Deep Sixer

Thanks Marc,
I enjoy reading your blog. First time poster here, so don't be to hard on me guys. I luved Reggie coming off the bench. Hell, if he could shoot free throws, he'd be a force on this team. It was great to see the team sharing the ball and scoring in the paint. What's wrong with Lou? Thadeus continues to get better. We need a 3-point threat and a difference maker PF. I think Moe deserves another 2 year contract. Give him one or two more pices and the sixers can contend next year. Tanks for the space to write my opinion....
PEACE

Obviously, I meant pieces above....not Pices, although a fish or 2 wouldn't hurt....lol

Any Andre Miller rumors?

How about Andre Miller to Hawks for a combo of Acie Law, Shelden Williams and whatever we need back to make salaries work? Perhaps we can even tack on Willie Green's terrible salary for a less cumbersome one on the Hawks....

Hawks have been tanking recently and need a PG badly if they want the playoffs. Acie Law has ton of potential for Sixers and Shelden is at least a good defender and big body who is rotting away in Atl.

Villanueva can score but he's a lazy defender, which has been the knock on him since UConn. He gives up as much as he gets.

It's hard to believe that Mo actually started Jason Smith at PF. Smith had one of his worst games and you hope the ankle sprain in the 4th quarter is nothing serious, but that is where he needs to be. He has the ability to hit shots and I think he'll get better as the first unit gets more comfortable with him and Iggy and Miller figure out where and when he likes the ball.

Reggie Evans has been playing like his behind has been on fire the past two games coming off the bench. You think Mo can figure this one out? Let the guy play the role that he is made for, that being a bruiser, rebounder and energy guy off the bench. And besides, I don't think I have ever seen one player miss so many free throws in one game other than Shaq in his prime. Evans could have easily had 20 points tonight if he would have hit a few more of his free throws.

Thaddeus is going to be a tough cover for other SFs in the league in about two years. He is very comfortable around the rim and just needs to work on his ballhandling and shooting. With his frame, I think he's going to end up being about 240 to 245 lb. The great thing about his upside is that his shot was thought to be one of the strongest parts of his game coming out of school. It is already there. He just needs to put in some work.

Jason Smith needs to play bigger around the rim. His drives where he double pumps and brings the ball down low makes him a 6'6 player instead of a 7-footer. He'll be able to finish stronger when he physically gets stronger and can use his left hand.

And I hate to rain on everyone's parade after this shallocking, but I would still like to see Andre Miller moved at the trading deadline for the right deal. There are some talented point guards coming out this year and the 76ers could possibly get one with a second no. 1 pick, even if it is in the 20s. If we could go into the summer with $20M in cap room, plus 4 no. 1 picks over the next two years with the young nucleus that we already have, the 76ers could be back in business soon in a big way.

Marc, I think Charlie V. would be a good fit for this team as well. He has the potential to give them the scoring that they would want from that PF spot. Since he is a bench player and will be one for the forseeable future with Yi and Bogut at the 4 and 5 spots, he might be someone that Big Ed could get for cheap. We'll know more about the direction of this team in about 3 weeks.

This was a fun game to watch. Finally a game that I'm not afraid I'm going to be the guy in the commercial and throw my remote at the TV!

Gordo- I hope Atlanta wants Miller! I've read other places that they might want him. I would only give him up for a deal that included Josh Smith. Did you see his #'s last Wed. night? 22 pts, 12 rbs, 10 ast, 3 steals, and 5 blocks! Just last night: 21 pts, 10 rbs, and 8 ast! I'll take that in a Sixer uniform to play with Iggy and Sammy. I can only dream!

Possible trade w/ Atlanta:

Atl gets: Miller, Carney, Booth

6ers get: Smith, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright

The Sixers get their PF. The Hawks get their PG and a former 1st round pick. Booth, Lue, and Wright are there just to make the salaries match.

I would even throw in Utah's pick to get this deal done!

That game was crazy. Just one of those days where everything goes right for one squad and wrong for another. I'm not sure it'll even carry over into the next game.

Reggie on any good team is a reserve player anyway. However "Little Shaq" can't shoot outside of a layup. They'll keep fouling him if they're smart. He makes Mark Iavaroni's starting stints look great!

