Deep Sixer

I wonder if King is interested in joining my Yahoo! fantasy bball league -- we need a manager that will run his team into the ground.

King stole fricken money.

FINALLY.

Finally there is reason for hope with the Sixers franchise!! I have been a long suffering Sixers fan currently living in Michigan. It's embarrassing to watch the Sixers sink lower and lower, year after year , while my friends are enjoying competitive basketball played by the Pistons. Fans have been clammering for a change in Mgt for a while now. And declining attendance reflects a lack of interest in a substandard product. That whole "Rebuilding" story only lasts for a couple of seasons. Empty seats are a testament to fans who see no reason to watch a losing franchise year after year. Finally Snider got the point..
It's hard not to kick a man when he's down, as you said, but Billy King's firing has been long over due. King may be a hard worker and a nice guy ,but the name of the game is results. He's been horrendous in just about every aspect of team management. Draft picks have been suspect, handling of trades has been less than acceptable and the Sixers are dead last in developing international players. That is unacceptable in today's market. Billy had his chance, but he was just not well equipped to do the job. A great basketball town like Philly deserves better. Ed Snider should take a lot of the blame for the mess he stubbornly created. Fans have long felt alienated from him as an owner and the team has become a joke.
Stefanski has a big job in front of him. But with our upcoming cap relief and obvious 1st round pick, we can be back on the road of respectabilty and success.

Hopefully the basketball gods will be smiling on the Sixers for a change.
Looking forward to the 2008 season...

I'm shocked! What was the basis for this decision? Players win games, not GM's. Yes, King made some bad decisions and other decisions didn't pan out with hindsight being 20/20. My point is what was the expectation this year? Every analyst associated with the team predicted the Sixers would be exactly where they are now. King didn't bring in more talent because he was hamstrung by the luxury tax, and what' the point anyway? This team made its biggest leap when it stunk enough to draft Allen Iverson. I thought this was all by design. Granted, some of the losses have been bad, but the team has picked up a few nice wins this year and stayed in a lot of games.

I do think King needed to do a better job even in the post AI era, and I guess it's a good thing to bring in another proven GM, but moving him out as a big change or the jumpstart is a real surprise. I wonder what's next. Now Mo Cheeks will spend the rest of the season in the crosshairs, if he lasts long. Who is next, Julius Erving?

jamesmoref-

It sounds like you’re assuming that Billy King was suddenly going to start making good decisions. He wasn’t going to. And about players winning games, not GMs – who put in the players we have in place now? First the Sixers get talented, smart people making decisions. Then those people bring in the good players. Then we win games.

Great move, well overdue. The Sixers are already a better team for it. Billy's biggest mistake was wasting our time a couple years ago trying to build around AI when we should have moved on at that time. This move should make for an exciting offseason.

My first suggestion is that Stefanski trades Samuel Dalembert to any team that can give us five of those 'new' basketballs from the 2006 season that were removed from all NBA games. Just dump him!!!

I think it is a bit odd to fire the GM mid season when you know the team is going no where ... but I guess it is better than letting BK make some more silly moves ...
I wonder if Jerry West was contacted as a possible replacement?

To the previous post that asked "What was the basis for this decision?"

Kenny Thomas, $48 M, 6 yrs (2002)
Sam Dalembert, $60 M, 5 yrs (2005)
Eric Snow, $26 M, 4 yrs (2003)
Brian Skinner, $20 M, 4 yrs (2004)
Steven Hunter, $20 M, 4 yrs (2005)
Aaron McKie, $35.5 M, 6 yrs (2002)
Greg Buckner, $18 M, 4 yrs (2003)
Dikembe Mutombo, $68 M, 4 yrs (2002)
Lee Nailon, $4 M / yr who was eventaully released for his 2nd spousal battery charge

You seriously just didn't ask that did you? Applause to Ed Snider and Peter Luko who FINALLY pulled the trigger on this one.

Can't argue the move. King had enough time to put this team back on the right road and he (along with Larry Brown) wasted the prime of one of the greatest players (Iverson) to step into a Sixer uni.

(Whether you can build around a 6 foot shooting guard is a debate for another day)

From the description of the new guy he seems like an excellent choice with a solid track record.

