Deep Sixer

I enjoyed watching Kyle over the years, but was disappointed with his shooting this year. I fully expect him to do very well at Utah, making us wonder if the Sixers made the right decision. I hope we are not getting a problem child who has an attitude problem.

so who are the sixers gonna get in free agency with all this cap space, I mean the only real guy I have seen available is Ben Gordon, and I don't know how well he would fit in with this team, any thoughts?

also Korver was a classy guy and he will be missed, but I like the move in getting the cap space, Giricek is not a problem in the locker room, he doesn't even speak english lol

C'mon...this is a no brainer...cap relief, a future #1 and a decent shooter who has started on a playoff team for Korver. Helps in the future, and does not hurt in the present.

Absoloutly a no brainer, I said I liked Korver but this is a great move. In ten years Billy King made like three good moves, Stefanski already has my vote of confidence! Thank god Billy King is gone!

Big Ed got an expiring contract and no. 1 pick and still hasn't played his biggest chip yet -- Andre Miller. Miller is playing so well that the team can move him and force another team to take another player for it to happen (Willie Green, Carney, Booth?).

Miller will get an expiring contract, a young prospect or a no. 1 pick next year. Korver was a true professional and maybe he will be a better fit in Utah than he was here. There, at least they have a couple of people who can score on the block. Here, the 76ers have no one. Stefanski said as much in his conference call today.

I would have given Korver away for free as long as it would have stopped Butt Cheeks from playing that crazy lineup with Korver at PF. I think Big Ed really wants to see what some of these other young players can do before he makes another trade.

That should be good news for Hill and Randolph. There is no way that these two shouldn't be getting on the floor instead of Lou Amundson and Calvin Booth. That has to be a Butt Cheeks thing. Big Ed just might have to force Mo's hands again to continue the evaluation process.

The way Mo coaches, I doubt if Giricek will see any run. Still, I believe a good move by Big Ed.

DO NOT LIKE THIS AT ALL!

This move wasn't just about a No.1 and cap space. It was about playing time for Thad. It will be a first rounder in the late 20's, so don't expect much with that. Yes, the cap space helps a bit.

But Korver was the one true shooter on this team. Yes, my fellow bloggers were right that Korver should have never had to play mintes at the 4 when Mo went with the small line-up.

But in the playoffs, you need a shooter. The playoffs may or may not be in the cards this year, but they will be the following year and after that. Again, Kyle was the only guy on this team that can really shoot!!!

Having Thad start at the 3, with Korver getting 18 minutes off the bench would have been the ideal scenario (and he brought some appeal to all the ladies who think he's Philly's Ashton Kutcher). With Thad and Korver at the 3, Iggy would play exclusively at the 2, and that would have gladly cut into Willie's minutes.

Yes, Thad needs the minutes, but Korver is going to hit big shots for Utah in the playoffs. We're all going to miss him more than you think, albeit it might be a year or two from now when this team finally makes the playoffs and needs someone to hit some 3's in crunch time.

P.S. Stephanski, if you're going to move someone, move Willie Green please. And tell Mo to get Herb Hill and Shav some minutes!!!

FROM NBA.COM

Analysis: The move comes a day after Giricek was reinstated to the Jazz after he was banished from the team during a road trip following a verbal exchange with Utah coach Jerry Sloan. Giricek is in the final year of his current deal, making his contract attractive to the 76ers, a team that will have some money under the salary cap to spend this coming summer. We'd be shocked if Giricek plays a big role in Philadelphia.

WAY TO PICK'EM ED

I completely agree with you Trackboy. Now, we have NO ONE who can consistently hit the 3. If you wanted more minutes for Thad or Carney, all you had to do was play them more and play Korver less. THAT was the no-brainer. Watch how flat the offense will be with Korver gone. Carney can't shoot the 3. Green can't shoot the 3. I doubt that Thad can shoot it either. So how does this improve our team? Utah is always good so with the pick being protected, we'll be lucky if it ever gets as good as 19 or 20. Terrible trade. And for all the talk of trading Miller, where will be once he's gone???? Just ask the Bulls how long it takes you to rebuild a team even when you have a ton of cap space?. They have some talent now, but it took them 6 years and they had to do it ALL through the draft because no one wanted to play there despite all of the money they could offer. They had all that cap space and the biggest free agent they signed was Joe Snith this year. Joe Smith!!! Move Miller and we'll have the same problem here.