Villanueva has a similar game to J.Smith. That is Milwaukees problem now, Yi is same type of player. We are actually better off because Evans gives us a physical p.f. off the bench.What we need is a better version of Evans.[K. Love]. Milwaukee actually played M. Ruffin earlier in the year looking for some toughness. I think we should see if they have interest in Evans.[expiring contracts] They had high expectations coming into this year [playoffs] We should be able to get a R.Evans type player for less money in the draft[ J.Dorsey,2nd round] or as free agent [C.Smith (3 mill.) This player should be your 8th or 9th player in your rotation. 5.5 million is to much to pay such a player.

There is nothing wrong with Evans. I think he is actually more comfortable coming off of the bench then starting. He gets a chance to see how the game is being played and and come in and contribute accordingly.

Smith does need to get stronger at the basket. Early in the season he would be throwing down on everybody. Now he is trying to add more finnesse to his game which he doesn't need. As Bill Walton would say "throw it down big man, throw it down!"

I must be having a LSD flashabck; I thought I read that the Sixers beat a team by 43 points

I say for this trade deadline, trade Evans and Miller for 1 solid player at PF(ie. Collison), & a 1st round pick and expiring contracts from another lottery team if we can (Miami/Memphis/Milwaukee/NY/Seattle). I don't think we should give up Miller w/o a low first round pick in return. If unable to get expiring contracts and a low first rounder, we should wait till the offseason. Jason Smith- after he gets a little more experience might be the guy to keep as a future starting PF or trade. We don't need him if he just turns out to be a backup. He's not a banger, nor does he have the footwork. If a Miller/Evans combo trade can't bring in a solid PF, I say in the offseason bring in Josh Smith or Villaneuva- they've both got good upside. We need to gauge how Mo's handling the team at the end of the year and decide whether to make a coaching change.

datruth:

Agreed about Smith bringing the ball down. I was at the game and had a pretty good look at the two drives where he got blocked. Both times he doubled pumped and brought the ball down. I wonder if it is a lack of confidence that made him do that?
/ Morty

I seriously hope Mo continues to shake up the starting line up. We're getting into the time of year last year where he really started to get creative, and it looks like its happening again. Smith didnt respond well to the starting role - i think he has potential, but im with Morty in thinking he needs to find his cahones. A loosing season is the time to see if he can do it. Thaddeus, Carney, and Evans all had season high-or-thereabouts games off the bench. Oh, and speaking of about this time last year, it was about this time when Carney started to show flashes then too (funny how it coincides with playing more, isn't it...).

Lets stop with the negative concerning sixers having lost 11 of their last 15 games. They lost 7 in a row to 5 top ranked teams with 5 of those losses coming on the road.

Since then, on a positive note they are 4 and 4 with wins over Toronto and Houston.

also on a positive note they are getting good playing time from Young, and are only 1.5 games out of the playoffs

Lets stop with the negative concerning sixers having lost 11 of their last 15 games. They lost 7 in a row to 5 top ranked teams with 5 of those losses coming on the road.

Since then, on a positive note they are 4 and 4 with wins over Toronto and Houston.

also on a positive note they are getting good playing time from Young, and are only 1.5 games out of the playoffs

The other thing about Smith is that he thought he was Dala trying to soar in over somebody. He can jump, just not from so far out with two hands on the ball. By the time he encountered Bogut, he was on his way down with nowhere to go. He has to get closer, then take off. He's only taking two dribbles at the most which, sometimes, is not getting him close enough. He'd be much better coming to a jump stop and pull up from there. OR take Reggie's approach and go all the way to the hole and leave no doubt. Smith's going to get better.

I'm still not high on Carney at all. After last nights game getting his season high against a subpar team that was tired from the road trip does not impress me. When the game was competitive, Carney looked rushed and lacked confidence and was way off on all of his shots. When the game was out of control is when we say the Carney we would like to see on a nightly basis. Maybe that game gets him to where he needs to be, I just don't see him on the team after this season at all.

Has anyone noticed that Smith has been asking for the ball in the post? He actually has some pretty good moves down there, just needs to go up stronger and he'll be fine. I'd be thrilled if Cheeks decides to start both Smith and Young and let them learn on the fly. They have played enough games now that their youth shouldn't matter. With a little seasoning Smith could really help out as a starting PF till we get a stud in there.

