Back in June, with disconcerting rumors about the Sixers ownership/front office swirling, I chose to bide my time. Who's in charge, who's make decisions, those are typically secondary concerns. Possibly, they aren't concerns at all. Who makes a decision carries no meaning without the decisions themselves present to be evaluated. Well, now we have a handful of decisions, and possibly the outline of a plan...or a direction...or maybe two plans and two directions. Let's take stock.
Kwame Brown was the latest, and perhaps final, player personnel move of the summer. It looks like
Tom Penn is the front-runner to usurp Rod Thorn as general manager. We've now got a team with only four players under contract beyond 2014: Thad Young, Moe Harkless, Arnett Moultrie and Nikola Vucevic. Let's try not to deal in rumors, but in facts.
When you look at the Atlantic Division, and really the entire Eastern Conference, the Sixers seem to be playing a long game. It's not a game many teams are playing. Of the teams who made the playoffs last season in the East, only the Sixers and Hawks have actively tried to shed salary for year three of the renegotiated CBA. If you recall, this CBA doesn't bare its teeth until year three, when the revenue split drops to 50%, taxpayer penalties increase dramatically and sign-and-trades become more difficult (and less advantageous to the players). The cap and luxury tax thresholds are going to drop. The penalty for being a taxpayer is going to be much, much more than the slap on the wrist it's been in the past and teams who pay the tax will have fewer exceptions to use to augment their rosters. The Nets, Knicks, Heat and Bulls are all going to have to choose between a bloodletting to gain maneuverability or the charity of veterans on minimum contracts to fill holes. Superteams are probably going to be a thing of the past, and the Sixers will probably be hard-pressed to reach the salary floor.
Unquestionably, they're going to have a ton of cap space when cap space will be at an extreme premium (unless something crazy happens between now and then). It seems like a solid long-term plan, and Penn seems like a good choice to bring into the front office. He's known as a cap and CBA expert. (Part of me wonders if interest in him is a direct response to the "Oops we have to amnesty Brand to pay Hawes!" gaffe). Circling back, though, cap space itself doesn't make a contender. The Kings have been spinning their wheels with a ton of cap space for several seasons and they don't appear to be any closer to the playoffs this season than they were last year (unless Thomas Robinson really pans out). The ability to make moves is meaningless until good moves are actually made. The Kings are actually a good way to transition into the second part of the "plan," because they didn't half ass their rebuild.
While the financial aspect of the Sixers plan had an eye to the future, the current roster was built with little regard for anything but the upcoming season. In terms of the players they lost and acquired, the Sixers had one goal in mind. Give Doug Collins what he needs (or wants) to replicate last season's success. The Sixers are behaving pretty much like the Oakland A's have in baseball for years. They lost Lou and Brand, so how can they recreate their production on the cheap? Nick Young, Kwame Brown and Dorell Wright appear to be the answers. Better shooting to offset Lou's explosive scoring. Better size on the perimeter and in the middle to offset Brand's interior presence on the defensive end. The Sixers plan to use these castaways to maintain the progress made last season while the larger picture can develop...if it ever develops.
I've heard people talk about using the next two seasons to evaluate the talent on the roster, but I don't see any sign of that being a priority. They didn't go out and get young guys, they didn't even clear a spot for a young guy. They brought in veterans to round out the rotation and until I see evidence to the contrary, I believe the plan is for Doug Collins to squeeze as many wins as possible out of this group by whatever means necessary. The team isn't going to be turned over to Jrue to run as a true PG. Evan Turner isn't going to be given free reign to make mistakes and take bad shots. Moultrie and Harkless will probably spend time in the D-League, and Nikola Vucevic probably won't even be in the rotation. I'm sure the Sixers would like to see what they have in all of these guys, and they will, but not to the point where they're going to sacrifice games on a fact finding mission.
People have called this plan a delayed rebuild, but it doesn't look like a rebuild at all to me. When you put the pieces together, it looks like winning as many games as possible is the goal, and then that flexibility would be used to push them from a second-round-exit team to a contender with a hypothetical big splash with the cap space. If the plan was to rebuild through the draft, the moves made this summer would've been entirely different.
