 Snub?
The All Star teams were announced tonight and zero 76ers made the squad. Fair? Depends on how you look at it.
Here's the roster (x denotes starter, voted in by the fans):
There's not a whole lot to argue here. At first blush, I thought Rip Hamilton maybe didn't deserve it (and the team didn't need 6 guards), but his numbers, especially his shooting percentages, are stellar (50% from the field, 46% from three). That got me thinking about the overall makeup of the roster, and I realized there's only one true center. Samuel Dalembert being the first name that came to my mind. Of course, if this is the roster you're going with, and you truly don't believe there HAS to be two true centers, so be it. Garnett and/or Bosh can fill in there. Finally, I started looking at the numbers. There are two guys on this team whose offensive numbers are strikingly similar to Andre Iguodala's, and their defensive number, well they're non-existent: Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson. Pierce is playing alongside two potential Hall Of Famers, and shooting for a worse percentage than Iguodala. Pierce has a slight edge in rebounds and assists, while Iguodala leads Pierce in steals by a wide margin and blocks as well. Overall, I'd say Iguodala is having a better season, statistically, but you can't really scream bloody murder at Pierce being chosen over him. Joe Johnson, on the other hand, I have a slight problem with. The Atlanta Hawks currently sit at 18-24, and they've been everyone's darling surprise in the Eastern Conference. Keep in mind that the Sixers are only 2 games behind the Hawks. Johnson's 22.1 points/game may look impressive, but he's taking almost 19 shots/game to score them and only shooting 40% from the field. He's got a slight edge in assists over Iguodala, but Iguodala's got the edge in rebounds, steals and blocks. This has probably been Johnson's worst year, statistically, since being traded to the Hawks from the Suns. I'm guessing that the assistant coaches wanted to reward someone from Atlanta for their surprising turnaround. It would've been nice if they'd rewarded Iguodala for his play over the past year, but so be it. Get some rest Andre, you've got a playoff run ahead of you (believe it or not). The Sixers play host to All Star center Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic tonight. Check out the cleverly named Orlando Magic Blog for the wrong point of view on tonight's game. 
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Joe Johnson definitely doesn't belong (he's not even the best player on his team this year); neither does Iguodala. Calderon on the other hand, or maybe even Turkoglu, are.
About the Gasol trade, does this mean we could've gotten him for the expiring contract of Andre Miller, a couple picks, and... Jason Smith? I don't think that would've been a good idea, but it seems like we could've traded for him.
Calderon more deserving than Iggy in my opinion.
Sixers may make the playoffs this year. They won't need to win 40 games to do it either probably.
At what cost should they make the playoffs?
I have such mixed reactions when thinking about this team. Are they going to attempt to be a top team starting next season? 3 years away? Where does Andre Miller fit into this equation? Elton Brand?? If their rebuilding is 3 years away they damn well better not make the playoffs. If they want Brand then keeping Andre Miller seems like a definite. Will they make a small move for a 6th man alla Josh Childress or something?? I am confused.
I think that the plan is not written in stone right now, but what is Plan A?
Do you have any idea? I surely do not.
It could go a bunch of different ways. On some nights, they really do seem like they're one impact player and maybe a shooter or two away from being a contender in the East. If that's really the case, I think making the playoffs (thus making yourself more attractive to a free agent) is a good thing. From just a pure fan's perspective, I want to see them in the playoffs. I love the NBA playoffs.
If your timetable really is 2 or 3 years, then Miller should be moved, but I'd rather see him moved in the offseason when the Sixers can use him plus their cap space to land basically anyone who might become available.
From a pure fan's perspective, watching us get plowed in four games by the Celtics would be terrible. At least in the old days the first-round series were just 5 games long. Now if you suck they prolong the torture.
Look on the bright side, we could get up to the 7 spot and get swept by Detroit. :)
I miss the playoffs, even if it's a first-round exit, making an appearance may at least get the stink of loser off this franchise and make it a little more attractive to free agents.
Asher, Miller's contract doesn't expire until next season, so that package probably wouldn't have been as attractive to the Griz as the one they got. If the Laker can figure out a way to share the ball, they're going to be tough to beat at this point. They might have 4 All Stars on the court, and Fisher/Farmar are a decent PG combo.