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Finally found a source on the rumor that Jason Smith hurt his knee this week. Philly.com is reporting…
Jason Smith, the 76ers’ second-year big man, is likely to miss several months after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Smith went down Wednesday night during a session at Tim Grgurich’s nationally-renowned skills camp in Las Vegas. - philly.com
This is really the first bad news surrounding the Sixers this summer. It’s sucks for Smith as he is coming off a decent summer league and was expected to really contribute behind Samuel Dalembert. He is getting re-evaluated, but the early diagnosis is a torn ligament and that means a long rehabilitation process. Hopefully he can bounce back strong from this set-back late in the season or next year. Two years in a row now the Sixers lose big man depth due to off-season injuries.
What does this mean for the Sixers?
Ed Stefanski, who last week said he wanted to acquire another veteran big man at the minimum has extra pressure to do so - quickly. Yes, we need to resign Andre Iguodala, but really he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Those negotiations will proceed as they have. But, finding a quality big man on the cheap is a much tougher task. The Bucks are about to sign Francisco Elson so he is off the board. Who else is there?
- Theo Ratliff
- Scott Pollard
- P.J. Brown
- Othella Harrington
- Juwan Howard
- Jamal Magloire
- Dikembe Mutombo
- David Harrison
- Nick Fazekas
- DJ Mbenga
- Alonzo Mourning
- Michael Ruffin
- Jack Voskuhl
- Michael Doleac
- Pat Garrity
- Lorenzen Wright
I am sure there are some others outside of guys who played last year that may be available.
The positive in this…
Looks like we may see a lot more of young Marreese Speights earlier than we had anticipated.
P.S.
Memphis Grizzles make offer to Josh Smith!?!
And Atlanta matched that offer of 5-years $58M immediately
Allen Iverson doesn’t seem to think so:
“If I was still in Philadelphia, I don’t think they would be in the predicament that they’re in right now,” Iverson said. “The way the East is, I would think that we would be right there in the hunt. . . . I look at (Philadelphia’s) games right now, and it looks like a rec league game or an AAU game when you see the attendance there. It just looks dull.” - Rocky Mountain News
Exactly one year from the worst day in the history of me being a Philadelphia 76ers fan I got to thinking: was that trade the answer? Was trading the most beloved basketball player in Philadelphia since Dr. J the right move to turn around the Sixers’ plummeting attendance and unbearable performance? Let’s take a look…
Sixers got:
Andre Miller,
Expiring contract of Joe smith and
2 first round draft picks - Jason Smith and the since-waived Derrick Byars (this kid was sick at Vanderbilt; I would take him over Rodney Carney any day of the week)
Nuggets got:
Allen Iverson
Ivan McFarland (not even worth mentioning)
Fast forward to December 19th, 2007 what is the state of the Sixers one year later? Here are the top 5 positive outcomes of the trade:
- Billy King fired
- Billy King fired - and someone that actually knows how to spell basketball was hired
- Billy King fired - we won’t have a GM with the brain of a chimpanzee spending the money
- We have enough money to aggressively go after Elton Brand this summer
- Andre Miller is a solid veteran pass-first PG to distribute the ball (if only he had anyone really worth passing to!)
And the negatives:
- Allen Iverson 2007 #s (I thought he was declining and couldn’t keep up this pace?):
- Best FG% of his career - 46.6%
- 2nd best APG of his career - 7.5 (wait that’s better than Andre Miller)
- Taking less 3pt shots and shooting the 4th best % of his career - 32.8%
- On Dec. 5th while the Sixers were getting handled by the Celtics in front of a half filled arena A.I. was preparing to drop 51 on the Lakers (I am crying as I type this!)
- No superstar worth paying to watch play
- Sixers record: 10-14 including the 5th worst scoring offense (at least if they were high scoring they could be exciting to watch)
- Sixers average attendance: 12,126 (second worst in the NBA)
Bill Simmons says it best, “The lesson, as always: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER trade a superstar for less than 75 cents on the dollar.”
With that said I believe the jury is still out given the change in GM. The feeling in Philly now that Ed’s the man is a sense of confidence and hope. I believe this summer will be the defining time for this franchise given the circumstances explained in the previous posts (1, 2). It will either be the changing of the tide for the Sixers or the continued agony of their fans.
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Now that I have come to terms with Josias Manzanillo’s and Bart Miadich’s rampant steroid use as revealed in the Mitchell Report, I can get back to what I love most -writing in blogs that nobody reads.
