Deep Sixer

Big thanks to Marc for this blog. It has been great conversation, and I'm positive the Sixers brass and even some players are checking it out. Really makes following the team from 800 miles away a lot more fun.

-Jason Smith, you have hit the wall. Please make a jump shot.
-Mo, please give Rodney, Shav and Lou A. some time. If Carney isn't in the plans here, maybe he at least has a little trade value to a running team like Golden State or Phoenix.
-Ed S., the NDBL is there if needed. If the young guys aren't going to get some burn, let them get some regular minutes at the NDBL.
Billy K. didn't like to use the NDBL, which was
just another of his mistakes. If J Smith keeps missing jumpers, let him straighten it out there. And let Carney get some burn there.
-Dre Miller, Willie, Kyle, and Sweet Lou: Please, please start playing defense. Even Andre I. needs to pick up the D.

Thanks a bunch for the blog, it's great getting to see all the support the Sixers have even in a rebuilding year. Something I have started to enjoy seeing is later on in games when Miller plays the point and they put Sweet Lou in at the 2 guard. I know they are trying to groom him to be the next point guard but it really seems like they seem to play their best with that formation out there.

Happy Holidays everyone.

Also bringing back the Classic uniforms is the best thing this team could do right now! Everyone seems to like the throwback ones much better than any of the newer versions. It's gotta be our missions!!!

Merry Christmas to yo too!

Iggy's cap hold at $8.4M should be what his annual salary is for the next five years. Stefanski is going to have to make a firm and hard decision with Iggy. He wants superstar money and he is a third-option on a good team type of player. He is doing the right thing in letting the market set the value for Iggy and Lou Will.

With the cap holds for Iggy and Lou Williams, it is disappointing to know that the 76ers would only have $6M available. It seems like BK has just been pulling the strings of the fans for years. He and Snider have gotten what they deserve at the box office, and that will continue until this product on the floor is different.

Even if they traded Miller for an expiring contract at the deadline, I don't think $15M is going to be enough to be a player in free agency. I think they would need at least $20M to go after a Brand, Josh Smith or J. O'Neal. They might go more for Miller next year when his $9.9M contract is expiring than what they can get this year. I still hope Ed pulls the trigger on something substantial by the deadline.

It's looking more like they're going to have to try and fill that 4 spot through a trade rather than free agency next summer. BK and LB really put this franchise in a deep hole. Ed, are hopes and prayers are with you for this turnaround.

In no way do I want the Sixers to even consider going after Jermaine O'Neal,Antawn Jamison,and Gilbert Arenas,because they're injury prone.And if Iguodala wants to get bitchy about not getting what he perceives as a fair offer,then the GM should explore the possibility of a sign and trade.

Marc,

I am unclear about the cap. Couldn't the Sixers sign a free agent next year for $20M, and then re-sign their restricted free agents and go over the cap? I thought that was the point of not signing Iggy now, in terms of maximum flexibility next off-season. Is this correct?

Merry Christmas to all.

Dear Santa,

Please deposit a 15 and 10 power forward under Ed Stefanski's Christmas tree.

Stat.

Happy Holidays to Marc and everyone in the Sixers blogosphere. Deep Sixer is huge for me because I live very far away from Philly.

This blog is great nice to know there are other people following the team. Happy Holidays to all.

Marc,

Do you think the Knicks and the Sixers would consider some form of an A. Miller for E. Curry trade?

Also, just wanted to say, I've bashed Billy King on your blog as much as anyone. He messed up the team trying to find people to play with Iverson, and waited WAY too long before trading him. That said, I think his moves since and including the trade have been right. Thaddeus Young is going to be excellent. Stefanski was the right hire, but I just wanted to give Billy some kudos.

Marc,

Can you stop putting pressure on the sixers to win! That is why Carney, Smith , and Korver can't shoot, to much pressure. Every game is not a must win game. A win is nice! So just relax, take a deep breath and just makes some shots, sixers,. Breath players, just breath!

In Marc's article today about Carney, Mo praises Carney for playing tough D on Kobe.
Not sure why they didn't have their overdue "long talk" sooner. Is Mo subtly admitting the other Sixers' guards aren't playing D...because they aren't. If Carney has the physical tools to be a nice defender, the coaching staff has to "coach him up" in the other aspects of his game. This team needs at least one player who can defend on the perimeter.

