Deep Sixer

Wow, the Lakers got Pau Gasol for nothing. Not Stefanski's fault because the Grizzlies ownership just wanted to dump salary and try to sell the team this summer.

It's great that A. Miller put it down tonight in his audition for Orlando. He could definitely make Hedo, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard better on the offensive end. However, that team plays no defense. Let's hope Ed can trade A. Miller and Willie Green to Orlando for that package of expiring contracts and a number 1 pick this summer before Orlando's ownership figures out that A. Miller won't help this team at all defensively.

I think Dallas has to pull the trigger on Kidd because they have no toughness or leadership on that team. Kidd can still will his team to win some time.

For all of you who are crying to trade Reggie Evans, he came in tonight off the bench for the third straight game and impacted the game. I liked the way he came down the middle and steamrolled Keyon Dooling. When is the last time another 76er actually put someone on their butt? Evans hustles, applies wood, rebounds and plays better offensively off the bench. He was more of an impact in the game tonight than Sam was.

Lou Will looked like the Lou Will of old before he got hurt against the Knicks. It's time to move Miller. Dooling or Arroyo can play the point to help the youngsters keep growing. Like I said, give me the $20M in cap space this summer and 4 no. 1 picks over the next two years.

Memphis and the Lakers kicked this thing off. It's time for the 76ers to get involved.

Tough one tonight. I thought they might actually pull that out.

I was glad to see the Lakers/Memphis pull the trigger on that deal today. Now maybe other teams will want to make a deal soon to keep up. I just don't want to wait 3 weeks to see if Ed pulls off a deal! lol!

Good game tonight despite the loss. I liked the chemistry with Miller and Thad. Evans is slotted into his proper role now. And Lou Williams was aggressive again and got a decent look near the end of the game. I loved that it seemed the play was called for him. He'll make plenty of those shots in his career.

I think Lou might have star potential, not the second coming of the original AI but a guy who can get a shot off in most situations. Think of how far he's come in less than three years. He just seems fearless going to the basket and his outside shot is a work in progress, but developing.

I'd like to see him paired in the backcourt more with Iggy, and let both of them handle the ball. Maybe this team is just destined to have another small, non-traditional point guard as its offensive leader.

I've thought for a while that Pau Gasol might be the best (and easiest to acquire) low post scorer for the Sixers to set their sights on, but now that the Lakers got him for loose ends, I'm sure.

The Sixers played about as well as they could tonight and still couldn't even get a shot off on their last possession. It's time to make some major roster changes.

However, I hear a lot of people clamoring for players like Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox, players who (despite their numbers) don't have any go-to moves in the low post. For the first time in a long time, the Sixers have enough room to make some moves in free agency and trades. However, if the right player is not available, I would rather wait and maintain that flexibility than spend money on unproven talent. If we're smart with our spending, we have enough core talent (dalembert, dre, sweet lou, thad) to build around. If we waste that money on marginal big men, we'll be in a worse situation than we were all those years paying Allen to play with a bunch of scrubs. I hope Ed is up to the task.

PS: I need the Sixers to win a championship soon. If we have to settle for some bulls%*t parade like we would have had for Smarty Jones or St. Joes, I won't be able to walk Broad St with my head up.

I was happy with the effort last night...Can't say I was dissappointed. The only problem I saw last night is Sammy's reluctance to challenge shots once a player gets a certain distance to the basket. He just lets them go pass because he's always paranoid about foul trouble...And he still winds up in foul trouble so I say he just pins it against the board anyway and let the ref make a decision. I swear if I saw Hedo drive past Sam with that right handed layup one more time I was going to freak out. Sometimes I just want to help Sammy out like...I wish i could grab my playstation 3 joystick and just take control of him or something. Dag...But overall we put up a good showing against one of the quote on quote elite teams of the east. I'm not that upset. But what the hell is up with kevin ollie getting major minutes. We already have two good point guards. What is his purpose? Give Carney his time. He's not even going to be with us next year. Ok I think I vented enough. Thanks for the Forum Marc..Good lookin..

The only Sixers game I saw in January was the Lakers game, and they looked horrible. So I was totally surprised by what I saw tonight - it was night and day. I wish they'd played like that in L.A.

