Deep Sixer

We would'nt be talking about getting another PF,if they drafted Sean Williams.

I haven't thought about Smith as a free-agent option, but he seems like a great high-ceiling player - the kind that Stefanski, a guy known for taking risks, might seriously consider. I remember the Sixers scouts were supposedly considering him the year they took Iggy.

But I love the prospect of a highly athletic front-court, with guys who can really get above the rim, change a lot of shots, and handle anyone off the dribble who plays their respective position.

Assuming Cheeks stays on board, Smith might do well under his guise.

If everything I mentioned happens...I think the Sixers will eventually get their fanbase back.

Josh Smith is a jump shooter and the sixers need a person who can score facing up but more importantly someone that can command a double team with there back to the basket, and J. Smith can not! Jermaine O'Neal can, although he is always hurt.Emeka Okafor might be cheaper and a better fit with Dalembert.

Emeka Okafor turned down a 55 million dollar extension already, he is hurt the majority of the time and only puts a few more points up than Reggie Evans does. Every night before I go to bed I pray that the Sixers don't go after Emeka Okafor.

I actually live in the ATL. The Hawks ownership had a chance to sign Smith long term over the summer and balked. And now with Al Horford, who's is a rebounding machine who should be playing the 4 not the 5, Smith is expendable in a sign & trade. Horford will be the best 4 in the conference not named Garnett. I like him even better than Bosh.

The Hawks have had some problems with Smith's immaturity and tantrums. Remember he went at it with Mike Woodson more than once during games last season. Smith would like nice in a Sixers uniform if he grows up a little bit and cuts down on the turnovers and dumb mistakes during crunch time, but the Hawks are going to want something in return. The dude can block shots unlike any other forward in the league.

Wow...a great new stat. Check out boxscores on nba.com, with the plus/minus stat.

In Thad's ten minutes on Saturday against the Cav's, the Sixers outscored them by 10 pts.

I agree with Tyler, Okafor has not really shown any improvement. When he came in the league he was putting up similar stats to Dwight Howard. Howard has gotten better and is now dominant Okafor is still putting up ok numbers but is not aggressive and has no back to the basket moves. I would say he is a smaller version of Mutumbo. I hope they don't get him.

Jermaine O'Neal is good but does have injury probs if they can sign him for good money def go after him, but I would say Josh Smith is the only person worth spending max $ on due to his youth and upside. He does not command a double team yet but def should be one of those players in the next couple years. Shawn did you watch the Hawks game this year? Smith is aggressive and bangs he grabbed 8 boards going up against Reggie Evans who is a great rebounder. Last year he killed the Sixers as well. If they can get both O'Neal and Smith by letting Iggy walk I'm fine with that.

Sean Williams was gone by the 21st pick in the draft and based on his college career there was no telling what you would get. I agree with the Sixers not taking him at 11, or 12 or whatever the lottery pick was

Marc - You're dead wrong on this one. If the Sixers trade Miller (as presumed) and get Josh Smith, you're looking at a re-creation of the Atlanta Hawks in terms of youth (how've they been the last 5 years?). The Sixers need a PROVEN veteran that can score and rebound. By going the Josh Smith route, we're looking at a starting 5 of:

F Iguodala
F Smith
C Dalembert
G Whomever they draft
G Lou Williams

That team (a) has no low post scoring presence, (b) has no experienced PG, and (c) has no proven veterans. A recipe for disaster for years to come because there's no potential game-changing superstar in that 5.

You can't possibly argue that getting a guy like Smith with a questionable attitude (amazingly, he's being a "team guy" in his contract year) and zero track record is better than a proven commodity in Elton Brand (who will certainly opt out of his deal if you throw $75M / 5 yrs at him). You'd seriously consider maxing out both Iggy and Smith and then be "capped out" with unproven commodities for the next umpteen years due to the max contract that Lou Williams will get and the $48M still owed to Sammy?

Other than the rare breed like MJ, Magic, or Bird (Kobe had Shaq), having all young guys NEVER EVER EVER works. Christ, even Magic had Kareem. No, the right play here is to trade Miller for cap space (unless you're going to sign him to a new deal, which I would be against), sign Elton Brand, trade for one of Memphis's two PGs (which they should have done before the season started like I said) and draft a shooting guard.

