Louis Williams: The Forgotten Sixers Free Agent

Whether or not he is our future p.g. really would add to his value; I think he can be with the lack of physical guard play he fits the description. If E.S. sees this as a possibility I think he would go higher to match. Barbosa is thought of as a guy that can!t play the pt. where as the jury on L.Will. is still out. [ 7 mill. tops?]

Dannie, you are doing a terrific job with these posts. keeping our beaks’ dripping wet with Sixer talk during the most exciting offseason since we drafted Sharone Wright and BJ Tyler.

thanks.

DANNIE: I hope Lou is more like the back-burner, instead of the forgotten, free agent. It’s understandable with everything that has been going on lately with the Sixers. Unfortunately for Lou, he is a lesser priority than Iguodala. That being said, I could live with a Udrih-like contract for Lou. For me, the key is the question you asked: How much do you think Louis Williams is worth to the Sixers?

At this point in time, I think Williams is worth more to the Sixers, and they need to keep him. I say that for several reasons:

1) The Sixers have already invested 3 years in Lou. He has come a long way in that time and I, like you, expect continued improvement.

2) Since we have very little money left to bring in a shooter, we will most likely depend on him to fill at least some of that void, in addition to his role as 6th man offense off the bench.

3) With the Andre Miller situation still up in the air, we may need him to step in there as well. At a minimum, we need a solid backup PG. I do not think he will ever be our long term answer at PG, (I know many of you do) but he has been here, he knows the offense, and he knows the players. If we end up trading Miller at the deadline, we will need Lou to step up short term.

4) Lou is very young and still not in the prime of his career, so we would not be paying for diminishing production at the end of the contract. Also, like Iguodala, Lou will still be valuable and movable should things not work out or if we have a chance to make another big time acquisition.

@ ZACK: I just got back last night from a week at the beach. I scanned through the topics I missed while I was away and I saw you were looking for me. I wasn’t dead on the floor or anything. It’s just that the wife would be none too pleased if she found me blogging during the family vacation, so I was out of contact.

Whoa there. I love Sweet Lou, but you compare him to some pretty establsihed players there…particularly Barbosa and Mo Williams. Udrih was given too much. Daniel Gibson’s a good comparison and that’s the type of money Lou should get…somewhere in the 4 to 4.5 per year range.

Duke, M.Williams has great numbers but his team hasn!t won yet, to me it has to be him or

M.Barnes signed for the minimum, I guess Pheonix has better weather and golf course. Maybe we CAN get a pretty good player after all. With Childress looking at Europe to UP the ante, do you think there is any deal we could do with Atlanta, Dannie, to get him here. [Evans,fut. #1?] With Smith able to play the 3 also, maybe a savings in money for Atlanta would at least make them think about it.

The money isn’t in the NBA anymore since the US dollar is down so much. His agent isn’t “creating another market.” There are other markets now that pay more than the NBA for a guy like Childress. From what I know, that is 3 years 20 million euros untaxed. That is like 18 million a year in NBA terms. If it is dollars untaxed then it is probably only like 11 million a year in NBA terms due to not being taxed.

The NBA has to nip this in the bud if they can. I don’t think they can though. Basketball isn’t our sport anymore. It is the worlds.

Maybe I am overreacting, but I have a feeling the “rookie scale contract” is going to be gone or drastically altered by the next CBA due to the international threat.

Childress is a damn fine player as well. His jumpshot is ugly as hell, but effective. He boards well for his size. He plays the 3 and some 2. He is just a guy who gets the job done. I would part with Reggie without a thought for him.

@Dannie

I don’t really think Childress would be a “redundant” player on this team. I think what everybody agrees on is that this team could use a proficient SG. Also, a big concern seems to be size and at 6′8, Childress fills that bill as well. .571 FG%, .367 3PT%, and .807 FT%…I wish Iggy were that type of shooter.

I agree with you on Evans, I’m just saying if that was what it took…I’d make the move.

