We have the forum to criticize things that we see wrong with the 76ers and it’s only fitting that others should have the ability to criticize us. And in reading a blog response, one reader hit a nerve, suggesting we were letting Billy King off the hook.
We just got done writing for two days how the Sixers didn’t get equal value when trading the rights to the 30th pick in the first round for the 42nd pick in the second, which they used to select Derrick Byars, who was waived on Monday.
We said they blew it and what else is there to say? The problem with King is that people want to make personal attacks on him and we have no time for that.
The mistakes made by King have been well-documented, mainly paying his players too much and then being stuck with difficult salaries to unload.
But this reporter was one of the people who applauded the Chris Webber trade. So even though it didn’t work out, there were many out there, including the King critics, who would have done it in a heartbeat.
In e-mails and notes on the blog, a recurring theme is that the Sixers should get rid of King.
Yet last season before trading Allen Iverson, King, Ed Snider and the Sixers braintrust agreed to a three-year plan that included, getting rid of some veterans, clearing cap room and building with young players.
If there were a time to bring in a new decision maker, it would have been before the start of a three-year plan.
King has executed the plan for the future. He could have drafted Al Thornton (who by the way should be a fine NBA scorer) but chose to go for somebody that the team feels has more upside in Thaddeus Young.
There is no question Thornton should have a much better rookie year than Young, but the pick was made for the future. For what it’s worth, Young has the chance to be a good NBA player, but it likely won’t happen this year.
As difficult as it is for the fans to believe, the Sixers have to build toward the future because bringing in patchwork players wasn’t working. If anybody is paying attention, the team didn’t make the playoffs in three of the last four years.
Even not re-signing Joe Smith showed good restraint, although he would have helped the team this year, but also taken minutes away from younger players who need to develop..
So it seems out of whack to tell somebody to executive a three-year plan and then can him a year into it.
And in fairness, people seem to want to point out all the faults (and there are more than enough to mention) but not mention the decent moves.
Getting Jason Smith at No. 20 in the first round now seems like a pretty good move. We’re told that if King didn’t move up one pick and give Miami a second rounder, that there were a few other teams the Heat was willing to trade the pick to.
And one of those teams might have taken Smith. At that point, nobody but Smith really interested the Sixers.
Even though the Sixers weren’t going to get equal value in the Iverson trade, Andre Miller has been a quality addition.
The most important thing would be to begin working on signing Miller to an extension even though he has two years left on his contract. The team has enough young players and needs his veteran savvy and leadership.
But that’s another story for another day.
We’re talking about King at this point . Whether the plan that he is implementing works will likely be determined when the Sixers possibly have more cap room than any team in the league during the summer.
For now the Sixers have a plan and if it doesn’t work, then the critics will be out in full force, not that they aren’t already.
And now in the final year of his contract, King fully is aware of the situation and how the franchise has to show progress.
Everybody realizes a lot is on the line, but to constantly berate King makes no sense, just to appease a bunch of irate e-mailers.
Comments (25)
Marc, I appreciate the level-headed assessment of the curent situation. As far as this year's draft, what are your thoughts on Julian Wright's pro potential? I know alot of people like Al Thornton, but I loved watching Julian Wright in college and thought he would've been a terriffic fit for the new unselfish style of play the Sixers exhibited at the end of last year. Many thanks,
roma258@yahoo.com
Posted by Roman | October 24, 2007 11:59 AM
Posted on October 24, 2007 11:59
After years of brain-dead moves, what makes you think that another three year plan will provide anything more than heartache?????
Posted by Jackman | October 24, 2007 12:39 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 12:39
For all the people clamoring for the ouster of Billy King,you can forget about it.Ed Snider is more than just Billy King's boss,he is also business partners with King,in a limited capacity.If anyone will be gone next year,it wiil be Mo Cheeks,and quite frankly,I would'nt mind at all.Mo Cheeks is too laid back and passive to be the head man,and is not the type of coach to get in a player's face when they are not performing,like Dummybert.Knowing this year is a wash,I'm definitely looking forward to next year,when the Sixers have more cap room.
