The trade deadline is Thursday, and as expected trade talks are heating up.
The Mavs and Wizards completed a 7-player deal that on the surface looks like it makes Dallas more of a threat to the Lakers.
Cleveland has ramped up their intensity to land Amare. The purpose seems to be two-fold.
- Bolster their roster to win a championship this season.
- Show LeBron they are committed to winning no matter the cost by signing Amare to an extension so James doesn’t bolt this summer.
The Heat are trying to do the same as the Cavs by upping their pursuit of Antawn Jamison. And there are a host of other such rumors floating around that may or may not come to fruition by the deadline.
But what is really disturbing for me is the Iguodala trade chatter.
Not that he is involved in trade rumors but the make-up of all the talk.
I really think this whole Iguodala stuff is quite simply a no-brainer.
If Elton Brand is not included in any Iguodala trade, there is no deal.
The only exception would be if this was a pure basketball value deal where the Sixers are getting back a relatively young stud (Stoudemire doesn’t count for this imo) we can sign long term. Period. Nothing else needs to be said or thought about.
And that’s only if you believe trading Iguodala is a good idea to begin with.
That to me suggests Iguodala really shouldn’t be actively shopped without Brand attached to him.
I am kind of disturbed that very few of the rumors (if any) floating out there are reporting that sentiment coming out of the Sixers camp.
Most of what we are hearing is that Stefanski wants to move Brand, sure. Stefanski wants to move Dalembert, sure. Stefanski would be willing to move Iguodala for the right offer, sure.
That isn’t good enough for me.
The rumors should be saying Philly would be willing to part with Iguodala ONLY if Elton Brand goes with him. Otherwise, a team would have to blow their socks off with an offer that includes an equally as good young player (which we all know is never going to happen).
I’ve been keeping a relatively close tab on the rumors, but maybe I am wrong on this.
Are you guys hearing the above sentiment about Iguodala and Brand being a packaged deal or no deal for Iguodala?
I’m not, and that is just disturbing to me. It speaks to the mindset of our ownership and general manager, and it doesn’t seem like a winning mindset at all.
Doesn’t that disturb you a bit too?
Note: I’ll leave the specifics of trade rumors and talk for the comment section.
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I agree with you. No trade for Iggy or Dalembert makes sense unless Brand is part of the deal.
I think the next 10 game stretch will be a disaster and hopefully the organizational changes that are needed (coach out and maybe the GM) will be made.
Not sure ownership (Comcast) really cares any more. Their eye is clearly not on our basketball team at this point.
You are right Dannie, I have not heard a peep about Brand and a lot about Iguodala. How much of either is true is a mind reader’s nightmare. Anyway, to me neither of the three will equate to this team winning a championship. Sure Iggy is the best of the three making the most money on the team and maybe he can be a solid #3 guy on this team with a good #1 and #2, but in order to get that 1-2 we need to get rid of as much money as possible. So, if we can dish out two of three and that makes us worse this year so be it. The only way i’d be mad is if they got rid of just Iggy and no one else. I know they look better of late and Sammie is having an ok year, but they are no where close to a decent playoff team let alone a contender and I’d much rather be terrible with just brand and no Iggy and Sam and get a better lottery pick than stay pat with all three and be stuck with the 13th pick in the draft and those three salaries next year as well. Something needs to be done. Sorry for the long post.
While speaking of the three I mean Brand, Iggy and Sammie. Sorry bout that.
Sorry to post from another site, but ESPN’s Chad Ford is reporting this as of early today:
For the Suns, the Stoudemire-Hickson trade would be something of a last resort. The Suns have been hoping to land more than just Hickson and financial relief for Stoudemire. In particular, the Suns are still holding out hope that Philadelphia will come to the table and agree to a deal sending Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert to Phoenix. The Suns have sweetened their offer to the 76ers by including Leandro Barbosa in a package with Stoudemire. Also possible is a three-way trade that would send Hickson and Barbosa (along with Ilgauskas) to Philly, Stoudemire to Cleveland and Iguodala and Dalembert to Phoenix. Expect the Suns to turn up the heat significantly on the Sixers on Monday.
Richie – No need to apologize for lengthy post or posting rumors. We encourage it!
I hope Stefanski doesn’t get duped into succumbing to Phoenix’s advances to get Iguodala. We don’t need or should want Amare and Barbosa is nothing more than a better shooting Lou Williams with a contract that is just as big, if not worse.
The funny thing is in all of these rumors I never see any draft picks. If I am Stefanski I insist that a number one be included. I don’t need any of these stiffs back. I really think that this will be a nice draft and two guys I love are Evan Turner from Ohio state. He is really fun to watch. He does everything and if we get a later 1st rounder. I like Greg Monroe another good passer and a big man that can learn a lot. Having that natural passing instinct is something I don’t think can be taught. Grab a second round point guard or three point scorer and we are on our way to success. Oh forgot the fact that we have to dump Jordan for Doug Collins or Avery Johnson. I actually would keep Stefanski. As bad as it has been on his watch I sill feel like he was dealt an awful hand and had to make a splash at the wrong time and got stuck with Brand.
The argument in favor of dumping Dalembert and Igoudala, not that I necessarily agree, is that it is a serious “tank” move. Trading 2 of your 3 best players for nothing will quite likely send this team into a top 5 pick. That said, the best possible trade is one that packages Brand with Igoudala, as Dalembert will only gain trade value after this season.
Morty – I would agree if the trade rumors out there involved dumping Iguodala and Dalembert for nothing of short term value in return. They haven’t.
We would, for example with Phoenix end up with Amare and say Barbosa or Jason Richardson. Swapping those players could very well keep the Sixers in a holding position just out of the top 5 and could even spur a run just because of the change.
From what I have read the Sixers aren’t going to dump Iguodala for nothing so it’s unlikely we see them trade Iguodala for someone like Big Z. in a 100% pure dumping move.
I just don’t think Stefanski has a first clue what to do right now and I would much rather him do nothing than make a big mistake.
The best thing he could do for the team is fire the coach and there has only been one non-substantive rumor on that front which is another disturbing situation for me.
I hope they are just keeping it quiet and plan to fire Jordan (and Stefanski maybe) after this horrid season ends.