Dannie, I think now that we have 2 low post 4!s, Jason becomes more valuable as Sam!s 15 to 20 sub at the high post. I like Reggie but feel Thad can supply his energy for 10 minutes a night at the 4 and Elton his toughness all night. I would just love to have 1 guy [Sam] that has trouble scoring and everybody else a threat rather than 2. I was kidding my brother that drafting Hansbrough next year would give us a Reggie replacement that A] can shoot a jumper and B] gets paid about 1.2 mill.

Know what sucks though… if Childress goes overseas my understanding is that the Hawks would have to retain his rights which would be a crazy cap hold that he has, meaning they couldn’t take full advantage of possible future cap space. Ouch.

Hawks need to sign and trade him and Smith out west, unless they are planning on doing that with Smith.

An alternative to Jason Smith as backup center is 37-yr-old NJ resident of Romanian descent, Gheorghe Muresan. Ol’ #77 remembers his limitations and is apparently available, though his standing vertical jump has decreased from 4 inches to 3 since retiring from the NBA in 2000. You may remember, Gheorge led the NBA in field goal shooting percentage for 2 consecutive seasons in the mid-90s, canning layups and tap-ins with near 60% accuracy. On March 11, 2007 while playing for the Maryland Nighthawks (boasting the tallest line-up that evening in the history of basketball), he squared off against 7′9″ Sun Ming Ming. Results of that Mason-Dixon skirmish are unavailable. Muresan’s friend and former role model, Manute Bol, could not be reached for comment as he’s in Alabama, still practicing 3 pt. shots in Charles Barkley’s driveway as Charles meets in his swimming pool with advisors, planning his future governorship campaign.

jjg: Thanks for the update.

Dannie, I actually think we do need another SG/SF swingman off the bench. But unlike Childress, he needs to that type of player who is an above average 3 pt shooter. If anything, all of a sudden our bench is big man heavy. With Sammy and Elton starting, Evans Smith and Speights probably do not have enough minutes for all. Meanwhile, we only have Green and Lou to fill the PG, SG and SF backup spots. Neither of those 2 is strong defensively, neither can guard a big SG or SF. In my eyes, it’s the biggest weakness on this team. If there were any way to package Smith and Green for that swingman, Ed would have another solid move on his resume.

Dannie, I agree about Thad but you know Mo and his lineups; [Thad,Iggy,Elton,Willie,A.Mill.] Wouldn!t be surprised to see this alot this year.

re #37, correction: “sfw”

bski: Don’t know the exact year, but didn’t he have 53 one game? An ex-Minnesota Gopher if I recall correctly.

JJG: I found Willie’s stats for the one year he was with us.

YEAR TEAM G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT%
94-95 PHI 53 31 29.5 .401 .385 .824 OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
.90 2.20 3.10 1.8 .60 .36 2.30 3.20 15.3

He did absolutely nothing after that.

@jjg:

Your post about Big Gheorge made my night…one of the most random, hilarious things I’ve heard in a while. What a goofy bastard he was. What was the name of that ridiculous movie he starred in with Billy Crystal in the late 90’s, when Gheorge could do no wrong?

@Anyone thinking Childress is a SG:

At Stanford, he played SF and PF, could not shoot, and was extremely efficient in that (a la CDR) he was a crafty scorer. In the NBA, he has played SF and PF…and yes, SOME SG at times…and while he has improved his shot, is by all means still not a shooter, and scores in that “crafty” get near the basket way. Childress would be a great backup SF for lots of teams, and is very capable of starting as well in a smaller role. The reason he wouldn’t be so for our team though is very simple: like others have said, he’s not a three point shooter.

@Ed Stefanski:

Matt Barnes just signed with the Phoenix for $1.2 million (vet minimum) to be their SF off the bench. He was signed to play defense, give them hustle plays, and shoot 3’s.

Now, I know Matt Barnes isn’t even in the same league as guys like Korver, Kapono or Dell Curry as far as shooting, but the guy is no slouch from behind the arc. He has improved his shot every year to the point where he excelled (when given minutes) in his role as the hard working, defense/3 point shooting guy off the bench in Golden State and hit at about a 37% clip the year they took down Dallas.