And everyone is yammering about a 4 who can score. We DO NOT NEED anyone who has a long-term, bloated contract. That's how Billy K. got us in this mess. Reggie Evans has a bunch of years left on his contract. I'd rather play it out with what we have, giving Herb Hill, Shav and Lou A., minutes at the 4. Then re-evaluate at the season's end. With the contracts coming off the books this year, and then Miller's coming off next year, I'd rather wait until after the 08-09 season to sign a top notch 4 to a big contract. If the team signs a 4 with a big contract before then, all roster flexiblity is lost for the next few years.

And maybe, just maybe, Andre I. doesn't need to be resigned. If Thad can start at the 3 next year with Korver behind him, and move Sweet Lou to the 2 with Willie behind him, with Carney backing up both the 2 and 3, then you get big cap room without Iggy's re-upping, or then you can use Iggy for a sign & trade, like for a Josh Smith, a Chris Wilcox, a Nick Collison, a Jeff Foster, etc. If you move Sweet Lou to 2 guard, you have to keep Miller through the end of his contract, and hopefully draft a point, but you still get cap flexibility and a potential nice sign and trade. Yep, you'd have to find a tall point who can defend a 2, like Jarvaris Crittendon on the Lakers.

"Some Tough Love for Sixers's Carney"

That was a great piece, Marc. It's made me change my opinion of both Mo (positive) and Carney (negative).

Although I think starting Carney would've been the best thing to do, to both develop him and learn more about his strengths and weaknesses, if I was coaching the team and Carney was exuding an air about him like he was better than Willie Green, and expecting to start or be 6th man, then I would've done what Mo did, cut his minutes to zero. I don't think Marc set out to make Carney seem a bit pompous or cocky in this regard, but for me, that's how it came out. I'd rather have Willie and his negatives, but knowing his place on the team, than Carney and whatever positives he has over Willie, but he thinks he can get significant minutes without playing hard all the time, or working hard on his game.

Anyway, this is my interpretation of the article. Again, great piece, great insight into the Carney situation. Maybe this is what's going on with Korver, maybe he has a better attitude than Carney so he gets more time. Maybe we'd be worse off with Carney on the floor, despite being more talented, because his "me-first" attitude would be so disruptive out there.

Last thing - like poster Eddie, I also want to give props to BK for his Young and Smith drafting. He did much, much more harm than good, but the good should be acknowledged. Having said that, why didn't the Philly media acknowledge the bad more often, and more loudly?

In between hanging out with relatives today, I had some spare time to mess around with the Espn Trade Machine. So... Andre Miller for Eddie Curry.

It works under the cap, Curry's only 25, he gives us 19 ppg of low post scoring and no defense, but we already don't have any defense, so screw it. The Knicks need a real point guard and they're desparate to break up Randolph and Curry. Plus, Isiah Thomas is an idiot. And we can still keep Evans, which will give us rebounding off the bench. And we even can throw Amundson or Shavlik into the trade and it still works, for cap purposes.

Whaddya think? And happy holidays!

Everyone STOP with the Eddy Curry talk. Are you serious? He's 6'11", 285 lbs. and averages 5.2 RPG in just under 30 minutes. He shoots 57% from the line. He's getting benched for David Lee starting with the Orlando game tomorrow. How do you get benched by the Knicks of all teams for a 6'9" unathletic white guy? He's also locked up for 3 more years at $9M per season - in short, YOU COULDN'T MAKE A WORSE TRADE FOR ANDRE MILLER!!

Oh, unless we're speaking about the ridiculously bad Drew Gordon, Ira Newble, and Cedric Simmons Cleveland deal. If you're going to trade Miller, get J-Williams' expiring contract. Then, you have $15M before the $3.5M Kevin Ollie cut, which leaves a total of $18.5M in free agent funds. Elton Brand. Draft, Gordon or Mayo. Trade for Lowry. Why is this so hard?

No Elton Brand. No Elton Brand. No Elton Brand. Altogether now...No Elton Brand. Unless you can get him cheap. The talent before the injury is there. Don't know about now. Kobe, Dwight Howard, and LeBron the only guys I might THINK about paying $16m+. Certainly not a guy coming off a ruptured achilles injury who will not play this season until March. Maybe, even beyond that.

And why are we trading for Kyle Lowry? He's a nice little player, but he's a role player. He's losing minutes to Juan Carlos Navarro (who?), and Damon friggin' Stoudamire, for goodness sake. Who would you trade for Lowry?

All I want for X Mas is for the Sixers to bring back the classic look full-time and trade Willie Green for a second round draft pick.

Lowry is expendable due to a #s game. Memphis has Stoudamire for 2 more years, drafted Mike Conley #4, and have Navarro. Lowry is a pass-first, shoot-second PG, who is a bulldog on D. That is exactly what this team needs if it is to depend on the 2, 3, 4 position for the majority of its points in the future. Sixers could have gotten Lowry for Carney (off his great summer league) straight up before the season. Now, they probably have to go Carney and a 2nd rounder (I'd even go a future 1st rounder - 2010 or later and lottery protected).

