Deep Sixer

Marc,

Just listened to the interview with Mo. I would love to know his take on Ed's priority, which is PF. Does he feel he has someone on the team that can turn into that guy or does he see it necessary to look elsewhere? And why does he not run plays throught Jason Smith on the block? Is he too weak, to inexperienced?...How are the other bigs coming along?

Marc, I agree with you that A. Miller is a valuable player to have on your team. My point is that even with him, this team will only win 30 to 35 games. If he is a chip that represents your best chance to become a consistent playoff team in the future, then I think it is a chip that you need to try and cash in to make that happen.

The good thing is that Miller is playing at such a high level that he should draw something pretty good in a trade. Stefanski is probably in a position to move another contract on the team along with Miller if he chooses to do something. And if he doesn't get a deal he likes, he can simply keep Miller and you'll have a starting veteran point guard who is in the last year of his $9.9M contract.

I believe Stefanski will make the decision that is in the best interest of this team becoming relevant again. I think he sees the big picture with this team, the Korver deal kind of showed that.

Just a thought for you guys. Even by keeping Miller, giving Lou Will and Iggy their pay day next year, unless our front court is significantly upgraded, this is still a bad, lottery-bound team. Stefanski sees that and will do what is necessary to correct it.

Marc, could you ask Mo why Hill and Shav still aren't playing? Are they not healthy enough, not looking good in practice, or just aren't good enough to get on the floor?

Watching Sam and Evans' clown show down low on offense is pretty tough to take game after game.

I want to see Miller here just like the next man,but if the new GM has a chance to make this team better by trading Andre Miller than I'm all for it.Now if he can sucker someone into taking Reggie Evans and Willie Green off our hands,then he gets my vote as GM of the year.

I have always thought Sixers should keep Andre M. unless someone makes Ed S. an offer he can't refuse. Miller will help the young players develop.
The player I'd like to see traded or on the bench is Reggie Evans. He's probably a nice person so no offense, but his game is bad!
Yes, he gets some rebounds and scraps around but he contributes so little else to be our starting PF.
When he gets an offensive rebound, he either gets it knocked out of his hands, goes up for a putback that he misses, or gets fouled. And we know abt his foul shooting.
Marc Zumoff likes to say a player "turns garbage into gold" -- well Evans turns garbage into garbage!
On offense, he scares me. he's a turnover waiting to happen.
On defense, he's arguing about a call to the ref while his man is running down court for a layup.
And add insult to injury! His time on the court takes away from developing Smith, Shav, and Herb.

Truth is right on the money. While Miller is a good player and makes others around him better, this team does not have enough of a supporting cast to make a serious run at a conference, let alone division, title.

Andre Miller is the Sixers' most tradeable asset in years (even moreso than AI) because of his high level of play AND his expiring contract next year. A team like Denver that already has all the pieces except a floor general fits perfectly.

If Miller stays, then why did the Sixers fire Billy King? What's the difference with the team, other than shipping Kyle away? In fact, I'll argue that trading Korver was a massive mistake if you keep Miller. It makes no sense - trade away Korver for an expiring contract, yet not have enough $$ to sign a top-flight free agent? What the hell is that?

Andre Miller must be traded. If he is not and walks after next season with zero compensation, then Mr. Stefanski has failed miserably as the GM here.

Enough about Andre Miller. Can someone tell my Rodney Carney is on this team? He has no clue, but for some reason the Sixers think different. He looks scared out there. They should have traded him instead of Korver.

"Unless somebody is going to send back a veteran point guard and a scoring power forward in a multi-player deal involving Miller, I’d keep him here."

Yes. In a nutshell.

I'm sure if Ed was approached with that blockbuster or something similar, he'd jump on it. And I'd cheer. I'm just not holding my breath for it to happen. You're never going to get value like that by shopping a player - you're going to have to hope somebody comes begging.

I think Dean is completely right here. If they don't trade Miller than why in gods name did they ever trade Korver? Trading Korver and keeping Miller would make almost no sense for our plan for the future.

Andre Miller should not be traded. He is good enough as a point to get a team deep into the playoffs. The Sixers need a point, and between him and Williams they should have that position sewn up.

Giricek's expiring contract can be combined with any number of players that Stefanski can asemble to get the player we need.

The team is closer to being competitive than many of you seem to think. They are still coming together and the players are continuing to develop and learn. The young players are improving and as they do the record will improve as well.