In broad strokes, it's not a terrible plan. Win games, stay nimble, pounce when teams realize they need to have a fire sale. In the short term, the Sixers won't be terrible next season. Depending on several factors, they could be a little better, they could be a little worse. I'm sure it'll be an exciting season and I'd say they're likely to return to the playoffs where their defense will again make them a tough out. I would've preferred they use the money spent on Spencer Hawes and Kwame Brown for either Ryan Anderson or Ersan Ilyasova (or just set $6.5M on fire instead of re-signing Hawes), but whatever. It is what it is. We should be in for some enjoyable basketball over the next two seasons. The part that's tough to take is that we're right back where we were in June. Wait and see. Only now, we're going to probably have to wait a couple of years to see if the decision makers can properly build a team.
They should have traded for Ryan Anderson. They are putting too much hope into this 2 year plan. They could have gotten a young power forward on a reasonable contract now and it wouldn't have cost much at all. They still would have had the potential for good cap space in 2 years. If they would have just added Ryan Anderson and Dorrell Wright and let all there other trash go this would be a improved team and I could have given a stamp of approval to this off-season because they would have actually gotten better while keeping options open down the line. Not wasting my time for 2 years while they hope for a better tommorrow like it appears now.
Any chance Thaddeus Young gets moved? He has 4 years and $35 million left on his deal.
What about the possibility of trading Iguodala? He has a player option of $16 million next year, but I can see some team offering him 4 years and $60 million, and I can see him take it for financial security.
If the Sixers don't plan on re-signing him, why not trade him this year and not risk losing him in free agency?
I don't think they trade Iguodala or Thad unless they get back pieces that can keep them at the same level on the floor, or better. Don't think having an off year is an option for them based on their moves. Now if they get off a slow start, then maybe we could see some changes.
Great write-up, Brian. I think the part of this hybrid plan that I find most troubling is what you raised about the opportunity to evaluate talent. I actually do think that we'll have a clearer sense of who Turner is, even with the current roster makeup. But guys like Harkless and Moultrie? I can't see how they'll get almost any minutes at all, and that seems like a problem given that (if they pan out) Harkless is a potential replacement for Iguodala and Moultrie is assumedly a part of their frontcourt plans. I don't think next June we'll likely have much sense at all of what these guys can contribute, unless of course they somehow move up the roster unexpectedly. And that certainly makes it hard to plan beyond next year.
sixers open up at home vs denver on halloween
heres the rest of the schedule but note they more then 1 game on national tv
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/phi/philadelphia-76ers
The sixers have two thursday night games - one is a chicago game scheduled to start at 8 pm, feb 28 - that's probably on TNT
The other one is a denver game, starting east coast 9pm - doubtful on TNT
this says they have 4 tnt games
http://www.nba.com/schedules/national_tv_schedule/TNT/index.html
But not on thursdays :) TNT does games on martin luther king day too don't day?
"Ice Capades" Road trip - 8 games - 15 days
I get waiting to pounce in a couple years when the full extent of the cba kicks in, but can someone explain what is the upside of being a competitive non contender for 2 years?
Money
Playoff ticket money
a couple home playoff game s- maybe get lucky again and slip into the second round
all about caish
Yea that may be it, but taking a hit for a couple years to build a contender would result in a lot more money down the road. Could be a case of, have your cake and eat too, in which they think they can do both.
I don't disagree with you - I think their approach to the off season has been half assed, half this and half that, and I don't think it works out - in either directoin...I''m just saying that's WHY they'd do it that way :)
I disagree with what their doing, whether I know the motivations or not - I think that if they feel 'kwame hawes' can come close to replacing what elton brand brings - they're delusional
Yea I agree. Its very difficult to find much logic in what they've done so far this offseason.
Schedule story: Sixers begin season with plenty of home games, end with 13 of 17 on the road:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/sixers-will-be-home-early-on-road-late/article_abcca721-416f-546e-a4aa-92dbfb6837ab.html
welp here's hoping they've at least thought this out as much as Brian has....it almost certainly will not matter, but why did they sell that Euro they drafted in the 2nd rd if all they did with their $$ is bid against themselves for Kwawes? especially after they turned a stashed second round euro into an almost useful asset in Sam Young?
1. If this really is the Sixers plan, I'm all for it. It's aggressive, risky, and thought out. My gut feeling is that the Sixers will eff it up by trading for Rudy Gay or by signing some mediocre PF.
2. "Kwame Brown was the latest, and perhaps final, player personnel move of the summer."
The off season is never complete unless we bring back Tony Battie.