I keep reading a lot about Herb & Shav (sounds like a comedy team) not getting any minutes, Marc are they still hurt or is there another reason those two aren't playing?
For all of you bloggers who feel Ed Stefanski is playing Cheeks like a puppet, backseat coaching if you will, I think you are all dead wrong, Stefanski needs to evaluate Cheeks as a coach and he wouldn't be able to do that if he's trying to coaching the team from his luxury suit.

Only in Philly can you get a guy who is a great player and teamate and that gets you traded. Way to go Ed..is billy king still available???

you guys are idiots. First of all if we made the playoffs, we would be out real quickly, Korver there or not, in case no one noticed this is not a championship team. Yes Korver is the only sixer to shoot but your all wrong about the playoffs, its not the three that wins championships, its defense in the NBA and as much as Korvers three ball helps he is the biggest stiff on defense I have ever seen. Korver will get you 2-3 threes and give up 25 points in 18 minutes to who ever he is "guarding". Also if you guys might remember the Bulls signed Ben Wallace last year (the best free agent on the market) and did not have a lot of cap space last summer. Bulls drafted terribly and that is the reason it took them so long to rebuild. remember Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler in the top three pics? You Bring Ben Gordon here over the summer and that takes care of your shooting woes and gives you a guy who can get to the basket. Problem is the sixers have nobody in the paint that commands a double team and so for that reason we don't know if anyone else can shoot. Thad has some touch so we'll see if his jumper still has time to develop. I do agree about moving Miller being an issue unless you can get a high draft pick for him. Miller is still young and does amazing things for the other young guys on this team.

Please remember, cap space can also be used to absorb salary via trade. (Take back more salary than you are trading away.)

Great trade, incidently.

I agree. If the goal of building a team is to win a championship, then who cares about sacrificing short-run success? Yeah, the team is worse today than it was yesterday because of the Korver trade. But no one should fool themselves into thinking that the Sixers were going to contend for a championship this year. This move clears up 2 years of salary and also nets us a building block with the number one pick. The pick might not be very high, but combined with the Sixers' own lottery pick, it can make a good bargaining chip for the Beasley/Rose/Mayo draft.

What I'm curious to see is this: what exactly does Stefanski have in mind for all this cap space? Is it going to be Ben Gordon? Emeka Okafor (please no)? Or is this a way to clear out space to sign Iggy to a max deal (I have mixed feelings about this too)?

As icing on the proverbial cake, the Korver move allows more younger players who will be the future of the team to get in-game exposure that they all need.

As a Creighton grad and Sixer fan there's no bigger Korver fan then I was. But I think it's a great trade. Of course it's not for this year, Ed's no letting this hot stretch fool him into thinking suddenly we're a play off team.

The thing is this Giricek guy put the Jazz in a bad position, where they had to over pay to get him off their team. I think Ed spotted a weakness and exploited it. An expiring contract and a first round pick for a team looking to totally rebuild is a great thing, looking forward to seeing him package it in a future trade instead of picking a player in the 20's.

sorry Jordan, you are completely correct about defense in the playoffs, but incorrect about deep shooting not being important. there's a reason every contending team in the league last year was dying to get Korver when they realized the sixers were in full rebuild mode, and that's b/c it's so hard to find shooters that can hit big shots. if you think korver is a stiff on defense you are not watching and lose all credibility with that statement. he has become an average one on one defender, and is the second best team defender we had outside of dalembert.

you think ben gordon takes care of our shooting problems? he's an undersized 2 with a streaky jump shot at best, and will not be able to play next to lou williams (our PG of the future). not to mention you want ben gordon to be our BIG free agent acquisition? are you kidding? he turned down 5 years $50 million from the bulls this summer, and they can match any offer we make. so the chances of getting him if we wanted, and i sure as hell hope we don't want him, are very slim. or we blow all our cap space on an undersized 2, who wouldn't even be a starter next year when our 1,2, and 3 are lou williams, iggy, and young.