In terms of Elton Brand, why wouldn't you take a shot with this guy, assuming the doctors say all is good with the achilles. A) He's a leader; B) He's a proven ALL-STAR commodity that's averaged OVER 20 and 10 for an eight year career; C) Yes, he's coming off an injury; however, while you never want a guy to incur a season-ending injury, a year off might not be bad for a big guy, especially with 8 full years under his belt. Remember, Dominique Wilkins ruptured his Achilles in '91-92 season and won comeback player of the year the following season with a 26 ppg avg. Precedence for a full recovery is there for Brand. If you can lock him up for 5 yrs and $75M, it's a STEAL and is the veteran-leader piece needed to bond together a team that includes Iguodala, Young, LouWill, Dalembert, Gordon / Mayo, Lowry, and Reggie Evans. Now, that's an 8-man rotation that can contend for years...

Eddy Curry sucks.

David Lee is not "unathletic". "White" and "unathletic" are not synonyms.

Billy King drafted well almost every year. His draft record compares favorably with any GM out there.

Anyone who has been to a Clippers game will tell you that Eddie Curry is the hear and soul of the Clippers and the management will not trade him.. and he will not walk, run or fly to Philadelphia any time soon.

Want Sweet Lou to start at 2 guard? Jarret Jack could play point while defending opposing 2 guards.

Dean, I know you know your stuff. I can envision you and I having friendly debates on basketball all day long, but I have to disagree. I don't think he would be a steal at $15m/yr. Possibly a good investment, but ot a steal. He's very good, though. I'll back track a little and take a wait and see approach to Brand.

And I wouldn't even think about including a 1st round pick for Lowry. That would be a very bad move. I understand you like him. I do too, but he's not good enough, right now, to give up a 1st...in any draft. Much less add in your first round pick from last year.

Amen, Dean. Amen! Ed Curry is a horrible player. He doesn't rebound, he doesn't defend and he doesn't block shots. I wouldn't trade Shav Randolph for him!

Amen, Dean. Amen! Eddie Curry is a horrible player. He doesn't rebound, he doesn't defend and he doesn't block shots. I wouldn't trade Shav Randolph for him!

A few opinions & questions:

1) Rodney Carney is not an NBA player. He's athletic enough but has a low basketball IQ and is not a good offensive player, either as a shooter or on his drives to the basket. Bad draft pick.

2)Is there anything to be gained by trading A. Miller for expiring contract(s)? Will the value of these contracts plus the $6 million cap space get you a star player in free agency next summer?

3)Ed Stefanski mentioned Korver, Green and Dalembert as players on the team who have trade value based on his conversations with other teams. I'd trade Green in a minute; he's turned into a ball hog and takes some ill advised shots. Dalembert drives me nuts but is a shot blocking center so he is not leaving. Korver's shooting is way off this year but he's one of the few shooters on the team; I'd trade him for a starting PF only.

4) Eddy Curry? Be serious. Stefanski will be sitting in the stands with Billy King if he trades for that loser.

A few opinions & questions:

1) Rodney Carney is not an NBA player. He's athletic enough but has a low basketball IQ and is not a good offensive player, either as a shooter or on his drives to the basket. Bad draft pick.

2)Is there anything to be gained by trading A. Miller for expiring contract(s)? Will the value of these contracts plus the $6 million cap space get you a star player in free agency next summer?

3)Ed Stefanski mentioned Korver, Green and Dalembert as players on the team who have trade value based on his conversations with other teams. I'd trade Green in a minute; he's turned into a ball hog and takes some ill advised shots. Dalembert drives me nuts but is a shot blocking center so he is not leaving. Korver's shooting is way off this year but he's one of the few shooters on the team; I'd trade him for a starting PF only.

4) Eddy Curry? Be serious. Stefanski will be sitting in the stands with Billy King if he trades for that loser.

I foresee the Sixers thinking that Lou is your PG of the future after they trade Miller. In my opinion, that would be a bigtime mistake - why? You're actually taking away Lou's best attribute: scoring. By making him a PG, Lou must think pass first, score second. And, while his D may develop, Lou is not a good on the ball defender. The last 5 years, we've had terrible on the ball PG defenders since Eric Snow left: A.I. and Miller are two of the worst in the league. Once the PG gets beat off the dribble, the entire D breaks down and leaves wide-open jumpers for the opposition. Getting a pass-first / defensive-minded PG immediately upgrades your defense and solidifies the distribution aspect of your offense (which Miller has done extremely well over the last 20 games, for the record).

