Elton Brand agrees to go to the 76ers
Elton Brand has reached a verbal agreement to sign a multiyear contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to an NBA source who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on player movements. The deal is believed to be in the $80-million range and expected to span five years. – LA Times
Thanks Joe for posting this link in the comments!
{ 112 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m still in disbelief. Two posts on the previous thread really drive home what we just did. Morty said, “Stefanski turned Korver, Carney and Booth into Elton Brand and a 2nd round pick. This guy is the man!” and Indo said, ”
Actually, stefanski/Billy King turned Iverson, korver, carney, and booth into Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Jason Smith, and a 2nd round pick.
Looks even better…”
Either way you look at it, it’s fantastic.
Nice, not Josh smith but ill take it
Havent thought of that, that is pretty sweet…now just sign IGG and we are the best in the east or at least 2nd to the C’s
What of the biggest free agent coups in recent memory was just pulled off by the Sixers….ha….
one of the biggest free agent coups in recent nba history pulled off by the sixers…ha!!!
I honestly believe Josh Smith would have been the better fit for the young running Sixers. Brand could play like a “Fat Cat” and that concerns me. Is he 100%. At 16 million per, he’d better be! I like it, but I have my reservations.
Yep, Re-sign Iguodala and Williams, add a shooter, and we’re ready to hit the floor.
i am stunned
to ease people’s fears about the achilles injury…my dad is a doctor and while not an orthopedic surgeon, he says that an achilles tear is not a lingering injury. once its healed, you are good to go.
Happy but slightly worried about Brand’s age and health. If he is on the DL more than he is in uniform, it will be 5 yrs before we return to the playoffs. BUT, I won’t rain on the parade. We landed a big time, 20-10 guy at the position we desperately needed to fill. Please stay healthy and happy in Philly, Elton!
Brand only turns 30 in March, so we basically have his 29-33 seasons. Maybe the last year or two will be below peak, but whatever. I am also stunned. I assumed that when Davis agreed with LA that it was Josh Smith or bust.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YO, NBA, WE WANT OUR COMMERCIAL!!! “I REMEMBER FINDING OUT ABOUT YOU…” I WANNA BE IN THE MONTAGE COMMERCIAL LIKE YOU MADE FOR GARNETT, I’LL BE THE GUY RUNNING AROUND THE PUB AFTER HEARING THE NEWS, AND I ACCIDENTALLY BUMP THE BANDWAGON BOSTON FAN WEARING HIS 2008 BOSTON CHAMPIONSHIP T-SHIRT, CAUSING HIM TO SPILL BEER ALL OVER HIMSELF… YAAA!!! “I REMEMBER FINDING OUT ABOUT YOU…”
What do we think? Now that we’ve gotten Brand, Miller should be amenable to a contract extension, no? I hope so, because if we can secure Miller, we could be looking at an extended run of very good basketball, that will hopefully deliver a championship.
It depends. I think Miller would be open to staying if the money is right no question. And the addition of Brand would make it hard to leave a winner. But, it would be the Sixers best interest to offer him an extension after they sew up Iguodala and Williams. Here’s why….
The exact same reason we got Elton Brand is the exact same reason Andre Miller would leave. To go back closer to home. If a good West coast team has the money to compete with the Sixers offer in the open market I think there is a good chance we lose him. Lock him up before we even get to that.
Greatest blog comment ever goes to Zack..id be right there with you man. Brand is sick, id rather smith but Brand is sick as long as it wasnt magette, krstic or randolph im happy. Watch it C’s, you may not win the atlantic next year after all
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHILADELPHIA!!!!!
I am in shock. SHOCK!!! Utter disbelief, etc etc etc. I’ve been yapping for the last two years about how we have zilch chance to land this mother!@#$er, and we just got him. Wow. This is the best big man we have had in town since Mr. Charles Barkley. I could not be more stoked. My year has just been made. Holy !@#$ing @!#$!!!
(this just might be my shortest post ever…enjoy it while it lasts everyone haha!)
To all those wanting Josh Smith, I think it would be a gamble not worth taking. Would Brand be willing to wait seven days for a contract? I don’t think so. So we offer Josh a contract and the Hawks match and we are screwed with Brand.
Also, before last year Brand had ZERO injury issues. With him and Dalembert guarding the rim, more blocks equaling more fast breaks. Now I really really hope we get Iggy’s deal done and sign a shooter like Chris Quinn.
First Asante Samuel and then Brad Lidge (or vice versa) and now Elton Brand, is this the reversal of Philly’s sports “curse”.
I am so proud to be a Philly sports fan right now I can’t put it into words. When a franchise isn’t afraid to spend the money on the guy they want it could energize a city.
I wish I was there.
Well, I am thinking we have a legit chance to be the #2 defense in the entire NBA with this trade.
Overall, I think we are better than Orlando. I think we are surely a 50 win team. Probably over 55.
Ryan, I am psyched! The NBA season can’t start soon enough for me!
Basketballl gods, I want just one more thing… I know Brand was a lot, but if you could do me this one tiny little favor, we got this guy Willie Green, he’s not so good… No, I’m not asking for an injury, really, that’s not cool… but if somehow, he could play for another team, not the Sixers, that’d be just the cherry on top, maybe a sign and trade for Carlos Delfino (Toronto), or something like that…
Zack,
I’d be real careful about asking the basketball gods for anything right now. I think if we ask for one more good thing to happen, Iguodala or Thad might rupture their knee and need microfracture surgery as basketball karmic punishment. Let’s just enjoy this moment while it lasts and not take it for granted!
I will repeat one more time, as I am still in shock…HOLY @!#$ing @!#$ we signed Elton Brand!!!