That's a good move.

I just hope they don't use this cap space this year.

The FA class of 2009 the Sixers need to have plenty of cap space.

Now, please notice that contingencies exist with many of these names. When you say, "The 2009 free agency class will include ..." you have to take into account a lot of variables. Some guys can opt out of contracts before that summer. Other guys have team options for that year or the previous one, which may or may not be activated, and in many cases is impossible to predict. Some guys you may find laughable that I included them in this list (Portland, after all, will activate the player options on Roy, Aldridge and Oden), but I included them because you never know what could happen and this list wouldn't be complete if I edited out some players based on my opinions, no matter how absurd they may seem. I've tried to account for all contingencies and annotated the list, so if the players have a number next to their name, be sure to check below.

So to the best of my knowledge, this should be a complete list of potential free agents in 2009. Let the speculation begin.

Potential unrestricted free agents
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland 15
Morris Almond, Utah 16
Ron Artest, Sacramento 25
Chucky Atkins, Denver
Brandon Bass, Dallas
Marceo Baston, Toronto
Marco Belineli, Golden State 18
Mike Bibby, Sacramento
Elton Brand, Los Angeles Clippers 20
Corey Brewer, Minnesota 12
Ronnie Brewer, Utah 16
Keith Bogans, Orlando
Aaron Brooks, Houston 9
Jackie Butler, Houston
Jason Collins, New Jersey
Daequan Cook, Miami 6
Javaris Crittenton, Los Angeles Lakers 22
Marquis Daniels, Indiana 1
Quincy Douby, Sacramento 26
Jared Dudley, Charlotte 4
Kevin Durant, Seattle 14
Jordan Farmar, Los Angeles Lakers 22
Nick Fazekas, Dallas
Jeff Foster, Indiana 2
Adonal Foyle, Golden State 18
Steve Francis, Houston
Jorge Garbajosa, Toronto
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota 11
Drew Gooden, Cleveland
Jeff Green, Seattle 14
Adrian Griffin, Chicago
Spencer Hawes, Sacramento 26
Grant Hill, Phoenix 23
Juwan Howard, Minnesota 11
Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, Dallas
Allen Iverson, Denver
Bobby Jackson, New Orleans
Damon Jones, Cleveland
James Jones, Portland 13
Solomon Jones, Atlanta
Jason Kidd, New Jersey
Raef LaFrentz, Portland
John Lucas, Houston 8
Corey Maggette, Los Angeles Clippers 20
Stephon Marbury, New York
Shawn Marion, Phoenix 23
Damir Markota, Milwaukee 3
Donyell Marshall, Cleveland
Andre Miller, Philadelphia
Paul Millsap, Utah 17
Steve Nash, Phoenix 24
Steve Novak, Houston 8
Patrick O'Bryant, Golden State 19
Greg Oden, Portland 15
Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers
Zaza Pachulia, Atlanta
Anthony Parker, Toronto
Oleksiy Pecherov, Washington 7
Leon Powe, Boston
Justin Reed, Houston
Sergio Rodriguez, Portland 15
Brandon Roy, Portland 15
Cheick Samb, Detroit
Eric Snow, Cleveland
Vassilis Spanoulis, San Antonio 10
Damon Stoudamire, Memphis
Wally Szczerbiak, Seattle
Al Thornton, Los Angeles Clippers 21
Alando Tucker, Phoenix 24
Jacque Vaughn, San Antonio
Antoine Walker, Miami 5
Rasheed Wallace, Detroit
Chris Wilcox, Seattle
Brandan Wright, Golden State 18
Nick Young, Washington 7

