Deep Sixer

A good win for the team tonight. I was ready to declare this game over when Butt Cheeks, Mo's bad coaching alter ego, went to that lineup where he had Korver playing PF. When the 76ers trapped the dribbler in this lineup, that left Louis Williams on a switch down low on Mikki Moore. I said, "Here we go again!"

But after a timeout, someone on the bench had a brilliant idea to play zone. It was definitely the turning point of the game. A good coaching move, and if it was Cheeks call, I'll give him props.

The young guys played well and Jason Smith might have played his best game to date. I love the way he runs the break and finishes. He needs a lot of work because he has no back to the basket game, but what an athletic project with tools to work with. Thad made a big impact in the game as well, as he got his hands on a lot of balls and rebounded well.

On the downside, Carney is showing very little as a starter. He still looks to shoot too much for someone whose stroke has disappeared. When Willie is healthy, I think Carney will be buried again on the bench and might not see the light of day unless another injury.

I still haven't seen enough to warrant Randolph and Hill not getting on the floor. I think their time will come because Stefanski has to take a look at them in game situations as he decides who to keep and who to move.

I think the Lakers could be very interested in an Andre Miller/Kyle Korver combo. They already have enough pieces to challenge in the West and can offer the 76ers a package of expiring contracts (Kwame Brown's $9.1M and Sasha Vujacic's $1.75M), young talent (PGs Jordan Farmar, $1M or Javaris Crittendon $1.2M) and a throw in for salary's sake to make it work (Chris Mihm at $2.2M).

The 76ers get $11M in expiring contracts, a young PG for the future and a player who could opt out of a $2.5M option for next year. That would be $17M to spend on free agents, excluding the cap holds on Iggy and Lou Will.

Why would the Lakers do this? Because they would add a starter and another shooter to free up Bynum, Odom and Kobe without giving up any important parts of their rotation. Also, the Lakers would have $25M coming off their cap next year when Odom and Miller's deals expire, just in time to go after another major piece to go with Bynum and Kobe before Kobe decides whether to opt out of the final two years of his deal.

If the 76ers want cap room and a young player, this sounds like a win-win for everyone.

What do you guys think?

Nice win for the kids tonight. Don't we just seem to make better decisions when Willie Green isn't in the game?

I'm not a Willie hater, he's even a formidable bench player but I think Thad Young is making a push for the starting SF spot. That moves Iggy to the 2 and steps our wing defense up significantly. How much would you love Cheeks if he threw Thad in the fire right now and told him to run it like Chris Brown?

Also, I know why we want to trade Andre Miller even though it somewhat pains me to say he's one of our best players. It's because he's like the bad point guard version of Tim Duncan. We should just start calling him the little fundamental. It's never pretty and you never think its going in but he just somehow gets it done. Granted, there are times like tonight when he didn't even attempt a close out on a three because he was beaten so badly by dribble penetration, but still...he's got a quasi jerry curl people, you've gotta love him. All that said, his stock couldn't be any higher and he has the sixers playing solid basketball right now so, thank you Andre.

One other thing...Stefanski may not trade anyone this year, especially if we keep winning. He's said numerous times that he will only make a trade that makes the team better right now. Well I don't know of many teams that are willing to give up a player thats younger and better than Andre Miller for Andre Miller.

So I have a question for all you true sixers fans out there...when you watch the kids play, do you have the lottery in your eyes and hope for us to lose? or are you like me who hates to see this franchise lose another game to teams like the Washington Wizards. A franchise that once garnered respect, an NBA icon, with names like Andrew Toney, Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, the real Bobby Jones, Mo Cheeks and yes...Allen Iverson. I say we win. No disrespect to the fake Bobby Jones up in Denver with the high top-low fade haircut. I see you Bobby.

Maybe I'm nuts, but I like this team. I agree that T Young is making a push to start, and I much prefer Iguodala at guard. A lineup of Dalembert, Evans, Young, Iggy and Miller has size, athleticism and some grit. That leaves Smith, Korver and Williams off the bench, which is OK. I'm also anxious to see if Herbert Hill has any game. Is that enough talent to make a playoff drive in a watered-down Eastern Conference?

I view Carney and Green as trade chips. I don't think either is a winning player, but Miller is. I'd much rather keep him as a known quantity than open up cap space in the risky hope of drawing a free agent. If you do this and don't get somebody (and there aren't a lot of good candidates this year), you set yourself back even further. It's a cliche, but sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make. What's wrong with holding on to Miller so he can lead the kiddie corps of Iggy, Smith, Young and Lou Will?

I don't think you can get much for a Carney and Green package ... maybe someone else's mistake of a first-round choice who will suddenly blossom, or a contract that has another year or two. That would be OK. I trust Stefanski to make good decisions.

Is it possible that Billy King somehow made a couple of good first round picks, and that Young and Smith might actually be real players? What a concept.

While I'm glad they won,they were playing a Sacramento team that was missing Mike Bibby,Kevin Martin,Ron Artest,and Shareef Abdur Raheem.But it was nice to see the rooks doing their thing.After watching Rodney Carney last night,I now beleive his game is suffering because he is so worried about making a mistake that he is playing not to make a mistake,instead of being loose and free,he is so worried about messing up and being yanked that it is hindering him,case in point,after rushing a shot,he immediately looked over to Cheeks to see if he would be getting benched.I maybe one of the few who believe that if you put Carney in the right situation,with a Coach who will let him play through his mistakes,and instill confidence in him that he would flourish.The perfect fit for Carney would be Phoenix,Orlando,Indiana,Memphis,or Toronto.