Like Dannie, and many Philadelphia basketball fans, the ousting of Billy King and subsequent hiring of Ed Stefanski, gives hope to a fan base starving for a championship anyway they can get it. Remember, this is city that was ready to parade Barbaro down Broad Street because he was raised and trained in the general area of the city. Of course, Barbaro subsequently died.The Sixers represent the Philadelphia team likely the furthest away from a championship, but they play in a league where a couple lucky ping-pong balls, smart cap maneuvering, and inventive trades can turn things around quickly (see: Boston Celtics, 20-2).
Since Dannie has already outlined the offseason options for the Sixers - I’ll give my semi-educated opinion on the state of the current team, and my fool-proof blueprint for the future. With the exception of Ryan Bowen, everyone in the NBA is good, that’s why they are in the NBA, and there are 40-50 players not in the NBA that could thrive if put in the right situation. As a result, it’s hard to evaluate non-superstar players on an individual basis. The best way to do this, in my opinion, is to see if you could picture them being a productive member of a championship caliber team - in this year’s case, the San Antonio Spurs. Let’s look at where the current Sixers players would fit on a team like this…
Starters
Andre Iguodala - Good defender, decent scorer, great energy guy and someone you want on your team and can fill up a box score. However, could never, ever, be the #1 guy on a championship team. Think Michael Finley with an uglier shot.
Andre Miller - Borderline. Would never start over Tony Parker, but can run the show and throw the best one-handed back-door pass in the business. Can’t score enough (see: Snow, Eric). Also, looks like Richard Pryor and provides team with comic relief when he tries to go with cornrows.
Rotation
Samuel Dalembert - I have been impressed with Sammy the last couple weeks. 9 blocks (and some emotion, for god’s sake!) against Minnesota and 19 boards against the Cavs. However, no one with his lack of basketball intelligence would start in an NBA Finals. His shot-blocking and defense would make him a key reserve - and he’s probably be good for one big game a playoff series.
Reggie Evans - Exactly the kind of guy you see coming off the bench for championship-caliber teams. Hustles, rebounds, plays D and has a fire for the game. As is the case with most players with those attributes, he is a comically bad free throw shooter. I could do without him trying a guard the PG in the back court.
Kyle Korver - Brent Barry, Derek Fisher, John Paxton, Mario Elie, etc, etc. All championship teams have great 3-point shooters. Korver might have been the best pure shooter in the NBA last year. He doesn’t do much else, but that’s just fine coming off the bench.
Louis Williams - I love Louis Williams. I have yet to see anyone able to stay in front of him, and he is the only guy on the team who can create his own shot at will. He’s only 21, leads the team in points per 48 minutes (24.1) and is fearless in the lane. Next year, I imagine he would switch places with Andre Miller on this list.
Jason Smith - Very pleasant surprise this year. Not sure what his ceiling is though. Good at just about everything (shooting, blocking shots, rebounding, post moves), but not great at anything. Already the greatest Colorado State basketball player in NBA history.
Buried On The Bench
Thaddeus Young - He certainly has the potential, but right now, he looks lost at times. He’s 19, and appears to be a hard working kid, so I’ll reserve judgment.
Louis Amundson - Looks too much like a vampire to be a successful pro, but hustles too hard to be cut by a team like the Spurs.
Kevin Ollie - You laugh, but Jacque frickin’ Vaughn logs time for the Spurs. Old, crafty PG’s who don’t turn the ball over are always good to have on the deep bench.
Never Signed, Drafted or Traded for, ever
Willie Green - Has the skill to be a Devin Brown-type flash off the bench, but will occasionally (frequently) take horrible, momentum killing shots. He drives me absolutely crazy.
Shavlik Randolph - A whiter version of Josh McRoberts
Rodney Carney - No.
Calvin Booth - Billy King’s last move - and what a move it was.
For The Future:
Obviously, I feel we should trade/release anyone at the bottom of this list. You also will have to assume that Andre Miller will be traded, lets say to a decent team for a late first round pick.
It’s easy to see that we are more than a couple players away from being a true contender. Luckily, we have some money and a potentially high draft pick. If we use the money to sign Elton Brand (if healthy) and use our two first round picks (ours and Andre Miller’s new team) to trade up in the draft, like we didn’t last year, to pick a SG (Eric Gordon, if there is a god) the Sixers would trot out, if nothing else, a very exciting starting 5 next year.
PG- Lou Williams
SG- Eric Gordon
SF- Andre Iguodala
PF- Elton Brand
C- Samuel Dalembert
Bench: Evans, Korver, J. Smith, T. Young, lesser FA Signing (Chris Duhon?)
That looks like a playoff team to me, and with a few more good draft picks and creative trades during the season, could be a contender in the East. This will not be a one-year fix, but the right moves could get us on the right track. I hope that our readers (Dannie’s girlfriend and mom) enjoyed my first post.