QUICK SOMEONE SIGN ED TO AN EXTENSION
Also…a very, very good shooter (completely one dimensional) that we could get for the league minimum would be Richie Frahm, former Gonzaga stand out, and has floated around the league and Europe. I’d much rather sign a cheap, and automatic 40% from 3 point land guy that can’t do anything else, rather then overpay for only marginally better ones like teams have for Kapono and Carroll (both making 6 million a year…ridiculous).
I am a Warrior fan. Sad we did not get Brand but HAPY AS HELLL the Clippers did not.
BARON how you llike the CLIPPERS lOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOser
Dave T, you crack me up man… I’d like to read your comments about Elton Brand again, under what posts did you put those in? Something about how someone said Brand was the hardest guy to defend for a lot of the premier big guys in this league?
DANNIE: I’m here. I just hate to leave Suede all alone over there. I’ve told him to come over here several times before. Anyway, we had better slow down just a bit with all the extend ES talk. We wouldn’t want to pull a Charlie Weiss, now would we? Sorry Pete.
Bski – I saw your comments about Reggie Evans and Speights. Evans might be go for banging with Speights. But I actually think getting Brand is the best thing that could have happened to Speights. Now he gets to workout everyday with a proven 20-10 PF. He can learn so much from Brand over the next few years and really develop his game. If he realizes his potential in 2 or 3 years the Sixers will be really tough to deal with because of their front line talent and depth.
Last one for the night – I’m getting a kick out of reading the comments section of this Clippers blog:
http://www.clipperblog.com/index.php/item/607#c
DANNIE: You’re right. Brand should be a fantastic example and teacher for Speights. I only mentioned Evans in response to Suede and then only regarding his work ethic and hustle. I still don’t know if he’s movable yet. We probably still need him in our big man rotation off the bench.
I’ve got to close up for the night. The alarm clock will be ringing soon and I’m not even asleep yet. I’ll be back in the morning.
Dannie: don!t know many options for Evans, maybe Milwaukee , but a situational shooter who wasn!t an option before this may look at the Sixers differently now.Still hope Iggy gets a chance at the 2 guard, the alternatives aren!t much better.
Tell me again why I shouldn’t be worried about this — it sure seemed Josh Smith was a great fit, why not use that extra money from the Minn trade to really put the Hawks in a near-impossible situation to get the younger, more athletic Smith??
Defensive matchups against finalists: Sam,Garnett,Gasol; Brand,Perkins,Bynum; Thad,Pierce,Odom; Iggy,Allen,Koby; A.Miller,Rondo,Fisher; not bad!!!!
Hey ZACK stop back by that Clippers blog and check out the comment by SixersBrandConnection…pretty funny. I wonder who posted it
Ed, all the questions were about Brand but in reality here are the Josh Smith questions; 1] is he a leader; 2] does he play hard everynight; 3] is he a lowpost threat;4] adding another 22 yearold to the mix a plus or a minus; 5] does Miller stay with a Smith signing or leave. I tried to make you feel better.
@Dannie,
Absolutely agree with you…that might be one of the best things about landing Brand. Speights could not possibly have a better mentor. Brand is:
-One of the hardest working players in the NBA
-A great locker room presence and leader, by all accounts
-Is a classic old school big man that understands center of gravity, body positioning, footwork, sealing, footwork…he REALLY knows the back to the basket game.
-Defense is off the friggin hook for guarding other, taller PF’s effectively.
Could we ask for a better bball citizen to tutor Speights and whip his butt into shape, and show him the ropes?
Boy, I thought those L.A. fans were laid back. Thanks for the sight Zack!!!
@Ed
If we went after Smith, we’d have to wait (I believe 7 days) for Atlanta to match. Brand would surely sign within that time, either with the Warriors or the Clippers. At that point, in my opinon, we’d have a 20% chance (at best) that the Hawks let Smith go. In that case, Smith’s gone, Brand’s gone, we’ve given up Carney and a #1, and we’re sitting with our you know what in our hand.
I also think it can be reasonably assumed that when the Sixers made the trade with the T-Wolves, the agreement had already been reached with Brand.
I can’t sleep, all this free agency gave me insomnia
Looks like the only real tweaks left are to get ourselves a backup center, and a shooter. You guys have heard me babble before about how I think Herbert Hill, if healthy, can be a blue chip backup center type gem for us, that is very inexpensive, and has nice potential.
This leaves the shooter. I’m curious what people think. Right now our depth chart, after losing Carney & Booth, is:
PG: A. Miller / Sweet Lou
SG: A. Iguodala / W Green
SF: T. Young / (blank)
PF: E. Brand / R. Evans / M. Speights
C: S. Dalembert / H. Hill / J Smith
Would you guys rather have a shooter that:
-Toggles as the backup pure assist PG, and can hit threes, allowing Lou to play a more scoring oriented game
-Trade Willie Green, and get ourselves a backup SG that does just that: hit 3 pointers
-Find a Kyle Korver or Kapono like backup SF that can nail 3’s at a great clip, filling our bench hole that way.
We definitely have some room for “tweak” trades here, as given our mini-glut at the PF spot (Reggie, Speights & J Smith) one of R Evans or Smith could be moved. Obviously lots of us have called for Willie Green’s head as well…two of the above players could be packaged for a guy in the 2-3 million range, maybe 4.
A guy and team that immediately comes to mind, IMO? Golden State. They just lost Baron Davis, and now that Monte Ellis is their man at guard, they are pretty depleted for backcourt scoring, except for Belinelli, who is completely unproven. With the signing of Maggette, still having Al Harrington, and Azuibuke’s emergence last year…it makes the perfect candidate available…MATT BARNES.