The only curious part about the whole thing is why would you give King less than a quarter of the season? If you make this move you SHOULD make it back in May.

Then again...I'm sure the complete lack of interest in the team had a lot to do with it.

RE: Basis for move

Are you serious?

Now for the other people that haven't been asleep for the last 5 years or so... This is a great move. And the fact that it was done now, shows that even with the high draft pick and cap room coming, snider realizes that rebuilding isn't only happening in the off-season. Expect some trades before the deadline. Especially with the emergence of Lou Williams, it is becoming more likely that andre miller will be moved to a playoff contender, or a team on the fence of the playoffs. I am no expert, but from now until the start of next season will be very interesting. Good luck Mr. Stefanski. Like all newcomers to our teams, we welcome you. We will give you slack for a couple years because we know how much king messed stuff up, but please give us a team to contend.

This was a PR move due to declining attendance (not that it will help much). Firing him now makes little sense, he should have been let go at the end of last season and let the new guy draft, craft and figure out his own plan.
No kudos for Snider, this was long overdue and why he didn't see what every fan did is amazing. Hope Eddie Stefanski next dumps Larry Brown and gives this franchise the enema it truly needs.

Dean -- you forgot about Korver's ridiculous contract. He's fricken stealing money too.

I'm just relieved King is out of here before he offers Louie Williams a $35M deal.

Great move. Should have been done two years ago. Where's Larry Brown?

It's an unbelievably good move and one I certainly wasn't expecting. Good bye, BK... I wish I could say thanks for the memories.

Good things are on the horizon, folks. Good things.

I think it's ridiculous that Snider signed off on this rebuilding, then gave King 20 games and dumped him. I'm glad it's finally done, as King wore out his welcome years ago, but to not get rid of him in the offseason was just stupid. Was it a shock that attendance would be horrible this year? Did he expect that the team would be anywhere else but the basement of the Eastern conference.

Knowing nothing about this new guy, it looks like he has a pretty solid track record. I hope that the Sixers can identify a core of a couple young guys they want to build around - let's see if Carney, Lou, Thad and Smith can handle playing 20+ minutes a night. Hopefully a high first round pick and a reasonable free agent signing will get the Sixers right back in the mix for the playoffs next year.

The future is a lot brighter this morning!

Matt,

You echo my sentiments exactly. The timing of this move is the question not the reasoning behind it. It also comes in the face of preseason comments stated by Snider supporting Billy King. I was more curious about why now versus last season. They should've fired Iverson and Billy King together because things were pretty rock bottom then, too. Maybe it's apparent that last summer's moves (Young/Evans) were as fruitless as all the others.

I wonder about Tony Dilleo, who I do trust as a sensible guy who has judged some talent effectively. Of course the problem was that King went on to overpay that talent. Maybe thats the issue: the guys King has touted as his franchise pieces Green, Korver, and Dalembert aren't able to produce consistently. Another question: will Stefanski make a bold move and, say, it's time to admit Iguodala isn't worth the money they're going to have to pay him? Or trade inconsistent D (Dalembert/Evans) for better offensive players? Inquiring minds want to know.

Im excited. They're almost at the quarter-of-the-season mark, and one has to think the brass is getting as tired of watching the same old guys loose every night as i am. Hopefully this means things are going to get shaken up a bit.

I can handle watching them loose if it's because there's a bunch of young guys out there learning to swim, but for the most part that hasnt been the case. I'm not a blow the whole thing up and start over guy, but you have to think there's been some trade showcasing going on. Cant think of any reason why its the same old guys playing and the same young guys sitting every night. I just don't believe young and carney are so bad that they cant even get a minute most nights. Young has actually played pretty well when he gets a chance. And is that guy amundson still on the team? How about Shav...maybe he's still hurting, but havent heard a peep out of him either...

That said, Im hoping this new guy doesnt get too aggressive and do drastic things in a thin free agent market, or just trade guys willie-nilly. But im looking forward to some well considered moves...

Don't forget, we're still paying for Aaron McKie. He comes off the rolls at the end of this season.

The answer to why the Sixers made this move is in last night's game. Atlanta won for the first time in three years in our house. They've drafted fairly well, signed productive veterans, and have shown improvement over the last few seasons.

Or, the exact opposite of the Sixers.