People might say, “But he played terribly last year and didn’t shoot well at all.” Well, I’m willing to look at last year as a total aberration for him, because Nellie,being his normal moody, PMSy self, inexplicably had Barnes in his doghouse all year, and Barnes really had no chance to excel, especially with all the other SF’s they had splitting minutes (Al Harrington, Pietrus, Azuibuke).

If we are priced out of landing FA’s like Posey, Boci Nachbar, etc…WHY ON EARTH did we not pursue (of course Ed could have, and just not leaked it to the media) a 6′6 – 6′7 strong defensive SF, that can also shoot 3’s at a pretty good (i.e: better than all current Sixers) clip, for the vet minimum? Don’t understand why he’s not a Sixer right now, he’d be an ideal fit for our bucket and pale defensive, run-run-run team that desperately needs any upgrade in shooting.

aaronmckie4mvp- who would that high quality SG be, Tracy McGrady? Would you do that deal? Who else would we have to send to make the money fit, W. Green and J. Smith?

Dre, its funny that the one guy that would seem to fit here hasn!t been mentioned, B.Gordon. We seem to be going about filling our main need bass- ackwards; instead of bring in a 32 minute shooter and a situational defender [Gordon and Sefalosa] we are going to resign a 32 minute defender [our strength already] and bring in a 10 minute a night shooter [a weakness]. Add to this the early in the summer rumors that Gordon was the 2nd free agent option, supposedly, of the Sixers plus the talk in Chicago is that Hinrich is a Reinsdorf favorite and Deung seems to be their main focus now and doesn!t it seem possible Reinsdorf could see Jordan/Pippen light in Rose/Iggy [who is from Chicago]. Would I do a Iggy for Gordon/ Sefalosa deal, not if Iggy wants what he is worth but if he wants 15 mill. I sure as hell would look into it. P.S. ; what shooter has been mentioned thus far that is a better athlete than Gordon and would fit our style more.

Dave T, Name of movie: “My Giant.” (Crystal attributed inspiration to his having worked with “Andre the Giant” in Rob Reiner’s “The Princess Bride.”) Curious cast includes Jay Black (lead singer of Jay & the Americans–”in a little cafe on the other side of the border…”); Lorna Luft, daughter and step-sister of Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, respectively; and Doris Roberts, Ray’s mother on TV’s “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Crystal plays a fast-talking agent who says to Gheorghe’s character, a 7′7″ monk, “Without Goliath, David is just a punk throwing rocks.” Didn’t see it during first run, but now that I’ve done some research, it’s on my must-see list. Can just imagine the surprises and subtleties of plot, and the depth of characterization in this “underappreciated” cinematic vehicle. Thanks for the reminder!

Back to Sixers talk: Agree, Barnes is a useful, seasoned player now. I guess past friction between he and Cheeks precluded Sixer interest. Also agree, quick Ben Gordon has a nice stroke, finds seams; would probably help.

sorry, Dre, i should have been more specific. ive been saying this for so long that i forgot how many SGs are off the table now. McGrady= no way. Now Ben Gordon is very interesting. that guy has been a victim of Chicago’s round robin rotation for years, playing 30mins a game and scoring 18+ ! that guy can be a star in the right role. but forget the numbers, he is a flat out winner. this guy has won a dozen games for the Bulls with clutch shots. i think he is a great fit for us. – great 3point shooter, a clutch player, a great scorer, a true winner.

i think he is a better overall player than Iguodala and would gladly do this trade straight up (have no idea how the salaries match up). In the playoffs, Iguodala already showed me that he is not a big-time player. Gordon is a little undersized, but he is a flat out player & a winner.

I would also love to have Rip. the guy is also a winner and just knocks down shots. i know he isnt a flat out 3-point bomber, but i dont know that we need that. what we need a legit perimeter scoring threat. a 3pt specialist can come off the bench.

i know i come off as a guy who hates Iguodala but its not true. i think he is a very good player. my problem with Iggy is that he does not really fit on this team. His weaknesses are in skills that should be standard for his position . for example, PFs and Centers that don’t block shots or rebound are liabilities (Randolph, Curry). These are things they just need to do at their postion.