1 If Pacers don't activate team option for 2009-10; 2 If Foster activates player option for 2008-09; 3 If Bucks activate team option for 2008-09; 4 If Bobcats decline option for 2009-10 season; 5 If Heat decline option for 2009-10 season; 6 If Heat decline option for 2009-10 season; 7 If Wizards decline option for 2009-10 season; 8 If Rockets activate option for 2008-09; 9 If Rockets decline option for 2009-10; 10 If Spurs activate option for 2008-09; 11 If he doesn't opt out of contract for 2008-09; 12 If Timberwolves don't activate option for 2009-10; 13 If Jones does not opt out of contract for 2008-09; 14 If Sonics decline option for 2009-10; 15 If Blazers decline option for 2009-10; 16 If Jazz decline option for 2009-10; 17 If Jazz activate option for 2008-09; 18 If Warriors decline option for 2009-10; 19 If Warriors activate option for 2008-09 but decline option for 2009-10; 20 If he does not opt out of contract in 2008-09; 21 If Clippers do not activate option for 2009-10; 22 If Lakers decline option for 2009-10; 23 If Marion does not opt out of contract for 2008-09; 24 If Phoenix declines option for 2009-10; 25 If Artest does not opt out of contract for 2008-09; 26 If Sacramento declines option for 2009-10;

Potential restricted free agents
Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee
Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers 12
Raymond Felton, Charlotte
Ike Diogu, Indiana 3
Channing Frye, Portland 10
Francisco Garcia, Sacramento
Joey Graham, Toronto 1
Danny Granger 4
Jarrett Jack, Portland 10
Linas Kleiza, Denver 8
David Lee, New York
Sean May, Charlotte
Jason Maxiell, Detroit 2
Rashad McCants, Minnesota 9
Chris Paul, New Orleans 7
Nate Robinson, New York
Wayne Simien, Miami 5
Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee
Hakim Warrick, Memphis 6
Deron Williams, Utah 11
Antoine Wright, New Jersey

1 If Raptors activate team option for 2008-09; 2 If Pistons activate team option for 2008-09; 3 If Pacers activate team option for 2008-09; 4 If Pacers activate team option for 2008-09; 5 If Heat decline option for 2008-09; 6 If Grizzlies activate option for 2008-09; 7 If Hornets activate option for 2008-09; 8 If Nuggets activate option for 2008-09; 9 If Timberwolves activate option for 2008-09; 10 If Portland activates player options for 2008-09; 11 If Utah activates option for 2008-09; 12 If Lakers decline option for 2008-09.

Players who can opt out of their contracts

* Carlos Boozer, Utah $12.7 million player option
* Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers $23 million player option in 2009-10 with second year for $24.8 million.
* Brian Cook, Los Angeles Lakers $3.5 million player option
* Jamal Crawford, New York $9.4 million player option for 2009-10 with second year for $10.8 million.
* Eddy Curry, New York $10.5 million player option in 2009-10; $11.3 million in 2010-11.
* Travis Diener, Indiana $1.7 million player option
* Trenton Hassell $4.4 million player option
* Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland 11.5 million player option.
* Jerome James, New York $6.6 million player option
* Mike James, Houston $6.5 million player option
* Mehmet Okur, Utah $9 million player option
* Quentin Richardson, New York $9.4 million player option
* Hidayet Turkoglu, Orlando $7.4 million player option

please stop with the future no. 1 pick. it's not even this years pick, it starts in 2009. the current value of this pick is a high 2nd rounder in the coming draft. this pick can be a throw in in another trade, but other teams aren't going to value this pick as some great asset.

More about the trade from the Salt Lake Tribune

http://blogs.sltrib.com/jazz/

Yeah. Good trade. I'm mystified by the people who are complaining. Do we just want to stay a 35-win team forever? The only way to improve is via cap space and drafting. Look at what Kiki Vandeweghe did in Denver; he cleared out the whole team, stockpiled cap space and draft picks, and in a year, they were back in the playoffs again.

It doesn't have to take six years like in Chicago; Chicago made some ridiculous mistakes. Such as trading Elton Brand... and trading Tyson Chandler right before he finally became good.

We need to learn from the Knicks -- you can't rebuild and try to make the playoffs at the same time (duh). We're rebuilding, and it's a good call.