Mo's getting better as a coach (knock on wood). The 3 players people dump on the most, Willie Green, Evans and Carney, played within their games - gotta give Mo some credit for that. Lou looks more comfortable as a primary ballhandler - more Mo credit. People picked up after Sammy, whose defense is usually the main reason we stay in games. The most impressive thing Mo's done has been his fine-tuning of the offense since the Korver trade. I had no idea Korver's absence in the offense would mess up the Sixers so much, but Mo's fixed that (knock on wood). It makes up for Mo not seeing that he should've been playing Thad more instead of Korver. Thinking about Thad's upside makes me drool...

That Iggy-Williams-Miller combo is clicking. But Williams stood out the most. That was some efficient basketball he played in the 2nd quarter. I thought we'd get creamed without Iggy, but our team looked real good with LouWill as the focus of the offense and Carney was decent as his little wingman. I started thinking about who we could get for the combo of Iggy and Jason Smith! LouWill's clearly our best offensive player, better than Iggy, and I hope Iggy realizes that, helps him develop, keeps pushing him, and begins to defer to him on offense.

What's next for LouWill? Better movement without the ball, learning a bit more about offense spacing, catch and shoot skills - in other words, add some Rip Hamilton to his game. If he does this, he's a top 10 guard.

I'm starting to hope we do make the playoffs, and give our young guys the chance to show what they can do. I can see them being jacked up to play the Celtics or the Pistons, and winning a game or two. Maybe it's not about getting more talent, maybe it's just a matter of the pieces we have finally coming together. Maybe.

Here's a question. Does any team actually covet Miller any longer? Does any team that has expiring contracts and/or young talent and/or a draft pick they wouldn't mind parting with? Miami is out, LA is out, so it could be that Miller stays because there are no attractive deals. Keeping tonight's leading scorer - not bad. Where would 20 mil of cap room go? The team might have trouble spending ten...

How about the Rookie last night? this kid can play and will get better with time on the court. He still makes so major rookie mistakes but the kid has some flashes of greatness. Good draft pick by Billy King (an analist on NBA TV).

Looking at the Gasol trade indicates how much value an expiring contract has. You could probably have plugged A. Miller, a young player(maybe J. Smith) and 2 future number ones for Gasol, if Miller was on the last year of his contract. Actually, since our draft picks are higher it would probably take just one of our #1 draft picks. Of course, we are not quite in the same winning position as the Lakers are BUT my point is that next year Miller will be worth more than he is today. The dilemna is that if we keep Miller this year we win more games and get a worse #1 pick.

Missed the game last night but T. Young seems to be locking down that combo forward position for the future. That's great. Also, seems that R. Evans is thriving in his perfect role as an energy guy off the bench. The pieces are coming into place if we can get a franchise player in here. Preferably at the power forward spot.

Really wish E.Brand [healthy] is an option in the summer. Adding him and a top ten pick without subtracting anything,even A.Miller, could make us tough to deal with next year. Hope he plays the end of this year, it may help him to opt out and it may get the sixers interested.

Half of me wants to trade R.Evans for cap space[4.5], but the other half hopes he gets a chance to be here when we become good, he just works so hard. My only question is why did the other teams let him go, Denver and Seattle, when Seattle was good?

Comments from the game last night.

Obviously, it was a total shame to have such a good game like that decided by a questionable call. Same bullsh*t that's been going on in the NBA ever since David Stern took over. Prop up the good teams at the end of games. God, I can't wait for a fresh face in the commissioner's office - this guy has butchered the league so badly since Jordan left it's not even funny. All he cares about now is the league's interests in China.

In terms of the play, you had to be impressed by both the execution and coaching. One thing that really was evident last night though was Thad's porous face-up defense. It clearly needs to get better, as Hedo abused him all night when they were matched up. Same with Andre Miller, although that's been said before. I can't stress enough how important it is in the off-season to get a "DEFENSE FIRST" PG on this team. When your PG gets beat off the dribble consistently, it breaks down the entire defense and leaves the team suspectible to wide-open 3 pointers repeatedly. This needs to be addressed.

I love having Reggie come off the bench, by the way. He clearly is more comfortable in that role as well - all of you on the message board that have been stuffing him lately should keep it to yourselves. He's clearly an excellent role player that provides a major spark with his energy when he enters the game.

