phil jackson and jeannie buss and get em in here as a package deal now that Jerry has alienated the most talented of his children due to his inherent misogyny.
I don't know if Phil Jackson would ever take a job where he doesn't have one of the best players in the world to carry his team.
And I'm mostly kidding about that last part but when the Lakers start to spiral after Jerry retires, it'll be funny that his own stupidity is at least part of the reason.
Comcast is so busy trying to dominate television (how can a cable company be allowed to own NBC,USA, BRAVO, etc...that just seems wrong to me) - they probably have some extra cash to sink into a REALLY solid GM
Brian,
" Also no way to quantify how much damage he's doing to this young core right now with his asinine comments/priorities/system/rotations and now the questionable handling of injuries to the young core."
You hit the nail right on the head with that one. I couldn't agree more.
There's nothing that will hurt the development of a young player with a horrible coach. The point of a coach isn't just to win games but to teach young kids like Jrue how to grow as a player and how to improve his game.
You can get the #1 pick next year and still suck with an even worse record than this year, so long as Eddie Jordan is coach. And who knows how much damage EJ is doing to his players right now -- with his terrible decisions, his hypocritical comments, his lame excuses...it all affects his players and how they play with each other and how they grow/develop.
Bottom line: Don't worry about draft picks, worry about getting rid of Eddie Jordan. IT ALL STARTS AT THE TOP! Fix things there, and the rest will follow.
You also hurt young players by making them play under multiple coaches. They need continuity and a single massage.
Unfortunately, the Sixers can't seem to find evena and average coach.
Like I said, mostly kidding, but I wasn't thinking of him as a coach, I think he's a very wise man and would be an excellent front office guy...Jeannie is a business genius, and she really knows her basketball (they love her on sports radio in LA) and Jerry truly messed that situation up because he's an idiot
Snider has had numerous lucrative deals over the years to sell the Sixers, i can't imagine he'd get nearly the profit now he would have gotten then. You won't see a chance of new ownership until he dies,sad but true
The problem with 'selling the sixers' is that it's not that easy as JUSt selling the sixers.
The sixers are owned by a corporation that also owns the flyers, the stadium they play in AND the tv network they are broadcast on.
It's rare in sports that you own the team, stadium, AND tv network...if someone buys the sixers they don't get the other stuff...you'd have to have comcast sell the whole kit and kaboodle and still bend over regarding the tv contract of both the flyers and sixers probably to get the deal done.
man...Did Jordan catch Stefanski cheating on his wife or something ? WTF...why is this guy still here ?
From above:
"How many wins can we expect form this core in 3 years."
Obviously no one really knows the answer to this but if the core is Jrue, Lou, Dre, Thad, and Speights - they will be nothing more than a .500 team, give or take a few games. All of those guys are serviceable players (they have about as many strengths as weaknesses) with some having the potential to be very good players. But out of that *core*, none are what you would call a frontline, star type of player and I don't foresee any of them acheiving that status in the next 2-3 years.
I mean, Dre really is what he is. He's been in the league six years now this year. Stats and numbers aside, is he really any better than he was 1-2 years ago? He still can't shoot consistently and can't handle adequately. And his defense on-the-ball is sporadic with some tell-tale games this year. His leadership and body language leaves much to be desired.
This is Lou's fifth year. Now, he has made progress to an extent, but he is what he is, too. Inconsistent trigger-happy jumper, questionable decision making, below par defense. Not enough IQ to run a team and not enough height to play the two-guard full time.
Thad is in his third year. He does just enough to make you drool but the next night just enough to make you scream. He has the best chance of improving perimeter shooting of the three mentioned so far. He doesn't possess the IQ by his own admission and his defense is better left unsaid. His handle is very spotty and not controlled. He's young and still growing with the game though.
Speights is in his second year. He can stroke the jumper out to 20 feet pretty well. His immaturity shows in his effort, defense, and rebounding. He's young too and the jury is definitely still out on him.
Jrue is in his first year. He provides glimpses of what you'd want in a captain of the ship but I'm not sure he is the point-guard-star type ala Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash etc. (And I speak in terms of offensively here) His mentality and attitude and approach appear to be above par. Hard to render a decision as he's just too green right now.
In summation, you have two guys who pretty much are what they are going to be and three guys who the jury is still out on - but once again, no elite level players or stars, for lack of a better term.
This core doesn't lead you to a championship now, in 3 years, or ever. So as you said - shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em.
Hey Philly! What has to happen to get this ego maniac out of dodge??? EJ has done everything in his power to cripple a promising franchise. I thought Charlie and Andy sounded dumb! This guy has no idea. If they did indeed bring him in to lose games and get them a lottery pick than kudos to them. Otherwise, I have no idea what is going on. Thank God for Brian; I started to think I was the crazy one. No one seems to care that this is the worst this team has looked in years!