They are close to being a playoff team and the objective is to get a quality player at the 4 spot.

As of yet we still don't know what we have in Shavlik or Hill. Both players presumably who can play the 4 spot!

The Sixers need to evaluate what they have before they go rushing to trade away a player that they need.

If we give up Miller, that's a lot of points and assists that have to be made up. It's hard to find players as good, so it makes more sense to keep him.

Being at best the 7th or 8th seed in the East is not the type of competitiveness that I or most of us want. We want this to be an elite team in the East and without trading away our best bargaining chip when the market for him is at his highest I don't think we will be able to achieve that.

I agree with most of you that with Miller we're still not very good and if he's your only chip to move (realistically) than it should at least be considered. He's a good not great player and if he isn't going to be around for the '09-'10 season than why not trade him at his peak value?

Da Truth -

While I agree with you on most things you post..Herbert Hill is an undersized big man, who played until his senior year at Providence, and didn't become even a remotely good player until then (hence winning most improved his senior year). If you look at history most big men who don't leave after their second year don't fare too well in the NBA because they generally have come close to hitting their skill level potential while they were in college. NBA scouts wonder why you sucked when you were a 6-10 freshman...at best I'd say Herb's upside is like a Marc Jackson from Temple, which he probably won't hit while he's still even on our roster. I think we have ot move on form Herb's one 8 point summer league game. Carney dropped 30 in summer league and he can't hit the backside of a barn.

Marc already told us a little bit ago that they were both healthy so to be honest I doubt their defense and athleticism are good enough to hang in the NBA right now. As for Shav, i've seen the kid play for three years off and on and it was on team's worse than this one...even then, he was still was a marginal talent at best. You may want to start a push for someone else because neither of those guys are good enough to play right now...FYI Shav averaged like 4 ppg. at Duke and didn't start a single game.

I agree with most of you that with Miller we're still not very good and if he's your only chip to move (realistically) than it should at least be considered. He's a good not great player and if he isn't going to be around for the '09-'10 season than why not trade him at his peak value?

Da Truth -

While I agree with you on most things you post..Herbert Hill is an undersized big man, who played until his senior year at Providence, and didn't become even a remotely good player until then (hence winning most improved his senior year). If you look at history most big men who don't leave after their second year don't fare too well in the NBA because they generally have come close to hitting their skill level potential while they were in college. NBA scouts wonder why you sucked when you were a 6-10 freshman...at best I'd say Herb's upside is like a Marc Jackson from Temple, which he probably won't hit while he's still even on our roster. I think we have ot move on form Herb's one 8 point summer league game. Carney dropped 30 in summer league and he can't hit the backside of a barn.

Marc already told us a little bit ago that they were both healthy so to be honest I doubt their defense and athleticism are good enough to hang in the NBA right now. As for Shav, i've seen the kid play for three years off and on and it was on team's worse than this one...even then, he was still was a marginal talent at best. You may want to start a push for someone else because neither of those guys are good enough to play right now...FYI Shav averaged like 4 ppg. at Duke and didn't start a single game.

I agree with most of you that with Miller we're still not very good and if he's your only chip to move (realistically) than it should at least be considered. He's a good not great player and if he isn't going to be around for the '09-'10 season than why not trade him at his peak value?

Da Truth -

While I agree with you on most things you post..Herbert Hill is an undersized big man, who played until his senior year at Providence, and didn't become even a remotely good player until then (hence winning most improved his senior year). If you look at history most big men who don't leave after their second year don't fare too well in the NBA because they generally have come close to hitting their skill level potential while they were in college. NBA scouts wonder why you sucked when you were a 6-10 freshman...at best I'd say Herb's upside is like a Marc Jackson from Temple, which he probably won't hit while he's still even on our roster. I think we have ot move on form Herb's one 8 point summer league game. Carney dropped 30 in summer league and he can't hit the backside of a barn.

Marc already told us a little bit ago that they were both healthy so to be honest I doubt their defense and athleticism are good enough to hang in the NBA right now. As for Shav, i've seen the kid play for three years off and on and it was on team's worse than this one...even then, he was still was a marginal talent at best. You may want to start a push for someone else because neither of those guys are good enough to play right now...FYI Shav averaged like 4 ppg. at Duke and didn't start a single game.