3. Chicago actually won't be in bad shape two years from now, but they'll have to make some tough decisions on extending Deng and Gibson. Brooklyn has it bad but the only player I would want from that team is Deron Williams.
The Lakers and the Mavericks are in really good shape. Gasol's, Metta's and Bryant's contracts expire next year. While Dallas only has Haywood's contracts on the books. So in terms of big cities with a ton of cap space, Philly would rank 3rd.
I thought they amnestied Haywood
Where would you rank Philadelphia in terms of NBA big market destinations?
1. LA
2. New York
3. Brooklyn
4. Chicago
5. Dallas
6. Philadelphia?
Not how players look at it
Miami would probably rank ahead of brooklyn, maybe even miami
ahhh... forgot about Miami
I'm talking in terms of big city, marketing, nightlife and etc. Philadelphia should be a more attractive destination than Boston or Indiana.
NBA players don't think like yo're thinking they think
They favor texas because of a lack of state income tax
Toronto is a great city - no one wants to go there
Places that snow are not as popular as inviting as places that don't snow
Usually though - it's about the most money - the biggest contract - dwight is now threatening dallas because if orlando doesn't blink they'll have the cap room to give him the max contract they can - most teams won't
All things being equal sure some other things are going to matter but mostly - it's about the cash.
Deron Williams doesn't prefer brooklyn - but that extra 20 mil is super nice
"Part of me wonders if interest in him is a direct response to the "Oops we have to amnesty Brand to pay Hawes!" gaff[sic]"
I'm sorry, but this is absurd. The only twopeople on planet Earth who believe such a gaffe occurred are you and GoSixers, so far asI can ascertain. Ponder that.
The Sixers were telegraphing their intention to amnesty Brand from the day the season ended. Go read the interview with Brand that that SI.com guy(Zach Lowe?) did a couple weeks after the season ended...Brand clearly anticipates that he will be amnestied.
Take a step back, breathe deep, remove tinfoil hat
getting sic'd is always a terrible way to start your morning.
Anyway, don't think myself and GoSixers are the only two people in the world who think it was an unintentional use of the amnesty, not even sure if I 100% believe that, but the timing and the fact that the trigger was really an arcane detail in the Lavoy re-signing leads me in that direction.
"When you put the pieces together, it looks like winning as many games as possible is the goal"
This made me laugh aloud. J'accuse!
21 back-to-backs for the Sixers, 20 for the Celts. Usually, there's a big gap there.
Pretty interesting pick for their first national game, at new orleans, Nov 7th.
A healthy number of national games overall, too
New Orleans is gonna be an interesting team to watch this year...with a healthy Gordon and a strong debut year from Davis, am I crazy to think they could sneak into the playoffs?
I can't wait to see Evan jump again.
I bet Kwame's mommy is above-average in size.
Is Spencer really Michael Phelps' cousin?
Two Youngs don't make a right.
The color wheel question ... blue away uniforms ... navy, medium or sky?
three youngs>a wrighr
Sorry...but committing big bucks to a long term contract for Ryan Anderson is not going to bring this team closer to a championship. Stars win championships and Ryan Anderson is not one of them.
Nothing they've done this summer has brought them close to winning a championship in the big picture. Getting Anderson would've made them a better team, so in the narrow view, that's closer. More importantly, it would've made a bigger impact on the current team. I view 4 years/$36M for Anderson as a very movable contract, more movable than Thad's when you consider to production he provides and the role he plays. Don't think signing him to that deal (or Ilyasova to the deal he signed) would've closed any doors.
I agree with this. Anderson would not have killed them, but it would have been a sign of moving in the wrong direction IMO. Anderson might be a nice complimentary piece, but you should not start committing long term contracts to complementary pieces until you have a star in place. In that sense, Thad was a mistake as well.
I agree that younger players can always be moved, but it still would be been a sign of the wrong philosophical approach.
The day the Sixers amnestied Brand, I assumed that he next shoe to drop would be trading away Iggy and moving in a truly new direction.
Unfortunately, it sounds like the Brand move was a simple financial one- and a dubious one at that. Keeping Brand for the final year on his contract would have meant going over the tax- so they essentially chose Hawes over Brand. Then they added some one year guys with the spare change.
all personnel moves have been blah blah except for dorrell wright - i'm excited to see what he brings to the table.
also i'm surprised that our resident wordsmith dollar bill didnt comment on the post title being a shakespeare reference. richardIII if i remember high school at all-
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by [Collins, our beaming stork];
And all the clouds that low'r'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
- Richard The Third, Act I, Scene I
"Excellent, Joey; you're excused from tonight's homework assignment, and you may leave early today."
haha well done! thx Mr. Bill!!