Gordo - I like that thought about a trade to the Hawks to get Acie Law. He was a killer last year for A&M and I think he could turn into a decent point guard.

I also wouldn't mind the Sixers asking the Lakers about either Farmar or Crittendon for Miller. Farmar has really improved this year, and Crittendon is a legit prospect.

IF the Sixers do decide to trade A Miller, I hope that they can get back their point guard of the future (sorry Lou, you're not it). I don't think they are going to have a good enough draft pick to get one of the premier college guys coming out.

An interesting stat...points-TO-fouls+assists+steals+blocks+rebounds divided by minutes...higher is better.

From last night's games, a few selected players: Sixers -Iguodala .91 Evans 1.47
Young .85 Carney 1.00 Miller .67; Other Teams - Calderon .77; Bosh 1.0 Paul .82 West 1.1 James 1.18 Roy .69 Josh Smith .86 Al Jefferson 1.25 Iverson .9

How about this option:

J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: If the Trail Blazers want to accelerate their arrival date, upgrade the point position and get a little more experience in Portland, why not make a play for another "1" who could be available: Andre Miller. It could cost a little less than the proposal being bandied about Wednesday.

How about Channing Frye, Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw to Philadelphia for Miller? The Blazers get a point guard with slightly better stats than Devin Harris, the player they would get from the Dallas Mavericks in the proposed three-team deal with New Jersey. The Sixers get three good young players to get their rebuilding process under way.

KM:

I don't know about Carney. It just looks like he cannot shoot the ball at all sometimes (most times). He has the quickness and hops to get himself shots in the lane, but just can't seem to put the ball in the hole.
/ Morty
Morty and Moishe Recommend...

Contrary to the next to last blog I dont believe the playoffs are out of the question...

Hard to take much out of last night's game because the Bucks played so poorly; I found myself asking just how the Sixers lost to essentially the same team a couple weeks ago. The most positive aspect of it to me was that Iguodala was clearly the best player on the floor, which hasn't always been the case. In the past, he's always brought his 'A' game against elite players (LeBron, Kobe, Pierce), but sometimes he's played down to his opposition. Part of being an elite player yourself is dominating ordinary opponents (e.g., Bobby Simmons or Royal Ivey), and Iguodala is getting there (even though it's not his mentality).

Carney is a lot like Willie Green: neither one should ever shoot a jumper from further than 15 feet. The one positive about Carney this year is that he's gotten better at hitting the floater in the lane (as far as I remember, all his shots last year were either jumpers or dunks). Same for Willie: better things happen for him when he tries to penetrate and get closer to the basket.

Regarding Thad, he really has some good low-post moves. Small forward may be his position of the future, but he still doesn't handle the ball well enough to play it now. It seems that any time he takes more than two dribbles, he gets the ball stolen. At PF, he can take one strong dribble and shoot.

Smith too often does not shoot his jumper near top of jump as he is still going up; rather, he is coming down. This is fundamentally a flaw in terms of getting consistency. It also allows defense to catch up to him. Notice, when he does not do this, he shoots better. Last night, they did not run anything for him and did not look to get him involved. His job was to stop Yi and did fairly well at that, but still leaves too much space allowing almost anyone to take the outside shot. His limited lateral mobility on defense is a weakness. I still like his potential.

Zeru,
I hope the playoffs are out of the question, and a top 10 pick, at least, is in the question!

By the way, I just looked at the box score, and Reggie Evans was 3/13 on FT's! Holy s@%t that's awful. Even in one of his best games of the season he manages to waste an incredible amount of opportunities...
/ Morty

I want to make one last comment regarding Shaggy Williams. I have read the posts for the past few weeks and cannot understand why anyone would want another horrible player on the sixers. This guy can't shoot, pass, play D or even fill the water cooler correctly. I think he should stick with calling games on the radio and always wondering whether he could have covered anyone on D. When was the last time you could see a 30 some year old chasing the dream of making it to the nba, it was just last week he was shotting jumpers at beech st. I can see him riding that bike through the trails to convenient for a 40 of cherokee red and a bag of doritos. Like the good man said a couple of weeks ago- the chew spit and cheese from the doritos helps the rotation of the shag mans jumper. Wooooh…you’re always a legend in ronnie's eyes.