This Marc Narducci blog is obviously the site to talk Sixers Basketball so I will talk.I've been living in New Haven Connecticut for 8 years with my on again,off again girlfriend,who is a native of this God for saken town,and if she knew I was on here talking about Philly sports,she would throw my clothes out of the window,but who cares.Although I moved out of Philly in '99',I'll never forget my home roots because all of my family is in,or living in the tri-state area.And to all the people complaining about Philly sports teams,try living up here and dealing with all of this New England sports scene,and your head will burst.Especially if you can remember the Sixers vs Celtics wars.Now on to the current Sixers,is there any way the Sixers can acquire Elton Brand in the off season?BTW,their version of a Cheesesteak up here is a thick piece of meat,on a hard as a rock roll,with kraft cheese.

Rick - Can you tell me who we'll acquire to be a DIFFERENCE MAKER at the 4 spot with $10M per season? Not getting Elton Brand or Josh Smith. For $10M, you can get Kenny Thomas - you want him back? Can you also tell me how we're going to address the shooting guard position and the PG position in the future (and please don't give me Lou Williams - I love Lou, but he's a score-first combo guard)? You're not getting OJ Mayo or Eric Gordon with a pick in the early teens. Without these pieces, the Sixers will never even remotely compete with the top teams in the conference over an 82 game schedule.

And at what point did Andre Miller become an elite PG in this league? Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, Gilbert Arenas, and Mike Bibby are all better than Andre Miller (Brandon Roy plays a ton of PG for the Blazers, and he's better also). Is Andre Miller a good PG - absolutely. Is he an elite PG - absolutely not. So, I ask the question again...how does Andre Miller, as a #1 or #2 option for this team, get the Sixers to a championship level? Answer: he doesn't.

Marc, while you gush about Miller, who yes is playing better, you absolutely have to mention that his defense has been horrendous all season. He just can't cover the opposing point, and it breaks down the team's entire defensive scheme, especially with getting Sammy out of position.

Yep, Miller can score and run a team, but out of the top 15 point guards in the league, he's clearly the worst defensive player.

The sad thing is Lou seems to be following his lead. When Lou really wants to D up, he gets some steals and picks up the opposing point at mid-court. But Lou giving 100% effort while playing D is infrequent at best.

If Stefanski's going to keep Miller, we need a tough defensive guard like Charlie Bell or Jarret Jack. Even Iggy is mailing it in sometimes on D.

Oh yeah...
FREE HERB HILL!

Short and sweet.To start a winning NBA team you need a point gaurd that makes people better. You need a 2 or 3 other #1 scoring options. One should be someone who can get easy baskets like a big man like Brand or the old Shaq. You need guys that can create there own shot also. We have a few but nobody that scares anybody. And you need guys that like to defend and rebound. Keep Miller!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry about the multiple posts, computer freaked out...Dean, you are correct sir.

Brian, if Hill or Shav aren't as good as Evans, Amundson or Booth, then they shouldn't be in the NBA at all. My question is, especially with Hill, how do WE know this?

We've never seen him play in a regular season NBA game. And in preseason, he was the most impressive rookie we had, not Jason Smith and not Thaddeus Young. Having watched him in college and even during the summer, what he does best is finish around the rim as a big. You are telling me that we have enough of that on our team right now not to give him a shot? Even Iggy said the guy had game before he got hurt.

Shav might just be what he is -- someone who will just be one continuous injury. But when he has played in the past, he's showed that he's a good rebounder, defensive player, and energy guy that attacks the rim. Sounds like something this lottery, going nowhere team could use.

Maybe I'm just an optimist holding out hope that doesn't want to see Evans play 30 minutes a game or Sam continue to refuse to develop a low post move. You see Iggy and A. Miller playing so hard and then you look at how inept Reggie and Sam are on the offensive end, and it is amazing neither has went off by now.

However, if they're both not good enough and prove just that on the court, I can accept that. I'm not going to trust Mo's judgement because his coaching acumen and rotations have been in question since he took the job.

I'm done with my rant. Come on, Big Ed. Impress me once again.

Keeping Miller makes sense if and only if we get a significant improvement in talent in the next year. And it can happen, young guys usually get better, a new coach can work wonders and the right free agent can be the missing link between also-ran and contender. The Extra cap space makes us a third team in trades.

That being said, because we don't need to trade Miller, we can get a really good deal for him.

The Problem with Billy King is he never really executed a plan. He said he wanted to get young, traded away Iverson for players the same age and kept them the entire season - not flipping two valuable players into more expiring contracts or better draft picks.