That brings us to Kyle Lowry. Two of his best attributes are his running of the offense and his defensive skills. Am I willing to give up essentially two mid-range first round picks for him? Absolutely. Rodney Carney is Kenny Payne re-incarnated. Carney is a mistake for this team, but he could actually have some value for a run-and-gun-type team like a Memphis. So, assuming he doesn't fit in the team's future plans, are you willing to cut bait with him and another mid-range 1st rounder for your PG of the future (if you believe that Lowry is that guy, which clearly I do)? Yes, I am; that said, I'd try to get Lowry with Carney and a 2nd rounder to start, but would go up to Carney and a lottery-protected first rounder (after 2010) as the top bargaining price.

Props to the BLOG NATION...

Eddie Curry BAD IDEA his only redeeming atribute is low post scoring ability

Yes Carney for K-Low even up if you twist my arm I'll give up a 2nd rounder NOTHING MORE

Elton Brand I love his game...BUT not at 16+ mill..I'll pass on that.

J Smith needs to stay after practice to work on that supposedly "GOOD SHOT" of his..please hit a jumper every now and then PLEASE
Still i like the youngester a lot and hope he just needs to adjust to the NBA grind

LOU WILLIAMS IS NOT THE ANSWER AT PG!!!!
He may one day be AI LITE..BUT he is not a true PG and NEVER WILL BE. he is a nice combo guard good bench player and there is NOTHING WRONG with that...Please don't try to make him something he is not ro spend BIG BUCKS on LOU!

This is looking a bit far ahead, but I was watching the Blazers-Sonics game (can we trade Mo Cheeks for Nate McMillan?), and during the 4th Q, one of the announcers said something like, "Look at their schedule - they play Minnesota and the Sixers next, so that's a 13-game winning streak right there..." I stopped listening after that, that kind of noise hurts my ears. What a diss. And what a dope. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. We can take the Blazers. Andre Miller's gonna run wild on them young 'uns. They better not even try to take it inside against Sam I Am (gonna block your feeble-a$$ shot). Portland think they got length? Thaddeus got your length right here, come and get it. Philly's gonna show you how we "D" it up back East (some fine print: "D" not available in Toronto, Washington, and other select areas).

It's a good matchup for the Sixers (who'll be looking to rebound after probably losing to Sacramento). I hope Portland does beat Minnesota so they can put that streak up against us. I hope the league keeps underestimating us, we can sneak up on people who think we're an automatic "W", like Memphis did.

To Sixerzguy:Slow down on the lunchtime coffee break.I would love to see the Sixers win just like the next guy but don't fool yourself,they are a lottery team,and will get exposed as such.Switching the subject,after watching the Lakers beat the Suns yesterday,I was thinking, would'nt it be exciting for the NBA if the Lakers and Celtics made it to the NBA finals instead of the usual boring matchup of the Spurs vs Pistons.If that dream matchup of the Lakers vs Celtics does pan out,then you can bet your bottom dollar David Stern will light up a Cuban Cigar,and pop a bottle of Champagne,knowing the NBA will pull off a ratings coup,with that matchup.

Lakers are a year away, but wouldn't they look nice with Andre Miller at the PG? They could send us that stiff Kwame Brown and one of their two young PGs (either Farmar or Crittendon) in return for Andre Miller. Problem is, Lakers have DFischer signed for 3 more yrs at $4.5 per season.

Nah, it looks like Andre Miller will either be going to the Heat for JWilliams and a 2nd rd pick or back to Denver with Rodney Carney for JR Smith (free agent after season), Eduardo Najera (free agent after season), and one of their expiring, smaller contracts like Anthony Carter, Bobby Jones, or you may even have to take Steven Hunter back (who would be a good backup to Sam and would allow you to cut Calvin Booth - THANK GOD). I actually like this deal better than the Miami deal because JR Smith has some potential at the 2-spot in the future. He's only 22 yrs old, can shoot the 3, and can jump out of the building. Plus, he'll be a restricted free-agent, which will give the Sixers club option on a re-sign.

Denver needs a PG (making a play for J-Kidd also) because they feel they can make a run for the next 2-3 seasons. They like Miller and would definitely take Carney, seeing him as a complimentary SF-type in their run and gun style.

To Dean:Do you have a link to back up your claim of a potential trade with Denver?Don't get my hopes up because I would like nothing better than to see Carney outta here.