I’d LOVE to somehow trade Willie Green and a future 1st or 2nd round pick, cash, or something (given their youth at PF & Harrington, they wouldn’t be interested in Jason Smith)…to the Warriors to get a resigned Matt Barnes. Matt Barnes would fit with us perfectly…he’s turned himself into a money 3 point bomber, and as we know, plays good defense and is a great hustle guy as well.
Another guy to look at for cheap would be Juan Dixon, a nice bench combo guard that is a good three point shooter, slasher, and a decent passer as well that can run the PG spot every now and then.
Utah also has a guy that would be PERFECT for us…Morris Almond, former Rice standout. Utah made a run at Willie Green back when he was a restricted FA…since they have Korver launching threes, they also need backup guard scoring, and perhaps would be intrigued by Willie again.
Total list of names off the top of my head that are minor key 3 point bombers that have decent skill sets that might be had for cheap signings or through tweak trades:
-Matt Barnes
-Juan Dixon
-Morris Almond
-Martell Webster (doubtful Portland lets him go, but worth mentioning)
-Ritchie Fraham
-Travis Diener (I think Diener outdoes Quinn and Quinn’s own game…white boy backup PG that can nail 3’s. He’s a better player).
-Gordon Giricek – He’s honestly perfect…a monster on defense, can play backup SF, and nail the 3 ball. Would be funny if we got him back for cheap.
the Sixers have finally put themselves in the mix. i was 100% for this move and the risk so you will never see me question it. i was praying that we would not sign Mark Blount a few years back when he was being wined and dined. thank God he went to the Celts. somehow it was a mark blount exemption that allowed minnesota to help us deal .
dave T – i like your list, i think this is the right way to go. juan dixon is a solid addition to any team. i dont know enough about barnes to comment. i was thinking the perfect fit would be Aaron McKie in his prime. remember those days when iverson was out and mckie was the floor general ? 16-5-5-1 while hitting evry jumper he got his hands on ?
to you old deep sixer guys, im disappointed i was not extended a personal invite over here. i had to piggyback on the personal invite suede received. i have been an unwavering brand supporter for months…and never missed an opportunity to smack around a blogger who sang the praises of Zach Randolph
This is a tremendous day in the city of brotherly basketball love. Brand is the best fit for the 76ers for many reasons. I love Josh Smith’s endless upside and amazing athletic ability, but is only 22 and not the low post threat Brand is. He also isn’t a post defender. Brand brings leadership and is a proven top-level NBA PF.
If I’m not mistaken, the 76ers will still have some flexibility to sign another free agent and make a trade. We are still in the market for Josh Childress, which would be a perfect fit as a back up SF who can really shoot. Also, a back up PG who can shoot the 3 is desirable.
Very excited for the 2008-09 NBA season. When was the last time any one in Philly could say that??
Dave T., now that we have 2 low post 4!s [Brand,Spieghts] Jason becomes the perfect backup 5 , an energy guy that runs the court, blocks shots, and best of all can hit the open “j” when left alone by a Brand doubleteam. Read again today that we got a 2.8 trade exemption in this trade. Does any body know how it can be used, can it be added to Green or Evans in a trade or does it have to be used alone?
Mckie and suede: Glad to see you guys over here. Great day to be a Sixers fan.
Thanks Morty, A shooter I would love to get is Maurice Evans, an athlete that has been on playoff teams the last 3 to 4 years and is rumoured to be expendable with the signing of Pietrus by Orlando. Hermann, J. Hayes are 2 other options because of their athletism and effort on “D”.
Suede: I was thinking of Hayes myself. He’s probably cheap since he didn’t play much last year.
great idea to jump over from deep sixer, i had given up on Marc. lol
Giricek might work but i thought he had a bad attitude, James Posey will prob get too much $$ for what he is after his finals performance. if i remember correctly Barnes is a FA and would be a good fit. we’ll have to see how much cap room they have after the trade, brand deal and the new NBA cap but it would be great if they could steal Childress from the hawks to be our backup SF and 3 ball shooter. If the Clips offer Josh Smith a contract the hawks might have to scramble to match and if the sixers make an offer to childress around the same time they might steal him. Even if it was just a $3-5 mil a yr deal.
Guys, a little conspiracy theory; if Clippers offer Josh Smith an offersheet and Atlanta wants to match but needs cap room does an Evans and trade exemption[2.8] if possible for Childress work because he is looking for app.7 mill. per according to web rumours and if unused I believe the exemption comes off the cap, what do you guys think?
Imagine if Iverson was the 2 guard on this team… Just hand us the trophy… Bring him back, he’s still got it.
He is a FA soon.
AI retires a 76er!
Suede: I don’t think we got an exception since we were already below the cap. I believe that money just got added to our existing cap room which allows us to afford Brand. Depending on how they structure the contract we will have the biannual exception of 1.9 mil plus maybe another mil or so.
Morty, thanks; that limites the field of shooters down bigtime. W.I.P. IS SAYING iGGY IN A SIGN-TRADE; I hope not!!
Suede: any more details? I’ve been wondering since the brand move if Stefanksi would move Igoudala for a more traditional shooting guard. Personally, I hope not, but I’ll reserve judgment until I see how it plays out.
WOW!!!!!! can’t believe it….
and it was the guy Billy King was targeting all along… Billy, are you there???
Speaking of Billy… this would have never happened if he hadn’t signed kenny freakin thomas to that huge deal then traded for the ridiculous Webber contract that just came off the books this year. LOL
Suede – I went to WIP site couldn’t find that they must have just mentioned it on air. But I looked at the survey results and 48% of the people think the Sixers should sign and trade Iguodala. Why?
