A lot of fans have been clamoring about bring Theo Ratliff back to the Sixers for the veterans’ minimum for front court depth. It became increasingly more important to bring in another big man after Jason Smith’s injury. Well rumor has it Ed Stefanski and the Sixers are on the same page with the fans. Phil Jasner reports…
With second-year big man Jason Smith likely out for the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, an unsubstantiated report surfaced that the Sixers had reached out to former Sixers center/forward Theo Ratliff with an offer to play for the veterans’ minimum. A source familiar with that situation said Ratliff had offers from other teams for more money, but that he was very interested in the Sixers. – Philly.com
I really don’t have much to add except that I like it. Theo is a good guy, exactly the type of person and player Ed Stefanski has repeatedly said he values. Ratliff was a solid player when healthy and should add another very important “glue” guy in the front court along with Reggie Evans.
Let’s hope this gets done. The pieces are all coming together. Now it’s time to see them all on the court. My excitement is being directed toward finding a good ticket package this season. I think I am going to go with a flex plan. Is anyone else looking for tickets?
Solid pickup, if it happens. He can definitely contribute and it would be great to have him back.
Too bad we let Admundson sign with the Suns…
This would be a solid pick up. He isnt a bad player, i like his attitude, and hes good veteran leadership. Honestly, though did you seriously just say admundson. If he gets any kind of mintues for the suns, they are the worse team in the league.
oh yeah and i forgot to mention, eventhough hes getting up there in age he is still a low post presense. Just for the simple fact that he can block shots with the best of them.
1.1 blocks a game in 14 minutes isn’t too shabby. It’s better than our 2nd best shot blocker who was Jason Smith (0.66) and our 3rd (Iggy 0.6). When you figure in Brand (1.9) we could possibly lead the league in blocks. A possible line-up (though extremely unlikely, unless Mo is feeling delirious) C – Dalembert, PF – Ratliff, SF – Brand, SG – Iguodala, PG – Reggie Evans… the line-up from hell… for the other team and for us
It would be great to have Theo “the Rattler” Ratiff back with the Sixers. It removes a big man out of Detroit’s roster, plus it gives us that shot blocker we need coming off the bench and subbing for Dalembert. Now we have to round our roster with another experience player, one that has tremendous postseason experience, Austin Croshere or Devin Brown. When we face the elite in the East, we need tremendous DEPTH. If you look at Boston and Detroit,they have a deep frontcourt. The East is made up of great players at the 2 and 3 spot. We need someone who could give Iggy some time off to rest a bit or sub in in case of foul trouble–Croshere can play three positions (3,4,5) and D.Brown can play two (2,3). Also, what if Brand misses a couple of games, Croshere would be a good consideration for taking his place instead of Evans, for both offense and defense. Croshere is a cheaper, bench version of Dirk and Marion with the versatility and the wide array of moves offensively. In case, Iggy is in foul trouble while guarding Pierce, LeBron, Hamilton, Turkoglu, etc, D. Brown can fill in with his size, strength, and defensive skills. D. Brown has won a championship with the Spurs. Something for Ed to consider. Experience is VERY important if this team wants to go deep and also handle the PRESSURE!! We should not be just satisfied with moving past the first round!!!
I would love to see Theo back in a Sixers uniform. He’d be a wonderful fit and it would be nice to the see the Sixers bring back a player who played well for us for once. We have a long history of bringing back guy’s who sucked…so they could go on to suck again. Ollie, Skinner, Coleman…there’s a lot more, I’m just tired.
Would be a great pickup…Theo gave some great minutes
last year filling in for Sheed and Dyess. He really appeared
to be healthy, and I was surprised at how much he still had
left in the tank. And who wouldn’t love an old AI era hero
coming back as a reserve for the frontcourt?
Rob, Austin Croshere is an intriguing option, it wouldn’t hurt
to have a jumpshooting big that is a good passer as well.
Although I’m not actually sure he’s a FA, doesn’t he have
one year left with G-State?
Never been a Devin Brown fan, so I’m not to keen on using
a roster spot for him. He’s another Willie Green…great
energy guy, and a good defender, that shoots 40-43%
regularly from the field and needs a lot of shots to be
effective. Especially with the addition of K Rush, I really
don’t see why adding Devin Brown would help us.
@Everyone:
I’m pretty unhappy the Bucks just basically handed a real
good, and with still plenty of upside, scoring PG that can
regularly get in the 17-20 ppg range to the Cavs. That is
REALLY going to help LeBron out…I’m not usually a fan
of scoring point guards in his mold, but he’s exactly what
that team needed (although in losing Joe Smith, they
officially have no offense in their frontcourt left, which means
Hickson should get solid minutes).
The Sixers – Magic – Raptors – Wizards – Cavs 3-7 spot
race is going to be a dogfight. And I can’t !@#$ wait.
Still chilling out in Greece, but these 2 videos of Elton Brand have helped me digest the huge contract that Iggy got
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkTdI31G8DU
Theo would allow us to maintain the same defensive and offensive approach when he would sub for Sammy which is a good thing.
Croshere is not a center or small forward. Seems he provides 2 things a very good primeter threat and a veteran presence. If he came here, he would get very little time most nights but he should accept that role.
No matter what it’s a shame Jason Smith got hurt in such a crucial year for him. Hopefully, he can hit the weights, get physically and mentally mature throughout this process.
Theo would probably be a one year option and in 2 years when the sixers are ready to go for it(hopefully with A Miller) Jason will be ready to play a major role off the bench.