Was on ESPN.com and saw this:

J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: If the Trail Blazers want to accelerate their arrival date, upgrade the point position and get a little more experience in Portland, why not make a play for another "1" who could be available: Andre Miller. It could cost a little less than the proposal being bandied about Wednesday.

How about Channing Frye, Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw to Philadelphia for Miller?

Outlaw and Frye for Miller??? I love Andre, but he'd already be in Portland if I could get Frye (who just might be the post presence the Sixers need) and Outlaw (who's come on this year) for him. Blake is ok, but not a factor.

You'd need to get a young 1 guard in the draft (if not Rose then Augustin will be just fine), but even though Villaneuva would be good in a Sixers uniform, Frye would be better (IMHO).

This Miller to Portland thing is not crazy. I caught a bit of their game last night and saw that Steve Blake is their PG. Don't tell me Miller could not make that team dangerous to win a round or two come playoff time.
/ Morty

FT% - Shaq 48%
Ben 45
Reggie 43, ugh

Who signed Evans to a contract that pays him over 4 mil? I've got a couple bridges I would like to interest them in...
/ Morty

after reading the last few posts by nick caputo I sure hope he is not a english or math teacher in a school b/c I hope he plays ball better than his knowledge of those two subjects?? WhAT IS ALL the hype about a guy according to numerous sources...is lazy, slow, poor shot selection, plays like a girl, delievers pizza, does commentary on games, and eats alot of pizza, grilled cheese, and nacho cheese doritos!!!! that chew spit thing sounds kind of disgusting too!!!! well, great win by the sixers last night and if nick caputo sees this post today, I would suggest you send that shaggy williams player back to whereever he came from b/c from the comments he is a god damn bum!!! St. Johns only had 2 field goals in the first half last night in the 1st half vs. G-town...maybe hell have a shot with them!!!

that last comment wasnt fair...shagg williams likes to eat hot dogs and fries with gravy and cheese too!!!

See things like missed free throws just kills a team. I don't understand how a professional athlete with no physical limitations consistantly shoots poor percentages throughout their career. Contrary to some beliefs, Reggie could contribute much more in the post. No one can root him out of there. Not like Tim Duncan or some other guys, but more of a threat none the less. If you look at some of his moves last night and in past games, they are not bad. They are not polished like TD or Brand, but more like Moses' rumblin' stumblin' style. Point is, he got to the basket last night and did damage. Just imagagine if he hit half of those missed free throws. We are talking about a 18/9 night. He shoots from the opposite side of his head and doesn't hold his finish on his shot. Major flaws that I don't understand how/why no one has corrected yet

The numbers don't match up on the Adande trade. Outlaw is Base Year compensation player. Those are tough to trade for.

I'd love to see that trade to Portland. If Stefanski pulls that one off for Frye and Outlaw, he's done an incredible job.

In terms of the Sixers' starting 4, I think it needs to be Thad Young; he's a better player than Jason Smith all-around, and quite frankly, it would be nice to see if he could handle the "4" spot for an extended period of time. If you bring in a top-flight shooting G in the off-season and still have Iggy at the 3, Thad is going to need to get some minutes at the 4 spot in the future. Otherwise, where are you going to put Thad? The way I'd look to split the minutes with the current roster is (mpg):

PG Miller (32-36), Lou (6-8), Ollie (6-8)
SG Green (24), Lou (14-16), Iggy (8-10)
SF Iggy (28-32), Thad (10-12), Carney (8-10)
PF Thad (16-20), Evans (20-24), Smith (8-10)
C Sam (30), Smith (10-12), Booth (6-8)

This rotation allows for a solid combination of vets and youngsters on the court at the same time. Plus, all the younger guys are getting valuable PT, and the little-used guys are giving the "primaries" (Iggy, Miller, Sam) some much needed rest.

channing frye looks like a twig. Is he a good player?

