The Sixers actually will be playing the New Jersey Nets while they are healthy. The Sixers were lucky to have faced the Nets twice in the early going with a very limited team missing impact players. That might not be the case today.
Everyone is expected play with Devin Harris being the only possible hold out. He has a wrist injury and has missed the last few games. He could return tonight against the Sixers though and is a game-time-decision.
The Sixers are reeling having lost 3 straight and continue to play losing basketball. That might be why the New York Daily News is reporting this rumor:
The struggling Sixers have been mentioned in the Tracy McGrady sweepstakes, but the bigger rumor involving the team is that ownership wants to clear out president Ed Stefanski and coach Eddie Jordan at the All-Star break. If that’s the case, they’d probably install Tony DiLeo for a second straight season as the interim coach. ~ NY Daily News
Now some may not think this rumor is credible because it was a side note on the NY Daily News website. The obvious question is why wasn’t this reported by the local media.
Well my thought is the local media flat out sucks and rarely scoop something regarding the Sixers. What usually happens is they catch wind of a rumor like this and then start doing their job to research it. Then you usually see them either confirm or refute the rumor. But very rarely are they the initial source of such news.
So for me all this does is add another good storyline to follow for the Sixers because the games are certainly not a story anyone is interested in right now.
We have Iguodala rumors swirling and heating up. We know they are looking to move Dalembert and Brand as well. Maybe even Louis Williams. And now we have this. Stefanski and Eddie Jordan FINALLY on the hot seat if the rumor is accurate.
Add to that the draft and that’s what the season is about for the Sixers at this point. The games are meaningless.
So, while this IS your game thread for tonight, I am sure the trade talk and rumors will dominate the conversation so have at it.
both Eddies in the hotseat….oh yeah. power to the whispers.
a loss tonight versus the lowly Nets (and it is the Sixers we are talking about so I’d say there is a 55% chance of that happening) could be the last straw for the so-called management that wants to take some action.
I’d MUCH rather see the Ed’s jettisoned than a Sam/Iguodala salary dump.
Then a commitment to “player development” for the rest of the year. That measn 20-30 minutes each and every night to Jrus, Lou, Thad, and Speights. 10 minutes to Smith and Carney. See if any decent team wants to have AI for their stretch run, otherwise have a night where you retire his number and gracefully have him leave.
Is there anyone out there who really wants them to maximize wins with vets (AI, Green, Sam) other than Jordan? Its a coach’s job to win, but he’s not the right coach for the team long or short term. Much better to have an interim guy with orders to place development over wins. That means late game experience for the young guys.
Good if both coach and gm are on the hot seat about damn freaking time but im not feeling trading sammy d and iguodala i wish we could move brand and williams but i know that wont happen. i say we keep sammy d let his contract expire next year because he isnt the problem. I would also like to keep iggy as much as he gets me mad with the right person he could be a huge asset to us.
Let’s get rid of the Ed and Eddie circus, install DiLeo as coach for the rest of the year and then pay Tom Thbodeau whatever it will cost to get him here. Keep Iggy, Dala, and Jrue, pray we get a top 5 pick in the draft and then take it from there.
I am going to be a Nets fan tonight, what better way to hasten change. This will be the first time this year I go in rooting against the Sixers, go nets !!!! Guys, is the talent level much different between these teams?
I agree with ed r thats the plan i would go with as well
Down by 2 at half. It looks like it would be really difficult to lose to this Nets team. They are historically bad, and Harris is still hurt. But the Sixers are giving it their best shot at losing.
Lopez/Iggy; Harris/Jrue; Yi/Marreese; Lee/Young; Douglas-Rob./L.Will.; T.Will./Rodney; Humphries/J.Smith; the only definite to me is Marreese.
But we are stuck with Brand for four more years and are on the verge of giving away Iguodala.
The Nets, AKA worst team ever, are light years ahead of the Sixers right now as a franchise. That’s just reality. And Stefanski might be about top make things worse when he gives Iguodala up for exprings in order to save Comcast one year of Sam’s salary. Meanwhile Brand will still be keeping the team up against the cap for as long as he is here.