Please don’t trade young Andre Iguodala, alone or accompanied, Mr. Stefanski. He’s a regular hustler and a tremendous multi-dimensional player who strongly impacts every game in which he participates. In case you don’t know, many followers live for his 40 minutes of potential transcendence. His avant garde rainbow jumper, while not yet popular with hidebound coaches and teammates who see success only in a shot dropping through a net, is bound to catch fire in time. His extemporaneous interior passing is nonpareil, furnished with many dramatic instances of the ball bouncing off his foot or his being stripped by alert lane pirates, delighting those who prefer their art outside the lines. And who among us can forget his glorious pantomime following a game-deciding J or his hilarious something-stinks expressions of disapproval? Those, my friend, originate only from originals: count #9 in, most emphatically. The mere court presence of Andre’s statue of David physique, adorned with an array of arrestingly lavish tattoos, guarantees the intermittent attendance of his fan base of 26 and concommitantly motivates his teammates to 20 wins by mid-February - realities not to be forgotten. Andre’s skills are so fine, sometimes they’re even imperceptible to the human eye, which is one reason why more than half the team’s guerrilla fans voice themselves vociferously in contra-Iggy discussions. But don’t let the grumblers persuade you to move Andre Iguodala, Mr. Stefanski. The heritage of the 76ers and the esteem of its fervid loyalists depends on your continued inaction regarding our civic treasure, Andre Iguodala-dala-dala.
Dannie: Well there was one rumor about them taking back Z and Hickson, which would basically be nothing. But in general, yes, it does not appear that ES wants to take that route; and I agree that trading for Amare and Richardson or Barbosa makes zero sense
Thank god we turned that down.
If the 6ers could have gotten back expirings and Beasely for Dalembert and Iguodala? That’s by far the best prospect we would be able to get in the trade, none of these teams’ first round pick is going to be better than Beasely. Beasely could be a junior in college. He’s much better than Thad Young at this point in both their careers.
100% agree with Dannie’s premise that you only trade Iguodala with Brand or for a core player of the future (Beasley need not apply.)
Beasely isn’t going to be better than Iguodala so that in of itself makes that trade proposal a none starter.
Either you move all your big contracts and use the money to go after the creme of the crop talent of your keep Iguodala and figure out a way to build with him properly.
I am curious to know the Sixers stance on Amare? Do they view him as a 100% build with piece or a 100% expiring contract?
I’m not comparing beasely to iggy, they play different styles of game. But if we are getting rid of Iggy’s contract why not get a solid player in return with the expiring contracts? Beasely isn’t getting huge money, and no one we get back is going to be better than Iguodala. Hence why contenders want to trade with us, not scrub teams.
Trade deadline guru: “A flushed toilet is an article of faith, resulting in a fresh bowl of hope. Tarry not in indecision.”
I can’t imagine they think committing 35M+ a year to Amare/Brand is the recipe for success, but who knows at this point?
IMO the Eds are in survival mode and more concerned for their future more than the Sixers. But I’ve been beating that drum for a while.
Dannie-
So you’d rather stand pat with these bad contracts and a team that’s going nowhere? What happened to wanting to blow it up? I’d rather get rid of Iggy’s contract now and then get rid of Brand’s in a couple years when he’ll only have two years left on his deal. Much more trade-able then. I don’t want to see mediocrity anymore, I want to either see a team that sucks and gets a good draft pick or a contender. This team is NOT NOT NOT a contender.
The bold portion just tells me Stefanski has no clue what to do. No clue!
The second part just reiterates my point of this post. They aren’t thinking the right way about trading Dala.
There may be better return in an Iguodala trade this summer. Not every team with cap space will get a Lebron or Wade. Some might prefer Iguodala over the left over FA’s.
Adam – What you have to understand is simply trading Iguodala doesn’t do much for the Sixers in terms of cap space to bring in an impact player.
I’d rather have Iguodala when we can finally move Brand. If I do decide to part with Iguodala I will do so by packaging him with Brand OR ensuring I get back a player I really want. Iguodala does to much as a player to settle for less at this point in my opinion. And I am not the biggest Iguodala fan!
If you trade Iguodala now and keep Brand for another couple seasons, what is your next immediate move?
I don’t know if anybody remembers this, but early in the decade the Bulls dumped all their players for cap space, and it totally backfired. They had all this money, and yet, they couldn’t get anyone good to sign with them. After a few rejections they panicked, and overpaid for some lesser talent who flopped. As a consequent of these poor signings, they continued to lose for years. I can see that happening in Philly, I think Stefanski can too, that’s why he wants players back, and not cap space.
Myself, I wouldn’t be too quick to give away our three most productive players: Elton, Sammy, and Andre, for cap space. If these trade rumors are all there is, and that’s really all the talent the GM’s are offering up, then, I agree with Dannie, fire Jordan, and possibly Stefanski, finish out the season, and go from there. What this team really needs is a talented outside shooting 2 guard, and I haven’t heard of any offers in that area , so if you can’t get what you really need, then don’t reach, and make a bad deal. Afterall, no trade is better than a bad one.
As an afterthought, the only team that I could possibly see as having the pieces we need, and might be willing to deal, is Portland.
Dannie-
My next immediate move is to get rid of the GM and the head coach and get a coach that has a track record of developing young talent. Trying to get better in the draft and developing our younger players into a better squad until we can get rid of Brand’s contract. Then we go for the big free agent in 2012 or 13 and then contend for a championship. I honestly think that’s the best the sixers can do right now. Or we could keep them both and be stuck in mediocrity while not accumulating any young talent (worth while) and then try to sign big players when both of them are gone. How’d the big signings we made last time work out for us?
I disagree. This season, no trade is a bad one. I DO NOT want the 7th or 8th seed in the playoffs at all. If we don’t trade Iggy now and then end up trading him in the off-season to any team that isn’t giving us a top 5 or 6 pick in the draft, the franchise will look completely foolish with two middle of the road first round picks to show for it.
Don’t think Elton will be tradeable until he shows he can finish this season and begin next with consistant good play/health. I wouldn’t deal with Phoenix(Sammy/Iggy) unless the young twin center is included. By now the Sixers should have a handle on Speight’s game. If their is doubt about his work ethic, I’d look to trade him for a young piece or use him as a chip before his trade value decreases over time. Of course his coach may have something to do with his apparent dislike for the defensive end of the court AND his shot selection.
Adam – Who are you targeting as an impact free agent in 2012/13? If you are going to sell off quality players now you can’t just hope there are players available at the time.
Teams knew who would be available this summer and they planned ahead for it. So who are you planning ahead for. That, for me needs to be part of the plan if you are giving away a productive player like Iguodala in his prime.