6′6” swingmen must be perimeter scoring threats. no matter how good they are on D or how good they are at dunking will never make up for the lack of perimeter scoring. the current makeup of our team does not pick up the slack for a SF that cant score from the perimeter.(A. Miller , Brand, Sammy D arent rockstar perimeter players) A player with Iggy’s skill set fits better on a team where the guards are great scorers (Detroit, San Antonio for example)

And Gordon is economical in movement, takes good angles; reminds me a little of Andrew Toney in his approach and shooting ability on offense. See it -boom! Contrastingly, Iguodala is like Scott Hamilton or Brian Boitano in sneakers in getting where he wants to go.

I also think giving KVH a look for the vet minimum would be an excellent option. 6′9 – 6′10, always been an excellent shooter from both midrange and outside, real complete offensive game, great IQ, and would be more then happy to settle for a 10-15 mpg role on a good team (if, that is, he wants to return to bball at all).

Don’t want KVH. Somewhat talented, has always lacked fire in the belly. Isn’t a pure jump shooter either. Quirky game.

A.Mckie, salary wise Gordon turned down 10 mill. per last year but read where probably 10 to 12 gets him now; if Iggy wants14 or more a Gordon/ Sefolosha deal would be about right.

suede, A quick pass to a teamate, a catch and a jump shot without a dribble – a simple thing of beauty. And becoming rare in today’s game.

It’s the shot clock-consuming Iggy show on the wing that often puts Sixers at a scoring disadvantage. He’s strong in transition; the rest – close your eyes.

Gordon has favorably impressed me during Sixers-Bulls tilts. Seems like a quiet winner. Another guy I like who could possibly chip in to Sixers’ cause is Juan Dixon; have liked and rooted for him in his career since Maryland days. From my view, both players are small in frame but big in heart, with requisite mental toughness.

I think it was Joe who was talking yesterday about players looking to play in Europe instead of the NBA because of the weak dollar. Well, I just read in the NY Post that Nachbar signed a 3 year deal to play in Russia. He specifically said that the money was too good to pass up. Krstic has the same agent as Nachbar and he is fielding European offers as well, but it appears as though he will stay in the NBA.

I agree with Dave T’s last post. I am on record as a die hard Iggy supporter (the more Dre’s the better, lol).

The thing I’m afraid of is getting rid of him too early and watch him develop into an all-star on another team.

What some of you guys need to think about is after Ed Stefanski “suggested” a new philosophy to Cheeks, Iggy was asked to be the leader/coach on the floor even more than Miller. Trust me that is not an easy transition for a guy that never had that type of responsibility before. That may have led to a more tenative approach when the game was tight.

I feel he’s a student of the game that will blossom into what some say he’ll never be. Rip is a prime example of steady growth from year to year especially when you have help. This is the first year of Iggy’s career that he’ll have good solid help at multiple positions and a more than serviceable bench to boot. But if the price isn’t right I’ll just have to root for him on his new team (and trade him back to Philly on NBA Live 2009)

Dannie & Pete- I echo many who have reaped much praise on the amount of work you guys put into keeping the flow of ideas running. With that being said, it really puzzles me the amount of times I’ve read about moving Andre Iguogala.

Anyway, I would like to hear your views on Josh Childress thinking about playing in Greece. This is so different that Jennings playing overseas instead of college and Becky Hammonds (I think) playing for Russia in the Olympics.

Is this about the money? I live in Atlanta and the local media is awfully quiet about this possibility.

I agree with Morty above moving Iggy can bring up interesting things to talk about but but bringing a player that give you 2-5 percentage points on 3 point shooting to lose all the other things that Iggy brings to the table is crazy. Redd and Gordon have big issues on the defensive end Iggy and Thad on D for extended mins will give other teams fits.