Link to Sixers' offseason videos, including Collins talking about the Olympics:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/video/
their schedule the last month of the season is going to be brutal
Jacque Vaughn is the new HC of the Magic
Story (with Doug Collins video): Collins' Olympic roots run deep:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/sixers/collins-olympic-roots-run-deep/article_e68cd4c7-621a-5f3d-acf4-13ae63252468.html
Andre Iguodala passed on an easy route to the olympics (a la Chris Kaman) to have a chance to some day play for the US
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20120728_Sixers__Iguodala_passed_up_on_playing_for_Team_Nigeria.html
He's piggy backing on the efforts of Melo and Kobe because he can't win one on his own :)
Iguodala, Philadelphia's very own 8 yrs-and-counting 'Nigerian Nightmare' ... 7,160 painful shots for $58,356,009. More premiums coming due. Ouch!
Moral of story: horses that lose are made into glue.
I think that decision not to take the easy road to the Olympics takes a lot of integrity, actually. I respect that.
Common sense is all that's needed to decline invitations to play for a country that you've never set foot in.
Integrity is taking off your ski mask prior to negotiating your contract before a new, overanxious, romanticizing, stubby GM.
nominated LOL
I don't agree. And I know people like to grind the axe on how Iguodala is supposedly overpaid, but I think it's highly unrealistic and a bit facile to expect a person to "take off their ski mask" and negotiate for a lesser contract.
WHY is it "highly unrealistic" to consider the whole of your organization rather than just the desires and aims of yourself? Has a healthy perspective and the caring for others been outlawed?
Can you name a good example of somebody asking for significantly less money than he was offered in recent NBA times? By a guy who was getting his first real payday too? I can't. Would seem very unrealistic if that is the case.
How could I name such? Humbler negotiating scenarios aren't publicized (though I'm certain they take place). Yours is a dubious posture. A 55-60 million dollar guaranteed contract - that would've left the organization with greater maneuverabilty - wouldn't have been a "real payday"? 80 million dollars for that dude of clear limitations may stand forever as Palinka's finest lawyering.
24/7 news cycle now. Everybody seems to knows who is making what and why. As for those "humbler deals"... In baseball, they're publicized (Cliff Lee). In football, they are too (Tom Brady). In basketball, it's been publicized (Wade-Bosh-James), but again, all of their situations are for way more money. It's hard to understand how you are so sure a player (or players as it seem) of Iguodala's caliber voluntarily take less money but can't name one. Saying something is certain while not being able to produce any examples seems plenty dubious to me.
You are a big Joe Johnson guy, right? Does his "shooting" make up for the fact that he is going to make 25 million dollars in 2016? Or is he a bad guy, too? Cause if we apply the same logic and being overpaid makes someone lack integrity, even you could admit he's like the worst person to walk the Earth. Right?
Cliff Lee, 2 gm winner, humble deal at $125 mil - that's a laugh! (Yeah, yeah, the jilted lefty turned down a few more shekels from TX & NY to return to the warm embrace of his fickle lover, PHL - so what.) Brady, Wade, Bosh, James - shy, underpaid guys too.
I'm certain, based on life experience, that there are players/people who are aware and grateful of their relative luck in the world - athleticism, health, timing, opportunity - and don't press for every penny they can get from the coffee can. In contrast, your hero's contract remains a "man bites dog" archival entry, my opinion.
I'm not a big Joe Johnson guy. Where'd ya get that? One instance of complimenting his shooting ability relative to Iguodala's struggling mastery of the skill? I've also stated that he's a myopic gunner, a 'me first'-er. Straw arguments get you nowhere. One case of individual greed and corporate overindulgence compared to another case of individual greed and corporate overindulgence - don't waste time.
"Worst person to walk the earth" ... as Ronald Reagan famously said in debate, there you go again. The manufacturing of straw.
You are missing the point, as usual. Pointing out that those guys was not to say they are underpaid, but to say they are the only guys who reportedly take pay cuts. My objection had nothing to do with Iguodala being overpaid (He's not, but whatever). It has to do with you saying he's a bad person for signing that deal because there are other people in his spot who would have told Stefanski "No, I want less." And not having a shred of evidence to back it up.