Also, why are you hell bent of trading Iguodala?
Just read a rumor where Minny would look to trade Jefferson over the summer(for a young small forward). Could he & Elton play together? If so, would Thad, Sammy & maybe Speights(if necessary) get Jefferson and a number one from Minny?
Dannie-
I know there might not be a superstar in 2012 or 2013, but at least it could be a possibility that the 6ers would have the flexibility and a young enough team to entice a superstar to come to Philly and try to win a title. I just think the draft is the way to go to get young plays such as a cousins or warren that could be better impact players than any other talent the 6ers have right now.
Also, I’m not hell bent on getting rid of Iggy, but that’s the only player we have that other teams want, and I AM hell bent on blowing this team up. If the 6ers could find away to trade brand/dalembert instead of Iggy then I’d much rather do that than get rid of Iggy. That’s just not going to happen. Since teams only want Iggy, then I’ll gladly blow this team up just for the chance to get in that top 5 this year.
sfw – I think that front court would be weak defensively as a unit. Brand isn’t bad now (although I expect a sharp deterioration of his defense like we are seeing with his rebounding) but Jefferson isn’t that good to start with and I don’t expect he ever will. And that starting front court would be a bit undersized. Brand fits well next to Sam and I think Jefferson would fit well next to Sam as well. I don’t really like them together much.
Could Speights eventually produce in the range of what Jefferson does offensively as a starter who gets touches?
First off, I have to agree with everyone that has opined about Iguodala only moving if he can pack EB’s #42 in the same duffel bag. I can’t see where they go next if they still have the albatross of EB’s contract dragging them down. Trading Andre for nothing but Dala-Dala bills won’t make this team any better, ya’ll.
Also, jjg, your post earlier (11) was excellent. It’s nice to find such a majestic vocabulary on a sports blog. Quenches two thirsts.
I read earlier, can’t remember where, that Jerry Colangelo was going to consider an offer (should one be made) by the new ownership in New Jersey. He said he would only be interested in a gig in the NBA if he were given “complete autonomy.” Running the franchise from the top down.
With Mr. Snider and Peter Lukko seemingly unaware of the fact that this city has a basketball team (let alone the fact that they own it), I was interested in what some folks around here thought of Colangelo (or someone else) coming into Philly and taking over, then hiring a GM and coach.
I think this is the kind of move the franchise needs. They need their own Ed Snider. They need their own Bill Parcells. They need a President/CEO-type figurehead with a basketball mind to run the franchise ala Mike Holmgren in Cleveland. It doesn’t appear to me that Not-So-Fast Eddie Stefanski has the metaphorical gun to his head.
Now, I’m not 100% sure that Colangelo is the guy for the job, but its a thought.
Adam – I think you’d be hard pressed to find a more productive NBA player than Iguodala via the draft in general. I think Iguodala’s production is underrated because his offensively game is not stylistically nice to look at. I also think he could be more productive under a coach that teaches him how to play offense to his strengths.
If we consistently got top 3 picks of the next 2 or 3 seasons, sure. But that isn’t really likely. So you first you are playing the lottery game and then you are playing the hit or miss game in terms of players panning out.
Right now Iguodala is a proven commodity (which is why other teams covet him) and he is still young having just turned 26.
I think making a trade for the sake of making a trade is always a mistake. I just think there are smarter ways.
Chris – Yes that is what the franchise needs and I would be happy with Colangelo as that person. In fact his name is in an upcoming post about just that.
LA Steve, No trade is better than a bad one? … so you want Stefanski, Dileo & Witte to continue to operate defensively, in fear, in weak defense of their jobs. When you have a bad product, and, believe me, the Sixers are a bad product (I attended Minny game Tuesday when they were at peak efficiency versus a dreg), you have to face the music and change the record, come what may. Because the Bulls failed in transforming (by your estimation) on a different set of facts, the Sixers should stand pat, be paralyzed by the prospect of change, the unknown? Nothing justifies stasis when you’re 20-32, 5 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and drawing 10,000 a night. Stefanski’s not guarding the Hope Diamond, just his bungling butt. Favorite son needs to be proactive or go.
By the way, early return on Sam’s game slowing down into wonderfulness: JJG 2, LA Steve 0. Thought of you on his open attempted dunk vs. Raptors that landed 12 ft from basket.
Chris McC., Thanks for your tip of the hat re rhetorical production; was a hard day at the factory.
I don’t know if the numbers would work but I would move Sam/Iggy for Stud and whatever else they decide to add. Actually I’d rather have the young lefty PG (name escapes me) in return. He looks like a player. I would look for Stud to opt in next year and go after Joe Johnson. I would much rather have a team of Stud, JJ, Brand, Speights, Young, Jrue, Suns PG as a team to build around. What’s here now isn’t going to cut it.
Saying these same players should stay at this point IMO is crazy. Maybe the 16th best team in the NBA out in the 1st round again is running in mud. Fire EJ hire Dougie and watch a team with big men who can run and catch the ball in the paint flourish. Draft a big man who is focused on defense 6’10 shot blocker and there is your defensive presence. Plus most good defensive teams have good guards who can defend up top. That’s where Jrue comes in.
Let’s say we trade Iguodala for best case scenario. We get a top 5 pick, and we pick up a lot of cap space in return.
I still don’t know what makes some people so confident that E.S. will sign the right player, or draft the right player. Let’s look at all the major decision’s that he has made in these years.
-Signing Brand and making him the highest paid player on the team? Miss.
-Hiring Jordan? Miss.
-Letting Miller walk? Miss.
-Signing Iverson? TBD.
I’ve been relatively impressed with the draft picks in the last couple of seasons… we’ll see about last year’s draft. I still think Lawson would have been the better pick if we wanted to win now. Stefanski came in here talking about how he had a plan for a championship and signing Brand put us in “win now” position. Then he turned around and drafted what essentially is a project. The Lawson-Jrue debate will rage on forever I guess.
I’ve said this before. I really don’t trust the Sixers management to make the right move. I don’t trust them to make the right trade (involving Iguodala) number one, but also I don’t trust them to make the right moves following up the trade (drafting and signing a new free agent from Iguodala’s dump off). Right now, trading our best player on a lost team, with a lost coach… just doesn’t jump out at me as a good move.
Dannie I hear you, but I just don’t think anyone in their right mind will take Iggy and Brand’s contract. Why would anyone take both of those big contracts; for who? for what?