Andre Miller trade scenarios:

To me, it seems like there are only 3 viable options as to where to send Miller. Those options are Denver, Atlanta, and Orlando. I'd probably prefer either Denver or Orlando because you won't have to take back a long-term deal. With Denver, you could clearly move Miller for Najera, JR Smith, and Hunter. Orlando poses numerous possibilities including Arroyo, Dooling, Garrity, and JJ Reddick. Finally, with Atlanta, you may have to take back a contract like Speedy Claxton's (3 yrs at $6M per), but I'd do the deal only if you could wrestle away Josh Smith (not likely) and Sheldon Williams.

Looks like it's going to be either Orlando or Denver.

Dean, I really don't like any of those scenarios but possibly Atlanta, if we could get expiring contracts and the rookie point guard back. Not looking at salaries, so, that may not be feasible.

Actually, Law, (Lue and the veteran backup center(expiring contracts)) will work. That is a trade I would definitely do. Clear cap and get possible point guard of the future.

Despite the bad record, I've really enjoyed most of the games lately. These guys have heart and potential. Thaddeus in particular has been encouraging. That said, there's still a lot of work to be done.

If we did the same deal the lakers did, it would not have been a good one. Its a great deal for them because they already have a team in place, and just need one more piece. For us, it would just be shuffling the deck - filling one hole but creating another one. And then we wouldn't even have a first round pick to grab one of those stud guards coming out this year. And not much left for cap room either.

all the speculation can be interesting, but Ed is clearly taking the long view of the situation. There will be no blockbuster trade during the season unless someone blows him away with an offer. Given that miller is now the 3rd best point guard on the market (maybe even 4th, as some teams may be looking ahead to calderon this summer...) and there are several studs coming out this year, there will not be an offer you cant refuse. Miller is, however, a great chip to have for a draft day deal. He also is probably worth more as a true expiring contract either over the summer or next year after the market has cleared a bit.

Wow, it is really hard to watch the sixers games trying to hope they lose. I couldn't do it last night! I HAD to root for them. I kept telling myself "a few draft slots aren't that crucial..."

....and I too wonder if trading Andre Miller for just cap room and a bottom of the 1st Rd. pick is worth it if we cannot make good use of the $$$'s...?!?!?

I'm just hoping and praying Ed can make a blockbuster trade that nets us a Jermaine O'Neill-type of talent to pair-up with whatever is left of our youngsters after the deal.

I'm damned scared that if we go back to the lottery it'll be real tough attracting Free Agents to a bad team with notorious fans, and critical media scrutiny (2 sports radio outlets, 2 major newspapers, etc.) It's all good if you are coming here to play for a good team.

But if we trade Miller and then spiral downward the studs aint gonna be linin' up to come here, period...That's why I'd rather go the blockbuster trade route and get an established player in the middle of his contract. Then add more in next years draft!

C'mon Ed....We're ALL pulling for you. The Gasol thing really woke me up- How about you Ed?

Great forum Marc! Excellent job...Thanks.

Dean, I understand your comment about Miller playing (noy) defense, but seems like to me whenever they got in the lane it was Dooling, Nelson (Lou guarding) or Turkoglu (Dala, Young). I get your point, but your aim is off about last night.

Noah, not sure what you watch, but both Collison and Wilcox can play in the post. They have plenty of go-to moves. I like Collison a little better. Check out some film on them.

The defense was bad last night. We made Hedo look like an All-Pro. How can a guy like that get so many long drives to the basket for lay ups. He went around Thad, Iggy, Sammy -- whoever. Uncontested at the rim. And then I read that we have good coaching. All Mo said was we tried different things but we had trouble with getting around screens?!! The reason we have been staying in games at critical times is Miller stepping up and scoring.

I feel bad for Andre Miller. He deserves to be playing for a contending team at this point of his career. He must be frustrated. I almost get embarrassed seeing him on our bench sometimes.