One player I would have to consider is Rudy Gay he is young athletic and has upside just like Iggy. He is a better shooter but lacks Iggy’s playmaking and defensive ability. It seems like it would be a lateral move for both teams so I dont really see it happening but I like Rudy Gay.

Morty: “Not Redd, Not Gordon.” OK, not in a horse trading sense, but in a chemistry sense. The ‘less is more’ principle of team basketball. Iggy, good player but flawed player, is adopting a bit of the Kobe/King James self-glorifying drama without the same talent/individual results. If you want fastbreak highlights, he may be your man. If you want to win a championship, consideration of Redd and Gordon fall under “due diligence.” It’s not a one-for-one proposition, it’s a recipe.

@Dannie

Yeah. Cheeks is probably done this year unless something big happens. Ed gave him the extension to appease the media. If this team underachieves in the least, expect to hear Mo Cheeks name on the hot seat.

“good player but flawed player” this sentence is accurate for about 95% of the league.

“Intangibles” is the key word. Has anyone put together a chart that shows what percentage of a teams points a player is responsible for? Scoring, assists, “NHL” assists, steals/blocks that lead to easy buckets, that sorta thing?

I know someone out there has a link.

Dre, I want Iggy here but I!ll try to give an anti Iggy slant; After the Brand trade our #1 scoring option became a low post scorer, now most teams try to put pieces around the #1 guy that will make him most succesfull, and that would be a starter that can spread the floor. Conversely, this team is being built on a defensive mentality with scoring being the 2nd concern and after watching Boston last year I like that concept, that is why I want Iggy here, plus I think he can become an average at worst 3pt shooter but I can understand the other sides view.

I’m glad to see almost all the Deep Sixer guys made it over here and are enjoying it so much. I like it so much better here because you can have a more in depth conversation. Also, you can stay with the topics a lot longer. Dannie and Pete really do a great job. I know I’m a bit late chiming in, but I wasn’t on this topic yesterday. I’ve been all over the baseball topics.

Speaking of which: @ DAVE T. If you’re ever concerned about your long basketball posts(I’ve seen you joke about it a couple of times), go check out the baseball topics. You’ve got nothing on me.

The Greek: good to see you. There are a couple more regulars from deep sixer we need over here, but it’s getting close

jjg: I hear you, but Igoudala does not hog the ball and take too many shots, the fatal flaw of many talented players (cough, Iverson, cough). He will not hold the team back with selfsih play. The knock on him has always been that he is unselfish to a fault.

Try to remember how many nice passes he (and Miller) made to post players who could not do anything with it? Try to to remember how many times picks were set for him by a player who the defense did not need to respect? Now imagine those passes going to, and picks coming from Brand. Or, imagine the defense not doubling him on drives because they have to stay home on Brand.

In sum, like suede said, defense wins championships.

Dave, I like Barnes also but like Jumpin said there is a past with him and Mo, that could have played into thinking about him.

Dave T:

If you are at, or over, the cap, as the Sixers are, you are only allowed to spend free agent money using annual “exceptions.” Except for the veteran’s minimum exception, the Sixers do not have any exceptions, having used everything we could to get Brand. Next year, I believe, we will be able to use the “mid-level exception,” while still being over the cap.

I’m so happy someone echo’s what I’ve been saying since the Brand signing, (thanx Dave T).

There are so few pure shooters in the NBA (Ray Allen types) floor spacing create “shooters” because some guys just can’t shoot with a hand in his face (Reddick). Others are volume shooters (Arenas, Redd) while other still just shoot, period, (McGrady) no matter what’s going on in the game.

Even if we stay as is plus fillers I’ll be happy with the team going to the season. I don’t think we’re Finals ready in 2009 but we have set ourselves up nicely for a real run beginning in 2010.

bski: I think that’s a good take on the Igoudala negotiations. The question remains, however, is Igoudala willing to sign the one year tender?