I told my wife last night that playing the Hawks would be a good metric. Maybe Snider was thinking the same thing? Who knows. All we need to know is King had a long time at the helm, and his answer to last season was standing pat while the rest of the division improved. King gave us nothing to look forward to this season, and ticket revenues are probably reflecting that.

Nice move, now maybe they can fire Bob Salmi!

This is a great move. You mentioned the gamble that Stefanski made selecting Sean Williams, who looked great against us blocking shots and not goaltending (Sam Dalembert, take note). At the same time, when he made that pick, the next big on the board who ended up going 20th was actually Jason Smith. Stefanski passed on Smith when he took Williams. I just find that interesting.

While he may be better in evaluating talent, it's the confidence he inspires that will make the most difference. Billy King was passive, while Stefanski will be aggressive. It's about time Billy King's "change the culture" mandate gets applied to himself. Goodbye and good riddance!

How do we know if Stepanksi is any good. Rod Thorn calls the shots in Jersey, the last time i check they roster talent has got worse. So lets not all get excited about a guy most of you don't even know about. We so call educated Philly fans always show ignorance. Look at last week AJ Feeley the next coming of Joe Montana sprouted many many fans, look 7int's in two games while Donovan had 6 in 10.So please no excitement over this move yet.

I'm not seeing anywhere what the sixers gave up in order to get a guy who was already under contract to make a lateral move? Why would the Nets alow their GM to go to a division rival??

I'm a little surprised at the negativity towards Larry Brown; he didn't "waste" A.I.'s best years - he's the only one who got him to the finals; before Brown got there Sixers were in a real bad way; where he goes now who knows but I think Sixers fans owe Brown some gratitude for rebuilding the franchise years ago - neither A.I. or the Sixers have done so hot without him - we'll see how far A.I. gets this years - and he's got Carmelo with him, that ain't bad -

I have seen a few posts that mention the attendance.

My question to you guys is this: How bad is it? Last night, it was listed at about 11K. Was that rounded up? Did it seem a bit high?

How empty are the stands?

Thanks!

Andy Rubin
Univ of Pennsylvania
Class of 2010

OF COURSE we can kick Billy while he's down, he's been kicking us for years with a terrible product!!! Let's hear what you really think of him, Marc!

Joe,

Rod Thorn groomed Stefanski (not Stepanksi) to replace him. Our new GM had a major role for the Nets. Don't assume Sixers fans are clueless about other franchises.

And for the record, I was in favor of starting Feeley last week instead of rushing Donovan back, but with the express notion that when Donovan is ready, he would be the starter. I agree with you about the Feeley hype. He played out of his mind against the Pats and still threw a few picks. To hear Eagles fans talk, you'd think Feeley was the second coming of Tom Brady himself. He is what he is, and with Donovan, that phrase holds more weight because it's no longer Donovan that wins the games - it's Westbrook. Donovan's job is not to lose the game, as evidenced by his low interception ratios.

Like I said, look at a simple comparison of which big man the Nets took in the draft by passing over Smith. They resigned Carter while we left Iguodala without an extension.

The whole time King was GM, he was reluctant to make changes and only traded Iverson when The Answer called his bluff. Stefanski will be much more aggressive and active. We won't have to swallow the ol' "we're doing the best we can" shtick from Billy.

The Nets roster actually didn't get worse, by the way. It just got a little older and they had injuries to major players every year, yet still made the playoffs. We had to have all our guns healthy just so Mo Cheeks could mismanage their way into a snowball's chance in hell in the lottery.

Why didn't they fire him at the end of last season so the new GM could run the draft? This team will still stink for the remainder of the season. Good. Maybe we will finally get a top three pick in the next draft.

The NBA success formula is a a quick point guard who can defend and penetrate,at least three perimeter players that can shoot the 3, a low post presense, and a defense that can defend the other teams perimeter players

It is also worth mentioning that the King passed up Al Horford in the draft to pick Thaddeus Young. Horford is already one of the league's best rebounders and defensive forwards while Young lacks even the most elemental basketball skills. Also, who can forget the Glenn Robinson, Lee Nailon, and Chris Webber debacles? One went to jail, another was pretty much thrown out of the league, and the fourth was hobbling around when King got him and is still hobbling around looking for a job. King has had more than enough time to improve this team and all he's done is run it into the ground. As for A.J. Feeley versus Donovan McNabb---they both stink. The Eagles need a complete enema, and that includes Fatso Andy Reid. We've been waltzing in the dark with Reid and McNabb now for nine seasons. Just like the Sixers are finally doing, it's time the Eagles bring in some fresh blood.