Now this is the way that this was posted.....And people want to make fun of shaggy williams for the way he writes...I want to make one last comment regarding Shaggy Williams. I have read the posts for the past few weeks and cannot understand why anyone would want another horrible player on the sixers. This guy can't shoot, pass, play D or even fill the water cooler correctly. I think he should stick with calling games on the radio and always wondering whether he could have covered anyone on D. When was the last time you could see a 30 some year old chasing the dream of making it to the nba, it was just last week he was shotting jumpers at beech st. I can see him riding that bike through the trails to convenient for a 40 of cherokee red and a bag of doritos. Like the good man said a couple of weeks ago- the chew spit and cheese from the doritos helps the rotation of the shag mans jumper. Wooooh…you’re always a legend in ronnie's eyes.

People want to say that nick caputo does not know how to write..... well there were alot of things wrong with the way mick jagger wrote....and hree are look back and learn from your mistakes

Want to make one last comment regarding Shaggy Williams. I have read the posts for the past few weeks and cannot understand why anyone would want another horrible player on the sixes. This guy can't shoot, pass, play D or even fill the water cooler correctly. I think he should stick with calling games on the radio and always wondering whether he could have covered anyone on D. When was the last time you could see a 30 some year old chasing the dream of making it to the nba, it was just last week he was shooting jumpers at beech st. I can see him riding that bike through the trails to convenient for a 40 of Cherokee red and a bag of Doritos. Like the good man said a couple of weeks ago- the chew spit and cheese from the Doritos helps the rotation of the shag mans jumper. Wooooh…you’re always a legend in Ronnie’s eyes

Dean:

Young's current skill definitely puts him as a 3/4 hybrid. And AI is a 2/3 hybrid.

By the way, in my opinion, your minutes breakdown, just like Mo's, is way too heavy on minutes for Evans Green and Booth. And Ollie should never see the court on this team.

I like what Mo did with Evans last night, come in off the bench and if he's playing good, he gets 15-20 minutes. He played as well as he has all season, and he is still a major liability by shooting 3/13 on FT's. Insanely bad!
/ Morty
Morty and Moishe Recommend...

I like Evans off the bench. The reason he is well-suited to a bench position is to provide energy and toughness...and really, he cannot be in the game at any crucial period because of his poor free throw %. I mean come on! three for thirteen from the line?

I too see that his basic FT fundamentals are WRONG. The coaches should force him to shoot properly since he couldn't do worse. When you are THAT BAD you might (?!?) want to make that adjustment.

I loved Carney's game. He looked like he belonged last night. It would be great if he unexpectedly turned into a prospect!!!

Well this is from fuzznuts.....and after fixing his mistakes he better just play with his fuzznuts............ the first way his way..... the second way the right way.........and fuzznuts when you use a or an it is simplae.....if the next word starts with a vowel you use an.....keep your fuzznuts in your hand

Wrong way

after reading the last few posts by nick caputo I sure hope he is not a english or math teacher in a school b/c I hope he plays ball better than his knowledge of those two subjects?? WhAT IS ALL the hype about a guy according to numerous sources...is lazy, slow, poor shot selection, plays like a girl, delievers pizza, does commentary on games, and eats alot of pizza, grilled cheese, and nacho cheese doritos!!!! that chew spit thing sounds kind of disgusting too!!!! well, great win by the sixers last night and if nick caputo sees this post today, I would suggest you send that shaggy williams player back to whereever he came from b/c from the comments he is a god damn bum!!! St. Johns only had 2 field goals in the first half last night in the 1st half vs. G-town...maybe hell have a shot with them!!!

Right Way

After reading the last few posts by nick caputo I sure hope he is not an English or math teacher in a school b/c I hope he plays ball better than his knowledge of those two subjects?? What IS ALL the hype about a guy according to numerous sources...is lazy, slow, poor shot selection, plays like a girl, delivers pizza, does commentary on games, and eats alot of pizza, grilled cheese, and nacho cheese Doritos!!!! That chew spit thing sounds kind of disgusting too!!!! Well, great win by the sixers last night and if nick caputo sees this post today, I would suggest you send that shaggy williams player back to wherever he came from b/c from the comments he is a god damn bum!!! St. Johns only had 2 field goals in the first half last night in the 1st half vs. G-town...maybe hell have a shot with them!!!

Wrong way
that last comment wasnt fair...shagg williams likes to eat hot dogs and fries with gravy and cheese too!!!

Right way

That last comment wasn’t fair...shag Williams likes to eat hot dogs and fries with gravy and cheese too!!!