And, everyone please stop pumping up Jason Smith. He's a better version of Shav Randolph, who never even started at Duke. Give me a break - Jason Smith will never be more than a 10-15 mpg guy off the bench. He's got some hop in his jump, but his feet are ridiculously slow on defense and, for being 7'0", 245, and 23 yrs old, he gets murdered inside. Include him in a deal with Carney and the 2009 #1 to go get Kyle Lowry. Then, make Reggie, Shav, and Amundson you're 3 backups at the 4 / 5 position with Brand and Sam as the starters. There - problem solved. Not real tough, eh?

Marc, now that is what I'm talking about! I've been a Josh Smith fan since late last year and he is only getting better. People don't get it. The dude is putting up these type of numbers - 17 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 3.7 blocks and 2 steals a game and he's four years from high school. He JUST turned 22 a couple of weeks ago.

Look at the player he is now and imagine what he is going to be by the time he is 25, 26 years old. He is a high risk, high reward type of player. Yes, he needs to develop a back to the basket game -- he's not going to be Tim Duncan, people, but a righty-lefty jump hook and a turnabound jumper on the block would do just fine -- and, like Amare in the West, he could be the prototype 4 for the Eastern Conference.

In a perfect world, I'd love to have Elton Brand. You are talking about a number one option that has averaged 20 points, 10 rebs and 2.5 blocks his whole career. He would draw a double team and be the added scorer and first option that the 76ers need.

However, he would have to opt out of $16.4M next year. Then the 76ers would have to start him at a contract at that much for him to even consider coming here. Plus, in five years, he's going to be done while Josh Smith could be one of the top 8 players in the league by that time. Still, Brand is my first option. But Josh Smith is my 1A option.

Dean, stop hating on Jason Smith. For one, he's 21 years and won't be 22 until next March. No. 2, he's an athletic, 7-foot, 240 lb. rookie that can play at a time when size is not an abundant commodity in the League.

Yes, he has come to the NBA with no low post game. His coaches at Colorado State did him a disservice by not teaching him how to play with his back to the basket. However, if you are an NBA team, you are excited because you have a hunk of clay that you can mold into whatever you and the player want to be. He doesn't have any bad habits to unlearn on the block because he's never played there. If there is anyone that need Moses' help, it is this kid.

The 76ers got lucky to land Jason Smith at 21. I also think Herbert Hill will be somewhat of a surprise for those who haven't seen him before. This is someone who is a late bloomer, played 4 years in school and his best skill at this point is scoring down low. I've seen him play in college and in the summer league, and that comes naturally to him. What he will have to get used to is the strength and athleticism of the PFs in this league and playing consistent D.

I doubt if Shavlik is truly 100 percent. If he was, Mo would be playing him by now. Mo likes Shavlik and wouldn't play head games with him like he's doing with Carney. Plus, Shav and Hill would be welcome additions to a team that gets nothing on post ups or on the block.

With free agency talk, what people fail to mention is that A. Miller has to go for an expiring contract to have a shot at Elton Brand or Josh Smith. Some good fall back options for the 76ers if those two are taken are Cory Maggette, a scorer, and Jose Calderon, a restricted free agent PG with Toronto.

Stefanski could decide to try and get the 76ers' future PF via trade. Players that could be available include Dwight Gooden, Chris Wilcox (Both in the last year of their contract next year) and a true sleeper that I think could be a 18 point and 10 reb player in this league if he can get from under Carlos Boozer's shadow, Paul Milsap.

I'm loathe to give a max contract to anyone but a small handful of players. Those contracts kill your cap flexibility and if a mistake is made, it often takes 5 + years to rectify. Josh Smith and Igudola aren't max contract players.

I read somewhere, that the Sixers are basically the only team with cap room for next year, so all these players who turned down deals (Igudola, Okafor, Deng, Gordon, etc), aren't going to get their money elsewhere.

You're right Truth - Jason Smith is 21, not 23. My fault on that one. However, at the end of the day, you CANNOT teach quickness. He has none. He has ZERO low-post game. His outside shot is tremendously overrated; it looks nice in a gym with nobody guarding him I guess.

Jason Smith will be a dime a dozen player in the league. To address Mo's headgames with Carney...I don't think he's playing headgames. I think he realizes that Carney, wihle extremely athletic, doesn't belong. He has two offensive moves: (1) dribble drive penentration, which stirs memories of Henry Gizmo Williams's incredibly fast running in place start but with absolutely zero results and (2) an outside shot that lacks consistency. Therefore, I'd say he's a poor man's Willie Green (OUCH). Bad pick, move on.