I have zero basis for the Carney portion of the trade. However, I threw it out there in case Denver wants more in return. Quite frankly, I'd like to keep Carney and package him with a pick for Lowry in Memphis. But, if including Carney with Miller nets you $9 M off the cap AND JR Smith, I'd probably go ahead and do it. You could always throw Memphis a lottery-protected #1 selection with a 2nd rounder down the road for Lowry.

There is substantial basis for the Miller portion of the trade via both reports and knowlegde of this particular situation. J-Kidd and A-Miller are the two premier, healthy PGs on the market (Mike Bibby has been hurt the entire season), and Denver is sorely lacking a playmaker. If you're them, you'd clearly rather have Kidd, but at what price?? The Andre Miller deal upgrades the PG need significantly and costs them far less than a Marcus Camby and others for Jason Kidd deal.

For the record, Kyle Lowry is a backup point guard...nothing more. Anyone that would trade a first round pick (I don't care if its 2010) is crazy or went to Villanova.

Kyle Lowry is 6 feet tall, not very strong, and not quick enough to guard Chris Paul or TJ Ford or any of the other legitmate starting point guards.

He's shooting less than 40% from the field and a terrible 24% from the 3 and averages 3.6 assists and 2 turnovers in 26 mins a night.

Am I missing something? For all the people that say Lou Williams isn't a true point guard -Lou averages more assists and points in fewer minutes and his assist to turnover ratio is .5 higher than Lowry's.

I would love to see Lou Williams play more consistent defense but I think he's a much better long term prospect than Kyle Lowry and there is no version where this team can afford to have two 6' guards getting serious minutes.

Why do "SOME" fans/bloggers , like Oliver, (the shoe fits my friend) regularly associate/think white players are so un-athletic? I would take David Lee in a heartbeat because he rebounds, defends and can score down low, agreed mainly off putbacks (80% free throw shooter, 53% from field w/7.6 rebounds and 10.1 pts/game in 25 min./game). Not too shabby for an unathletic guy, huh. Isaih should have more unathletic, hustling giys like Lee.

Let's stop the steroetyping of white/black. This same issue causes angst amongst blacks and rightfully, so. Blacks get very frustrated and outraged when comments/discussions made by whites about blacks in our nation involve racial sterotyping. We can all fall prey to it. We have to fight it. There is no place for it in our society, whatsoever. It just should not be tolerated and not accepted by any of us! I am a 52 yr.old soon to be 53, white male and I had hoped that as individuals and as a member of a great nation that we could be further along in regards to race harmony. It all begins with each of us! We can all be better human beings, fathers, mothers, neighbors and raise better children if we can remove the hatred, change the streotypes, delete the negative comments/slurs. But it will take hard work & every one to make a concerted effort to bring it to fruition. Will everyone buy-in, no I am not that naive but so what, the rest of us can still live our respective lives the right way and be positive role models in our communities for our children. Sounds like a heavy burden for us doesn't it? Living your life the right way (tolerant, compassionate, giving, caring, law-abiding) was never made out to be the easy way out. As parents we have to act/behave/model the behaviours we want out of our children. I never thought I would state these feelings in a blog on Marc's blog site but it just all came out and I felt it was necessary to do so.

We still have far too much racial issues, violence, etc., Philly has become a very dangerous city to live in and travel to for business, entertainment, etc.,

Happy holidays (a belated Merry Christamas is in order) to everyone who reads Marc's column. Marc, thank you for Deep Sixer and the blog site. It gives us a way to vent our frustration and share our thoughts. God bless.

Let's keep it simple as we blog. We all want the same thing a winning 76ers basketball team that hustles and defends. As we move forward let's define basketball players one way with out a racial twist or here's an alternate option for Oliver and anyone else white, black, pink, yellow or any other color out there who feels the need to get racial when your fingers are pecking away. Don't waste our time.

By the way, I think our new GM will wait until he sees what the team is lacking. No need to rush to judgement here. I prefer he take his time to analyze the roster properly and then make the necessary deals to get us back to team oriented competitive basketball. He has proven to be pretty knowledgeable and shrewd in his previous jobs so let's give the GM a chance to absorb, analyze and implement his Sixers turnaround strategy.

No one is untoucable for sure! Miller, Iggy, Korver, Carney, Green, or even Sam D. With our current roster no one can be an untouchable and I agree w/others who caution not to overpay for Iggy. We have not done well trading to get better and have overpaid contracts at an alarming rate. Billy King made his share of mistakes over a long period of time so we all need to be patient and give the new GM some time to figure out how to get back to respectability then become a regular playoff team then Atlantic Div. Champs and a trip to the NBA Finals and w/some luck win it.

It takes a team to do all of that

To upstate Sixers guy:Let's keep our comments related to Basketball.