I think that the people that are posting all of this should stick to doing there jobs........ and if they would put as much effort into there blogs maybe the children that they are in charge of would be better off.........

Morty - I didn't mean to suggest that Carney is going to take off all the sudden, just that he had his best game of the season, and it was nice to see. I was suggesting that shaking up the lineup played a role in getting guys to be more productive overall.

Also, I kind of like Ollie. He's not really an offensive threat, but his defense sets a great example for the younger ones. I'm not saying he should be an every night rotation player, but it doesnt hurt to throw him in every now and again.

Morty - Willie has the ability to fill it up for 15-20 pts on occasion. Why do you want him buried so much? Sure, he can't shoot, but who on this team can? Kevin Ollie should definitely play from time to time as well - he's a proven veteran that can calm a young team down and run it effectively, especially when Andre Miller is not on. In fact, once Miller goes, expect to see a lot more of K.O. the rest of the year.

And, you said give Reggie 15-20 mpg. I said 20-24. I didn't realize that 4 mpg was "way too much" in terms of a difference. Sure, Reggie can't hit the backside of a barn with his shot, but he can grind it out and wears down the opposition's 4 spot. He clearly (as he's shown the last 2 games and quite frankly throughout the season) deserves 20-25 minutes a night to rebound, harrass, and bang.

zuru- you are an idiot!!! don't let one game influence your opinion. sixers are going NOWHERE! we need veteran leadership and a good draft pick

KM:

I left after the third quarter, so I guess Carney did some good work after that? I like his athleticism and defensive ability (last year it seemed like he was the only sixer able to keep his man in front of him 1 on 1). I just see his shot as being horrible. I've said earlier on this blog that he should work on nothing but 3 pt shooting and defense to become a Bruce Bowen-type.

Dean:

Maybe I'm quibbling, but I do feel there is a difference between 20 minutes minimum, and 15-20 minutes IF he's playing well. If he's not? 10 minutes MAX.

As for Oliie, he's a decent third point guard, but I just want to see the kids get playing time to learn. We already know about Ollie, and he's gone after this year anyways. That's my main beef with your minute distribution: too much for the old heads we already know about. If we lose games because of the kids, so be it- that's better in the long run, ya know?
/Morty

Please, please, please... refrain from quoting Bill Walton here.

Dean:

Sorry, I forgot to address your Green comment. For Willy, he is like Evans in that if he is playing well, I would give him 20 minutes, But not more than 10 if he is not playing well, hitting his shots etc.

Don't get me wrong, I think they both have qualities to add to a, dare I say it, winning team, but only in moderation. So why not start playing them in those roles right now in case we do become a winning team sometime in the next couple years?
/ Morty

after careful consideration and reading the latest rumors on hoopshype, sixers are better off staying put and not signing shag williams. he has neglected his conditioning program unfortunately. urban legend has it he's still driving through the bishop hafey parking lot with his seat down low chillen in the middle of the car looking as if he is in the passenger seat just like he did when he first graduated. people know it's him when they see the car driving really slow with loud rap music playing. he continues to go in the school at the end of the day and yell where's the dirty daddy!

Dude, why not just write emails back and forth to yourself all day? Oy vey, enough already.
/Morty

Right on Morty!!

Morty - I agree with you that Carney's shot is god awful - I think he's best served driving hard to the basket(he did well at this last night), not hanging on the perimeter. But hey, if does he hone that outside shot, who knows. But anyway...it was just nice to see him get in there and put up some halfway decent numbers - i kind of feel bad for him. Its not his fault he was drafted way ahead of where he should have been. He's a prime NBADL candidate in my opinion, unless we can find someone else who wants him.

The reason i don't mind Ollie out there occasionally is really just to set an example on D for the young'uns... and i agree with dean that if Miller goes we'll see a lot more of him, though i dont know that Miller is absolutely going by the deadline, especially with Kidd on the market now. Im not concerned about Ollie taking minutes away from Lou because I'm hoping we get a more natural point once(or hopefully right before) miller does eventually move along.

KM, I hear you. Though, am I alone in wanting, as an experiment, to let Lou run the point for an extended period?

He seems to have a decent assist/ turnover ratio, and maybe he would benefit from a defined role.