But yeah, the better deals will probably come in the summer or next season, so no need to force anything, Ed.

gba,

Come on, our offense looked fantastic, and it wasn't against the Bucks! I'm not a huge Mo Cheeks fan, but he's making progress (at least on offense) and he stood toe-to-toe with a good coach last night. Give Mo credit for LouWill playing really smart basketball (again, on offense), along with Carney and Willie Green. LouWill did it against decent young PG's in Arroyo and Nelson! If LouWill can play like that 3 games out of 4, we're set at point guard! For me, Iggy was the reason to watch the Sixers early on - now it's Lou, if he keep playing like that. Some of his decision-making was Steve Nash-like (BTW, Nash isn't the perfect pure point guard everyone makes him out to be). Lou needs to be set loose. You know what would get Philadelphia to stop thinking about the damn Phillies? If he busted out a bunch of 30-point games and we won most of them. And he DJs? Philly would go head over heels for Sweet Lou if he breaks out and leads this team to the playoffs this year.

You're right about our bad defense, though - guess that's Mo's next homework assignment. But with all those years under Larry Brown, I'm surprised he doesn't coach team defense that well (what the hell WAS he doing as LB's assistant coach?). Maybe he's got the wrong assistant coaches - I read somewhere Randy Ayers is doing a great job teaching defense down in Washington. Maybe bring Eric Snow back as a coach?

Also, what's up with the small lineups? Smallball works only if you've got better-than-average shooters - you've gotta be able to shoot over people.

Whatever, I don't wanna harp on the negative stuff today. Great game. Possible turning point in LouWill's career. If Lou became a Paul/Williams/Parker type of player, a backcourt of him and Iggy could do some damage in this league.

Bottom line is, you have to have players. Coaching definately plays a part in all of this, but the players make the machine go. Phil Jackson has not won a championship in a while. Any guesses why? Boston was on the rocks for years. Why are they better now? They have the same coach. How's championship coach Pat Riley doing right now?

Please don't take this as an exoneration of Mo. I question some of his moves, also. But he cannot play the game for these guys. Carney missed a wide open layup last night. How is that Cheek's fault? One could argue that Carney shouldn't have been on the court, but the starting five can't play the entire game. Dala kept reaching in on players and got himself into foul trouble. But he's gotten away with that style all season and it's paid dividends for us. He just got caught last night. Thad Young, whom we all like, bit so hard so often on pump fakes, he left teeth marks. That's just youth right now. He'll learn. Are you gonna tell me Mo wanted Sam to play matador last night? Mo can't d-up teams' point guards. We have to count on Miller and Lou to do that. We don't have a young Gary Payton. And we certainly don't have Larry Bird shooting free throws for us. We have what we have.

Mo won't rip his players in public, but it has been said, by many players, that Mo does not pull any punches when it comes to getting his message across. I suspect that is the reason this young, talent-lacking team is able to play competitive games against these quality teams. I also suspect that is why you see growth in Sammy, Dala, and Lou.

Players make the man!

I have to wonder if Jason Smith couldn't have made the difference last night.

I can't understand how LA gets to make a trade like that for so little, when it should be apparent that the Sixers could have and would have offered as much or more for a PF like Gasol. There must have been several other teams out there who would have been willing to offer more. Why did Memphis make this deal?

The Sixers have two major problems- team defense and half court offense. They need the ability to make plays in crunch time and they need to force turnovers. That in itself could turn this team into a .500 club.

The defense is more a matter of effort, and the Sixers need to do better. They loose their games by an average of two points- it's not a lot to make up, if they could play just a little smarter, and MAKING THEIR FREE THROWS!

There is no reason for this team to be the third worst in free throw shooting, and a real embarrassment, since it means the players aren't working on it, and the coaches aren't making them learn how to shoot more consistently. Reggie Evans shouldn't be able to leave practice until he makes at least 5 free throws in a row.

Lou Williams is the Sixers future point. I'm not sure if Igoudala is better at SG or SF, but that depends on who else we have- Thad Young should be the SF and Jason Smith the PF. It's a faily young group, but they are very talented. Dalembert is doing a fair job at Center.

They should be a .500 club at least with that lineup.

Craig:

Excellent defense of Mo. I've definitely been critical on this blog about many of his moves (starting Evans and Green for over half the season is egregious in my mind). But your larger point is right on that the players make the coach, and that, at a certain point there is only so much Mo can do.

That said, Mo, Evans off the bench is a good start, but finish this off and do the same with Green. Put them in the roles they are built for!
/ Morty

Let me ask you a question Morty. How is starting Evans and Green "egregious" when Mo's other two options were a 19 yr old kid, who barely held his own last year in college, and a 21 yr old that played against mickey mouse competition for the last 3 seasons? You really wanted to start Thad Young right off the bat? He played ok at best in the summer league. Jason Smith played a little better, but not much. Rodney Carney DOMINATED the summer league - that's how much carryover there is to the real season.