I’d court the shit outta Brent Barry right now. He’s the guy (albeit short-term solution–due to his age, but CHEAP) that this Sixers team needs off the bench as a shooter–he is as deadly as anyone in the league and can still get up and down the floor with the best of them, not to mention a hell of a floor general/passer. He also plays well off a power post player in his aility to find open shots outta the post and cut to the basket.
About Iguodala- he can’t shoot, but at the point they “sign and trade” him, they sacrifice the exact foundation that this team was built on and made them one of the most dangerous teams in the league last year in their ability to defend, get out and run, and create TO’s…how soon people forget? Iguodala was a huge reason why this team was one a the best defensive team in the league last year. They won 40 games due to their defense. Someone please name me a player that the Sixers could trade for and not sacrifice the d that iguodala gives, not to mention his 19/ppg. Now, I aint the biggest iguodala fan (at times I can’t stand him), but let’s not undervalue him with regards to how he helps this team win. It is critical that the Sixers got better, but did not sacifice the foundation that this team has been build one…its a difficult act to balance, but so far, big eddie has done it.
Dannie, it was just mentioned on air; Iggy is a big part of this teams identity and with Thad showing a nice spot up jumper at the end of the year we should be able to score enough to win most nights. Don!t we seem like a good 15 to 18 ft. shooting team without adding a shooter. A specialist is all that is needed for situations.
I don’t see who we could sign and trade for, Vujacic? Maggette’s no longer available. But no way to a Vujacic for Iggy straight-up deal, they’d have to throw in Farmar or Luke Walton, and they’d HAVE TO take Willie away, and even then I’d still rather have Iggy. The top SG’s in the league make way too much (McGrady makes $20M per, holy cow), we can’t S&T Iggy straight up for one of them.
Suede – Yes I think they are a good mid-range shooting team and a great slashing team. We added the inside scoring we needed while not sacrificing anything we already do on the defensive end (we are better in this area) or the running game (guys Brand isn’t Shaq he can run just fine!).
Just need a specialist. I heard Miami has an offer on the table for James Jones so he is out. But there are options out there.
Sign and trade Iguodala talk should cease, until someone comes up with a player that improves the team otherwise there is no need to bring in a guy that at best will be “as good” as what Iguodala already brings – especially if he is older.
JRP111, the only way,imop, that Iggy is moved is because he overvalues himself or he wants to go out west. Tough to find equal value in a sign-trade and Dannie, unsure of the rules after we sign Brand, can we take back same salary or 1/2 salary as a base year player for Iggy in a sign-trade?
I’d never watch a Sixers game again, if they traded AI for Sasha and Jordan Farmar…how is that an upgrade in any way, shape or form..? I know your just throwing names out there, but it just infuriates me how guys like them play int he FINALS and that off-season they are thrown on a pedestal as “sought-after”….esp. when it comes to Sasha..his value is all wrapped up in the fact that he plays with Kobe…let’s remember he is an 8/ppg scorer, fouls too much, gets knocked off the ball defensively and if is not getting a kick out from kobe, he can’t score…again, zach…I know that you are just throwing names out there, it just gave me an excuse to rant of Sasha a bit…
Guys, I may be wrong but wouldn!t it be a feather in Iggy!s and L.Will!s caps to take a million less each if it helps to get a shooter here. Guys like Ginobli and Hamilton seem to make less than market value to stay with winning organizations and we appear to be getting there too; what a good response both would get fanwise and to team could be sure to mention it through the media.
Suede: It sure would. Big moment for Igoudala, here.
Suede I am in no way a cap specialist. (thats my disclaimer) But here is what I found, not sure if it helps answer your question.
Usually the salary used for comparison is the player’s actual salary. But under either of the following circumstances, a different salary is used when comparing salaries for trading purposes:
- The team is over the salary cap, used the Larry Bird or Early Bird exception to re-sign the player, and the player received a raise greater than 20% (unless it’s the minimum salary).
- The team is over the salary cap, it extended the player’s rookie scale contract, and the player received a raise greater than 20%.
If either of the above apply, then the player is considered a base year player. A player remains a base year player for six months, or until June 30, whichever comes later. When trading a base year player, the salary used for comparison is the player’s previous salary, or 50% of the first-year salary in his new contract, whichever is greater.
Kareem Rush, Quinton Ross, Roger Mason.
These are the best UFA out there right now. The question is, are they better overall than Willie Green, now that Carney is gone?
I don’t know much about Ross so I’ll defer to a more educated poster. I feel Mason would be an upgrade on both ends of the floor and I’m not sold on Rush as a defender.
Dannie, thanks. Dre, Ross is a lockdown defender but not sure how good a shooter. Mason blossomed last year, could get 3 to 4 mill. per.With Evan!s role sure to diminish this year and Spieghts having a perfect teacher in Brand could E.S. be trying to move him, off of his career year, and acquiring either an expiring contract or a need to be filled. Milwaukee[D.Mason,expiring 4 to 5 mill.] or Orlando[Reddick and B.Cook] could be interested but hard to get a read on Reggie!s value around the league but he was exellent in the playoffs with everybody watching.
I like Reggie. We need that enforcer mentality coming off the bench kinda like Oakley, Mahorn and DC from “the old days”.
The spurs have a few UFAs that could help with 3s. Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Robert Horry, but they could just have a high percentage from playing with Duncan. If we could get Barry that would just cap the off season off perfectly.
Dre, like him too but would like Spieghts to get minutes similar to Jason got last year and Reggies value will never be higher; wish Reggie made 2.5 instead of 4.6 this year. By the way, heard H.Hill volunteered to play with our summer league team even though we renounced his salary to free up cap space, I still think he can become a 10 to 15 minute player,ala Milsap or Diogu.