Trackboy1 -

Question for you, though not related to this post, about something in another post:

You seem to be pretty high on Thad. What are you are you seeing in him when he plays? You know how people try to describe a player's potential by saying he'll be like a current NBA player; well, is there a current NBA player do you think he'll be like in 6~7 years?

Side note: I think the Pacers are gonna kill the Sixers tomorrow. Obie has this one circled on his calendar, he's gonna have his guys ready. I read somewhere that his Pacers have surprised a lot of people this year, but I wasn't surprised at all. People are always talking about getting this player, and that player, but getting a good coach is also very crucial. The Sixers team he had was fun to watch, save for that caveman Marc Jackson.

"I doubt if Shavlik is truly 100 percent. If he was, Mo would be playing him by now. Mo likes Shavlik and wouldn't play head games with him like he's doing with Carney. Plus, Shav and Hill would be welcome additions to a team that gets nothing on post ups or on the block."

Yeah, Truth, I have similar feelings about Shav's situation. He definitely qualifies as a "young guy" and Stefanski wants to see the young guys play, right? So, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Mo to be holding him out if he's 100%.

And, Dean... I think your assessment of both Smith and Carney is dead on. It would be really nice if someone bit on a package deal for them. We'll just have to see what happens after Stefanski has had a little more time to assess the situation.

The guy I'd love to see Sixers get is Chris Wilcox. Full disclosure, I'm a Maryland grad, but this guy is very underrated. An athletic 6-10, who can get you boards, score down low, shoot high percentage and he's a decent passer on top of it. I'm sure you could get decent value on the guys as that team is about to get blown up. Wilcox, a sharp shooter at the 2 and now we're in business.

Dean, i hear you on Miller. Josh Smith is a great player who would probably thrive with a guy like Miller running the show, but all that youth and no veteran point guard makes me kind of nervous. You never know, they may do fine and all develop together, but there's an equal chance of the wheels falling off. Think about who becomes your leader - Dalembert? Green? Dre? Evans? I dont think any of them really fit the bill. Maybe Dre could step up, but maybe not...

People seem high on herb hill - i havent really seen him but im curious to at least see what he's got before we go around making trades. You know that trades are coming, but remember that Stefanski brought Kidd into NJ and he's on the record saying he likes Miller...i wouldn't be surprised to see him keep Miller around, to be honest. I know everyone wants them to make that big pickup 5 minutes ago, and i'd love to see it happen too, but something tells me this is going to take some time to play out.

Isn't Antwan Jamison a free agent at the end of the year? I'd make a play for him if that's correct. I like Wilcox too but I think you'd have to trade for him. In future, I'd like to see Igudala start at the 2 and get someone longer with a better mid range game for the 3.

Why would Atlanta let Josh Smith go? Sixers fans stop dreaming. We have a low post scorer his name is Thad Young. Can he scorer down low. Yes, can he demand a double team? If he get more minutes at that position, we can find out. Personally he has the skill of lebron. Plus he can post up smaller guards. Mark Jackson (new York knicks)was one of the best post up guards in the league.

Dean, you already have Jason Smith's career summed up and he's only played about a fourth of his rookie year? C'mon man. Give the dude some time to develop.

Josh Smith is going to be a star. I'd trade Iggy for him in a minute. The fact that the 76ers might be in position to lock them both up is something Stefanski has to explore.

Getting back to Jason Smith, I believe in the 3-year rule for NBA rookies. If they haven't done anything by their third year, then they are probably not going to be what you thought they were and you should probably cut bait. That is why I am still giving Carney the rest of this year and next year before I officially call him a bust.

And besides, Mo won't be coaching this team next year. One man's trash could end up being another man's treasure. A new coach could come in who believes in Carney and his game and things could go from there. The most disappointing thing with Carney is that he seems to have regressed instead of progressed in his game. He has no handle, no left hand, is suffering in confidence and his shot has deserted him. Still, it only takes one good game to turn things around.

I know there is a sentiment to keep A. Miller around because he would help the young players to grow, but this ain't babysitting 101. The 76ers have a chance by trading Miller to get better quickly and gain cap flexibility, an extra pick or a good young player. If Stefanski is as smart as all of us hope he is, he won't miss the forest for the trees.

Cap flexibility and draft picks are more important for this team now than a soon to be 32-year-old point guard with career averages of 14 points and 7.5 assists. This team can take a major step forward next year if Stefanski push the right buttons. The biggest impediment to progress, King, is gone. C'mon Eddie, show us something.