They are the only ones who are reported probably because they are the only voluntary pay cuts that happen, when we're talking guys who are already in the 100 millions. Of course your Spidey Sense says very different, but again, it doesn't help when people want basic things like facts to support your strong opinion.
I really shouldn't have commented on any of this, but man, your Anti-Iguodala smear campaign has reached very weird levels, to the point that he's now a bad person because he said "Yes" when offered a lot of money just like every other player in his situation would and has in the NBA. It's like he hasn't given an honest effort to earn that money and played hard through injury. Of course you were the poster who complained about him leaving the game when his eyeball was knocked out of its socket.
More than anything, if you have that opinion on Iguodala, you should think a lot of NBA players have no integrity. Joe Johnson is a good example, and he's far from the only one. Rudy Gay is another. Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Luol Deng, Kevin Martin, Danny Granger, who were all guys in the same situation who got money in the Iguodala range, some took more. The list keeps going on, too. If you are going to have that opinion, you at least have to admit that Andre Iguodala is one of a million guys with "no integrity" in the NBA.
But then you'd be making my point (Hardly anybody, if anybody in AI9's spot says "No, You are offering me too much") as well as taking the light off perpetual Dollar Bill whipping boy Andre Iguodala, and that doesn't sound like you at all.
I mean, Joe Johnson wouldn't have a ski mask in that scenario. He would be the real-life Bane, set to become Atlanta's reckoning as soon as he put pen to paper.
Starring Danny Ferry as Bruce Wayne of course.
first time i am hearing Iguodala is part Nigerian. could tell from his name but his bio keeps it pretty mum so i wasn't sure. keep getting even more reasons to like him more.
not sure how being on a sucky team that'll get eliminated early (sorry my countrymen) is an easy route. I guess anything counts as a story these days.
Doug Collins is the color commentator for the usa vs france game.
Doug is a big fan of the moves the Wizards have made.
Deron is stinking up the joint early.
I would have paid to hear the other announcer ask "And you will counter this up front with Spencer Hawes and Kwame Brown?"
Sixers signed Malik Wayns to a deal. I like it, I know summer league doesn't meant much but he didn't look overmatched at all, could be a decent backup.
The day he announced he was going pro, I was rear ended at a light and I consequently bumped into Malik's grandmother. Very nice lady. Classy. No real harm done to the vehicles or people involved. Go Malik! Go Roman!
Malik's grandmother's car!
lol
He did do fairly well in summer league. I think I would have preferred Jacob Pullen, though. He's a little more mature, seems to be a better and more confident scorer, and the Sixers could use a potential spot scorer off the bench.
Agree on Pullen, Wayns was such a disappointment in college. Or they should have just signed Ish Smith.
He's fantastic in the open floor.
Looking at the sched more closely, it's interesting how they have taken Dallas, Spurs and Orlando off of the "big game" plan and put Brooklyn on, along with TWO Heat games in Feb and March - and woohoo there will be another Warriors game on Wilt Night 3/2!
WG to the Clips
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/222708/Clippers_Acquire_Willie_Green_In_Sign_And_Trade
A shrewd move on the part of the Clippers. Bolsters backcourt depth.
Go, Willie!
So the lakers are going to run the princeton offense as taught to them by eddie jordan
That seems smart
That is fantastic news. I hope Eddie has the same degree of success in LA that he had here.
What were Iguodala's last PPP allowed numbers and how does it rank against the rest of the wings in the NBA?
Iguodala: 0.8
LeBron: 0.83
Deng: 0.80
Tony Allen: 0.8
Batum is always my favorite because people consider him a defensive stopper. 0.94
Who else would you want to know?
Rajan Rondo
Gerald Wallace
Jrue Holiday
Russell Westbrook
Who was #1? Are these 2010-2011 numbers?
2011-2012 numbers:
Rondo: .74
Wallace: .91 in Portland, .94 in NJ
Jrue: .72
Westbrook: .88
Don't know who #1 was, they don't let you sort by rankings. Jrue was #29.
Brand was 0.75. Hawes 0.91, Turner 0.89, Thad 0.86, Nick Young (LAC) 0.92 (WAS) 0.81, D. Wright 0.9
Just curious to see what Meeks came in at - and Kwame I guess the season before last if available?
The difference between hawes and brand is interesting
What about Avery Bradley?
Bradley was 0.72, same as Jrue.