I also like Evans off the bench for 15 minutes. For the right deal, I would move him, but it’s got to be for a nice price. Reggie, to me, seems like one of those intangibles players you need on a winning team, a glue guy. He probably has more value to the Sixers than other teams. I would far rather trade Green (whose value is probably roughly equivalent to Reggie’s) or Smith.
Hopefully Willie can become an 8 pts. in 10 to 15 minute guy for us on nights where we have trouble scoring; he seems like a ” good guy” by all accounts that was asked to do something last year he just wasn!t good enough to do.Tough to move him. If we can get a shooter without moving Reggie that could be a good thing, he is ,as you say Dre and Morty a tough, gluish[is that a word] type of player.
I think in general the 3 point shooting will improve with the guys they have now because they can post and kick out now. Nobody on the team last year was good enough to draw a double in the post. Iggy, LWill Green and Thad are all capable of hitting an open 3. Last year Iggy was shooting a lower percentage because most of his shots were tough fadeaways especially during the detroit series.
Read on E.S.P.N. that E.S. didn!t want a young player but a veteren to make him a top 5 team in the east; accomplished!!!! With that mindset does a veteren shooter make more sense.BBall, don!t know if we can lure the Barry!s and Finley!s of the world yet, we may have to win 50 games this year and show that we are a title contender.Used the infamous E.S.P.N. TRADE MACHINE and these 2 trades worked; 1] Evans for Harpring; 2] Evans and Green for Nucioni; the second one intrigues me because he is on the block and two smaller deals for 3 years each may be easier than 1 big deal for 5 more years to move and Chicago is trying to move salary. Harpring has knee issues but played well last year and Utah wants to get tougher and is loaded with wings;[Miles,Korver,Almond,Brewer].
@deepsixersuede
If you could get the Bulls to bite, I’d be all for Evans and Green for Nocioni. Don’t want Harpring.
@jrpIII
Love to see the Sixers go after Barry. Reports expect him getting 1.8 million, if I’m correct we’ve got 2 million left. Throw it out there!
Suede: Agreed that Willie, if used properly (looking at you, Mo) could be more useful this year. I hope ES has a long talk with Mo about how he envisions these players working together.
@Morty
How could Willie be used more properly? I thought Mo used him very well personally.
@Morty
Just thought about it. I suppose you mean off the bench and for less minutes. I was thinking, at first, how he was used on the court at first. Like cutting back door often, etc.
Just scoured the NBA rosters to make an updated list of possible 3 point shooters we could acquire. Most of these guys we could sign pretty cheaply as a FA, or through a tweak trade by packaging 1-2 of our minor assets with a 2nd round draft pick. Almost all of their salaries are in the 700k – $3-4 million range. I ranked them in order of who I feel could help us the most, and split them by experience:
Veterans:
1. Matt Barnes
2. Damon Stoudamire
3. Bostjan Nachbar
4. Keith Van Horn
5. Gordon Giricek
6. Brent Barry
7. Juan Dixon
8. Chucky Atkins
9. Kareem Rush
10. Roger Mason Jr.
11. Casey Jacobson
12. Damon Jones
13. Jumaine Jones
14. Richie Frahm
15. Eric Piatkowski
Young guys:
1. Morris Almond
2. Martell Webster
3. Daniel Gibson
4. Travis Diener
5. Chris Quinn
6. J.J. Reddick
7. Luke Jackson
Guys that could have helped us, but are now signed:
-James Jones (signed with Miami, 2 years/$4 million)
-Juan Carlos Navarro (signed with FC Barcelona, 3 years/$15 million)
OK, I left off at around post #30 last night. I’ve had a lot of catching up to do. I’m just going to stick my toe back in here with a few points.
@ AaronMcKie 4MVP: I have mentioned this blog many times on DeepSixer and have invited everyone there to come over here. Last night I was having a back and forth with Suede, that’s why I directed the invitation to him. Sorry, no snub intended.
@ JRPIII: About Iguodala, I agree with this: “but let’s not undervalue him with regards to how he helps this team win. It is critical that the Sixers got better, but did not sacrifice the foundation that this team has been built on…”
I don’t see us getting equal value in return with any sign and trade. Iguodala means a lot to this team and I want him to stay.
@ Morty: I agree that Evans is a glue guy and that, unless we can work a really good trade, we should keep him around. I want Speights to be surrounded by hard working, no nonsense, maximum effort guys so that there is no opportunity for him to slip into laziness. Even though Brand will shoulder the load in this area, I think Evans can help as well and give us 10-15 mins a night.
@ Suede: You may be right. Willie Green may be able to give us 8 pts in 10-15 mins. The problem is he’ll need 12 shots to get it. I’ve seen more than enough 1 for 8 first quarters from him this past season, which prevents me from believing he can be the efficient scorer we need coming off the bench. Also, no thanks on Harpring.
As for myself, I’m wondering about Mo Cheeks. You know the saying, be careful what you wish for, right? Well, now that we are assembling the talent we need, Cheeks has nowhere to hide. He was rightly applauded for doing what he did with what we had. He was also given some slack because we were young and had a few holes. That will all come to an end now.
He’s got to be thrilled with what ES is doing, but he’s also got to know that he is now on the hot seat. We will all be expecting him to turn this talent into a contender. I have always been a supporter of Cheeks and I believe he will get the job done. I know that many others here and on deep sixer don’t feel that way about him. So, what do we all think about it?
Joe: Right. A lot less minutes and a much shorter leash for Willie. If he shoots 4-6, great, if he shoots 1-4, pull him immediately.
bski: Mo should be on the hot seat in my opinion. He still has to prove himself. The 2nd half of last year was a start, but just a start.