3 more years of brand
It looks like Kiki is doing with Yi what L.Brown tried with Van Horn, toughen him up on the block, the difference is Yi is young enough to change. More bench time for Jrue, beautiful.
I can’t that the Nets have obtained a level of suck that I have not witnessed before in my lifetime. This is awe inspiring. The Sixers had given the Nets every opportunity to take this game from them and yet, the Sixers will still win. It was as if the home team wanted the L but the Nets just didn’t want the W.
This coach is stupid wheres jason kapano ur best free throw shooter wheres ai dumb coach
*can’t believe
lmaooooooo some kid is yelling like crazy at the nets youuuuuuuuuuu suck lmaoo what are u doingggggggggggg lmaooooo
I’d much rather be a Nets fan than a Sixers fan right now. They have Brook Lopez, the best chance at John Wall in the draft and probably the best chance to steal LeBron from Cleveland.
If they land Wall, him combined with Lopez, a new arena in Brooklyn, Jay-z and the new Russian billionaire owner, New York and a lot of money suggests LeBron in New Jersey is a realistic possibility.
I’m trying to look for any silver lining with this team. Just can’t find any. To summarize:
1. The team on the floor most nights is garbage and borderline unwatchable.
2. Its hard to know whether you should root for the team to win or to lose. Because losing might lead to actual positive changes. I hate not being able to enjoy wins.
3. The coach is a disaster. Maybe the worst the team has ever had (and that is saying something.) He is also playing the young guys less and less in a desperation move to steal some wins to save his job (37 minutes combined for Jrue, Thad and Speights while AI and Green got 60 minutes.)
4. The GM is also on the hot seat, but mostly under pressure to save Comcast money. Most rumors point to him giving away the team’s best player while keeping Brand. This would result in substantial cash savings for Comcast if they can find a taker for Sam’s final contract yea- but would fail to free up enough cap space beyond the MLE. Comcastic!. So the team would still have very little money under the cap, have even less talent and still be stuck with the long term drag of Brand’s contract… further pushing back rebuilding.
5. Hip Hop sucks. Really, he’s horrible. They should find a winning team to send AI to and let Hip Hop go with him.
6. Despite recently having the 3rd worst record in the NBA, which would give them a great shot at an impact draft pick (odd’s are they would have a pick in the top 4)- they are now 1/2 win from the 8th spot (and almost zero chance at a top 3 pick.) And the coach seems hell bent to find a way to play them into the 10th pick. He’s a bad coach, but the other teams will be actively tanking as the season goes on. EJ will be actively trying to prove he can go “uptown.”
Hate to change topic but Brian Dawkins picked off McNabb in the pro bowl.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-pro-bowl/09000d5d8161bc77/Brian-Dawkins-INT
I’m inclined to put little if any creedence in this rumore reported by Mitch Lawrence about the 6ers wanting to make changes at the break in both general manager and coach.
Coach? Entirely possible.
But regarding Stefanski, one way or another, everyone agrees there is a problem. Choose your angle. Current record, or underachieving. The albatross is already there, and even if Stefanski created it by dealing Andre Miller, and/or hiring Jordan, or other decisions, the fact of the matter is that the 6ers and Knicks, according to a poll of sources are the most active teams pusuing trades. As you supposedly begin the process of rebuilding what’s done, why would you still have Stefanski in charge, and seemingly aggressively so if you planned to cut him loose in a couple weeks. If he doesn’t handle the trade deadline well and is canned at the break, that speaks to the then of it, not a curent plan to take action in 2 weeks.
I don’t know the perfect time to get rid of him, but I’d be surprised if he’s not here through the season.
I wonder if George Karl would want to coach here, and how much power he’d want.
I would be very surprised to see lebron james leave cleveland. His family are already comfortable and would have to go through the process again. The cavs can offer him the most money and they have a owner that will basically do anything to keep james happy. I even remember hearing how they made special accomendations just for lebron and his people. Also cleveland isnt to far off from winning a chip alot closer than the nets at least. im not saying it cant happen but i think most free agents are going to stay with there teams with the exception of bosh and even i can see him staying. just my opinion.
tk76….where do you get that the Sixers are 1/2 a game from the 8th seed? They are a full 8 games behind the 8th seed. Currently.