Dave, I wouldn’t worry about Williams on the Cav’s. He’s an ok player. I think Lou Will will be a much better player and there isn’t much of a size difference between the two. Williams was given big time opportunities in Millwaukee and he didn’t help them win. He put up points on mediocre teams.
Greek, nice to hear from you!
Sfw,
I’m not saying Mo Williams is a savior or anything…I’m just saying he’s exactly what the Cavs needed. I think this move is good enough to propel Cleveland to the level of the pack of East teams that have all improved in some way or another, whether it’s from free agency (Sixers), trades and signings (Raptors), regained health (Wizards) or gaining one more year of chemistry, growth and good roster tweakings (Magic).
The Cavs are TOTALLY stagnant without a second scoring major scoring option…Mo Williams is just that. A scorer in the backcourt that is capable of running the offense as well as going on spurting bursts. I’ve actually knocked his game a lot during other posts, as I’m much more of a purist PG guy…but I think you’re underrating his talent somewhat. He is a really good dribble penetrator and has improved every year. Not sure why you brought Lou Williams into the equation as I wasn’t comparing the two, but if Lou does ever becomes as good as Mo, I’ll be a happy man.
Mo is only 24ish…and I think those Bucks teams were more bad because they went with a horrible decision for an unprepared rookie coach, and a team that got slammed by the injury bug. For Cleveland to give up Damon Jones (one dimensional and getting no PT) and Joe Smith (I love Joe as a vet big man, but he would have been let go after this year) for a young PG the caliber of Mo Williams, with one of the few salaries that actually somewhat matches his talent (about an $8.5 average per year…he probably deserves $8 even), is a total coup by Danny Ferry.
And I know there are others on here with me that agree about Hickson being one of the most undertalked about freshman coming out of college that will get nice PT this year. Plus, it allows Delonte West to play his more natural combo guard type game off the bench, giving them a pretty lethal backcourt shooting duo with West and Boobie Gibson. I just think this improves their team overall, and with the Cavs having the best player on the planet not named Kobe, that’s not something you wish for when you share their conference.
I like it, hopefully its true. I also like the idea of Croshere as well, and I agree I am not real big on Devin Brown either.
Im sorry I just cant jump onto the Theo band wagon. This guy has been overpaid for a long time since we traded him back in the day. He also does not strike me as a player that will take anything but the most amount of money a team will play him, not the minimum that we would be offering. But I will agree that he does add experience to a team that is very young. And you need some veterans that teach these young guys to be professionals so they mature quickly like Thad and Smith did last season. He also would give us a veteran center bc we are suddenly very thin at the position.
Also, did Smith even have surgery yet? Has there been a real time table? Is he lost for the season?
@gcl138 – I guess we will find out. If Theo signs with the Sixers for the minimum would you jump on the bandwagon? If he signs a better contract on contender I can’t really fault him either though.
Well, it looks like the Iggy deal is in stone. It’s official folks:
We bid against ourselves!
…I’m sure he tried to force our hand though, and I think it’s far better to over pay by $1-1.5 then have a long, drawn out messy contract situation, resulting in a Ben Gordon type circus. I’m just glad we finally have him locked up, although I’m sure we’ll all be wincing when in year six, he’s getting $15 million or so. Ugh.
Dave T:
Yeah. First wrong step in the Stefanski era. That said, he had to get this done, and I’m not as pessimistic as you about the back 1/2 of the contract.
I have no problem with this Iguodala deal. Iggy’s new contract is nowhere near as bad as any of the albatrosses Billy King drafted up to Free Agents.
With Elton Brand in the fold, making sure Andre is around beyond any possible one year tender was absolutely vital. Signing Brand over Josh Smith gives this team a smaller window of opportunity. Quite simply, this current team could not afford to take any kind of step back. That’s why I’m OK with slightly overpaying. Besides, he’s improved every year and hasn’t even hit his prime years. This isn’t a bad deal.
Don’t forget that the market changes every year. In the post above, Dave T worries that $15 million in year six will leave us wincing. Considering inflation, that could be a relative bargain. Not to mention that he is only going to be thirty years old. I know people worry about cap ramifications, but at the end of the day, it ain’t my money. What’s the problem here?
Im OK with this deal. AI is young and has improved every year. Plus, who knows in 5 years we may be getting him for a steal at 15 mil a year, you never know.
I cant wait to see what kind of team we have with Brand in our starting rotation. And I would think the when ES was talking to Brand, having AI locked up was part of him coming here. The one thing that worries me is our ability to keep Andre here. Will we have enough money to resign him or have enough money to sign another point guard if he leaves. Was getting Brand here also due to the great season Brand had with Andre in LA back in the day, I believe his first All-Star year. Last season we saw how important it is in this league to have a quality PG.
Dannie: If Theo signs, I will support him as a member of the sixers family and hopefully it works out, but if he signs with someone else I would not be that upset about it.
@gcl138 – We can go over the cap to resign our own players so we have a bit of flexibility in trying to keep Andre Miller. I do think Stefanski is trying to get him on board with an extension even before he becomes unrestricted though , which is not a bad idea. The reason?
If he leaves his $10 comes off the cap but we won’t get all of that because the Sixers as a whole will be over. I am thinking we will have around $5-$6M under the cap if A. Miller isn’t resigned. That equates to a mid-level exception deal for a new point guard.
If we can resign Miller we will be over the cap which will give the team access to both the full mid-level exception and bi-annual exception to use next summer to add any additional pieces we need to improve the team. That is a long way away though.