Big words fromI worked out Speights one time two years ago and thought he was the closest thing to Amare Stoudemire that I’d ever seen. I still think that. He is incredibly agile and explosive for such a big man, and his skill game is superb. He throws the ball in, period. Sitting behind so many players in Philly will not help spur development, but I suspect his coaches understand that and will work to keep him engaged.” the “rookie watch” guy at ESPN:

“

Childress went to Greece.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3501488

Say hello to a new market for basketball. It will be fully presenting itself within 5 years.

I pasted this blurb from Hoopsworld, they were talking about the Vegas Summer League:

Marreese Speights, the Sixers’ first-round pick, has been averaging a double-double here in Vegas as well, showing that his combination of strength and athleticism could lead to early playing time in the NBA. Speights will be battling Reggie Evans for the opportunity to be Elton Brand’s backup in Philadelphia, and head coach Maurice Cheeks is clearly excited with the depth the young big man brings. “Marreese is a young rookie that has tons of potential,” he said. “[He has been] getting up and down the court extremely well, can rebound the ball, can shoot the ball. He’s going to learn a lot from Elton and it’s going to give us another post presence.”

What makes Speights so valuable is his willingness to do the dirty work, as he was frequently banging around in the paint. His teammate here in Vegas, Thaddeus Young, has been doing the same.

Young set out to establish himself as a dominant scorer early in Las Vegas and after doing so in the first few games, he shifted his attention to the defensive end of the court. Using his length and tremendous athleticism, Young fed off of Speights’ energy and exhibited a ton of hustle as the week wore on.

“Thaddeus, he brings a lot of experience to the Summer League and he’s just getting better,” Cheeks said. “If you watch him play, every day he plays he’s just getting better and better.” Young’s activity directly tied into achievement, as he deflected passes and made the opposition uncomfortable by forcing their perimeter players to start their sets in spots they weren’t used to.

dre, 95% of players aren’t good – all are/were flawed, of course, even Wilt and Michael Jordan. The statement was about balance and perspective, not devaluation. My insert mentioning shortcomings was offered in contrast to what I perceive to be some overestimation of Iggy’s play and effectiveness to date. You’ve expressed your appreciation of him, and I certainly see where you’re coming from. He’s not small potatoes. I just happen to be less enamored.

oops. “downgrading from Igoudala on DEFENSE”

Seriously, the X factor of your “sum” statement is the heart of the issue re Iguodala. I’m on the fence, but historically lean to defense. So while he consternates with his offensive derring-do, I certainly like his length, quickness, anticipation and ball-eagerness on the wing at the other end.

It’s just been reported that Sam was seen honing his new sky hook in a Saskatchewan gymnasium this morning.

Earl. I liked him and his approach. Played hard, hit the boards. Today he would be called an energy guy I suppose! Forgot the good nickname. Thanks, suede. But I think Tom Burleson is the instructor up there.

Wow, 112 comments in July under a Lou Williams topic. Think we’re psyched for the Sixers this year or what!

I have to agree with SFW…if we can’t find the shooter we need in the offseason, we’ll now be in a position to get one midseason who wants to play here. (Similar to Boston with Cassell and PJ Brown last year)

Dave to answer your questions i am from Jersey who is spending the summer in Greece. Sorry for the slow response but my only internet access is through these damn internet cafes. Marc Jackson was cut for his lack of defense. Quintell woods was released about 3 weeks ago and Childress will be starting at the sf and greer will man the 2-guard spot. The Greek right now have there best team of all time, like I said either popaloukas or spanilous would be great for our sixers next year. I see your also a fan of Olympiakos as well huh? It’s going to be a race between them and Panathiakos. Both of these teams could easily compete in the nba

are you sure about that jjg? Not to compare Iguodala with Kobe, but wasn’t Kobe a pretty bad jump shooter when he came into the league? If both Iguodala and the coaching staff are committed to him playing the 2 and becoming a jump shooter… who knows? Iguodala certainly respects Kobe and looks up to him. That kind of will and determination can produce results I think.

Raro, Your question reminds me of a ‘Ziggy’ comic -”Am I indecisive? Well, yes and no.” Will respond in time.