Meeks: 0.84
Kwame: 0.89 two years ago w/ Charlotte.
How much does a player benefit being between jrue and iguodala I have to wonder - will nick young show better numbers?
Sigh,
This isn't a be-all-end-all number. Playing w/ a dominant shotblocker behind you helps a lot as well, or just a center with a pulse. The most impressive number I saw was Jrue on plays that were off screens. 0.54 ppp.
Makes me wonder if Curry/Collins used these numbers to formulate their strategies for the playoffs. Switching Jrue onto Korver and Rip, first, then Ray Allen until they realized he had nothing left in the tank. Interesting. Or maybe their observations just coincided w/ these numbers, or their metrics showed similar results, whatever they are.
Wait - did the sixers get a center with a pulse and or a dominant shot blocker this off season?
Well, Andre and the bench were excellent today picking up for the starters who really were horrendous, something like a minus-2 through halftime. The DWill-Westbrook-Andre-Melo-Love lineup obliterated their overmatched foes.
Collins is really sort of distant in his comments about Iguodala, even though what he is saying makes sense, that he could be used if a wing guy gets hot and they need energy plays on offense. It's pretty painful to listen to.
I didn't see the France game and heard he struggled, but I think with this team, Deron Williams has been considerably more effective than CP3: Stronger scoring in the lane, more decisive, better off-ball option, etc.
The other thing which drives me crazy on Twitter and the like is the apparent need for Kevin Love to get more playing time. Again, I heard he was good against France, the one game I missed, but he hasn't been making threes all Summer to anyone who has been watching and is a bad one-on-one and team defender who doesn't get deflections, the team's main offense. People see a white big guy who can shoot and say "Great international player!" When really, the lack of a premium on rebounding and the team's spread offense don't matter. I'm a homer for sure, but there is no way he should generally get minutes over Iguodala, unless a dire need for rebounding presents itself, which could be one, maybe two teams.
Doug is trying really hard to distance himself from the NBA in general right now, sounds like he's giving it his best effort to be an objective analyst for the tournament, that's not easy to do.
Yeah, there definitely is a sense of that, trying to be objective and all. I hope that's all it is. Not sure I get it, but it's just really weird listening him talk about Dre.
Interesting dynamic to this game, as Iguodala and the bench were +15 in the first half while the starters were -2. So then Coach K started the bench in the 2nd half, and they promptly went on a 25-3 run. At that point, Iguodala's on-court/off-court differential was +39 (in about 15 minutes). This was the perfect type of game for Iguodala to show all his skills, and he did.
I noticed Collins' "distance" from Iguodala too, but is it because he doesn't want to show favoritism to his own player? A casual viewer wouldn't even know from Collins' comments that Collins was his coach ("Andre Iguodala had a great year for the Sixers this past year.")
Other thoughts:
- Russell Westbrook is a dynamic offensive player, but he would drive me crazy if he were the point guard on my team. The number of easy passes he "misses" to take the shot himself is off the charts.
- Anthony Davis will get his share of blocks because of his physical skills, but he's almost always in the wrong spot defensively. He'll need a good teacher in the NBA.
- One thing that bears watching as the tournament continues is that Kobe and Chris Paul are probably the weakest defensive backcourt the U.S. can put out there. Whether from age (Kobe) or injury (Paul), they can both be beaten off the dribble, and both struggle to recover on 3-point shooters. Combine that with Durant, who has below-average lateral quickness on D, and I can easily see a repeat of the start of this game if the starters don't hit their outside shots.
Adam Aron @SixersCEOAdam (10:15AM; 8/1/2012)
Retweet if you are proud to see 76ers Doug Collins broadcasting the Olympics. Gives us stature and respect, a help in luring free agents.
Do Spencer Hawes and Royal Ivy count?
Jesus this guy is an idiot, hopefully he's not involved in actual decision making and just signs checks
Carl Landry, two-year deal. $5M less than Spencer Hawes.
I saw Eddie Jordan going to the Lakers yesterday, but didn't really think about it much. How is that possibly a good idea? I mean, why trade for Nash if you're going to de-emphasize him. And how is pulling Bynum and Pau out past the three-point line going to work? I guess it's good news for Kobe, because he'll get more long twos than you can shake a stick at.
Well - the princeton offense isn't a horrible offense if you have quality players who can pass and cut and hit shots when they're open - the lakers are much more talented at pretty much every position than the sixers were.