You take Brand because you want Iguodala. If there is really a desire to have Iguodala you leverage that into a team taking Brand as well. I’ll take back a bad player/contract of shorter length OR I’d be more willing to take back a bad contract if I am getting a player I want too.
But trading Iguodala just to get rid of Dalembert makes no sense. They could trade Sammy alone at this point.
Also, I wouldn’t trade Iguodala first if I wanted to blow the thing up. I’d do what I had to do to move Brand and then make a decision on Iguodala.
Dannie, I kind of agree with your assessment of Jefferson but I think you need a long PF with him(Garnett type). He’d be exposed trying to cover power forwards. Like his Offense & rebounding though. Agree with LA Steve’s point about Portland being a possible trade match for a shooting wing player but seems like nothing’s out there.
If the Knicks and Washington complete their purges I guess it leaves us with a mid-pack team and those guys going for that number 1 pick with the Nets. Who is better off?
I just did a trade that gets us Beasley, D.Cook and J.Oneal [buyout ?] . Miami gets Amare and Barbosa and Pheonix gets Sam and Iggy. Is this possible? Maybe? Would I do it? Yes. We talk about needing a star, this trade, to me, gives us 2 chances more than our current situation does. Losing 2 of our 3 top defenders should increase our chances in the draft and Beasley, to me has a better chance than anybody currently here to be a 25 ppg. scorer in the future. It also adds 2 young tradeable assets to our team to get the chemistry right. Will Beasley be a better player than Iggy, maybe, but does he have a chance to be a #1 goto guy to build around, I think he can be.
jjg – “so you want Stefanski, Dileo & Witte to continue to operate defensively, in fear, in weak defense of their jobs.”
No, I just don’t want them to screw it up and make it worse, and believe me that’s a real possibility. I don’t want them to succumb to pressure from a bunch of “loose cannons”, like you. The biggest problem with this team is losing Andre Miller and hiring Eddie Jordan. We have some talent here, but Coach is killing us. Look, I’m no Iguodala fan, but if we can’t get equal value I wouldn’t trade him. I’ll be interested to see how he does this summer with the national team, playing for Coach K. If he does well, it will certainly improve his trade value, or perhaps, he’ll come back to us as a more productive player and remain here. I just don’t think it’s wise to trade him just to get him off the roster, or for a draft pick (unless it’s 1-3). In my opinion, the best thing Ed Stefanski can do for himself is to simply do what’s best for the team, from a talent perspective. Making a transaction should not be predicated on his employment status. If that means sitting pat, so be it, like I said previously, no trade is better than an bad one, he must not diminish the talent level, if he wants to remain on the job.
As far as Sammy goes: against the T-Wolves he played 22 mpg, had 7 rpg, and shot 2-3. Against Toronto he played 21 mpg, again, had 7 rpg, and shot 2-4. In both games he got very few touches in the post. Until he gets more consistent minutes, and more touches in the post, I expect he’ll continue to struggle. History shows he’s more productive when he plays 30+ minutes, as oppose to 20+ minutes. Frankly speaking, unless our next coach isn’t a proponent of giving him starter minutes, (32-36) and affording him touches in the post, Sam needs to be moved, because he’ll continue to be inconsistent.
Suede, so Beasley will be our small forward? Where’s Thad play? Or we have a frontcourt of Thad, Beasley & Elton? Doesn’t seem to fit.
sfw – I think the Nets are is great position to get better. They have a legit nba center, cap space, best chance to land Wall and a somewhat tradeable asset in Harris.
The Knicks have New York to help draw a top free agent with the money they have. But if they end up with no one they will be worse off if they settle and over spend.
S.F.W., get the bigtime scorer than build around him. It isn!t about this year anyway. Suppose a trade like I mentioned above allows more spending in the draft [extra #1] and moves us up 4 spots from , say, #10 to #6. We end up with Cousins, Vernado, Beasley and Cook plus a middle level young free agent, just sayin.
Suede – I can’t agree with your thinking or at least your depiction of what a “star” is or a “build around” player is. Being a 25ppg scorer doesn’t make you a star or build around piece. It just makes you a scorer and hopefully an efficient one.
What about all the flaws with him? Defense? Tweener? Attitude? How does that make him a star or someone worth building around? If Miami is ready to trade him that says a lot about his game/potential, or lack thereof.
I like Beasley, always have. But I don’t think he has the attitude to be a build around player. Maybe he develops it as he gets older and matures, but you would think he would be developing rapidly having the luxury of being around Pat Riley and Dwayne Wade.
Once again I am in the camp that believes Beasley will NEVER come close to as productive as Iguodala, so I don’t even consider that trade.
Dannie-
So you expect to get a player that has the caliber of Iguodala while dumping his and Brand’s Salary? I just don’t think it will ever happen.
Why are you building around just a scorer?
Iguodala is the 78th leading scorer on a per 48 minute basis in the NBA right now at 20.4ppg. Here are the guys ahead of him:
How many of the players that score more than him that are not the most elite (think more complete/total package) players in the league would you prefer to build a team around over Iguodala?
I think this is a good exercise.
Dannie, risk is definitely there but also is the talent. His numbers, playing for a probable playoff team, at his age are pretty good. He is a career 34 % 3pt. shooter so that may improve. Going from being
‘the guy” to Wades! caddy is probably a major ego hit. My issue with him is if he can play the 3, and cover them.
Adam – I didn’t say I expected that to happen, I said that’s whats on the table if you want Iguodala. You must take Brand or give me a equally as good OR young player I want or no deal.
I said in a previous comment that, getting a build around piece in any Iguodala deal is unlikely. Therefore I’ll keep Iguodala unless I can dump Brand too. And even then I would prefer to just dump Brand, Lou and Kapono and THEN make a decision on Iguodala.
Suede – You don’t think his offense is somewhat inflated because he IS Wade’s caddy?
While his ego might have taken a hit (I doubt this highly, we are talking about Wade, not some marginal NBA player) he also gets easier offensive opportunities because of this. He doesn’t have to score being “the man” that every opponent gameplans for.
LA Steve, And I hope they aren’t restricted by giving weight to the opinions of constricted, pompous asses like you. [Just kidding.]
p.s. Sam blows
Dannie, out of your list Anthony would be the guy he reminds me the most of, not a good defender or 3 pt. shooter early in his career and not considered a team guy then either. If Billups doesn!t go there does he ever change his image? I think Beasley is a possible [Anthony,Bosh and Durant] type player.