Mo still has no other option at 2 guard and had no other option at the 4 until Thad finally developed a bit over the last 10-15 games. While he might not be the best coach in the world, Red Auerbach couldn't win with this group. There's not enough T-A-L-E-N-T on this squad, which is what I've been saying for the past 3 months.

Craig, didn't mean to infer that Miller got beat off the dribble last night so much. Just a general comment about his overall defense, not specific to last night's game. But Thad...boy, he got roasted by Hedo constantly.

The Sixers are a tough young squad that is clearly still lacking a consistent go-to guy at the end of close games. Combine that with their consistently bad team defense and their performances are exactly as you would expect. Competing most games even vs. some top teams but losing them in the end. Still a lot of moves that need to be made here.

hey sixerzguy, i dont know why you are crediting coach cheeks. for what? i mean the team lost because of his stupidity. Lou Williams were like a lost canyon before the end of the 2nd quarter. but coach cheeks did not put him in at the start of the 3rd canto to do more damage. instead he sticked to his 1st five. iggy was shooting everywhere and missing everything. green looked like playing in Mars. Miller was not passing at all. when Mo cheeks finally put Lou in, he was cold as ice already. the sweat and the momentum of the guy has gone. The coach should know when to bench or call the player. Lou Williams had 15 points at the end of the 2nd quarter. he's got 20 points total. but if you look at the minutes he played... only 28 minutes

Watching Josh Smith tonight versus Nets.

Once again I would trade Miller and Jason Smith for Josh Smith and Claxton's bad contract.

Atlanta gets PG and possible 5 to go with Horford and gets rid of bad contract.

Sixers get a young athletic 4 with all star potential.

naismith05

Your points are valid, I don't disagree. But for a while there, the only thing Mo was bringing to the table was his ability to get his team fired up for games. On a scale of 1 to 10, let's say that's a 3.0.

Like I mentioned above, he re-adjusted the offense after Korver left, which is impressive, and now we seem more like the team we were before the Korver trade. Now Mo's a 3.5.

Carney missed shots he should've made, but at least he took good shots. That's a huge positive step in the guy's development. Now imagine Carney gaining more confidence in his abilities, and he makes those shots on a consistent basis. Rodney's a great athlete, he's able to get off his shot whenever he wants. Good jumpshots and floaters whenever he wants, the occasional flush - I see a potential Dwyane Wade-type of player (I know, it's a stretch, it's the closest match I can come up with right now). But to get there, he needs a better understanding of what's a good shot and a bad shot, and he showed that last night. His +/- was +4, and usually he's very negative. I'd like to think Mo was responsible for that, and if we include Willie Green's better shot selection here too, that gives him a 4.0.

LouWill's smart play last night, that didn't seem like a temporary thing at all, he looked like he knew what he was doing. That showed up in his +/- also: +7, the Sixers' highest last night. That's gotta be Mo's tutelage, so 5.0?

Again, you're right, Mo still has a long ways to go, but he's made some progress, right?

Craig,

That comment you made about the how some of the Sixers starters are better than the Spurs starters was genius. It wasn't until then that it dawned on me that the Sixers have great depth.

After I learned about the +/- stat, I started checking that every night, looked at old box scores, and noticed one thing, and I think some one else brought up: our bench players almost always have a +/- number than our starters, and that completely validated your comment for me. Our bench is better than the other team's bench in almost all our matchups. Let me divvy up our roster before Korver's trade:

STARTERS
Miller
Green
Iggy
Evans
Sammy D

BENCH
LouWill
Carney
Korver
Thad
Jason Smith

Did anyone in the league have a better bench than that? Was our bench's overall talent better than our starters'; I mean, if you had to choose, which lineup would you use at the end of a game? Couldn't we have traded 3 of those guys for a stud guy? Was our rotation too deep?

I flat out want to see Lou Williams play 30+ minutes per game. All you guys that say he can't play the point or can't defend the at the '2' position: I hear ya, you're right! But talent is talent and watching him go back to the bench after lighting up Orlando makes me crazy. When he is filling it up like that DON'T TAKE HIM OUT.