Posted by Southwest Philly | October 24, 2007 12:43 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 12:43
I agree with Marc that repeatedly blasting Billy King has no value. He's clearly done a very below-average job for the most part as the GM, but unfortunately, Ed Snider feels the need to stay with him for whatever reason. As a season ticketholder, I can only hope that King can turn around this ship. Actually, this year's draft was actually a pretty good one in that they landed Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith. I actually don't have a problem with the Derrick Byars trade (30 for 42) because it allowed them NOT to guarantee a two year deal to a marginal player (1st round picks are guaranteed 2 years).
All in all though, I think the real problem with the Sixers (as it was for the Flyers for many years) is Snider's ridiculous inability to admit a mistake with whomever is running the team. Just look at the Bob Clarke situation with the Flyers to understand what I mean. Clarke continuously made bad move after bad move year after year and was never called on the carpet for it. While Eric Lindros was clearly a "me" guy, Clarke made his spat with Lindros public and personal; you don't do that to the best player in the league no matter how much of a pain in the ass that he is (see Eagles vs. TO; how have they done since that whole debacle?). The problem here is Snider and has been in this town for a long time. When's the last time the Flyers have won a championship - 1975? With the 10 or 12 seasons under his belt as head of the Sixers, that's 43 to 45 seasons of no championships for Mr. Snider. Enough said.
As a Sixers fan though, all you can do is hope. While the lack of moves is frustrating (I was hoping for a little more than Reggie Evans this offseason as the Sixers have too many interchangable parts at the 2 and 3 positions....Rodney Carney for Kyle Lowry anyone?), just show the team some support. Quite frankly, they deserve a chance for the way they responded and played last year after Iverson was traded.
Dean
Posted by Dean | October 24, 2007 1:54 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 13:54
How long have we had Billy King? How successful has he been as GM? Aren't there better GMs out there?
Rebuilding is the perfect time to add a new GM. It hurts to see guys like Colangelo, Buford and Grunfeld outdo us year after year with intelligent moves. We shouldn't have to be stuck with Billy King.
And, you're right, the C-Webb deal looked good on paper. But signing Willie Green and Dalembert to big contracts, overpaying for Eric Snow and Aaron McKie, and way overpaying Kenny Thomas are all mistakes committed by BK. In rebuilding you want a guy that can a) find talent and b) find bargains. King can do the first (though he's overinfatuated with small guards), but there's no reason to believe he can do the second.
Posted by Gabe | October 24, 2007 1:57 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 13:57
Keep carrying that water for Billy, Marc. Maybe he'll share with you some of the pictures that he has of Ed Snider. You are a good writer, though. Too bad it is spent catering to the 76ers heirarchy. Take care.
Posted by datruth4life | October 24, 2007 2:34 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 14:34
Just do what I do,watch on youtube,reruns of the 82-83 Sixers,and pretend that you are back in the future,it works for me because this current group stinks.
Posted by 24YRS AND COUNTING | October 24, 2007 2:41 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 14:41
Billy King needs to be fired. He wasted Allen Iverson's prime and got nothing for him in return after basically driving him from Philly.
"Building for the future" is the excuse all crappy GM's give for the fact that they've built a team that stinks.
The C-Webb trade was one of the biggest mistakes in NBA history. As an NBA GM, King should have been aware that he was trading for guy over 30 with one working knee that was owed 60+ million dollars. Maybe fans and, apparently, even writers like you didn't do their homework before lauding the C-Webb deal, but as the GM, that's King's responsibility.
Frankly, I don't care about Billy King personally. I care that the Sixers are terrible and that until King goes, they will continue to be terrible.
Why let King attempt to rebuild when he is the person responsible for the mess in the first place? Instead, get a good GM and let him build a good franchise.
Posted by Sean Goldstein | October 24, 2007 2:49 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 14:49
You make a fair point Marc.
As we all know, the NBA is a star driven league. The Sixers had a star in Iverson. And he managed to get them all the way to the Finals in that great season. So they kept trying different complementary pieces to get them back there. For a variety of reasons, none worked. The biggest reason was that (as great as he was) Iverson had his limitations as a player and teammate. He never did the things he needed to do to expand his game, or play team basketball.
With Iverson slowing down and regressing as a player, the Sixers recognized what they had to do and dealt him, and even managed to get at least one very good player in return.