Again, I like Beasley a bit. I think he has strong offensive talent and at the SF is a good rebounder. But he if FAR from a build around player at this point. He has not shown anything on the NBA level to suggest otherwise for me. Clearly, not for the Heat. And potentially not for Suns and many other teams as his perceived value seems to be quite low around the league.
Beasley will be extremely lucky if he ever manages to reach the level of Drew Gooden. this is not a complement. if this guy comes to the sixers, i become a knick fan. in addition, just to spite the city of Philadelpha, i will become a Cowboy fan.
i have been vocal about not signing iguodala but in no way would i ever want to trade him in any sort of package where Beasley is the centerpiece.
In case you didn’t see this, from yahoo sports:
If there’s one trade offer that would be likeliest to usurp the Cavs’ proposal, it would be the Philadelphia 76ers softening on their stance that they won’t include Andre Iguodala(notes) with Sam Dalembert in a package for Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa(notes). The Suns had been receptive to that deal, despite the belief of some in the league that Phoenix owner Robert Sarver doesn’t want to take on future contracts, just shed them.
Sixers general manager Ed “Stefanski doesn’t want Stoudemire and [Elton] Brand together,” one source said.
The Sixers also haven’t been pro-active about trying to get a three-team deal going.
“A three-way would take effort on their part,” one league official said, “and they haven’t shown much of that yet.”
Isn!t the idea to move Iggy to rebuild with young talent? It wouldn!t be Iggy for Beasley, I wouldn!t do that at all. It is to get young talent, a higher draft pick and flexibility to get possible additional picks with the money we free up. That is my main point and if moving Iggy does that don!t you think about it. And keep in mind you would be paying Beasley, Cook and 2 possible #1 picks less combined than you are paying Iggy, and sad as it is to say, isn!t that this teams main concern?
Since when did just turning 26 in the NBA become “not young talent?”
NO paying Iguodala is NOT the problem. Paying Brand, Dalembert, Lou, Green and Kapono along with Iguodala is the problem. And in terms of productivity and contributing to wins, Iguodala is the leader with Sam second. So again, the plan should be to clear out the high salary players who are not producing, not give away your best, most productive player who also happens to be young with the hope and dreams of getting lucky on an unproven commodity and hit or miss draft picks.
But isn!t the problem that E.S. has to get under the tax and Sam and Elton aren!t moveable? If they were above 500 and playoff bound with slightly better attendence would any of this be necessary even?
And how much is the new C.B.A. and possible lockout playing into this?
Just for the sake of discussion, SF said this deal was discussed today:
phoenix gets hickson,dalembert, danny greenphilly gets zydrunascleveland gets amare
…Sure, SF is probable full of it, but its interesting.
Would you consider dumping Sam for an expiring?
Sure, its a horrible short term BB decision, but it takes away the team’s tax concerns and probably is a sure fire way to tank the rest of this year. In some ways its makes long term sense and gets the ball rolling.
I think Sam is become increasingly more movable and I think it just depends on what the Sixers are willing to take back.
I have not heard anything directly about getting under the tax line (which is for next season, not this season if I am not mistaken). I haven’t heard many rumors talking about the Sixers doing deals purely for monetary reasons. It’s all been about the team sucking and therefore something needs to happen. Cap space plus young talent. But that cap space will be used, not save for profit. I just haven’t heard this outright so for me it’s merely speculation that Stefanski “must” shed salary for tax reasons.
I think this summer there might be more/better options if the Sixers still want to blow it up or trade Dala. Once all the big time free agents settle in long term teams who lost out will turn to using their cap space via trade.
TK – I’d do that deal to help the losing cause this season and Sam was going to expire eventually anyway.
tk, if it keeps Iggy here and drops us a few spots in the draft, along with Marreese and Jason getting to split the 5 , than yes, but can!t we have D.Green?
Do you guys think any minor moves are being discussed?
I’ve tried to type my thoughts on the following trade three times and for some reason keep accidentally refreshing the page and losing my work. That said, I’m simply going to post this link:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yfqgykm
I don’t want to give up Iggy, but feel that if they do, this is a good way to do it (note: this sentence represents what were once four paragraphs).
Feel free to praise or insult my surely brilliant basketball ingenuity.
Minor move. Let’s talk Lou Will. Like to rid ourselves of him. Any options?
Great game on ESPN. Kansas-A&M.
Suede: I’d guess they are talking big moves 1st, and if that fails move on to more minor ones.
I don’t think moving that kind of money, Lou that is, constitutes a “minor move” Homie’s got 3 years/$17 million left after this season.
Well. It’s smaller than an Iggy and/or Sammy move.
Chris McC: I see where you are going and can see some strengths. Holiday/Young would would work better next to a shooter like Martin. I also see the financial benefit.
My main quibble is that your trade focusses on making all of the players fit. I’d rather just get rid of contracts and collect whatever young talent and short contracts we can find. Hope to draft a superstar (or trade assets for one) and the go about re-arranging the deck chairs when we know what type of star we are building around.
Your route risks building up a solid, but not contending core that would drift between good and mediocre.
My only problem is that is focussed more on fit, when the Sixers s
Chris, Martin!s duribility scares me like Beasley!s character issues scare others. S.F.W., if I could get salary relief and a young piece [Haddidi,Memphis?] or an early 2nd rounder [S.Collins?] I would think about it for L.Will. Aldrich is starting to grow on me after B.Knights piece on him and recent good defensive games, we need a good defensive big and he fits the “good person” description they try to draft.
Chris, I like that trade BUT puts pressure on Speights to be the man at the PF spot. From what I’ve seen I don’t think he’ll do the job. So, that would be the spot to fill in the draft. We should certainly lose more games this year.
While I agree that putting Brand in the deal with Andre would make it the most appealing.. it’s not gonna happen. I guess i’m in the minority here but I would do this deal.. with Iggy and Dala going to Phoenix for Stat and Barbosa. I feel like some of us are starting to overrate Igudola now that hes in these trade rumors… he is an overpaid nice third option, and if Phoenix is willing to overrate him I don’t see why we wouldn’t do this deal.
What’s gonna happen if we stand pat? Maybe push for an 8th seed.. be no threat in the playoffs at all.. and just continue this trend. If we trade for Stat are ceiling COULD be higher and if its not.. heel be off the books after next year anyways. Were beating a dead horse right here.. the Suns wont take Brand so lets stop talking about it. IF we keep Andre are finical situation will suck for more seasons. he will become harder to trade.. were not gonna get anything better then Trading him and Overpaid Dalambert for a proven all-star.. lets be real. If we don’t make this deal will just have the same team next year with no chemistry or direction.. I would make this deal period.