Looking ahead to next year,do you guys think it's possible for the Sixers to land,in a sign and trade,Josh Smith for Iggy,and sign PG Jose Calderon of the Raptors.It's impossible for Toronto to have two highly paid PG'S.So it's just a matter of him getting the right offer.

Do we even know if Josh Smith even wants to come to Philly? Can't forget about that. Stars or soon to be stars seem to avoid our city because we are so hard on them. How many guys have we seen turn down more money to play in a more excepting place? Tons! I would love to see him here, he could bring the same excitement as AI did when he was here because he has a simular attitude but in a much bigger body.

How do we feel about Gilbert Arenas who may be a free agent? I wanted him before he said what he said about Iggy last week. They would not be able to play with eachother now...

If I were to compare Thad to anyone it would be to a Grant hill (not that I was asked, good question though). He's long and smooth and has a quick first step, especially on the block. His jump shot looks great and most importantly he is not affraid to play in the league (Niether is Jason Smith - I'm sorry, I think is going to be a solid player and would keep him around. He does everything well except post up. And quickness is something that can be improved on with tons of drills and excersises. Trading him would be a mistake. We'll look just as foolish as we did when we got rid of Jason Williams - he became a star).

"The 76ers got lucky to land Jason Smith at 21."

I really don't know if I agree with that. Smith getting taken at 21 seems about right... maybe even a little high. The guy's a late first round type of player. I certainly don't dislike him... he has reasonable skills and is contributing fairly well for a rookie. However, when we get a real scoring power forward on the team next year and that person becomes the starter (ahead of Reggie Evans), what kind of playing time can Jason Smith realistically expect to get? If Herb Hill shows the talent people think he will, he'll become Sammy's backup. With those four guys ahead of Jason, it'll be pretty hard for him to make any sort of consistent, meaningful contribution. Just my thoughts, of course.

What is the contract status of Lou Williams after this year? Restricted? Unrestricted? Are the Sixers only allowed to pay a certain amount? I just don't want to see what happened with Arenas and the Warriors a few years back where another team was allowed to pay more.

Firstly, the Sixer must NOT try to get Antawn Jamison or Gilbert Arenas. I live in around the DC area, and I get to see them on TV when I want. I hate both of their games. I especially dislike Gilbert's gimmicky self-absorbed personality.

Secondly, the Sixers have got to let Andre Miller go. He's not going to help this team the next five years unless the Sixers get Elton Brand or someone like that which I don't see happening.

Then again, with Stefanski who might do anything for all I know, maybe.

Finally, there's only one basketball player in the world who'd be perfect for the Sixers.

Michael Beas[t]ly would be the answer for our 4. I try not to even imagine how beautiful a sight it would be fore the commissioner to be announcing that selection in the draft for us.

I hate the lottery.

I'd much rather trade profusely up to nab Beas[t]ley than spend money on any other player there is.

Maybe if New York can end up with the first overall, Ed could knick 'em into trading it to us for Willie Green and Carney. Good trade for both sides.

Antwain Jamison
Jason Smith
Chris Wilcox-lol
Elton Brand
"Thad" aka Grant Hill
"Shav"
Giving Rodney Carney a chance

This may be the most uninformed blog in the nation.....

The only name we should be talking about is
Larry Brown.

He could single handidly take THIS group of players and have them in the playoffs as a 4-5 seed based on "D" alone in the EAST.

LARRY
LARRY
LARRY

Join me

LARRY
LARRY
LARRY

I completely agree with Dean and others on the part that Elton Brand would be my number one option. He's a great player and personality and would be a great leader for this team. But coming back from that injury I think it will be unlikely that he will choose to Opt out of his current contract. If he does I think he would be a great leader for this young team if we can add some more quality players but I unfortunately think that it is unlikely.
I am still very positive about Josh Smith considering his age and upside on what is a young and (hopefully) improving Sixers team.

Brand is a fine locker room guy and tough PF. He also has a lot of miles on him and is very susceptible to more injuries. Pass.

Josh Smith has been well discussed here, and would probably, indeed, need a mature, steadying PG like Miller, in order to thrive (as do most of the young Sixers).

Jason Smith is a good young player for whom a few years of seasoning could bring a nice return.

Milsap is intriguing.

Jamison is also but will not come cheaply if at all.

Carney may well be another John Salmons. Make of that what you will.