Ed R. Sorry for the confusion. Was not referring to the 8th seed, but the 8th pick in the draft. When you have the 8th pick you have <2% chance of winning the lottery, which is this teams only short term hope.
Ed R. – I think TK67 means 8th worse in the NBA, not 8th seed therefore meaning 8th draft pick instead of top 5. TK correct me if I am wrong on that.
Marcus – Player contracts are capped based on the situation of the player and tenure. That’s why they say “max contracts.” Cleveland can offer LeBron a max contract regardless of their cap situation – yes. But that doesn’t mean they can necessarily pay him the most. If team is under the cap enough to pay him a max contract, an opposing team can over him the same contract as the Cavs essentially.
So if New Jersey is far enough under the cap this summer they can offer him the same money as the Cavs. If I am not mistaken I believe this is the case as the Nets only have like $26M or so on the books next season.
Also, I agree obviously that Cleveland is closer to winning a championship RIGHT NOW. But remember LeBron is only 25-years-old and will be signing a 5 or 6 year deal. So, say for example Cleveland doesn’t win the championship again this season. They loss Shaq and Big Z and say they do Sign LeBron they will not have any cap space and no top draft picks. How do they get over the hump?
On the flip side New Jersey would have John Wall and Brook Lopez as core players at the two most important positions in basketball, Jay-Z his buddy, a billionaire owner who wants LeBron badly and the opportunity to play in a new Stadium in New York, a city he have outwardly expressed he loves. AND he has also outwardly said he is all about being this big time business man, media figure, icon.
The family part is minor to me. It’s the NBA and he is in the prime of his career. It’s all about progressing his career and we don’t even know if his wife wouldn’t love to go to New York either, it’s certainly possible.
Compare the situations long-term. I don’t thinks its probable he leaves, but I don’t think it’s improbable by any stretch either looking at it from all the angles and given he has been non committal to Cleveland since he’s been a Cav.
I couldn’t help myself when I read that Ray Allen might be available…
Maybe Boston will take this no-Iguodala talent haul for Allen”s expiring and filler for Sammy, Lou and Thad? (the salaries work out)
For the Sixers, if they’re willing to give up Iguodala to get rid of Sam’s contract, then surely they’re willing to part with Thad and Lou (and Lou’s contract). Personally, I’d really like to see what would happen when Iguodala is paired with a multi-dimensional shooter like Allen.
Boston is trying to get talent that can help them win now, and Sam, Thad and Lou can all do that. Can Boston do better?
Prefer an expiring contract that doesn’t help the team win.
Dannie, Cleveland can pay more to Lebron than other teams. Something along the lines of 10% in stead of 8% yearly raises and 6 years instead of 5.
The CBA allows the “Bird Right’s” team to pay more and longer.
So over the lifetime of the deal that means Lebron can make maybe make a few extra million during the first five years, but that sixth year (typically a player option) is a big difference. That might be worth 24M is guaranteed contract that no other team can give. That likely means that Cleveland might still get something small back if Leron walks, because Lebron would prefer a sign and trade in order to get the extra year on his deal.
TK – Yea I know he can make a little more with the raises and the 6th year, meh. He may want it for security but players like that don’t usually opt for it unless they are on a contender. I think he’d be okay with a 5 year deal and I don’t see any scenario where sign and trade works out, at least from the Nets perspective. Cleveland would want an impact player but that wouldn’t make sense for a team looking to acquire LeBron to deplete the surrounding talent. It makes going there less desirable for LeBron and the team.
I think it’s most likely he stays in Cleveland, even more so if they win it all (which I don’t think they will). But if the lose… I think he goes to Cleveland and ask what are they going to do to build a champion around him. And I just don’t know what their options are.
Whereas I think LeBron would love to play with Wall and Lopez in New York on his ole’ heads squad.
Zack – I am trying to figure out why Boston would trade Ray and what they think they need to get better.
Lou Williams would suck in Boston because he doesn’t defend even a little bit. Thad is a good fit as a Pierce back-up. Sam helps with defense and rebounding but I struggle to see how he sees the floor much with the trio of bigs they have already.