I guess what I’m trying to say is what we have isn’t working and isnt gonna work so whats the upside in staying pat
Chuck, why would Iguodala be harder to trade in future seasons? He’ll have one less year on his contract and the teams that are currently positioning themselves for a big FA this summer and miss out may find him very appealing.
Do you really believe that the Sixers become a contender by trading serviceable players for a second-rate all-star who doesn’t play defense? Bring in a coach that relies on defense to win games before complaining about the current pieces. I still don’t see the players as being the problem with this franchise, they should work with what they have and retool the philosophy (like they had the opportunity to do at the beginning of the season and blew it to create this mess).
Stu-
Do you really think that this team stand pat has enough talent to contend for the NBA title? Really? For an NBA championship. They can’t. If we don’t get a high draft pick this draft they won’t. It’s time for this team to make a move to either pick up young talent or lose enough games to pick up that young talent. We need either a versatile outside shooter or a real dominant big. Cousins would make me feel really good if he comes out this year. He just seems like a beast that could really make an impact in the NBA.
according to the ny post peter vecesy reports ” contrary to reports, they’re not remotely intrigued by stoudemire unless the suns take back elton brand. thinking in print they’d do iguodala for stoudemire is farcial. dalembert’s play the last month has gotten him larger type in the want ads, but he’s no longer available”.
if its true what peter vecsey is saying management is at least right on this and mr. vecsey is a pretty good source. any thoughts about that statement
Is Dallas done, or according to Real G.M., would they still have interest in a possible lowpost threat. Would you? [Elton for Dampier [exp.] and Carroll] or more importantly, would they ?
The non bolded part somewhat confirms that the Sixers are not going to just ship Iguodala out of here. But the second part is of key interest to me.
It’s the first real “rumor” or direct indication that the Sixers are not in salary dump mode like some people have suggested they are or that ownership has made it known to Stefanski to cut payroll.
Not that I knew this to be the case prior to now, just that I don’t think any of us knew with any certainty that the Sixers were in cost cutting mode.
Its comical all of the “untouchables” on the team. Sounds like Sam, Jrue, Lou, Thad, Speights, Iguodala and Sam are untouchables?
I’m fully behind Stefanski trying to move Brand, but realize that might not be possible at this deadline. I also don’t want Iguodala dumped for scraps. But I don’t understand the mindset that anyone on this roster is untouchable.
TK – I’ve been saying that for a long, long time. And I have a big picture view of the term “untouchable.” I think you can look around the league clearly pinpoint the relatively untouchable players. Most rosters should have no player locked in as untouchable, there just aren’t that many really elite players.
If you’re interested good breakdown of Iguodala’s offensive game this season compared to past seasons.
Anybody in the league can get got except lebron and dwight howard everybody eles is game in my opinion the best center in the league and the best player in the league
Marcus – I’ll kindly disagree.
That’s a bit too far on the other end for me.
think about it danny say the lakers wanted lebron cleveland would say no but if cleveland wanted kobe for lebron the lakers say yes
So even the so called best player in the league could get traded but lebron i highly doubt he could get traded
Dannie: Good read, and entirely true. Makes one wonder why they don’t run that backdoor lob play to Igoudala more often, especially now that Holiday is in the starting lineup. Another Jordan fault, or can Holiday not make that pass?
Marcus - That doesn’t make any sense to me.
If Cleveland wanted Kobe and were willing to trade LeBron to get him that means LeBron is NOT untouchable (neither would Kobe be), right?
I think you stretched this a bit to far passed reality/boundaries.
In that’s why in my comment I bolded and italicized “relatively.”
Sure, in theory teams might well trade elite player for elite player, but is that practical, realistic or likely at any point? Examples?
In reality elite players in their prime aren’t traded for each other, they usually change teams via free agency OR if they demand to be traded and hold the line on that demand. KG, might be an exception (I don’t recall him demanding a trade) but I think Minny did it for his benefit to have a chance to win, since they were clearly prepared to start rebuilding rather than try to build around him.
That aside, I think:
are all completely untouchable if given the boundary that you can’t trade players for other players on this list.
Does that make sense?
What players would you omit or add?
I find the title of this article hilarious. Does he think that is a good thing?
Morty – I really think Jordan has no clue how to coach this team. Maybe he could be better with a different team and different players. But this team he is 100% clueless.
I fault him a lot for the team’s struggles.
That said, I blame the players as well. They are still on the floor, needing to get the job done and they haven’t.
And I blame Stefanski for letting it all happen like this AND believing this roster as it stands, is anything more than a “perennial playoff contender.”
I’d put Dwayne Wade in that untouchable group. Yeah, I guess it could have happened if Miami was convinced he’d split after his contract. Durant in OKC, Rose in Chicago, Dirk in Dallas and Carmello in Denver. Those guys aren’t going anywhere via trade, period. And of course, Kobe, Lebron and Dwight.
Maybe, just maybe Chris Paul is untouchable, but New Orleans is flirting with utter irrelevance and they may see the writing on the wall as far as him skipping town as soon as possible.
Of course, all of this is predicated on those teams’ ownership remaining convinced that their squads can contend now or in the near future. Hopeless teams would sell Kareem for pack of bus tokens… or Andre Iguodala for 3 months of a bitter, unmotivated, no-defense-playing Stoudemire.
Danny, I don’t think Duncan is untouchable. I think he’s expensive, but not untouchable. If San Antonio were offered a king’s ransom I think they would do it. Maybe, a first-rounder, a young big man with upside and perhaps another perimeter player.
Same with Nash, the Suns aren’t good enough to hoard a player like him.
Bill Simmons has a trade value column, that’s what Marcus is inferring there.
No, this team is not going to be a contender. They have no way of doing that without getting a Top-5 pick for a few years. But its a catch-22 because they have to SUCK to get a top-5 pick and if this team isn’t interesting as a mediocre team, what interest would they have as a horrible team? Its really a lose-lose situation. It all started when they drafted Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce and Dirk.
I also find it comical that Stefanski needs to move Elton Brand, the “franchise” guy that is turning out to be one of the worst FA signings in a long time and crippled this team. A running theme on this site is the confusion that would allow Stefanski to remain in power and try to move his franchise player, the same guy that he idiotically signed to a huge deal.