And dammit, give me some consistent minutes for Carney. Maybe he plays great and attracts some interest around the trade deadline. I know he plays out of control and hasn't found his jumper but he has talent. He was supposed to be a stingy defender at Memphis. We suck at "D"...?!?!

Mo finally seems to have come around on Thad and, like I say, if they can trade Andre Miller and picks or players for a quality PF I'll be happy.

Sixerzguy - Did you just compare Rodney Carney to Dwayne Wade? Are you serious?

Rodney Carney has no handle. None. What makes Dwayne Wade great is his handle; he uses it to either get to the basket or to reward a teammate that's put himeself in position for an easy shot.

Have you ever seen Rodney Carney use his left hand? It's non-existent. Have you ever seen Rodney Carney post up like D-Wade? No, because he can't post up. Rodney Carney is athletic. That's it. His jumper is wildly inconsistent; so are his free throws.

Bottom line, he can't handle the ball, has no inside game, can't shoot, and (I almost forgot) is a below-average defender.

How is that like Dwayne Wade again?

Dean,

You're right, that was blasphemy. Should've just went to bed...

But he didn't stink, didn't take bad shots, his passing surprised me. All in all, a positive development, good job by Cheeks to get him to play within his game, if he doesn't ask for too much money, could become a nice role player for us. But no Wade.

It's scary how bad Miami is WITH stud Dwayne Wade. I never saw that franchises demise coming on so quick. I know Shaq got old fast but still.....The Heat's roster isn't THAT bad. And Riles is not a bad coach. What gives? It makes you wonder.

One thing I!ll say about Carney, the team just seems to play better with him out there, for whatever reason. It reminds me of when Salmons was here, you would look at the boxscore and he!d have 6pts., 4reb., and 3ass. yet the team seems to play better with him on the court.

Cleveland has interest in Girichek. He has a restriction[ can only be traded by himself] I would try to get Newble and their #1 pick [18 to 25]. If you have to sweeten the deal with future picks [ two #2!s] go for it. The restriction says can!t be combined with other players, not draft picks.

Dean:

I called Mo's rotations for the better part of this year egregious because everyone knew from the beginning of the year that this is a rebuilding year from a young team. Given those facts, his lack of sufficient PT for Young, Carney and as naismith noted Lou is inexcusable, in my opinion. As was his over playing of Korver, Evans and Green.

Now if you want to argue that Young and Smith did not deserve to start from day 1, OK. I'll agree with that. But how games did it take Mo to give Thad even 5-10 minutes? C'mon, already, the kid can play.

And I agree with naismith05 wholeheartedly that Mo's biggest fault is his rigid substitution patterns that seem to ignore how well or poorly a player is doing that night.

However, I agree that if you give mo better players he will be a better coach. Doc Rivers in Boston is example #1.
/Morty

suede:

Unless, you know something about Newble that I don't - no way do I give up that expiring contract!
/Morty
Morty and Moishe Recommend...

Charlotte win (yawn). '7 games in 10 days' Milwaukee w/o Redd win (yawn). Orlando loss (typical).

Effort and some promise shown but Sixers' team defense - the anchor to winning - is poor, more often than not. Its absence is a killer against quality teams. Where is the self-proclaimed "Haitian Sensation" when a Sixers' defender is beaten and an opponent takes it to the hole from top or wing, i.e. Turkoglu? And if Dalembert anticipates and plants properly, Howard can't steamroller him backwards 10 ft. for an easy bucket without an offensive foul call. Dalembert is not the only sieve though (and, to be fair, once in a while he's frenzied and dominant). Lots of blame to go around for defensive inefficiencies. Sixers are generally quick-footed but lacking beef, and are too absent-minded and uncommitted at that end of the court. Yes, they're young, but surely old enough to understand defensive principles/fundamentals and carry them out with regularity, should that ever become their main focus. Until then, fans can enjoy the fast breakin' fare and hopeful talk of a rosy future amidst losses and discounted tickets. Maybe Cheeks & staff are soundly instructive and properly emphatic on the subject. Results don't prove it.