Oh, and bring back the classic Sixers uniforms! Marc, I'm counting on you for this one.

sooooooooooooooooooo unbelievably upset hes leaving =(

That free agent list looks pretty good. In this upcoming draft, I would try to address the power forward problem with either Beasley (if we're lucky), Love, Griffin, or even Hansbrough. I think the point guard situation, however, will be slightly more difficult. I know everyone is impressed with the progress that Lou Williams has made, but I feel that his role on a really good team is as a spark plug off the bench, sort of like Ben Gordon or Leandro Barbosa.

As far as this trade is concerned, it shows good vision on the part of Stefanski. Like an earlier entry mentioned, he's not letting this recent surge fool him into thinking that the Sixers are even remotely a contender. The best thing to do is to give Young and Smith extensive playing time (not 11 minutes a night) and get them some experience. There are clearly flashes of talent there.

This trade is a definite short-term negative with potential long-term net positive potential. If Billy makes this trade I'd say it was bad given his track record. I'll give Ed the benefit of the doubt since it is his first visible move and he clearly states his intent is to grab a better player with the cap money and draft pick. A risky move but that is the MO we've been given on him.

It is not a good signal for Cheeks. The team is worse off in the short term and immediate results will only give Ed more ammo to ax a man who has squeezed more out of less each of the past two years.

Korver will thrive in Utah. Aside from Kyle's obvious shooting skills, he is a much better defender (from team perspective) than the derisive know-nothings give him credit for. He rebounds well. Occasionally blocks shots and hands out assists. Very smart player whose intangibles will be missed in much the same way Joe Smith is being missed.

Only time will tell, but, for now Ed is doing his best to make sure we are lottery-bound. BTW if he really did do such a great job in NJ why are the Nets not significantly better than the Sixers now and potentially have an even shakier future with the restless Kidd and space-cadet no-heart Carter?

Alright Jon, you make one good point about the positional problems, but we aready have those problems anyways. Lou Williams, is a shooting guard and is NOT A POINT GUARD! Lou does a great job getting to the basket and can create his own shot but he is not a PG. Also Iggy is not a true shooting guard either, he is a nice wing playerr and tends to fit in better at the sf spot, but we have to many damn players at sf. We need to get rid of Carney, he's a scrub and doesn't fit in anywhere. I appreciate that list of free agents and didn't know it was so long. How about Shawn Marion coming here or even Elton Brand? I know Brand is injury prone but he is a helluva player when he is healthy. Marion may come here because he wants to be the man somewhere, and on this team he would be the focal point of the offense, sorry Iggy. I also tend to agree with whoever said that signing Iggy to the max contract is questionable. I love the guy and his talent but I don't know if he is ever going to be a true number one guy. Sixers need to bring in a proven post player and then go from there and see what we caan do. Dalemberrt is playing out of his mind right now but how long wil that last and also he is never going to command a double team in the post.

one more thing I forget, Jon you talk about every team looking for Korver and wanting him, who the hell was that and how were we only able to get a scrub expiring contract and a pick that will never be anything for him if so many people wanted him. Also you must be joking talking about Korver's defense. He works hard and he knows wereto be, but that is a laugh to say he is good one on one. Next thing your going to tell me is that Keith Van Horn and Armo Gilliam should comprise the sixers all time defensive unit.

It still shocks me to see some people doubting this trade. Korver was a decent shooter and a great guy but people are acting like we just traded away Reggie Miller in his prime. Saying that we'll regret this trade 3 years from now when we have no one to make the clutch shot when we're trying to contend??? Please, if by then Ed still hasn't found another reliable shooter then you can bash him all you want for this but the bottom line is we gave up a role player for more cap space, a future first round draft pick and another decent shooter who despite his fight with Sloan will not be here after this year so it really doesn't matter.

Also every time I hear about some team "dying" to have Korver I break out into laughter.

The Nets got bad because the new owners wouldn't spend the money to re-sign K-Mart, leaving them with no inside game. Granted, in light of the fact that K-Mart is now continually injured, that may have worked out for the best. I'm not sensing that the Nets are that concerned with contending now, anyway, since they're moving...