We'll just have to see what Ed does.

Marc,

Good work, sir... Can you ask Ed why not deal with TORONTO for Humphries and Dixon (both Expiring) for, say, Green & Booth, to free up about 5 million more in caproom this summer?

Also ... if Hedo is #2 on the team in boards, does that mean ORLANDO could use Evans? If so, how about Reggie and Booth for Pat Garrity + Maurice Evans (both also Expiring this year)?

In addition: what do the Lakers need for Kwame?
Do they need rebounding and/or scoring? If yes,
what do you think of Evans, Green, and Booth for Kwame?

Please advise. Keep up the good work

The biggest problem if you trade Andre Miller:

When Lou Williams is on the court at PG, he does not run the offense that well right now. Plus, that is a ton of responsibility put on a 21yr old, as when he is on the court, he is the Sixers best scorer... so he has to figure out when to try to score and when to try to distribute the ball.

Keep Andre unless you get a quality trade... develop the young guys - especially Lou.. he can become a very special player as long as they don't ask him to do too much. Right now, Miller at the 1 and Williams at the 2.

The $10m does not have to be used for free agents. I think our best hope is a trade. We will have more cap space than any other team and we still have pieces to trade to go along with that, outside of Andre Miller. He's a natural leader, a baller that you just don't find that often. The offer has to be really good to let him go.

As it stands right now, there are no top flight free agents. We have to hope some opt out of their current deal. Elton Brand and Josh Smith are the two mentioned most. Those hoping for Elton Brand, I hope you get your wish, but I can't for the life of me understand why you think he will leave $16 million on the table. Even if he's healthy, he would be taking a major risk that any team will go out and pay him that kind of money on his next contract. I certainly do not want that team to be the Sixers if there are still questions about his health, which there would be.

I don't think Atlanta will let Josh Smith get away. They are starting to turn the corner, so why would they let a major part of that get away.

And those offering trade proposals, try to look at the other side. If we want to get rid of certain players, you have to ask yourself why another team would want that player and is the situation going to be better than what the currently have. Teams with players with expiring contracts know that they are assets and will want something in return. Quite honestly, if I were a GM, I would have the Sixers pay Me to take Calvin Booth. Reggie is one dimensional with several years left on his deal. He's not a starter, but I was not upset with acquiring him because I think he is better than Hunter. We'll just have to see what Ed has up his sleeve.

Quality not quantity. Only way you trade Miller is if you get an all star caliber "big" back. Ed is right...PF is biggest need on team. On the worth of $10mm...$10mm gets you a good player if you are lucky, does not get you an elite player.

RX for success - acquire 1 all star caliber player and hope they can be elite + hope Igudala continues to improve to be all star caliber + hope one of the youngsters develops to very good player + Andre Miller + bench.

KM you are a world class fool the trade of Kover was the best thing that could happen Kover was an over-paid shooter with no defense to speak of plus getting rid of his contract frees up money to bring in a real all-star to team up with Iggy and Miller that could help move this team from the bottom of the east to the top. Heres a list of upcoming free agents this summer Gilbert Arenas, Antawan Jamison, Allen Iverson (who can opt out his contract), Shawn Marion, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Channing Frye just to list a few. Besides all that what's the point tradeing a vertern point guard if your trying to improve a team the only way Miller should be traded is if ED gets an deal he can't pass up

I love Andre Miller's game. Really I do. I used to compare him to Fat Lever who was one of my all time favorite players.

Miller is a consumate 1 guard who controls the game and yes...makes his teammates better players when he's on the court.

And...for the right offer I'd still trade him.

I don't believe Lou is a 1 guard. He's Vinnie Johnson. Valuable, and a definite need for a championship caliber team, but I don't want to wake up 4 years from now and Lou is the starting 1.

If the Sixers could get a Rose or even an Augustin in the lotto, then I think the future is much more secure.

IMHO.

PS: I agree that $10 million isn't enough to get the kind of 4 the Sixers need.

Come on already, enough about how good Miller is. Who cares? Whatever you want to say about Miller he is not an elite point and this team is not going anywhere with or without him. Miller is a nice point who might be valuable on a contending team.

The fact that Ed traded Korver shows he at least understands that this team is not ready to contend. If he thought it was ready he does not trade a valuable player like Korver who Utah was more than happy to pick up. Sloan is no dummy.