E.S. has stated more cap room this year is not a necessity. That leads me to believe that Brand and Jamison are not options. Getting draft picks are probably the top priority in an A.Miller trade. He no longer is the best p.g. on the market. [Kidd] I do think he is as valuable as Bibby, 4 mill. less in salary and the ability to play the off guard, Bibby is to small. I went through all teams that might have interest in Dre.Atlanta doesn!t have a #1 this year [J.Johnson trade], if Law or J.Smith are not in trade, they probably are not an option.In order to get a #1 pick , we may have to take back a bad salary. [CHICAGO, Duhon, J.Smith,#1 pick] [CLEVELAND, Snow, Newble,#1] [HOUSTON, M.James,K.Snyder,S.Francis,#1][NEW YORK,M.Rose,f.jONES,#1][milwaukee, Simmons,#1] [SEATTLE,E.Watson, Sene, #!(from Pheonix,#28] [INDIANA,Harrison,Diener, Foster,#1 for Dre and UTAH PICK] Allthese trades have players with [Snow,2] [J.Smith,2] [M.James ,2][M.Rose,2][Simmons ,3; but he can play] [E.Watson,3;Sene,2; both could have a role] [T.Diener,2] more than 1 year left, but to get a #1 pick, you have to be realistic. Two years from now, when we are ready to compete, the bad salaries will be off the books.Other options for players that fit without getting cap space [A.Miller for G.Arenas] [A.Miller for A.Daniels,Blatche,R.Mason] [A.Miller,Jas.Smith for A.Walker [2 yrs left] Telefair(2.5 cap space) and Minnesota #1 [ top 10 pick ] adding J.Smith may make them do it.

mORTY, Newble is expiring also

Suede:

OK, didn't know that. Makes sense for us to get another pick, but what value does Cleveland get?

BTW, Stefanski has said that he wants a young player with upside as part of a trade for Miller.

We can engineer extra cap space this off season through a sign and trade, or normal trade. Meaning, we can trade a 5 mi, salary for a 15 mil salary and still be under that cap, I believe.
/morty
Morty and Moishe Recommend...

Hey Jumpin Johnnie, agree we need a T.Hill type to play physical and smart and have Sam!s back when he gets out of position. Foster would be perfect (30 yrs old) maybe Turiaf [restricted]

Morty, with Varijio and Pavlovic both out hurt Cavs may feel Newble has nothing left but Girichek does. They need to show Labron they are trying to compete. But I agree we would probably have to give up future considerations.

Suede, Dean, Morty...how about the trade with ATL I suggested - Andre plus Jason Smith for Josh Smith and Claxton's bad contract?

ATL gets true veteran PG for at least a year to groom Law or keep, gets rid of Claxton contract, and gets possible 4/5 to pair with Horford.

Sixers get all star potential athletic 4 to put with Iguodala, Sam, Thad and LouWill.

John, its ashame we couldn!t substitute the Utah #1 for Jason in your scenario, but if E.S. likes Josh Smith that much, who knows.Speedy is a serviceable backup but he can!t play with L.Will.

One side of me says, the more I see of Young, the less I'm inclined to go after Josh Smith. If Young could add weight and expand his post game, we have our 4 on the roster without paying so much money. Plus, Smith has been known as somewhat of a knuckle head. We could use the cap space for shooters.

The other side says, if Young continues to develop plus we somehow acquire Josh Smith, we could potentially have a starting line up of Sam, Josh Smith, Young, Dala, and Miller if he is still here.

Question for you. Suppose we traded our expiring contracts and a pick for Mike Miller and Javaris Crittenton? Would you be interested? Memphis is losing money and wants rid of Miller's contract. They are in complete rebuilding mode. Javaris is that big PG we could possibly match with Lou someday. Miller would essentially be our free agent signing at 2 yrs $9.5m per. Plus we'd still have 'Dre Miller as a chip.

Craig:

Does Mike Miller play D?

I like the idea of Josh Smith because no matter the scoring, he gets Rebounds and blocks. I really like the idea of pairing him w/ Sammy - that could really make our interior defense scary, and free up AI and Young to take more chances on steals, etc.

I do see your point about Thad potentially becoming a similar player, but if you imagine Thad, Josh Smith, Sammy, AI and Lou on the court at the same time - I like that.
/Morty

Suede, Good mention. Always loved Ty Hill's game. Those kind of selfless workers are hard to come by. Sixers are in need of his sort. Foster is a good name, is a digger & mixer - but isn't as versatile as Ty was. Don't know enough about Turiaf to comment.