DANNIE: I agree that there is a lot of bad screening in the league (the Sixers aren’t alone there). To my way of thinking there are 3 components: The screener, the guy coming off the screen, and the timing. I could be way off here, but it seems to me that most of the time it’s the guy coming off the screen that blows the play and makes the screener look like he has no idea what he is doing. Either the guy doesn’t come around the screen tight enough, or he tries to come off the screen before the screener is set-the timing is off. When stuff like this happens, the screener then tries to lean or slide or stick out his hip or whatever. Sometimes the screener sets up too late or too early or doesn’t set strong as well. Also, many times you see nonchalance on one end or the other of the process, sometimes on both ends. Whatever, the bottom line is that I agree with you about the sorry state of screening. It’s not brain surgery and guys could certainly get the timing down and run good screen sets IF they put the time in and work on it.

@the “screening” talk:

Great points guys. That’s why people that know the game understand how valuable guys like PJ Brown are…guy is just a ridiculous pick setter. It might be a smaller nuance of the game, but when you have three starters on one team that really understand the angles, toughness and timing of screens it drastically changes the offense. Watching KG set screens for the Celtics last year was a friggin thing of beauty, he should be awarded 3-4 assists a game for how he sets up open shots and open cutting lanes with setting good picks.

I actually think Sam Dalembert has actually really improved in this area. He’s not great at it now, but I think he’s hit the “mediocre” level, whereas before, he used to seriously just run around with his head cut off like a chicken.

Worst pick setter, moving-without-the-ball-ing big man in college basketball? Hasheem Thabeet. Watching him set screens is laugh out loud funny.

SUEDE: You mentioned one thing that I forgot to say about the screener that drives me crazy. That is when the screener doesn’t hold his ground and stay with the screen. I hate when a guy releases at the first hint of contact. It seems like a lot of guys are in to much of a hurry. Either that or they are more worried about rolling to the basket or popping out to the wing for an open shot than they are about making sure they take out the defender. Although when you look at the other side of the ball, not many defenders go over the top or fight through screens. They are mostly content to go under them.

Joe, won!t it be nice to have 3 guys, hopefully, in Spieghts,Brand and Smith that can score after the screen, after all the screener usually is the guy that gets open.

Not official until monday per daily news. reached agreement.

dont know much about Ivey, but like what article says, particularly the part about his 6′11” wingspan. decent 3pt shooter and for <$1mm who can argue ?

the one disturbing part from the article was that Dave Babcock was the guy originally interested in him at Milwaukee. i think this is the same Babcock from Toronto that is considered the worst GM of all time – drafting Arujo with the 8th pick. it was either him or his brother Billy Babcock.

Don’t like the signing. Royal Ivey is Eric Snow 2.0, with more height. I think it’s ideal to sign a backup PG that actually gives you a different look then your starting PG. Andre Miller, despite his odd looking manner of doing anything on the court, is a fundamentally sound PG interested in involving teamates, running an offense, passing and playing D.

Royal Ivey fits the same mold. I’d rather have a PG coming off the bench that could hit some jumpers and three point shots, or gives an extra burst of speed for a bit…something. The signing certainly gives us a solid, dependable PG, which is nice…but having Royal Ivey in the game isn’t so much improving our team on the court but holding par until Andre M is back in.

And to whoever said he is a decent shooter…far from the truth. Royal Ivey is NOT a good shooter, and that goes for both midrange and long distance. I really don’t understand why we didn’t get a PG that is more of a three point gunner.

Another minor trade yesterday that I think was a COUP for Utah…trading Jason Hart for Brevin Knight. IMO, Brevin Knight is in the top three, if not the best, backup PG’s in the league. An assist machine, never turns the ball over, one of the most creative guys in terms of finding seems that damn near don’t exist to dish out the ball for a basket…total steal for Utah and will really help them when Deron needs to take a breather.

Dave T., We have that in L.Will., at least that is what I believe E.S. is thinking. Like resigning Iggy, it is about defense first and he brings a talent that neither of the p.g.!s we have can do.