Now if you want to get cap space as Ed said was the reason he traded Korver, why not trade Miller to Miami for Williams and his expiring contract? Miami needs to make something happen and they have already indicated they want to move Williams. The deal would give the Sixers serious cap space next summer.

An additional benefit would be that this would almost guarantee that the Sixers end up at the top of the lottery and/or give Williams more experience running the team. All good.

Nope. Still not convinced that we should keep Miller. The worst thing to do in the NBA is stand pat when you have a mediocre team... it just guarantees you'll get lousy draft picks and never get better.

Trade Miller for cap space, or for Drew Gooden and a draft pick. ...Otherwise, we're going to be a 35 win team this year... and the next year... and the next year.

...And why the Gooden trade? He's a good power forward, and he's young. Wasn't the "plan" for the Sixers to go young? We get 14 wins in a terrible conference, and all of sudden, we want to stay the course? Come on. If we were in the West, we'd have 8 or 9 wins right now.

Do we want to win a championship, or do we want to be a seventh-seed playoff team in the East? If we keep Miller, that's all we're gonna be.

Enough with the cap space, the free agents out there aren't going to turn this team around. And most will end up overpaid and over the hill by the time the Sixers are ready to compete, the same argument you use against Miller. Elton Brand? Josh Smith? Gilbert Arenas? C'mon do you really thing these guys can turn a team around? What have their teams ever done? It's usually a long, hard road to build a winnign team, and requires the rigth pieces that fit together, not spending money just to change things up. I'd trade Miller for the right deal, but just to open up cap space to overpay an iffy player, no thanks.

I'm still waiting for the punchline on the Drew Gooden joke, cuz you can't be serious giving up Andre Miller for him and a pick...can't be. I'd take his teammate from college, Nick Collison, before I'd take Drew "my hairstyle is more important than my game" Gooden.

You don't just trade to say you did something. 1st-rd picks are useless with the better teams in the league who will want to get Miller b/c that 1st rd pick will be late in the rd.

Heck, Carney was a mid-1st pick, so think what type of impact a 23-28th pick will bring.

After Billups, Kidd, Nash, D Williams, and Paul --- there are not many great pt guards. (Wade/Iverson are more combo) Miller is as quality a true pt guard as there is.

I am glad Stefanski is taking his time. Why rush it anyways?

Keeping Miller does not mean staying pat. Ed made it very clear that he's ready to make moves and change up the roster. How that will play out, no one knows until it happens. If we can improve our 4 without giving up Miller, then we should do it. That's what Ed is getting paid for and he needs to get creative. No one on this blog really believes that his team is done making move 'till the summer, right?

Donte - If im a world class fool, im not sure what that makes you. The names are posted under the comments. You were responding to Tyler, not me. I agree with you that trading Korver has a little negative impact on this team.

But anyway, it seems like you trade miller people just have this religious belief that he needs to be traded at all costs, regardless of what we get for him. He's not the best point in the game, but he's head-and-shoulders our best player. 90% of the senarios floated do not make this team any better in the long run, and the 10% that do are not especially realistic. Not to mention they are the same Billy King-type go for the gusto deals that put us in this mess in the first place.

I'll say it one more time, if someone comes to us with a blockbuster deal that works for us financially, go for it. Otherwise, we're just going to have to deal with the fact that BK left us up the creek and it will take some time to sort everything out. Dumping your best player in hopes of striking it rich in the draft and free agency is too chancy. Not enough attractive FA's that would be financially responsible pickups, no garauntee of getting that first pick in the draft even if you loose all your games.

OK, now AM is a great PG he is averaging 6 assist per game and 2 turnovers also. When AI was her he averaged 6 assist but also gave 30 points and he was a terribly "point guard" who thought shot first, now Andre comes down the court 4x in a row and shoots all four times and he's a great leader that knows when to take over a game. The fact is the sixers stink! and keeping Miller will only prolong the obvious rebuilding state that is needed. Getting rid of AM now gives the front office a chance to see if Lou is a starting PG or not and it also gives the ball club more loses which will result in a higher draft pick and with the caliber of PG that should be in the draft class (Rose, Mayo, Collison and Augustin) then the sixers can move forward in there PG search. Moreover the PF position, for the rest of the season put Thaddeus there and see if he is a scoring threat inside and out if not then trying to getting (Wilcoxs or Nene)or drafting (Koufos or Griffin)to give some scoring in the low block which is a necessity.