Larry Brown?! Are you kidding me? If he became coach would bench Lou Williams and Thad and have Ed bring back derrick coleman and tyrone hill. Larry Brown is washed up and makes terrible decisions on young players. The only reason he won a title is because Joe Dumars gave him a great team which he got over the hump. He built our team then realized they stunk and left us high and dry. Now he is still making $ off this franchise. It makes me sick that he is even on the sixers payroll.
If you can't tell I HATE LARRY BROWN!!!!!

why take josh smith if there is blatche.

"Chris Wilcox LOL"??? You can't be serious. He's a 14 and 8 guy right now on a team that I'm not features him. Plus, he's only 25. Youtube the guy and then tell me anyone mentioned here, other than Brand, is better. You wouldn't be able to do it. In additon, he only (only?) makes $6m/yr.

Elton Brand is not going to leave all that money on the table. No other team is going to pay $17m after such a major injury. He won't even be back before March.

Josh Smith is not a back to the basket PF. I'm not sure he could endure all of the banging down low. I would question his toughness amongst the big boys.

Shav IS better than Jason Smith in the post. Herb Hill is better than both of THEM. Although, I would not give up on Smith. With a full off-season of concentrating on his low-post moves, he could (I say COULD) develop.

Why can't Miller be productive? 31 yrs old. Ever heard of Sam Cassell? He's what, 177 years old? Even he was productive last year and started off this year pretty good before he got hurt.

SixerzGuy, I think Thad could be a Danny Granger type, but Thad is more athletic. Granger is averaging 16 pts/6 boards/2 assists/1.3 blocks per in his third season. Solid numbers, dependable perfomer. Thad should/could average more boards and blocks than Granger if he develops.

Saw Thad play in college a lot. He seems to understand the game well for his young age. He's strong and a solid all-around athlete. He's still raw, can dribble too much, settle for jumpers instead of taking it to the hole too often, makes mistakes down the stretch, and is prone to turnovers, but he is an athlete with a feel for the game.

If he could average Granger numbers in the 2009-10 season, that should make Sixers fans happy.

And don't forget that Thad may still be growing. He's only 19 and his father is 6'11". I think he already has ok post moves. With his skill set already, that could be very dangerous. Only a wish...but possible.

Let me address a few things:

1) All of you talking about Chris Wilcox are absolutely crazy. He's garbage. If Wilcox every came to Philly, I think I'd switch who I root for. Wilcox is a decent backup but should never be brought to a situation where he would have to start. That's not the right situation for him. He could be very productive coming off the bench.

2) I was shocked on draft night when Philly took Thaddeus Young. He's young and raw. He should have stayed in college to further develop his game. As some mentioned, he pulls up way too much rather than taking the ball strong to the whole. He also needs to bulk up. He looks like he's not much bigger than Kevin Durant who had trouble with the bench press at the workouts. I think he will be good in 2 years. If Philly had have taken Al Thornton, they would have had an athletic scoring Power Forward.

3) As far as Josh Smith goes, I love the kid. Smith has great upside as far as his game goes. He did have an incident where he flipped on Coach Woodson but that only happened once. Smith can play with his back to the basket. He's not the best at it but he can do it. If you look at the Hawks roster, it appears as though one of the big men is out. Unless they are planning on moving Smith to the 3, which I highly doubt. They just drafted Al Horford after already having Josh Smith, Shelden Williams, and Zaza Pachulia. Looks like one of them is going to be out of a job. How about Philly take one of them off of their hands. I'd prefer either Williams or Smith over Pachulia.

4) In the offseason, they need to stay as far away from Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison as they can. Arenas will never be able to play in Philly after his comments concerning Iguodala unless Iggy isn't kept around long, but I don't see him going anywhere soon. If I were Stefanski, I'd go after a big name forward. A guy like Elton Brand, Chris Bosh. Bosh isn't a Free Agent but could be acquired via trade if the right package was put together. Another player that could be acquired via trade is Shawn Marion. He has a player option after this year and would look good along side Andre Squared. There's only going to be 4 teams in the NBA who will have enough cap room to sign any BIG name player: Atlanta, Philly, Charlotte, and whoever is losing that player that teams are looking at.

5)If Ed Stefanski fired Maurice Cheeks, Larry Brown will NOT be back next year. if Stefanski hires any new coach he will be a true Philly guy. Guys like Speedy Morris, Jay Wright, Phil Martelli, guys like that. Someone who knows the fans and knows what the fans want. All the coaches that I mentioned are currently employed by other places but I feel, they would be willing to reevaluate their situation if a job in the NBA became available to them.

I'd like to thank all who have read this. This is mostly my opinion of what Philly should do and I feel strongly about most of this.