In light of the big picture, it's not really fair to blame King for overpaying complementary players to go with Iverson. They were in a win now mode, and overpaying for talent is a fact of life in the NBA. NBA stars don't grow on trees, and the salary cap rules force teams to take on big salaries if they need to make a deal. And don't forget the Sixers salary cap problems started with Motumbo's monster deal (which lead to Van Horn, then Big Dog, then Webber).
Only time will tell whether this nucleus of players has what it takes to be good. I'm willing to at least give them a chance. Iguodala and Miller are very good players. Dalembert, Korver, and Evans are good role players. Now is the time to find out if anyone else on this roster can contribute to a winning team. Then the team gets out from under its salary cap problem going into next year.
I know this is an un-Philadelphian thing to say, but there's reason for optimism here. And King is responsible for that too.
Posted by Jake | October 24, 2007 5:41 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 17:41
I understand their strategy and I am attempoting tob buy into it, since Drafting the next Shaq is out of our forseeable future. However, after they traded Iverson, Weber and went into the offseason, they still showed a lack of intelligence with the Derrick Byars trade!!! Build for the future? You know, drafting the rights to some European is more of a "build for the future" move than trading #30 for #42 and cash considerations!!!
The Weber trade was a disaster, but I can't stand up and say I was against it. At the time, I was thrilled, but in hindsight, we should have known that C-Webb wasn't the same player he used to be. Than again, I didn't see the "I get paid a ton but I still don't care to play" side of him come out.
Mo Cheeks is an underrated coach in this league and showed a lot in 2006-07. Think about what he went through last year: 1) You lose your two biggest stars, 2) no offseason improvements in 2006 3) you're molding a team out of youngsters (and Kevin Ollie) and 4) You start developing into a winner
Cheeks did a lot of teaching last year, and he should get credit for it. If this is a three year plan, I think the coach should be a part of the process.
Posted by Dan C. | October 24, 2007 8:04 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 20:04
King should have been fired when the rat jumped ship in 2002...Iverson should have been traded when the rat jumped ship in 2002...Ed Snider values 'loyalty' over achievement...he did it with clarke in the flyers and now is doing it with the 'ugly stepsister' of the comcast corporations holdings.
Billy King's resume tilts so far to the negative you run out of room on the scale.
If you haven't read bill simmons 'worst summit' gm...check it out, it's a hoot (and BK gets off easy)
Posted by John | October 24, 2007 10:51 PM
Posted on October 24, 2007 22:51
I didn't want to see Derrick Byars go either, but releasing Herbert Hill would have been an even bigger mistake. The Sixers are loaded with swingmen and desperate for bigmen.
With the Sixers new team-oriented running style, shot-blocking bigmen who can run the floor are essential. Thaddeus Young needs time to develop while Jason Smith and Hill can play right now. I think Herbert Hill will be a solid contributor to this team for years to come.
So if the Sixer's most recent draft ends up producing an athletic swingman with loads of upside(Young), a bigman with offensive skills who can run the floor (Smith), and a shot-blocking bigman with good all-around skills(Hill)...maybe we should give Billy King a break and the Sixers our support and see how this young team develops on the court?
Posted by Tom McKelvey | October 25, 2007 1:33 AM
Posted on October 25, 2007 01:33
Marc you make good points but your missing the point. Just because Billy gets everyone to understand and agree to his three year plan doesn't give him a free pass to make bad moves. Show me any other company where simply having a plan lets you do things that adversely affect the company.
Like every other plan Billy has tried this one seems doomed to failure. The sad reality is the Byars fiasco is another indication that Billy doesn't have what it takes.
As you wrote, Billy had a star in Iverson and tired to put the right pieces around him to make a championship team. He failed miserably. Just because lots of fans, experts and media types, including you, liked the Webber trade doesn't make it OK that Billy made this bad trade. Aren't GMs supposed to know more about these things than the fans or media types?
I like the fact that Billy has a plan but I don't like how he is going about executing it. I was flabbergasted when he picked Young because all indications are he could have had him at a later pick. You downgrade Thornton to "a fine NBA scorer" but I have seen him play and he might be a whole lot better than that.
He is mature, levelheaded and ready to contribute now. Not only that, he looks like he has just as big an upside as Young. Jason Smith looks like a keeper but when you make the Iverson trade for picks you'd better make them the most of them.
I simply can't agree with you about Miller. He is a fine NBA point guard but getting old. How does a guard closer to the end of his career than the beginning, help this team? He will be too old when and the Sixers have any real chance of being good.