Billy King DID NOT pass up on AL Horford. Horford was taken at #3 and Young was taken at #12. Sixers had the 12th pick not the 3rd.

Here's another simple comparison for you. In the 2001 draft, Stefanski (director of scouting under Thorn) helped engineer the trade of the 7th pick (Seton Hall and Roman Catholic's Eddie Griffin) to the Rockets in exchange for the 13th pick (Richard Jefferson), 19th pick (Jason Collins), and 24th pick (Brandon Armstrong). Gee, wasn't Billy King trying to do the opposite with the 12th, 21st and 30th picks this year? Difference is that Stefanski gets what he wants accomplished, where Billy is left consoling himself that he did the best he could. In the end, the best wasn't good enough...

Seriously folks, how many ways can we cuts this to show that this is a great move? Y'all need to click on my name here and recognize!

He should had fire both King and Cheeks at the same time! Maybe Cheeks is coming latter on this week!

All I can say is........THANK GOD!!!!!!!!
Now, if Stefanski introduces Larry Brown as the new coach tomorrow I'll be REALLY happy.

jon @ MVN, I don't think the Sean Williams/Jason Smith scenario is a good one. While I'm glad Billy's out, who's to say that he wouldn't have made the same decision if we were picking 17 and had both on the board? As I understand, they gave both a good look. Sean Williams was gone by the time the Sixers picked.

I just looked at the box score for the Atlanta game for the first time. Lou Williams: 1-8; Kyle Korver: 4-12 (and 0-3 from three point range); Andre Iguodala: 4-14.

Good lord. We don't have a single consistent player on our team. Except for Reggie "eight rebounds and four points" Evans.

I am, of course, so glad to see King finally get the boot. But I don't have the heart to blame Mo Cheeks for this mess.

And the one good move that Billy King made? Not resigning Iguodala for $70 million. I like Iggy as a player, but he's a third option, at best. He's the second coming of Clarence Weatherspoon. Let's just do a sign-and-trade and let him go, and rebuild the team from scratch. We couldn't be any worse than we are now.

...And while we're busy changing things, can we also ditch our current uniforms and go back to the Barkley-era Sixers uniforms? Seriously. I hate our current uniforms. They look like an off-brand T-shirt that you'd buy a Wal-Mart. Black for no reason, a star, and then a big swooshing basketball. Ugly! I guess the basketball is so in case Dalembert ever forgets what game he's playing, he can look down at his chest and be like, "...Oh. Basketball. Right."

Why would anyone want Larry Brown back he had final say in personal decisions when he was coach and built a team that he knew couldn't win anything, than left us high and dry for the team that had beaten us in the playoffs like 3 days after they beat us.

Larry brown is washed up and has no heart anymore he is a scum bag who went to NY just to get $.

The only reason he won a title is because Joe Dumars gave him the team and didn't listen to what Larry Brown wanted, if Billy King had wanted to bring in Rasheed Wallace Larry would have nixed it saying "he doesn't play the right way" Just having him involved in the franchise makes me nervous. Mo has not done anything but seriously look at the team no one could do anything with this roster.

I want Iggy outta here unless he signs for less than 10 mil a year and I want Josh Smith from the Hawks he torches us every year and is versitile, young and plays physical.

Best advice to the general manager don't listen to Larry Brown.

I did like BK. I was hoping he could turn this mess around, but a change needed to be made.

A couple of interesting points that Stefanski made on Eskin (I only listened because I knew the new GM would be on...I swear!).

1. He says his priority would be to get a scoring power forward. I was so glad to hear that. This, I think, is the major reason for the Sixers' struggles. NO INSIDE GAME. If they had this piece, things would be a lot different. Now, if we could somehow pry LaMarcus Aldridge away from Portland. Or make Jason Smith that guy. We're going to have cap room, but the free agent crop is going to be weak.
2. He suggested that he thought Iguodala could play at least some point. He says he thinks he's Richard Jefferson with a better handle. He did say he thought Jefferson was a better scorer. But that is an interesting point. One that I would be totally on board with if I was confident AI could take care of the ball.