Right now he is sorta a 1 and sorta a 2 guard, and that is Mo's design. I know if Miller is here that's how you're almost forced to play it if Lou is going to get his 20-25 minutes. But does anybody else think it's worth a shot?

That could be a side benefit if Stefanksi actually does pull off a Miller trade this year.
/ Morty

Want to clarify what I said earlier about trading Miller to Portland. I would be OK with it ONLY if it netted us at least $5M in cap space at the end of the year, which would put us at the $15M figure needed to go after Brand or Smith.

One other trade tidbit that I saw on ESPN.com this morning that peaked my interest a bit. What would people think of the following trade with Orlando:

Orlando gets: Andre Miller, Rodney Carney
Sixers get: Jameer Nelson, Keeyon Dooling, Pat Garrity

Both Dooling and Garrity expire after the season and represent about $7M in cap space coming off the books.

Thoughts? Don't know if I like this or not...

Thanks, BB. I know we are doing our best to ignore that stuff, but jeez...

Dean:

Have not been following Nelson this year, how is he doing?
/ Morty

I'm not ready to give up on Carney yet. Confidence is like touching butterfly wings in the nba. When you come out of college and you are the man. If you sit down an entire year without playing you are going to lose something. Anybody who has played organized basketball knows that in order to stay knowing yourself and what and who you are as far as the court, you have to continue to exercise those skills. The smallest absence of playing can make muscle memory forget what you do well. And you start trying whatever based on what you remember yourself being able to do. That might go over some of people's heads but those who played ball before knows. Carney is an exceptional athlete who was a VERY good shooter. Basketball is all about rhythm. Once you are rushing your shot or forcing your spots or stepping on own feet trying to get where u want to go. You lose everything. If Carney gets the same time as say a willie green consistently. You will see why Billy King drafted him with the 16th pick and why he was a steal last year. Confidence is fragile in the nba. It can turn stevie franchise from a premier point guard to guy just trying to hold on to a roster spot. It can turn a 12th man in Jalen Rose on a indiana team that never used him, into a stud that almost boost the pacers over the chicago bulls. Playing time and coaching style makes all the difference in how a player is percieved in the nba... And from what i see..Carney just needs an opportunity to be consistent by getting those consistent minutes

Hey Dean,
I don't know if I like that trade or not either but it is interesting. I was one who hoped that the sixers draft Nelson, instead we got Carney, so I would not mind that at all. I also wouldn't mind have Garrity if he can still shoot, I'd like to resign him. Interesting! I would only wonder why Orlando would trade Jameer for Miller. We would be getting another Lou Williams with better defense. Only thing i see is cap releif but no one worth the money we will have to spend. Brand is going nowhere and Smith is not worth a max contract. I wouldn't make the trade but it's worth discussing.

Am I gettiing my draft years mixed up? Carney and Nelson in the same draft class....

Zeru, We are thinking along the same lines. Im not trying to give up on carney, im saying that his game is still to raw to get significant time in the big time. I think a year in the DL would do a world of good for him. He can play big minutes every day, get his confidence and touch on the ball back, and hopefully learn to pass a little more effectively. And maybe find some shorter socks... :)

This is also one of my larger issues - i'd love to see more emphasis placed on the DL. every other major sport has a minor league, and there's a reason why. Some guys just need that extra time to develop their game and their confidence.

OK, sure, play the guy more this season since we're loosing anyway and it could only help our draft status. But if he's not looking significantly improved by the end, let him be the big man in the DL for a year.

Is this a Fantasy league blog ? The only trade or Free agent aquasition I want to hear about, are franchise type players. All mediocre players are just that, mediocre. They don't add up to a hill of beans..Looking for chemistry ? Go back to school..
Last year, Paul Pierce told Danny Ainge, he doesn't want draft picks. He said "Bring me in players who can play now" How that work out ?

BB:

Yeah, I think Nelson is in his third year.

But maybe you could team Nelson and Lou as a two headed point guard, think of Toronto with Ford and Calderon. And given the contracts Dean describes, 17 mil in cap room this offseason.

Although, if we keep miller for next year. We will have 10 mil in cap room in the summer '09 as well. What are peoples thoughts on which strategy is better? 17-20 mil in one year, or 10 mil and 10 mil?
/ Morty

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