To me a good point guard is like a good quarterback. You don't let him go if you don't have his heir apparent in waiting. We don't have that, and I'm not sure you will get that in a trade for him. I say we use other chips like, Korver, Green, and possibly draft picks to aquire the post presence we need. We can contend right now if we do that.

datruth4life -

A while ago you likened Thaddeus to Antawn Jamison, and I think that was right on. He's not your prototypical athletic SF. He might even be better suited to PF. But I'm still iffy about his hops, he doesn't seem to like to play above the rim. Did you see how low he was on that breakaway dunk? But I'm ok with that, I'm glad for a player who helps us win and doesn't do all he can to try to get a shoe contract or be on ESPN's Top 10.

I've got a Jason Smith comparison for you: Rasheed Wallace. If you got a better one, let me know. Both can hit the outside shot, and hopefully for Jason, the 3 later on. Both are long (Rasheed is longer) and athletic (Jason's more athletic). Rasheed is much, much smarter, but I think the potential for a great basketball mind is there for Jason.

I thought about that Lakers trade, too, but I would also send Iggy for Lamar Odom, and I would ask the Lakers for more, like the picks for next year. But like some other posters, I don't know about trading Andre Miller anymore.

The way Andre Miller plays basketball, he still has another four or five years left where he can maintain the level of performance we're seeing this year. So, why trade him? As someone else noted, he's one of the best players on our team. Add a decent power forward next year and perhaps one other quality player (like a good shooting guard) and this team is top five in the east.

YUK YUK YUK ...you guys and gals crack me up.

YES the 76'ers play hard almost every night and that's GREAT

Yes the youngs are making mostly positive contributions and LEARNING how to play at the NBA level and that's GREAT

YES they actually look like a real TEAM and that too is GREAT...BUT

NO they are NOT playoff contenders

NO they can't stand pat - They stiil LACK SUFFCIENT TALENT to really compete with better or good teams.

Please do not lose sight of what this season is or should be about THE FUTURE!

Continue to play hard... let the the youngs continue to grow...make the GOOD trade(s) that will be there. A Mill, Carney maybe Kover.

Then Next year and the years after we can make legitimate playoff noise..maybe even win a round or two

This may shock you but the Sixers can make the playoffs this year, their only One game back out of a playoff spot. This wasn't the case last year. When they try to make a run for a playoff spot and miss.

Sixers would be stupid to trade A. miller now!
Who in the nba is playing better than A. Miller and is not a star for their team? If you can find a player than can put up points and run Mo offense, but is a bench player for another team or secondary player. I would be all for it. But to trade one of our best player for a bench player, secondary player, that would be crazy.

The Sixers don't need a power forward, they need a STAR player.

Sixers deal Korver to Utah for Giricek and a #1.

My question is...whose #1 did they get?

Because if that's Utah's #1 then I think they could've gotten more for Korver.

But as an advocate for dealing Korver and saying that Utah would be a WONDERFUL place for him...I feel somewhat vindicated. He's exactly what they need.

I only wish they could've gotten Milsap in the deal.

Its nice to see more people warming up to keeping AMill around. To me, trading him for cap space is doubly silly because he kind of is cap space - not this year but next year, after everyone has had a chance to learn from him. Milk the cow before eating...and hopefully have a stronger FA market when you're ready to eat.

I missed the game last night but its great to hear that Smith and Young are coming on. To me the development of the young guys is really the key to the future, and those two are a big part of that. Smith looked like he had a lot of potential at the start but i was getting disappointed lately. Good to hear that he's hopefully coming out of the funk. Thad I really didn't know what to think of, but what I've seen has been encouraging. The kid is driven, hes got some skills, and he's got this cool old school sort of flair... Plus being only 19, there's a good chance he can size up enough to play down low effectively.

korver for giricek frees up another 4 million at the end of the year.....

the only player i would be interested in getting is elton brand.... and theres no guarantee that he will be available.... maybe we're just trying to start over .... not a bad idea....

why does reggie evans have such a long contract?

Just the trade needed for Korver to flourish.

Is it me or does Carney look like he is going way too fast?!?! They said Thad was going too fast during the pre-season and had to learn how to slow down. It seems Carney still has not learned that yet.

I would love to see Thad start but I don't think Mo would do that to the kid. I really hope he does, he has star written all over him. Us fans are starting to see what the Sixer's scouts saw when we drafted him.

Andre Miller's jump shots look ugly but his layups look very pretty. I hope he stays.

I'm a Korver guy, but since I have been reading the blogs and putting my own two cents in, I've been looking at him more closely on D and I must admit that players eyes seem to get big when they see that he is guarding them. He's good for drawing a charge or two a game but when he fouls someone he does not foul them hard, he slaps players on the wrist instead of letting them know that he'll be there all night! He gets pushed around a lot and often times comes to help on double teams way too late which leaves the rest of the team at a disadvantage. He has slow feet which is why players are able to blow by him or draw the blocking foul. I still think he stays because he does so much for them on the other end of the floor. We just need to have four really really really good defensive guys on the floor with him when he comes off the bench.

Thanks bloggers for showing me the light!