Suede,

When it comes to our particular starting lineup…one where all five guys are anywhere from good to great defenders…I would rather have our bench not be “solid defense” guys, but give some scoring punch. Yes, we have a sparkplug in Lou. But why not get another guard that can score? Or if not a scorer, why not get a solid PG that can hit the three ball, which we all know Lou is not adept at?

I think if you’re going to throw someone in for 10-13 mpg (probably what Ivey will get), might as well sign a guy that can address our biggest weakness for the small time he’s on the court.

Dave, after reading the link offered by Zack, thanks, Ifeel even better because he is an overachiever who works hard. Dave, look at it this way, we have 2 undersized 2 guards off our bench who have trouble guarding the Hamiltons and R.Allens of the league, now L.Will. and Willie can guard the opposing p.g.s and be effective down the offensive end. As Jumpin said the other day, it is a recipe and although Ivey is not an herb it does add some flavor.

Ha I like that Suede. That can be the Philly Inquirer’s headline: “New backup PG is not herb, but certainly adds some flavor.”

You’re def right that it’s nice to have a backup PG that can D up both positions, and a 6′4 defensive type is a nice compliment to the 6′3 Lou and 6′3 Greens who are offensive slashers. Ivey is a solid player and I’m fine with the signing…ANYTHING over freaking Ollie is an upgrade as our backup PG, and I think the two year deal is a good move instead of just one.

These are all minor points as Ivey will basically be the 10th man, but just given our glaring weakness in shooting given our roster, and having just signed the 3rd-4th best post man in the game, I’d rather sign a Juan Dixon type (scoring, shooting, more erratic play) for a two year deal instead of a solid-but-steady guy.

DAVE T: You said, “Andre Miller…is a fundamentally sound PG interested in involving teamates, running an offense, passing and playing D….Royal Ivey fits the same mold….The signing certainly gives us a solid, dependable PG, which is nice…but having Royal Ivey in the game isn’t so much improving our team on the court but holding par until Andre M is back in.”

Couldn’t that be exactly what the Sixers are thinking here, which is holding par until Miller is back in. In my eyes there was a noticeable drop off in the way the offense ran when Lou played PG while Miller was on the bench. Maybe the Sixers saw the exact same thing and figure that Lou does not do a good enough job of running the offense. Plus, if they make Lou commit to running the offense, it limits his scoring. Now Ivey can handle the PG duties and Lou is free to focus on giving us the offensive punch we need off the bench.

Blski, good pts.; also did E.S. see what we all saw at the end of the Detroit series, a worn out A.Miller. If this move allows A.Miller to play just 3 to 5 minutes less a night it could benefit us 10 fold down the road because for us to even get to the eastern finals we are going to have to go thru a few wars to get there.

Morty, interesting parallel to the resigning Iggy issue; same reasoning should be used here, shooting and less defense or defense and less shooting.

raro, In response to #116: Yes, after having watched and played much b-ball through the years, my position on ‘jump shooting and SIGNIFICANT improvement likelihood after physical maturity has arrived’ is fixed. In MOST cases, it ain’t happenin’. Just my opinion though. I’m sure there are some who would argue vociferously against my stand, offering examples. (In particular, shooting coaches.) Note that my original point was made with the word “exceptions” included. As for Bryant, he’s had a nice stroke since Lower Merion days; didn’t win a state championship on only layups and dunks. His father, Joe, of Bartram, LaSalle & Sixers/Houston/Italy had a a higher arc and softer ball than Kobe – could fill it up too!

Re #150: Got carried away. Delete “brief” on line 1.

Bruce Bowen is another great example. Do you remember when he played in Philly? We didn’t even consider him as posessing an offensive weapon, and were cringing if he put up any shot, let alone a 3 point shot. Now he’s one of the more respected defenders in the league that is equipped with a deadly long range shot.

Raja Bell, another similar example. He used to only be a midrange jump shooter…he transformed his shot to the point where he become a very good 3 point shooter. The list goes on and on.

hey louis, great job on the extension. I went to High School with him and he is diffently worth it. I cant wait b/c in 5 years he will be worth over 10mil a year.