I watched the Sixers tonight and this is a bad team. I have absolutely no confidence that Cheeks is the coach that can make this team into a contender. Wouldn't you agree that it would be nice to be able to make a smart choice for the coach that is going to lead the team as you rebuild?
Not so with Billy. He so badly botched up finding a successor to Brown he is stuck with Cheeks who may be the worst of the four coaches he went through. For Synder not to realize that things can't get much worst tells me all I need to know about where the SIxers are headed.
Posted by rebcalale | October 25, 2007 3:14 AM
Posted on October 25, 2007 03:14
Let's give the team the benefit of the doubt when it comes to preseason games.
Posted by Dan C. | October 25, 2007 8:35 AM
Posted on October 25, 2007 08:35
The three year plan you talk about should have begun three years ago. What nobody bothers to mention is that the sixers could have gotten themselves under the salary cap a couple of seasons ago simply by letting both Derrick Coleman's and Glenn Robinson's contracts expire at the end of that season. Both players had huge contracts and both were in the final year of their contact. I didn't like those players anymore than any other fan but by making those two trades King only forestalled the inevitable rebuilding process the sixers are going through now.
Also, how many years have the sixers been locked out of free agency because they had no room to maneuver under the salary cap. Thats what King's moves has led to. Mid season trades and giving certain players too great a slot under the cap have left the sixers on the sidelines during free agency year after year.
It just makes me think that Snyder must be clueless to give this guy the chances he's been given. How many bad decisions will he be allowed. I dunno- I'm still trying to figure out how a person who never played in the NBA nor was a head coach at the pro or college level has managed to become a GM in this leaque. He simply has no credentials what ever.
Posted by Tim | October 25, 2007 9:08 AM
Posted on October 25, 2007 09:08
Is Billy King the only GM in professional sports that has somehow managed to have the press not focus on his past achievements, but on his FUTURE achievements?
A lot of guys are living off of what they've done in the past.
Billy King is living off of things he's SUPPOSEDLY GOING TO DO!!
Unbelievable.
Gary.
Posted by Gary | October 25, 2007 10:43 AM
Posted on October 25, 2007 10:43
The sham that has been hoisted upon us is the concept that the Sixers are executing a 3 year plan. You seem to have bought that. The only plan is to wait for cap room. In the meantime, they will wind up stuck overpaying Iguodala (you can't build a franchise around him) and looking at the rest of the roster that consists of one-dimensional, mediocre players (Korver, Green, Carney, etc.). They have no one to trade and will have to grossly overpay for any free agents. What will we have 3 years from now? Aging veterans, unproven kids with "upside," and cap hell. Sound familiar? Billy King put the team in this mess, how does he possibly have the ability to get the team out of it? This team's 5 - 8 year outlook is so bleak Snyder couldn't even sell the team! Blow it up, spend a couple of years winning 20 games, and earn those top draft picks. Enough 35 win seasons and draft picks in the mid teens. At least the team will be going somewhere.
Posted by Lou | October 25, 2007 12:09 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 12:09
It baffles me on how a man with Snyder's philosophical views, that production being the noblest pursuit for man, can continue to employ the dunce that we call Billy King.
To not constantly criticize his incompetence is equivalent to having accepted it.
Posted by Ted | October 25, 2007 12:13 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 12:13
It's nice to know there are at least 15 other people out there that care enough about this team to post, one way or the other. I had no idea.
A think a fair assessment of King would be as follows. On the positive side, he has a good eye for college talent, and has consistently found good value low in the draft. People take shots at Green and Korver, but they were mid-to-late second rounders. Very, very few GM's find production there. Even Lou Williams is looking like a reasonable project, though he needs to guard somebody at some point. It's way too early to tell about Young, or even Carney, but King's only other high draft pick was Iguodala, who most would agree was a very good selection.
On trades, I'd say he's below average, but not horrible. He made agressive moves to try and get guys who could play with AI. But it turns out that category of player doesn't actually exist. The revisionists who claim to have known the C-Webb trade would be a disaster need to go back and look at his numbers THE YEAR he was traded. Damn good. On the other hand, KVH and Big Dog were suspect to begin with.