This trade gives me mixed feelings. I liked Korver a lot especially when he shoots his threes, but at the same time I was dissapointed by the way he was shooting. Before i was against for trading Korver, but then I changed my mind to "if a reasonable trade comes up, I will allow". This trade give us more space in this offseason to sign players (Calderon if Miller get traded), hopefully save the big names for next years.

We need to get another pick late on the draft from another trade. So maybe we could select Batum and select Love on the pick from another trade. We can keep the first round pick that we got from this trade (owned by NYK) to 2010 which should be unprotected. Think about how high that pick is if Dolan let Isaiah run the team.

My family and I are really going to miss Korver - he was the one player who made your heart beat a little faster every time he was thrown the ball and the potential "Korver for 3!" resonated over the loudspeaker or TV airwaves. Korver was a class act, and I hope when he returns to the Center next year to play against the SIxers (no more home Utah games this year ) everyone will wear their Korver shirts and clap for the guy when he steps onto the floor. Did you ever notice how the Sixers trade players whose new teams aren't playing in Philadelphia for the rest of the season?
It's going to take someone pretty special to replace my memory of Kyle making the corner 3 with less than a second left - 0.4 of a second, exactly!
Thanks for the memories, Kyle -- we'll miss you.....

Sixers should've traded Willie Green before Korver, because Korver gave us scoring off the bench and does'nt mind being a six man,Green wants to be a starter...

Trade lovers, you can clear cap room by dealing away other lackluster players on this team. Every championship team has at least one sharpshooter coming off the bench that can hit big buckets and can stretch a defense. Kover's certainly a one-dimensional player, but he's one of the best in the league in long-range shooting. If his averages are down, look at how teams played him; with no low-post game in Philly, Korver's a lot easier to defend. What's more, in today's market, he's a bargain at 5 million. If you want to unload someone, unload Sammy! We'll save tons of money on him. Yes, he gets two more rebounds per game this year than he has in his career. But his personal fouls average is also up, as is his turnover averages. His basketball IQ is poor and his footwork, well, it stinks. And if teams are yearning for guards, give away Willie for a song. He's undersized, an average shooter at best, and he's anything but explosive. What's worse, he likes to shoot more than pass, but he's a lackluster offensive player.

Phillyfan, if they could have dumped Sam or Evans or Green for an expiring contract instead, don't you think they would have? I'm sure Stefanski exhausted all of his options before deciding on this deal.

You list all these negative things about Green, and then expect someone to take him for an expiring contract and pay him $3 mill over the next couple years? Other teams can see the same things you can.

The NBA is different from all other sports. An expiring contract has an actual value because of the need to match contracts and how few teams are under the cap. So it's actually worse from the other team's POV to trade Willie "for
a song." They'd probably need to deal him "for a song with 3 years 9 million left on its deal"

Hey people, Korver had his time here in Philly. Let's move on, Stefanski made a good move to free up salary space and be a "free-agent contender" in the upcoming off season. However, I'm upset that Korver is leaving, he's taking his three-point specialty with him, along with his outstanding shooting skills. Here's a real shocker, since everyone is talking free-agency, why not bring back the man who gave the sixers there identity. You know the six-foot little guy known as "the answer"
Yeah, now i remember, ALLEN IVERSON!!!! The main reason why I even bothered to watch the sixers. Who knows, King is gone, hopefully Cheeks will be gone and there will be some more front office changes. AI might just say what the hell, maybe this team has changed. Of course, the sixers would have to pursue some big name free-agents like Josh Smith, Gilbert Arenas, Elton Brand, who knows.... If Stefanski is smart he will at least talk with AI about possibly returning to Philly. By the way if u haven't noticed, I'm one of Iverson's biggest fans, which is why I'm probably pressing on his return.

To Ali:Why would you want to bring back a ball hogging player who will be 33 next year.He would totally stunt the growth of Lou Williams,Thaddeus Young,and Jason Smith.Let Iverson stay in Denver,and lead that gang of thugs,and overpaid premadonnas,to a first round exit.I lost all respect for Iverson when he came to practice drunk,and cursed out Mo Cheeks.The same Mo Cheeks,who Iverson said at his press conference,he would kiss in the mouth because he was so happy that Cheeks was his new Coach.