Switching the subject,I wil be watching how Carney plays against Kobe and the Lakers like a hawk.I think Lou Williams will play lights out against Jordan Farmar,and Derek Fisher.Now that I hear they're encouraging Carney to drive to the basket more,and what does he do,settle for jumpshots.Carney's work ethic in the off season and practice must resemble that of a turtle,or slug because I see no development in his game,and his inability to take somebody off the dribble must be driving Cheeks,crazy.Continuing in my bashing of Carney,Lou Williams has been here just as long as Carney,and you can see the growth and development in his game,why not in Carneys'?

I've watched Carney.. he is passive on the offense and does not hustle defensively. He is another one of those amazing athletes w/ minimal basketball skill.

He cannot dribble well, which makes driving to the basket difficult. His shot is ok (at best). He does not have that determination that leads to good defense or hustle points - to's, offensive rebs.

After his contract is over, I see him out of the NBA. And picking a guy in Thad who plays his same position says alot about how the Sixers view Carney, as well.

Carney has only himself to blame for his stagnant development,and if he keeps it up,he can find himself out of the league in a hurry.He's one of those players that think that he can just get by on his athleticism alone,and in today'a game,that won't work.You know how many so called great athletes have come and gone,too many.Keon Clark,Rodney Buford,Ricky Jackson from the fab five,and a host of others who are in the scrap heap.And how could I forget the next Jordan,Harold Miner,who they referred to as Baby Jordan.

If you don't trade Miller then what is the plan to bring in the players that would make this team a contender again? I love Miller as a person and player but I haven't heard a single good plan for improving this team in the ways that we need that involve keeping him.

Tyler, I kind of agree with you. How can we upgrade this team by keeping Miller? People should stop with the ridiculous deals of teams trading us expiring contracts for Willie Green, Reggie Evans and Calvin Booth. The only way one of those players will leave here will be in a package with Miller.

If the 76ers can move Miller this year, they should be able to get another no. 1 pick, a young prospect and an expiring deal. So, that means in the next two years, Stefanski could have $20M in cap space and 4 no. 1 picks over the next two drafts.

Between those two things, I think Stefanski will put us closer to being a playoff team than if he stayed status quo. Believe me, he sees that too. As far as bench players, Willie Green and Reggie Evans wouldn't be that bad. The 76ers just need starters at those two positions.

I think Carney will be back to the bench tonight and could be buried on the sidelines for awhile. I believe Mo will give Carney's minutes to Giricek because he's the better player right now and Mo is still trying to win.

And with the Lakers openly shopping Kwame's expiring $9.1 contract, Miller, Carney and Booth could be auditioning for their next team tonight.

Any predictions on tonight's game?

I have the 76ers by six.

The only way we can keep Miller is if we can get a real NBA 2 guard who can shoot three.

The main problem with the Sixers since 2000 and since the NBA instituted zone defense is that the Sixers have continued to start 2 guards who cannot shoot from the perimeter with any accuracy.

We just gave up our best 3 PT shooter and still we are left with the starting tandem of Igudala and Miller, both who can't shoot. Reminds me of the Snow and Iverson days after zone defense was instituted.

I don't buy the line that getting a real PF will make much difference without having at least 2 starting players on the roster who can hit the three above a 35-38% clip.

I'd love to see the Sixers land Elton Brand as he will be an unrestricted free agent, but they will need a quality SG guard as well. Iggie has tried to improve his long range shot, but quite simply this will never develope to the level that is needed. He is not a good fit for this team right now and it shows (much the same way Iverson was not also).

A team simply cannot win in the NBA with the new defensive rules and start a team without at least 2 good perimeter shooters. Now the Sixers have zero as once again Lou Williams whose percentages are up this year is an undersized SG who can't shoot from the outside, much like Iverson.

That may work if they are playing with Nash or Billups at the PG spot but not with a Snow or Miller who have absolutely no outside shot.

If Stepanski can bring in Elton Brand and Antwan Jamison through free agency then I would say trade Igudala for someone like Rudy Gay, Mike Miller or Barbosa and keep Andre Miller.

Then you are looking at a lineup like the following

PG Andre Miller
SG Mike Miller (shooting 43% this year from 3PT with 65 makes)
SF Antwan Jamison (shooting 35% this year from 3 PT with 51makes)
PF Elton Brand
C Sam Dalembert

That is probably pie in the sky but unless something like that happens the Sixers will be terrible for years to come.