The offense isn't bad - but trying to implement it with THAT sixers roster was an awful idea, and jordan isn't the head coach, so defense will still matter
They got Jamison, right? He's comfortable in he offense, at least. Think it's a giant waste of Nash and Bynum's skills. Fits for Pau and Kobe will be fine as long he's taking too many shots.
On Jrue's next contract: link
Conley signed in Nov 2010, after playing 3 seasons and never making the playoffs. He had similar offensive numbers to Jrue, but Jrue has stepped up 2 years in a row in the playoffs and also has a lot better size than Conley- so I think he'll be able to demand more.
It would be great if they were able to sign Jrue to a similar contract, but I don't see it happening. But I don't see a max deal in the cards either.
Those are definitely factors in Jrue's favor, but they're also under a new CBA now. The cap is going down, the penalties for being over the cap and over the tax are becoming more harsh. I think we saw this summer that contract values are going to be lower going forward (unless you're the Nets).
...did the Olympic team really win a game by *80* points today??
If i heard right, carmelo scored 37 points in only 15 minutes of play?
10-12 from deep.
His awesome dunk didn't count but he still outscored Kobe Bryant :)
Davia Aldridge says the sixers had the 2nd best off season in the NBA
http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/david_aldridge/08/06/morning-tip-offseason-grades-part-1/index.html
Kind of doubt the Sixers made their team better this offseason more than 28 teams in the league but who am I to complain about national attention?
Not many teams have done much this off season. I think Brooklyn, Boston, Miami, NOH, and LA, were the only teams to get significantly better. Washington and Dallas made slight improvements while Chicago, Atlanta, and Houston got worse.
And it's this line that let's one realize that he has no idea what he's talking about:
"Putting together a contending team should be no harder in Milwaukee or Charlotte than it is in New York or Los Angeles, if you draft the right people, trade for the right people and pay the right people the right amount of money."
Rumored to have spoken with Adam Aron, Dei Lynam, Don Tollefson and Chris Collins before forming crack opinion.
lol Nocioni
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1283816/barbosa.gif
Noc - all heart, baby!
Don't know if you've tried it, but it's hard to play D up top against a quick when you're nearing 33. The knees buckle, the viewers try to muffle laughs. The champ gets up, resolves to drive ball down opponent's throat on trip upcourt.
Look at Scola- is that even legal? That sneaky bastard.
@WojYahooNBA
Orlando and the L.A. Lakers are engaged in 4-way talks with Denver and Philadelphia on a Dwight Howard blockbuster, league sources tell Y!
His update says we'd get Bynum for Iggy. I did not see this one coming.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--lakers--magic-in-blockbuster-four-team-trade-talks-to-send-dwight-howard-to-l-a-.html
Wow those reports have Bynum coming here. I don't care if he would commit long term or not, we'd have to do it.
its more complicated then just saying yes to the deal, its a 4 team deal
Here's his full article on the framework. Says we would get Bynum and give up Iggy but that Gasol and Bynum's destinations are fluid and we could end up with Gasol instead.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--lakers--magic-in-blockbuster-four-team-trade-talks-to-send-dwight-howard-to-l-a-.html
wow...too good to be true.
If those are the main parts, you do it. You'd have to do it.
i don't think i'd do it for Gasol. for Bynum though definitely.
With how the team is constructed currently, I'd gladly take Gasol.
How long is he signed for?
I agree. And I don't know how Orlando can trade Howard and NOT get Bynum back. Unless maybe Bynum looks at Orlando and says he won't resign then when he becomes a FA? So the get Gasol instead?
Wow, I desperately needed something to get me through today. Should be an interesting 24 hours.
well that would certainly be a thing...especially sincie this Woj guy is apparently the only person Thorn drops hints of any possible moves to...
Woj is certainly legit. Best track record as far as I know for inside info regarding free agents, trades, draft picks.
Yup, he's legit, except when people don't want to believe what he writes (like his expose about the Doug Collins coup) but even legit writers get it wrong (or get used by sources) sometimes...I don't deny he hs sources, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was being played by the source/sources depending on if he relaly has multiple iindependent sources for this....even so, it's just a report of talking, the mechanics of such a deal is pretty complicated to get all 4 teams to agree - these things don't work as a 4 way conference called usually with horse trading, it's a step by step process that can fall apart at any time...i'm cautiously optimistic but have little belief it will happen