If it was the N.F.L., Thibideux would be a head coach this year; his affect on Boston and those Van Gundy rocket teams was amazing. Mo in the very least is a good players coach, hopefully if x!s and o!s are an issue, if Lynum leaves they bring in a veteren to help.
DAVE T: I am going to whittle down your list. Veterans I’d be ok with: Barry, Giricek, Mason, Rush, with Damon Jones, Dixon, and House(any reason you didn’t mention him? If Boston keeps Posey, he might be available.) as possibles. Young guys I’d be ok with: Webster or Reddick, with Gibson and Quinn as possibilities. The others are too something for me(too old, too small, too average a 3 pt shooter).
I am going forward with the understanding that Iguodala will be at the 2 and Young at the 3. If that is the case, I am looking for a guy who shoots the 3 well and has the size to come off the bench and slide between the 2 and the 3. We already have a smallish guy in Lou coming off our bench. If we were to add someone like Damon Jones, Dixon, House, Gibson, or Quinn, it might cause problems as far as only being able to have one of them on the floor at a time. That’s why I have them listed only as possibilities. With guys like Barry, Webster, Rush, Mason, or Giricek, (possibly even Reddick, depending on the matchup) you can slide them to the 3 and keep them in the game when Lou is on the floor. Almond and Frahm have the size, but I don’t know if they will be able to consistently knock down the 3 for us.
Maybe I’m being too restrictive, but that’s what I see as the best fit for us.
Dalembert,Smith, Div.2 shotblocker; Brand,Evans,Spieghts; Young,[shooter]Carroll; Iggy,Green,J.Gordon; Miller,L.Will., Ollie;could this be our opening 15 man roster; resign Ollie for minimum and send Div.2 shotblocker,Carroll and Gordon to D-league.
Matt Barnes and Maurice don’t quite get along. Did they patch things up? If not, I’d suggest you take him off of your wish lists.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_mannix/05/10/barnes.warriors/
@bski
House will be too expensive. He would just resign with Boston for the minimum before signing here for the minimum right?
TO add to Dave T….
Pat Carroll, Steve Novak, Lue, Salim Stoudmire, Reddick, CJ Miles, Dickau.
Hope shooter is 6!5″ or bigger, Mo likes to interchange parts and with L.Will. a small guard would restrict him. I like M.Evans as an affordable option because he also is athletic.
wow, 87 comments. I guess professional basketball is alive and well in the Philly! Thanks Ed, might just get those season tickets I’ve been dreaming about. Just to put my two cents in, what about Pargo? He nearly won game 6 against San Antonio and has shown the ability to hit the three in clutch situations (anyone remember that Chicago game?) Last year he had a drop off in that category, but he was shooting 38-39% the previous two years from the three point line so… what do you guys think? (Other than him being out of our price range?)
Wow – 88 comments that is awesome. I am still in Elton Brand la la land, need to come up with some new things to write about. Got some good ideas from all the comments thought.
Agree with everyone thats think Mo Cheeks is on the hot seat. Stefanski is playing to win and I think will have no problem letting Mo go if he can’t get it done after all his maneuvering.
Suede – Good thought regarding Lou and Iguodala taking a slight pay cut to open some room for a shooter. I don’t think Williams will need to so for me its more about Iguodala. I just am not sure where his head is right now. Can’t wait to hear more about those negotiations to get a better idea.
I am thinking the Sixers are in the drivers seat now regarding Iguodala’s negotiations. They obviously can match anything or sign and trade if they feel he is being too unreasonable so we don’t lose him entirely – which I think is the more likely outcome than signing him to a one year deal and letting go on the open market next summer. But with the addition of Brand he would be viewed as an “all about the money” guy if he didn’t resign with the Sixers after they make him an offer which I gotta assume will be reasonable IMO. Hoping that isn’t the case, he seems fully invested here now from everything I’ve heard this summer. He is working out with guys and was overseeing the draftees workouts. Best part is I don’t think there is a market for him this season at all. I doubt the Clippers will be spiteful and push his number up even if they don’t want him. Memphis could come out of nowhere but I doubt it as well.
Looks like this could be the best Summer I’ve experienced as a Sixers fan.
Again glad to see all the comments and community we got going here hopefully we can grow it going into the season. If you have suggestions for posts don’t hesitate to let me know.
@Bski:
I think it’s 100% that Boston keeps Eddie House, especially since it’s pretty doubtful that Cassell will be back. Bski, like what you said about having size to swing between the 2-3 positions…if that’s the case though, any reason you don’t like Matt Barnes (6′6), Nachbar (6′8) or a resurrected KVH (6′9…and I think would be a steal given his versatile scoring talent and the price we could get him at)? I think a 6′6 – 6′7 backup SF that can shoot 3’s, or a backup pass first PG that can hit 3’s are ideal.
Disagree with what you said about Reddick…the guy is way too small to move to the three. He’s only 6′2 – 6′3…I wouldn’t like him at all because in the NBA, he’s completely one dimensional.
With Morris Almond…granted he doesn’t have that much NBA experience (although he did tear up the D-League and win MVP there)…this dude is MONEY from long range. He seriously wowed me in watching some of his Rice games in college, I love this guy. Very Allan Houston like, good all around offensive game, gives us more then just shooting.
@Joe:
Thanks for the adds to the list.
-Steve Novak would be a great cheap option…guy doesn’t miss from downtown.
-CJ Miles – another good call, I forgot about him.
-Salim Stoudamire I don’t like…way too ballhoggy for me, he makes Cassell look unselfish.
-Tyrone Lue – I couldn’t! He was the attempted Iverson stopped on that Laker team back in ‘01…wouldn’t feel right. And he’s way too funny looking.