Here's the punchline: we have to get worse to get better. You either rebuild, or you try to contend. You want to keep our 32 year-old point guard? That's cool; I do like him, and he is a good player. But we're not going to be a good team until we make some major changes. We have 14 WINS right now.

Look... for example, at the Nets. Instead of trading Jason Kidd, they kept him. Whoo hoo! Now they can get 43 wins every year and lose in the second round of the playoffs.

I'd rather have a bad team that can improve through the draft and free agency than have a middling team in the Eastern Conference. But if that's what you want, then by all means, do hang on to Miller.

As for a late 1st round draft pick being useful... Tony Parker... Gilbert Arenas (2nd round) ...even Sammy Dalembert... there's more, but I don't feel like looking them up now.

Most people here seem to like Lou Williams. He was a late 1st round pick, was he not?

Look; Allen Iverson was my favorite player of all time, but we held on to him for way too long, when it was clear that we could never win a title with him. If you're going to make a trade, do it when a player is at his peak value. Miller's value is as high as it's ever going to get, right now. We're not winning a title or contending for one for the next, say, three years. (It's at least hypothetically possible that this could be a good team in three years.) So if we're not winning with him, why not do something with him? And anyone who thinks that we're winning a title with Iggy, Sammy, Miller, and some PF to be determined later, please write in and... you know, explain how that's going to happen.

My prediction on tonight's game is that this will be a walk in the park for the Lakers as they exploit the Sixers weak perimeter defense,and light it up from the outside.Final score,Lakers 108-Sixers 87.

Andre is a nice OFFENSIVE point guard...we had AI people and you ran him out of town!!! The east stinks and we beat horrible teams just to be 4 games below .500. I played college ball in the Ivy League (granted we sucked) and I was a 2 guard. If I did half the terrible things AM does on defense I would never have played one minute. All you Andre Miller lovers, if you knew anything about basketball you would see that his poor on ball defense gets the ENTIRE team out of position and causes open shots and bad fouls...wake up people!!!! He's not even a top 10 point guard, not even close.

Oliver -

I think you are dead on with your theories man, we are noodling around and will continue to do so until our defense is improved, thats why I want Miller gone...Lou was a 2nd rounder.

Clint -

Why do you think our perimeter defense is so bad? watch your boy Andre Miller try to stay in front of Farmar/Fisher all night for the answer...

PLEASE: Forget about righting this ship via free agency! There is only one path to rebuilding a team: A) draft (or discover) talent, B) develop that talent C) utilize that talent on your roster or use it to attract talent from another team. The Boston (unfortunately my city-of-residence) did this to perfection last year. The Cavs, Magic and Blazers have done it recently. The Spurs, Suns and Mavs did it years ago (and continue to do it) and now reap the benefits by attracting talent in search of a ring on-the-cheap.

Of course this path is easier said then done. It requires great scouting, drafting, player development and a not-so-small amount of luck. However the simple fact is that the Sixers need to 1) Determine if their young guys are in fact talented, specifically LouWill, Thad, Carney and JSmith, 2) Cut ties with the players that are not talented, 3) Continually acquire draft picks, and 4) draft new talent or use the picks to attract undervalued talent from other teams (technically Garnett was undervalued since MN knew they had to move him or lose him).

Fact is, we could be a Top 4 team in the conference by end of next season if we can develop our existing young guys and use them on the court or in trades. Iggy, Miller and Sam are the foundation. And its a good foundation that may only need one or two key pieces, but we are NOT going to get that piece by purchasing an overvalued free agent. The odds of succeeding via that route are very, very low and come at great cost to the team future (see NY Knicks).

The Celtics improved their team because Kevin McHale is an incompetant jackass and gave his former team (The Celtics) a ridiculous favor by giving away Kevin Garnett for one of the worst possible deals he was offered. If we could get that to happen than we'd be pretty darn good too.

I think we should keep Miller. I'm not saying don't listen to or don't consider any offers, but just be very careful. When's the last time we had a lead guard like him in this town? Miller has his faults, but so does every other player in this league. One of the best, Deron Williams, is not the best defender either. Miller even posted him up a few times. Miller has been penetrating on other lead guards his entire career. Shoddy one on one defense is not his alone. It's league-wide.

I believe we can get the pieces we need without giving up Miller. We have future draft picks and $10m in the NBA bank.