Not only did the 76ers lose Kyle, but any chance to have either of his two younger brothers (the younger KKs) who are playing college ball now. His brother at Drake is leading them to a very surprisingly successful season.

Bad timing, Kyle gets sent to Salt Lake City only several days after the direct flights from there to his home airport in Des Moines gets cancelled! After always having to make connections coming back from Philly, now he'll again have to stop in Denver or Chicago to get home

Has it really gotten to the point where were worrying about not being able to get Kyle Korvers younger brothers?

Tonight shall be an interesting test for the rookies against Portland.I wanna see how Thaddeus Young fares against Matell Webster and Travis Outlaw.And I wanna see how Jason Smith holds up against Aldridge.

way to go ed...on a team with no shooters you traded one of the nbas best for a pick in the 20's and 4.00 million in cap room ...which no one will want to take because this team sucks and FAs wont want to play here..greatjob moron....its hard to be worse then billy king and you are already proving you might be

way to go ed...on a team with no shooters you traded one of the nbas best for a pick in the 20's and 4.00 million in cap room ...which no one will want to take because this team sucks and FAs wont want to play here..greatjob moron....its hard to be worse then billy king and you are already proving you might be

SC, you're right that Green's no prize offer, nor is Sammy--for different reasons. Fair enough. I guess I'm wishing they'd dump other parts of the "core" that is of less value. But my main complaint is that this is NOT a no-brainer, despite what other commenters here so hastily suggest. Korver was the ONLY player with a skill set that made him a valuable commodity. And we got NOTHING for him that you can't get later. There is ABSOLUTELY NO rush to make this trade--you can get the same returns in February, though at that point you're FAR more likely to lure at least a bit more from a contender who's looking for Korver to shore up their status as championship contenders--you should at least be able to get an expiring contract and a first round pick without the MYRIAD conditions. That first-round pick we get is GARBAGE. Taking this a step furter, I'll make the claim now: Stefanski will be run out of town in a few years. He flew NJ because,well, THAT team--while under his leadership--is in disaray and will--like PHILLY--need about five or more years to dig itself out of its current position. Not a philly hater, but this was a lousy move for December.

Korver is a heck of a shooter and was our only true three-point threat. He also is a classy guy who I really think enjoyed this city...

...but

Korver is not the athlete that the sixers need right now. Basically, he's a set shooter who plays bad transition defense. If your going to run and gun, which is what it looks like the Sixers will be doing for the remainder of the season, then you do not want somebody who cant play defense. For as many opprotunities to shoot in this offense, there is going to be just as many opprotunities to play transition defense.

Korver will fit well in Utah, but the opprotunity to clear cap space and actually get somebody serviceable in return (even if it's only for a year) is too good to pass up.

Lets stop kidding ourselves. Korver, was a streak shooter, who couldn't ply a lick of D. #1 rule of thumb,"good shooting hides waeknesses" and he had plenty. He owes BK a big debt of gratitude..Class act, is not one of my concerns, when it comes to my teams talent..

Jordan, first of all the name after the post is who posted. It will take forever to reply in depth to everything you said ill try to make it quick. Stefanski said himself after the trade that every single team that called the sixers asked about korver, more than have asked about andre miller, his words. last year every nba "expert" on espn was saying that more teams were asking about korver than iverson, and that he was highly sought after by contenders because there are about 8 guys in the whole league that can shoot. why we got the deal we did, well stefanski is not real bright apparently. His defense is "average" is exactly what i said, then you come back and claim i said it was good, do you comprehend english?

As for cap space, Elton Brand needs to opt out of his deal to be a FA and he will cost 5 years $80 million, coming off of a ruptured achilles. how smart does that sound? yeah exactly. And Shawn Merion can't be the guy on any team, he doesn't create well enough on his own he needs others to set him up. and again, he has to opt out of his contract, is going to be 30 years old, and will make $18 million next year. he would have to take a major pay cut if he opts out, so why would he?