Can't wait to see what his first move will be.

I must agree this team needed a change in the front office, but to get to the playoffs it has to change up the players. I like Iggy but he is not a leader. He is also not consistent enough for me along with Sam, Kyle, Willie and I could go on. I do like Andre Miller and Lois Williams though. This team appears to have no drive. God gave them talent to play basketball yet it seems they don't value it.

They could at least try and spark a fire and play every game their best. As for Maurice poor thing he was brought into a mess. He can't coach these players on this roster today to the playoffs. Heck Red couldn't come back and coach them to the playoffs. Larry Brown can't get the job done either. Frankly is there anybody who can lead this team to the playoffs or to a better season than last year.

Not to mention it just might be hard to trade some of these players. Come to think about it if they could get somebody to help their players improve their free throw shooting then they might when more games. Just add up the free throws they miss and think if they made half of them they would win some games.

and i heard Billy was just about to sign Derrick Coleman for a 6 yr $80 million deal. Would have really been a good signing.....I think Matt Geiger would come back too ....he's still on the payroll .... i love Billy King ....he made millions of dollars doing nothing ....his next job should be a union party boss. He's qualified !

instead of bashing BK for Sixers failures, we should bash Ed Snider! the timing of this firing demonstrates that ed snider does not have any plan or any idea of what he's doing. they hire mo cheeks out of nostalgia. they intend to fire BK but allow him to screw up one more draft. Thaddeus Young will be a good player in 5 years when he plays for another team....think Raja Bell.
Anyway, all of you folk who though Feeley was better than McNabb are clueless fools. McNabb is the best QB in Eagles franchise history...leading the eagles to 4 conference championships and 1 superbowl. He should play in Philly until he retires. Andy should stay too for the same reason! so what, we had a bad season...maybe next year.

I'm not surprised by this move. A change was needed so why wait? Sure, we'll have cap space after the season but who'd want to come play for the 76ers in their current state? You can hear crickets at The Wachovia and that should not be. I haven't passed judgement on Thaddeous Young and Jason Smith, but they DO have some talent. Andre I. is definitely not worth 70 mil at this stage in his career (if ever...good move not signing him, BK), Slammin' Sammy has "brain lock" at times, but if he can stay out of foul trouble, he can be effective, Andre Miller should probably be traded to a playoff/championship contender (even though he's very good) for a prospect or future draft picks. Could you imagine him on the Celtics? Kevin O., Shav,...it's been nice but it's time to let these guys go. Willie Green is not a starter and Lou Williams has talent....keep him. Rodney Carney?....who knows. He seems 'lost and out of control' sometimes. Mo Cheeks' time running the team are probably numbered. It's unfortunate, but BK supplied him with this collection of talent. I'm hoping for the best with Ed Stefanski.....I miss 10-9-8-76ers basketball!!!! (P.S. Could you bring back a slighty modified version of the Erving-Barkley era jerseys....lose that black!)

Some of y'all crack me up, so eager to rip King you cannot even get your facts straight or expressing opinions that have no basis. Bottom line, this is a Luukko move, he saw a chance to upgrade and bring in somebody considered widely around the league as a rising star.

"...And while we're busy changing things, can we also ditch our current uniforms and go back to the Barkley-era Sixers uniforms? Seriously. I hate our current uniforms"

Oliver, THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUU !!! The red unis look ok, whey don't we wear them always ? time to dump the lame black, that has NOTHING to do with the Sixers tradition

"Kenny Thomas, $48 M, 6 yrs (2002)
Sam Dalembert, $60 M, 5 yrs (2005)
Eric Snow, $26 M, 4 yrs (2003)
Brian Skinner, $20 M, 4 yrs (2004)
Steven Hunter, $20 M, 4 yrs (2005)
Aaron McKie, $35.5 M, 6 yrs (2002)
Greg Buckner, $18 M, 4 yrs (2003)
Dikembe Mutombo, $68 M, 4 yrs (2002)"

Dean, great stuff. And I'm pretty sure Brickner (LOL) was signed for 6 (SIX !!) years, same for Snow (he's expiring in 2009 for the Cavs I think), and Kenny Thomas got a 7 yrs deal, maybe with a team option or soemthing, so it's even worse than you said, imagine that.... We could add the 3 yrs extention he gave to Derrick Coleman when he was 36 y/o and completely washed up to complete the picture

Also what cracked me up it was the crazy run to win as many meaningless games as possible last year (= no playoffs, no high pick) only to try to trade up before the draft, and obviously, not getting the job done...