@stu couldn’t agree with you more. How does Josh Smith look now? I know Hawks was going to sign him no matter what. Well ES should have offered him the Philly Max and forced ATL’s hand. This team went from a fast break running style to a half court pick and screen offense with no true point guard. I’m so lost and confused. That Q&A with EJ is truly indicative of how poorly he has coached. Unless there is a true Lebron, Howard type coming out in the draft and you get lucky the NBA is a very difficult league to get better quickly.
ES, EJ, EB, it has to hurt Comcast, Snider and those folks to continue paying these guys to do nothing.
Chris – What team could present the Spurs or Suns with a “kings ransom” if we stick with the boundary that you can’t include any of the 10 players on the above list?
I don’t think you can just say a package of this and that hypothetical player, plus picks. For this to be practical those hypothetical players need to really exist.
Stu – I get the Simmons formula in his trade value column. But, trade value and untouchable are somewhat different conversations and not mutually exclusive.
While I agree LeBron has by far the highest trade value and certainly more trade value than Kobe does right now, that doesn’t mean Kobe is NOT untouchable. If you read Simmon’s criteria in full he says:
The bold part is exactly what I said in my above comment about keeping reality in mind as well. So in terms of pure trade value of course the Lakers would trade Kobe for LeBron while Cleveland would not. But, that doesn’t make Kobe NOT untouchable in reality, which is why part of my criteria is that you can’t trade players on the untouchable list for each when considering whether a player is untouchable or not. And in fact in Simmons trade value column he categorizes a number of players to varying levels of untouchable. If that makes sense.
Again, I see no value in staying pat.. what is keeping Iggy really gonna do? Were not magically going to become contenders… I flat out don’t get it.
Iggy has reached his ceiling.. and the Suns are overrating him.. why not make the deal… I understand that we may stay in the same position that we already were in.. but our ceiling COULD be higher and Stodumire comes of the books way before Iggy would. Plus were shipping sammy.. since when did we wanna keep sammy? What if he reverts back to his bullshit.. then what? What is waiting a year gonna do.. his value MIGHT go up bc it’s his expiring year but thats not a guarantee. We would be getting a proven all-star.. plus the argument Brand and Stat wouldn’t be able to play together… Iggy and Brand can’t and Brand will be here for a long time since he is basically untradeable so why not take the chance?
Believe me the first thing I would do is fire Eddie Jordan.. but ive stated that a million times. Stat > Iggy any day of the week…. you guys can continue to overrate Iggy all you want and stay here in meritocracy land
STU - I think people are perfectly fine with Stefanski trading Brand for expiring contracts and that makes sense to me. That is something most view as a clear net positive no matter who does it.
I don’t think anyone is thinking or wants Stefanski making the big decision of trading Brand for another hefty contract of a different player. Those are completely different thoughts imo.
The 2nd part of that is, I think people are okay with Ed trading Brand for the expirings but also don’t want Stefanski being the guy to make the decision on how to use the cap space acquired.
Chuck – Proof, aside from public (fan/media) perception that Stoudemire is a better (think more productive) player than Iguodala?
And if you are going to point specifically/only to points per game we might as well just stop.
At the very least I think both players might be even in overall production and in that case it comes down to a few questions:
Also, do you want the Sixers to keep Amare long-term or is this 100% a salary dump move? If you want the Sixers to keep Amare are you not considering the fact that he wants something close to $20m per season?
And while you think “we” are overrating Iguodala you are drastically overrating Amare.
Has anyone even thought about Amare actually being overvalued because of Nash? The same way that article says Iguodala would thrive with Nash, and how Marion once did. I am of the position that “STATS’” stat’s will drop noticeably without a player like Nash spoon feeding him dunks and layups, and in a different system. He has a solid jumper and is athletic, but contributes little to nothing anywhere else for his size. He doesn’t even rebound well even though his team plays at a break neck pace, and more than a third of his boards are offensive. What happens if he gets on a team that doesn’t jack up as many shots? He’s weak. If you give Speights the same minutes he’ll put up the exact same numbers and be just as weak for much cheaper. If it’s expiring contracts you’re looking for there are better ones out there.
I feel the same way as you Dannie. If you can’t convince Houston that they would be instant contenders by taking AI9 and Brand for McGrady, you wait it out, or try to chip a way, but you don’t trade Iguodala just to get rid of Sam, when he’s playing good basketball and his value will be much higher this time around next year.
“”Cavs fans ought to watch Knicks-Hou talks,” wrote Windhorst. “If NYK clears that cap space, they reach goal of having 2 max contract slots. Gamechanger.”
So in addition to Lebron who should the Knicks go after?
Lebron + Wade?
Lebron+ Bosh or Amare
or Lebron + 2 non-max players?
I got for the two best players and figure out the rest later so that’s Wade and LeBron.
BUT, I can’t quite imagine what LeBron and Wade would look like playing in an NBA game. We see how they play in an All-star game. We saw how they played in the Olympics.
How does that play out over 3-5 years of NBA play?
Are we talking Jordan/Pippen type of combo with those guys? Meaning someone takes a perceived back seat?
Would it be like a Shaq/Kobe deal where eventually someone doesn’t want to take a backseat anymore?
Amare and Bosh are pretty much a coin flip for me. I just haven’t watched enough of either player to discern who is the better defender. All the rest of their stats are damn near identical. So I guess I take the younger player in Bosh and hope he plays defense with LeBron the way he did in the Olympics.
Yeah, I guess you go with Wad and Lebron… and then use your Bird rights to resign David Lee and Harrington.
Not sure what shooter they would add in the “Paxton/Kerr” role, but sounds like a decent core.
Dannie-
You gotta take Bosh all day over Amare. How many different PG’s has Bosh had in Toronto since he came into the league? Bosh is much more polished offensively and doesn’t have to get dunks to get his points. He can face up two steps in from the three point line and hit it about 40% of the time. I also feel that he’s just a longer player in general, and playing next to a player like Lebron he would improve much more than Amare would.
Adam – I would take Bosh over Amare just because I like him better, his attitude and his age but their numbers are almost identical and Amare’s face up jumper 16-23 feet is sick for a big man.
They are similar players but I’ve seen Bosh play inspired defense before in the Olympics were I have never seen Amare. The question when it comes to winning championships in the NBA is would Bosh play that way every game? He doesn’t currently from what I know.
Dannie you make good points but my main argument for making this deal isn’t so much that Amare is drastically better then Andre.. but rather what is the overall net benefit in keeping him when it has been proven to not work.
