Woooooooow.

Holy crap. I'm stunned, literally stunned.

All we need to add is another guard who can shoot the 3 and we're set. Stefanki is the man!

Yes, they have the exception available to them this summer because they did not use it last summer. It'll be roughly 1.92 mil for a 1 or 2 year contract.

I think he signs for 12 million per.

He can't sign for less. He has to get more.

At the same time he should WANT to be here.

To get Gordon you'd have to give up Iguodala. I don't do that, I don't even think about that. Defense is more important than shooting at this point. They can sign a shooter cheap, they can draft a shooter, they could even trade for a shooter. They have a glut at PF right now. I don't want Iguodala moved for until he proves he cannot play the 2. I think his shooting numbers will be greatly improved this season with defenses having to double Brand in the post. That goes for Thad and Lou Williams as well.

Miller's scoring numbers were absolutely up last year, they should be down this season just because he isn't the best option in the half-court offense anymore. One thing to keep in mind is that this is a contract year for Miller, so I wouldn't expect a big drop. He's going to want to get paid after the season.

If Ed gets this wrapped up quickly, which I have no doubt he will, you have to say this is the best job a GM has done in Philadelphia since....well, I can't even come up with a comparable job a GM has done in Philly.

In less than 7 months he's taken a laughing-stock of a franchise, made 2 trades, one free agent signing and now we're looking at a legitimate shot at 50+ wins, home-court, with one player over 30 on the roster. That's truly amazing.

Ian---Elton is 29 and he is in his prime.
Even at 33 he wouldnt be done. Hell KG is 32 and look at him.
I think Smith would have been good for the Sixers as well but he is "potentially" great. Brand is ALREADY great and he played for a solid 3 weeks last year and put up 20 and 10. Not to mention he is a shot blocker (2 a game) and a EXTREMELY strong athletic player. Brand is considered one of the top 3 power forwards in the game and you can make an argument that he may be the best. You may lose, but he is at least in that conversation. No sixer since Barkley has been that effective in the low post. This team is going to be fun as hell.

I agree with everything you said. This is how I've felt all along, but since the Brand signing I've been telling myself, "Brand's better, Brand's better, Brand's better". There's no doubt in my mind Elton's a better player than Smith is right now, but Smith could turn into an absolute superstar.

I have to like the signing though. Elton's going to be our best player next year and probably until he leaves. That is unless Iggy or Thad emerge, and that's very possible, but Elton over Smith? I think deep down, more than a couple Sixer fans feel the same way. They just don't want to admit it and I'm fine with that because I'm the same way. There's also no guarntee J-Smoove will turn into this "superstar" I speak of, but there's a chance. I guess I'll continue to convince myself that this was the right move, because there's nothing else I can do about it now.

"Brand's better, Brand's better, Brand's better"

Brand is a notch below Smith as a shot blocker, but is well above average at 2 per game and, from all accounts, is a superior man-to-man defender whereas Smith is not. We are taking the sure thing over potential.

I've gone back and forth between these two guys for a long time now. Part of me agrees with a lot of what you say here. Smith is younger, he's a dominant shot blocker, he's a freakish athlete. The one thing that Brand has in spades over Smith is an offensive game. The one thing the Sixers need, perhaps more than anything else, is a consistent way to score in the half-court offense. Brand gives you that, plus he's the complete package, able to defend big 4's, blocks shots, runs the floor, can step away from the hoop and hit mid-range jumpers.

Brand is just a stud, pure and simple. Put Josh Smith on the Sixers and if everything goes perfectly you might have a team that could defy traditional logic and dominate two or three years down the road. Then again, you might have a team that can jump out of the gym, but can't hit a jumper to save their lives. With Brand on this team, I think the Sixers have a legit shot at making the finals this year, maybe next. I think with a few tweaks we could be talking about a team that could challenge for a title.

I don't think the Achilles is a huge concern. It's an injury a lot of guys have come back from.

Probably Smith. I wouldn't be shocked if we see some small lineups with Brand at center, Thad at the 4, Iggy at the 3, Lou at the 2 and miller at the point.

yawn. Our defense is better than yours now in Detroit.

The PG position is a concern...next year.

For this year, you've got a heady veteran at the point. A dominant veteran in the post, and three freakish athletes who are plus, plus defenders at the other three positions. I'd say that's going to be tough to contend with.

Adding Brand should mean more open looks for everyone on the perimeter, which should mean higher percentages across the board from three. That being said, adding Brand alone isn't going to turn mediocre shooters into great shooters. Thad has a chance to be a good threat from deep, Iguodala could improve to the point where he's a legit threat. Everyone else, not so much. I don't think any of them are going to shoot 40%, a guy who's just a lights-out shooter is really needed. Rush would be a good thought. I don't care for House, just a personality thing with me. Quinn is a possibility. Maybe Carroll from the Bobcats, but he might be too expensive. He's a Philly guy, right? Maybe a hometown discount?

I have a feeling Brian will be making one. Just a hunch. I'll post a few I guess. Eddie House is too expensive. We need sub 2 million dollar a year players essentially. All we have is the vet minimum and one signing with the bi-annual as you said I believe.

Rush, Frahm, Pat Carroll, Chris Quinn, Steve Novak, Lue, Salim Stoudmire, Reddick, CJ Miles, Dickau, Diener amongst many others.

The 1st round pick they are sending to the wolves is Utah's pick they had the rights to from the Korver deal. Basically, it's a pick the wolves can use over the next few years (through 2012?). Because Utah has a good team; that pick will wind up being in the mid 20's. A team can buy their way into that portion of the draft nowadays with cash considerations. People keep making a big deal out of losing Carney and this pick. The gains of this signing far outweigh the loss of those two assets.

Look at it as Carney, Booth and a 1st rounder for Elton Brand and a 2nd rounder. That'll make it more palatable for you :)

Stefanski saw a window of opportunity, but he needed more cap space to make it happen quickly. He definitely overpaid for the needed cap space, but if that was the difference between landing Brand and not landing him, it was well worth it.

Well, he had to clear money and he got it done. Was he going to get perfect value? No. Did he? No.

I am fine with it.

Also, with Brand and this team's prospects in the immediate future, that 1st Round pick will (probably) be in the latter picks in the 1st Round. We do play in the Eastern Conference, after all. Teams trade those type of picks away for cash considerations and lower picks all the time.