-Dan Dickau – He’s actually been a horrible NBA 3 point shooter in his career…surprising, since in college he was a great shooter. Looks like he’s never been able to transition back to the extra few feet.
@Everyone:
I’m just still shell shocked this deal went through…this team defensively is going to be such a beast. Our whole starting lineup, 1-5, you couldn’t ask for better individual defenders…top 2 in the NBA easily for one on one defense. Imagine the ‘01 Sixers helter skelter create chaos and turnovers defense…plus a legit post guy, and 3 monster athletes (Iggy, Thad, Speights) running the floor, with a legit pass first PG. I can’t freaking wait.
Guys just listened to Stefanski on ESPN 950. I will end up doing a post on shooters in the next day or two.
Stefanski was adamant that they have NO MORE CAP SPACE. They do have the veterans minimum which he said was about $1.1M. And to my understanding they also have the Bi-Annual Exception which is $1.91M now. Using these will put them over the cap obviously and will depend on how much luxury tax they want to pay I guess.
Stefanski said take Pargo and Nachbar of the list because they are going to get paid more than the Vet minimum so they aren’t options.
@raro
Pargo is too expensive. Honestly, this team can’t get anyone that would be recognized as “good” by most of us.
We need to either go with pure upside in a guy like C.J. Miles.
Or go with a guy who has proven himself to make NBA rosters, but not be good enough to keep the rotation like Frahm, Stoudamire, Rush, Reddick, Diener, Dickau, etc.
Or guys to who are vets that could be signed for the vet minimum like Cassell, Tyron Lue, Giricek, Brent Barry, etc.
@Dannie
They won’t reach the luxury tax. It is like 70+ million. They would really have to try to get over that. Something tells me we will be hearing about the luxury tax next year though when it comes to who you look at with our MLE…
Dannie, congratulations on the 95 comments, despite what I said (much) earlier, you do a great job here, I’m not surprised at all by this site’s success.
Let’s go guys, were almost at 100 comments.
DAVE T: I know I was pushing it with Reddick. That’s why I put him in parentheses. He really should be on the possible list with all the other smaller guys. IF Iguodala ends up being our starting 3 and we are looking for an upgrade over Willie for a starting 2, then all of those guys I listed as possibles come into play for me. Until then, I’m focusing on guys with size.
I lost track of Nachbar in my last response, but now Dannie’s last post says he’s off the list.
Matt Barnes has the size, but he only shot 29% from 3 last year, and 32% for his career. I didn’t think that would get the job done.
Van Horn might be too big. I don’t see him sliding to the 2. Also, as much as I want a shooter, I don’t want him to take major minutes away from Thad, so he won’t get much run at the 3. Plus, right now with Brand, Evans, and Speights, I don’t think there will be many minutes for Van Horn at the 4 either.
I haven’t seen Frahm, so I guess it’s fear of the unknown.
You hit my concern about Almond on the nose. Very little NBA experience. I’ll take your word for it. If he is truly like Allan Houston, he sounds like a good option.
Again, maybe I’m being too restrictive. With the money we have left, we may not be able to get the perfect fit. With the way things are progressing so far, I’ll give ES some slack on this.
If the Syracuse kid Nichols is an option, I like him at 6!8″. Been checking out the summer league boxscores on draft express for some diamonds in the rough. First thing I go to are the 3 pt. stats. Our boy Byers is playing pretty well down there.
Another thing that’s nice about this signing (what isn’t) is that it pretty much answers the PG question. We are going to be resigning Andre Miller at the end of the year, unless some ridiculous trade offer comes up at the deadline for a SG, or unless he asks for some ridiculous price.
Given that Andre is one of the more quiet, humble, and level headed guys in the NBA…I think he will understand our cap situation, and that he has a nice chance to win here. Granted, he’s not an east coast guy, and prefers more quiet/outdoorsy places…but I just can’t see him leaving.
His last deal he was making 8, 8.5, 9 and 10 million the last four years of his contract. I’d love to get him resigned for 3 years, 24 million. Do people think he’d take that, or push for a fourth year?
This now gives us a good two years to try and get a good young PG via draft or trade to start grooming under Andre M. Last year was one of the weakest PG drafts in recent memory; with Ricky Rubio, and a lot of nice incoming frosh talent to college, and this year’s sophomore crew…PG field should be a bit deeper come draft time.
DE- I did hear Stefanski say that the Sixers do not have any cap space available–just the applicable exceptions, but he was adamant about the fact that they will address needing a shooter, he said, “it is def. something that we will address.” No question, though, it will require some creativity.
On Nachbar- good to very good athlete, but a horrible defender. The Nets had to be very careful how they used him because he is a bit of a tweener–too slow of feet to guard the wing and got murdered in the post. And in addition to that, he does not shoot it well at all.
I really like going out and recruiting Brent Barry. Give him the $1.9MM exception to come try and contend in the East. He is a leader, can run the floor…handles the ball like a wizard and can flat out shoot it. He is not a as solid defensively, but gives you so many other positives and fulfills such a need.
Also…that Sammy Dalembert $11 million per year isn’t looking too bad right now:
-Bucks just signed Andrew Bogut to a five year, $72.5 million contract.
Wow. I like Bogut, think he’s really improved, and has a great Brad Miller-like versatile game going for him…plus I think he’ll keep getting better…but they REALLY overpaid for him. That comes out to an average of $14.5 million a year. Who were they bidding against? We just used our cap space, and the other teams with cap space, G-State and the Clippers, are already set at center. I’m sure the Bucks could have Bogut in the $11, maybe $12 million range. Crazy stuff.
and i heard sixers fans complaining about $82MM to Brand…hahaha….unreal. If bucks had it their way…they’d just give everyone $80MM for doing nothing.