An important point is that Elton is not tradable and their is a high probability we will have to keep him for a while and it has been proven the Elton Brand Andre Iggy experiment doesn’t work. I say give it a shot because your getting rid of Sammy and Iggy two big contracts and getting a proven all star who would come of the books several years earlier then Iggy worst case scenario.
If we still miss the playoffs after making the deal.. we only have one more year with stat. I guess my main point would be what we have as a roster doesn’t work.. so we have to get rid of the tradable parts. Even if we stayed pat… fired Eddie Jordan god willing going into next season we are not a championchip contender so their is 0 point in not making this deal because we arent contenders right now so we have to make doable moves to quicken the process.
I think this is pretty interesting. It’s out of an article from ESPN.com that Bill Simmons wrote about 2010 trade value. (Talking about Rudy Gay).
“If you’re my best perimeter guy and can’t make 3s, then you better be dropping 24-26 a night easy, and he can’t do it. He’s headed for Iguodala/Deng/Granger territory — someone who gets paid like a franchise player but isn’t one (a recipe for NBA disaster). If I’m a Knicks fan, my Summer of 2010 Worst-Case Scenario is Amar’e and Rudy. That’s taking me to a 6-seed every spring.”
Actually, I just noticed that you guys have already brought up the article. But I still think it’s interesting. I personally think comparing Iguodala to Gay, Deng, and Granger is a bit unfair. In my opinion Iguodala has shown the ability to lead (if you can call it that) an average team to the playoffs… where the other guys haven’t done that. Gay has impressed me a lot this year, but I still think Andre is more talented. Certainly more worthy of a large contract than Deng or Granger if you ask me.
“We have a veteran coaching staff that has gotten teams to achieve.”
Really Eddie? REALLY??? Who on this staff achieved anything? Did he achieve anything at Washington? They had an incredibly talented team, and he blew it. Now he comes to Philly and they’re not as talented so he looks even worse.
Guest – Simmons trade value piece is always entertaining. I read it for the funny comments mainly.
Did you also notice he has Lou Williams as the 5 most cap-appealing NBA contracts that aren’t rookie deals or one-year deals?
I think Simmons underrates Iguodala’s defense in his comparisons with other players like Granger and Gay.
I 100 percent agree with Bill Simmons on his view on Iggy
Adam, Bosh may be the better player overall (especially with his improved rebounding), but Amare is better in the pick and roll. I’d still take Bosh over Amare, but Amare’s game probably fits next to Lebron better.
Dannie-
Did you check Bosh’s shot from the same range? It was 47% last year to Amare’s 46%, but this year Amare has the edge 45% to 43%. Amare’s career high is 48% from 16-23 and Bosh’s was his 47% last year. However, I think that Amare gets more OPEN looks from that range than Bosh due to the pick n’ pop that he runs with Nash constantly. If he’s open, he’s gonna knock em down. I think if you put Bosh on the Suns instead of Amare he’ll shoot at least 48%. I think Bosh faces up more often than Amare to hit jumpshots, while Amare has the advantage of getting open looks.
tk76-
I think Amare does have an edge in athleticism, but he’s also had wayyy more experienced in pick n’ roll situations with Nash. I think with more time in the league and with a PG who really knows how to utilize the pick n’ roll, Bosh could come close to the same effectiveness that Amare has developed.
Chuck – Do you also agree with his view of Amare?
i understand what ur saying dannie one of these days i am going to win a discussion against u lmao
Dannie I am impressed, 120 comments and you haven’t attacked anyone. Probably because no one disagreed with you. But progress none the less.
Hilarious EJ interview. My favorite quote: “…We might not make a lot of threes. We may not be as physically tough at times. We may not play veteran-like basketball. We might not make great plays…”
The Lark (new handle, huh?) – Since you want to play games on the Web I’ll indulge you just this once…
I don’t attack commentors. Specifically I never make personal attacks (can you say the same about yourself – you and I both know who you are and what you tried to do)?
I do attack arguments, as I expect and hope any and everyone here would do. That’s always welcome and encouraged. This is all about sports debate along with general discussion.
I have been disagreed with a few times in this thread if you bothered to read through it all.
Now I will say I am probably much more aggressive when I debate than others, but non the less I keep it civil and never attack people, just their argument. My style may not be everyone’s cup of tea and I am okay with that.
I will on the other hand, from time to time call out a dumb comment that serves no purpose. Kind of like comment #30 here and my response in comment #32. Sorry, the first sentence of that comment was a bit much for me and I said that.
I’m done with you. If you keep it civil your comments won’t be blocked/deleted as they have been for a week now and I’ll release any legit comments from my spam filter.
Cool?
I’ve been seeing a conspicuous absence of the Sixers in the last 36 hours of trade rumors. Maybe they couldn’t get what they wanted for Iguodala. Which is reassuring in as much as it shows that E.S. had standards. I’ve been reading that the Rockets are down to the Bulls or Knicks and it never really looked like the Amare rumors had much weight.
Assuming that the Sixers can’t trade Sammy, which would be unlikely next season with his expiring deal, does anyone here think that his recent play has earned him some consideration for an extension here? Of course, it would have to be a much more reasonable deal, but it might not be a bad call. If not, I’ve heard Sacramento is interested, and they’ve got Kenny Thomas’ expiring $8 million we could get back.
This is starting to feel like the days leading up to the Halladay deal, I just want Thursday to come and go so we can get back to basketball.
Chris – It’s seeming like the Sixers aren’t going to be doing anything. Now last night’s shellacking might change that. But I recently read that Stefanski said the Sixers were going to be buyers not sellers and that money is not an issue (driving force behind making deals) for the team.
In my opinion I think they should stand pat because I think the likelihood of Stefanski making a good deal vs. a bad deal is skewed heavily towards the bad side and I’d just rather them shit the bed the rest of the way and clean house. Than let the new guys make the decisions. This summer there will be ample opportunity to make deals as teams will have more money and desire to deal.
I think people who want the team to do something right this second don’t understand that last point. The teams looking to make deals are the good playoff teams. They aren’t really in desperate situations where they would give us a lopsided trade. The Summer on the other hand I think we could do better.
The premise of only trading AI with Brand is great.
However, if the choice is no trade at all or moving AI’s salary then AI needs to go (unless the 76ers have a better plan we dont know about).
Why should AI stay just for the sake of staying?
The sooner AI, Dalem, Kapona’s contract are gone the better our draft picks get.