Lou Williams will be the point guard for this team, that is what he is being groomed to be. Just because he can get to the basket and create his own shot doesn't mean he won't or can't play the point. Iverson's problem wasn't that he couldn't play PG, it was that he didn't have that mindset. Iguodala also is interchangeable between SF and SG, and has the skill set for either, especially because the positions are basically the same, they are both wing positions.

if you just saw the game tonight, you wouldn't be too confident in williams being a future point guard

After the game against Portland, I guess Stepo's looking for a high draft and banking on the off-season. So much for the 3 year plan-that's out the window. Also, so much for the fight and grit and morale that made the team somewhat interesting to watch. KK was one of the popular teammates and good locker room guys. I guess we can have open seating at the Wachovia facilities for the rest of the year at this rate. He better not screw this off-season up, otherwise we may be looking at a horrible team for the next 3-4 years. KK wasn't the first priority to be moved, nor the greatest talent lost. I believe the team expected to have Miller moved, but not KK. I think we have the results tonight.

Oh please. If you honestly think the reason the sixers got blown out tonight is because of a KK trade, then your basketball knowledge must be close to zero. They lost tonight because they played a bad quarter. They lost tonight because they played a better team. They lost tonight because they're playing one of, if not the, hottest team in basketball right now. Losing KK's 10 ppg didn't make us lose the game. We could have had 2 1/2 KK's and we still would have lost.

yeah because any idiot knows that one game played by a 21 year old is a good measure of his ability to be a future point guard. excellent analysis.

John D, no need for insults. When we've watched a few games of ball we know the effect of drilling a killer three at the right time. It's a known fact that most teams score comes in spurts. 2 or 3 consecutive 3's usually cools down an opposing team on a tear. I never realized you can simply add any one player's season average to the score to determine the final score of your team. So by that analysis, all we need to do is add together 10 man squad of 10ppg scorers and we have a guaranteed final score of 100ppg! Brilliant! The hottest team becomes cold when they lose for the first time.

Xing, a few points:

1)"I guess we can have open seating at the Wachovia facilities for the rest of the year at this rate." A little drastic, dont you think? The Wachovia Center had open seating before KK was traded. Regardless, I dont think their performace tonight means they're tanking the season. They had a clunker. It happens. Heck, for as week as the East is, they have a chance at grabbing the 6th or 7th seed rather than the 8th. I dont think anybody going to a game was saying to themselves "Wow, can't wait to see Kyle Korver suit up!"

2) "I believe the team expected to have Miller moved, but not KK. I think we have the results tonight." The results of tonight game happened because KK was traded? Yeah, your probably right. his 2-7 3pt shooting would have really put a screeching halt to that 21 point run the Blazers put together. We put up 9 points in the 4th, something tells me the remedy to that is not a streaky 3-pt shooter who doesn't play defense.

3) "I never realized you can simply add any one player's season average to the score to determine the final score of your team"- Certainly was NOT was I was implying, but rather that his effect would have more than likely yielded the same results for the TEAM tonight. We got steamrolled for 24 minutes, plain and simple.

Listen, I like KK. Heck, if we all want to go out and annoint him the next Del Currey, then fine. But I would be much more willing to bet that whatever we end up doing with that draft pick Utah gave us will have more of an effect on this team than KK will in the long wrong. Nice guy, wrong team.

yeah because any idiot knows that one game played by a 21 year old is a good measure of his ability to be a future point guard. excellent analysis.

As a season ticketholder, I'm really looking forward to watching "cap space" play the rest of the year. And I'm sure Elton Brand is anxious to take less money to leave LA next season to play in a half-empty building in Philadelphia.

It took me much longer than just about everyone I know, but I've finally had enough of this sorry excuse for a franchise.

Phillyfan said it all a few posts ago...

There was "ABSOLUTELY NO rush to make this trade--you can get the same returns in February, though at that point you're FAR more likely to lure at least a bit more from a contender who's looking for Korver to shore up their status as championship contenders--you should at least be able to get an expiring contract and a first round pick without the MYRIAD conditions. That first-round pick we get is GARBAGE".