Where King has been worst is in overvaluing his own talent: McKie (maybe my favorite Sixer ever but still a role player), Snow, Thomas, Dalembert (though big men are overpaid in the league in general - see Blount, Mark). My question is whether he has learned from that. The Iguodala deal will tell us a lot. He's an awfully good player but he has not earned a max deal. Will King overpay again, or will he be more prudent and patient before investing?
Posted by Matt | October 25, 2007 1:07 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 13:07
Defending the indefensible... Glad I'm not a Sixer fan. After Thomas in NY, King is the laughingstock of the league.
Posted by Justin | October 25, 2007 1:48 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 13:48
After every Eagles loss = an article questioning how much longer Andy Reid should be running the team.
After every Sixers losing season = articles about how we need to give Billy King more time to execute his vision.
Gary.
Posted by Gary | October 25, 2007 2:55 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 14:55
What do you guys expect from a guy who gives out long term contracts like free Government Cheese.The Eagles stink.The Sixers stink.It's gonna be a long winter in Philly for sports fans.
Posted by Southwest Philly | October 25, 2007 4:53 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 16:53
The problem is the way of the NBA today and guaranteed contracts that are handed out year after year to players who basically become salary cap stiffs in a year or two and are finally dumped for salary cap relief so the teams can start all over again and sign another stiff for 6 yrs and 80MM !
Posted by Eric | October 25, 2007 5:30 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 17:30
Midway through this season and in the '08 off-season will be the measuring stick for this "three year" plan. What the team needs to do is (assuming no chance at a legit playoff run by the trading deadline):
1) Trade Andre Miller for either young talent (Udonis Haslem, Heat PF only 27 yrs old) or an expiring contract to a contending team (Rasho Nesterovich, Raptors C). This must be done to clear even more caproom for the upcoming 2008-2009 free agent class.
2) Sign an impact free agent...either Corey Magette or Elton Brand, both of the Clippers. The cap space will be there...many may not touch Brand with a big deal due to his season-ending injury earlier this year. Perfect time to ink him to a max deal that we all know Donald Sterling of the Clippers won't match. Year after year, Elton Brand is one of the top 3 PFs in the league. Time to bring him into the fold here.
3) Trade one of the swingmen for the PG of the future. I've been hollering about this all off-season; there just aren't enough minutes to go around for Iguadola, Carney, Green, Young, and Korver at the 2 and 3 positions. Iguadola is your cornerstone, Green is locked up and unmovable, Korver provides a necessary skill, and Young provides tremendous upside. Who does that leave? Rodney Carney - he looked great in summer league and has improved his game (his attitude is pretty questionable if you watch his body language and his demeanor during timeouts - doesn't pay attention in the huddle if he's not in the game). Plus, you can move him to a team like Memphis that would LOVE to have a "runner" on Marc Ivaroni's team; remember also, Carney was COnf USA Player of the Year for U of Memphis and would be a nice draw for a college sports town. The trade? Carney for Kyle Lowry straight up. Damon Stoudamire still has two years left on his deal, and the Griz also drafted Mike Conley with the 4th pick in this year's draft. Carney for Lowry makes sense for both sides.
If the Sixers do these three things, then we know the 3-year plan is for real. Team depth chart then looks like:
F Young, Korver
F Brand, Smith, Evans
C Dalembert, Brand, Smith
G Iguadola, Williams, Green
G Lowry, Williams
Basically, we're looking at Lowry, Iggy, and Lou splitting 96 minutes at the 1 and 2 slots, Brand, Korver, Young, Smith, and Dalembert filling out 144 minutes at the 3, 4, and 5 slots. Green and Evans get spot time once in a while and provide depth for injuries. Fill out the roster with two more players, and you're good.
If 2 of these 3 points are not completed by year-end, time for Comcast to sell the team to someone that actually wants it.
Posted by Dean | October 25, 2007 6:01 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 18:01
I would do that Carney for Lowry trade in a heartbeat.It would give us a young PG for the future.And is it me,or does it look like Andre Miller is big enough to play FB for the Eagles.He looks way too heavy,and will be evident when guys like Rajon Rondo blow past him with ease.As a matter of fact,Rondo already is too fast for Andre"Krispy Kreme"Miller.
Posted by Southwest Philly | October 25, 2007 7:37 PM
Posted on October 25, 2007 19:37