Dave, I think his west coast options are limited because the teams that would want him, playoff teams, see what happened to Kidd and even Nash last year with Paul and Parker and A.Miller would have a tough time covering the young boys out there. I!ve discussed this with Bilski; giving him a front loaded, declining contract similar to Hinrich; [9mill.,8mill.,7mill.,6mill.] or something like this where his minutes decline and L.Will.!s or whoever takes over minutes increase, very similar to the M.Jackson/T.Best situation in Indiana years ago.
If you give Miller a 3-4 year deal, it will expire the same year, or 1 before, as Brand, so there is your window and you look to retool with cap space afterwards. Not a bad idea in my opinion.
In 4 years our young guys will just be hitting their prime, hopefully we drafted well Morty.
here’s the real question: Did anyone else get super pumped when they saw Brand hold up the retro red white and blue jersey, thinking that the Sixers were going to go back to an slightly updated version of that color scheme?
its so obvious: the sixers have to go back to that scheme and the phillies need to bring back the light blue.
i think brent barry may be the best option out there (for what is actually realistic) .
Deepsixer,
Nice call about the front loaded deal…absolutely. The one thing that might happen though is that Andre Miller’s stock could really shoot up this year. He could average 9 assists a game with us, and be considered one of the two major leaders on our team. If he were 30-31, I’m sure he’d look to do a 4 year, $45 million deal, or push for 5 years at $42 or so after the two years he will have had with us. Fortunately, at age 32 and a half, the market will realistically force him to the $9 million and under range.
As others have alluded to, all this will work out perfectly as long as we keep drafting well in the mid – late 1st round. By the time Brand and A Miller are going downhill, we will potentially have (if they pan out) a blossoming Thad Young at SF, and Mareese Speights at PF in their prime, a great energy guard in Lou, and still a solid center in Dalembert….not to mention Iguodala, if we aren’t sick of him by then. Drafting or trading for a long term, young PG to groom is absolutely essential in the next two years for our Sixers team in 2012 or so.
But for now…I’m just running around basking in our Elton Brand signing, talking smack to all the crappy DC Wizards sports fans in my area.
I was just watching highlights from when the Clips made the playoffs, and looking at Elton’s stats. Usually, in the playoffs, because of the better defenses players usually can’t match what they did in the regular season statistically. Numbers and efficiency are down all across the board. But NOT with Brand – he was a man possessed in his lone taste of the postseason, check out his stats for yourself for proof. Now I’m starting to see one of the reasons he wanted to go to the Sixers – he wants another taste of the postseason, and he wasn’t going to do that out west with Golden State or the Clips, and if they did it would probably be because Brand did a lot of the heavy lifting. But things are easier for him with the Sixers.
I think he likes that the Sixers have shown that they can get by on defense and fastbreaking alone to make the playoffs. Because of Sammy’s defense, he won’t always have to guard the other team’s best post player; I think he’d rather have someone he can share defensive duties with than offensive (Kaman). My prediction – he’s gonna be solid in the regular season, not spectacular; but he’s going to be a beast in the playoffs, that he’s going to single-handedly keep them from losing certain games.
Only 3.5 months to go…
Dave T: Right. So when the vets are done, the young kids (Igoudala, Young, Lou) are coming into their primes and we had cap space to create something new without a down period. Based upon that, I would sign Igoudala to a 6 year deal. Here’s hoping.
Dave, don’t jinx Speights yet, although I liked what I saw of him in the few games I watched, there’s one thing that bothers me – the two times he went up against Alabama, their big atheltic PF, Richard Hendrix, outplayed him. I read that Florida fans’ biggest gripe with him was that he shied away from physical play – this guy could be soft. I think you’re discounting Jason Smith’s chances too much here; right now, this is a 2-horse race for the Sixers’ PF of the future slot.
@Zack:
I actually think those games had more to do with Richard Hendrix then Speights. I really don’t think people are aware how good Hendrix is. IMO he should have been an automatic pick in late 1st round…the guy is a physical force in the paint, incredible rebounder and has an NBA body and toughness that basically outworked everyone in college, and has a great post game. Unfortunately he is logjammed in Golden State with Biedrins, Brandon Wright and now Ronny Turiaf (just signed an offer sheet) there…but if he winds up on another team, Hendrix is THE 2nd round steal of the draft.
Also, it’s kind of a mistake to just assume a player isn’t going to have a great future from two bad games against one good player. Not discounting what you said…I got a chance to see one of the Florida/Bama games, and Speights was absolutely atrocious and got knocked around like a little puppy.
But for that negative, Speights also went for:
-20 pts, 8 rbs against Kentucky, and did that against Patrick Patterson and Perry Stevenson, a very good frontcourt, Patterson especially entering his soph year as one of the best PF’s in the country after a monster freshman year.
-20 pts, 10 rbs against Miss St…who basically had one of the better frontcourts in the country (Varnardo, their center, AVERAGED about 4.5 blocks…Charles Rhodes, 2nd team All-SEC, a real good college PF)
-23 pts, 9 rbs…and 21 pts, 7 rbs…in his two games against Tennessee, one of the best teams in the country last year.
-16 pts, 18 rbs against UMass, who also had a tough frontcourt.
Taking a guy game by game with individual matchups like that I don’t think is a good way of judging talent. It’s a 30-35 game season, even the best players are going to have plenty of duds. I’m not saying Speights is this lock to be great or anything…I just think that all of Speights potential negatives (conditioning, attitude, work ethic) will turn themselves around in the positive, work horse atmosphere that the Sixers will have. Brand is going to whip this kid into shape.
Just stumble to this page , but i still want to see
it’s not a very good deal, at least fo now