So Sixers didn't get the only thing they DESPERATELY needed in a very deep draft, a strong big man, and ended up drafting the 4th consecutive SF - after Korver, Iguodala & Carney - and only to make him sit at the end of the bench. And this in a rebuilding season with no shot at playoffs, when your rookie should play big minutes every night. Sense of that? I have no clue.

Reason for the (detrimental) wins of the second part of last season? "Create a winning culture". Goodbye Billy King...

Definitely a move that holds some promise.

Another positive is the fact that a contract with Andre Iguodala was not hammered out. With Mr. Kings propensity to overpay that could have happened again. Also with so many young guys on the roster a fresh approach to signing young talent alone will hopefully pay off for the organization.

Since this move has been made I can see a lot of positives. I think Mr. King was given an opportunity but really did not have enough previous experience to be but so successful.

One thing that can kill any organization is continued change at the top (5 coaches/7 years). I'm hoping that this is it for the next 2 years so that some consistency can be established. If Coach Cheeks can't get things going in the next 2 years we might need to make a change there too.

Great move now all we have to do is now is get rid of Maurice Cheeks, Willie Green, Samuel Dalembert, Larry Brown and Calvin Booth and let the real rebuilding began.

See ya Billy. I agree with Sean's statement that this was an opportunity for an upgrade in the front office. The Sixers have first rounders Young and Carney riding the bench and Willie Green and Kyle Korver playing regular non productive minutes. It's like Atlanta not playing Al Horford because they have Lorenzen Wright. Even if Young and Carney aren't better than them right now (which I think they are), they'd be more productive after 10 games with Korver and Green's minutes. Either King didn't have the heart to bench/trade them or didn't try. I'm looking forward to what moves can be made by a front office without emotional attachments to marginal players.

I hope this new GM can pull off a trade that sends Kyle Korver,Iguodala,and Kevin Ollie to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant.

Nice idea, Clint, but only a raving lunatic would pull the trigger on that one. We'd be exchanging two average players (if Iggy had a consistent jump shot, I might say otherwise) and an expiring contract for the best player in the league (also a complete and utter jacka$$, but the best player nonetheless).

Anybody who thinks this was an unwarranted or 'unearned' dismissal doesn't pay close attention to the sixers, so why are you reading this blog anyway.

The turning point for this franchise was in 2002...when the rat jumped ship...after the NBA changed the zone rules and made the 2001 finals team an impossibility to ever happen again.

Since I've advocated that King (and Iverson) should have moved on from Philadelphia since the rat jumped ship in 2002...I can only say, it's about time.

Don't expect Stefanski to work miracles folks, it ain't the knicks, but this franchise is a mess....stop pining your hopes on the 2008 free agent class...it ain't gonna be as good as you all hope and the sixers won't have enough room to offer a MAX contract so players will start looking for sign and trades, and while the sixers might be able to facilitate it, players will want to go other places than the rebuilding sixers...Stefanski needs to find his coach come up with a plan and he needs the true fans to have patience, cause it's a long uphill climb.

I'm encouraged by his public statements and that when he mentioned the 'core' players he didn't mention willie green...already showing that he's smarter than Billy King about basketball (then again, Isiah Thomas knows more basketball than Billy King).

All I can say is it's about time...now all we need is a new owner who cares about winning.

Giving is the right thing to do this season for sure. Holliday gift giving hardly matters this season with the amount of suffering going on and State cut backs. The Church of Friends has a mission for over a hundred years to tending to the needs of the poorest in society. Here's my chapter. http://ask-god.me/chapter/MontanaStateCharityFundUSA/churchoffriends.html

If only I had gone the online college route and got my degree as a web designer

OMg! I literally spent the entire day trying to find this information. I'm just really glad that I found your site.