I am trying to figure out where they see themselves as weak and if it’s even possible to fill that weakness with a Ray Allen trade and not open up another hole with Ray departing.
I thought Allen’s defense was very good against Kobe yesterday. I think he gets bad rap defensively actually.
Zack, it would take minimum 1/2 year for Thibbedeau to break current Sixer players of their bad defensive habits. I doubt they would wany to mix in lousy defensive players, especially if they are not familiar with Boston’s defensive schemes.
Dannie, I think the 6th year is a pretty big deal if only as an insurance policy. That way they can play 5 years then opt out. Or have that huge 6th year if there are injury issues (like TMac or Cwebb had.) But then again he is only 25, so maybe he’s rather have a 5 yr deal w/ the last year as a player option. That way he could negotiate another huge deal at age 29.
I can guarantee you the 6th year will be a player option on Wade’s and LeBron’s deal.
Those guys talked about this when they signed their last contract that they were going to give themselves options at the end of their contracts. I see no reason why they wouldn’t do it again.
If for nothing at all to make sure they have an out if the franchise goes to hell and the team isn’t a contender anymore.
“Prefer an expiring contract that doesn’t help the team win.”
Okay, how about the Knicks? Today’s paper says they’re in need of “a playmaker” and that they need to do something with Larry Hughes. Might they be interested in Lou Williams and Kapono for Hughes (who won’t help us win!)? These two would give them some offense for this year’s playoff push and some punch off the bench in upcoming years. Granted, the Knicks are looking to clear the decks for the summer, but you can shed a 13 million contract and not take on something. Kapono is only guaranteed one more year, too. And, hell, even with these two contracts, the Knicks would still have 55-60 million to spend in the summer.
Dannie, it’s not a perfect trade, but if Boston feels they have to do something, and that something is trade Ray Allen, then what’s out there?
Ideally you’d think they’d want to replace Allen with another swingman, but who’s better that they can get? Maybe McGrady. Caron Butler is a possibility but for the Celtics he’s not better than Allen. Maybe Chris Bosh + Turkoglu for Perkins and Allen + picks + filler, but the Toronto owner better have [Raptors GM Bryan] Colanegelo’s back on that one, that’s a theft (well, almost, because Perkins is good and underrated).
So, I think that the Thad Sam Lou offer would probably be one of the best offers they get for Allen. The alternative is to keep Allen, but again, if they’re trying to win it all again I think they should make a trade that’s high-risk/high-reward because with Allen it looks like they’ve become wanna-be contenders.
Hobbes – No I don’t think the Knicks would take back that much salary. They want enough money to sign two impact players. Lou’s money is guaranteed and Kapono has a player option he is likely to exercise. That need the money this summer.
If they could figure out a way to trade Eddy Curry and Jared Jefferies both players with big money and a player option for next season they are both likely to exercise the Knicks would consider taking on salary that goes past this summer.
I believe the story, why not, it’s perfectly logical. In fact, I recently posted here an “open letter” message to Peter Luukko suggesting that Stefanski and Jordan be replaced with DiLeo as the GM, and Lyman as interim head coach, with Tom Thibodeau, subsequently filling the position at season’s end.
You’d be hard pressed to make a case for keeping Stefanski, with the exception of changing the uniforms and going back to the old logo, he has screwed up everything. And, in my opinion, the most egregious mistake that he has made is never mentioned. Here he had Larry Brown sitting on the payroll, holding a bogus title, just dying to take over the team and Eddie just ignores him. Think about it, here you have one of the top three coaches in the game today, sitting there in your lap, dying to take over the club, and you go out and hire a guy with a losing record, who has been fired from his previous two head coaching gigs, it makes no sense! We’ll never get a coach that good, it was a huge mistake.
As far as Jordan goes, watching that game last night I got this feeling that he has totally given up, he wants to take his money and go home. It looks to me like he has lost the team, there is no motivation out there, and the offensive execution is just horrible. Watching the games on NBA League Pass you almost always get the opponents feed, so you get and interesting perspective on our team from the opponent’s announcers. Last night at the half Mike Fratello was doing the color, during the halftime analysis he said, our offense is totally one-on-one basketball, everything is coming off of the dribble it looks like something you see on the playground. He seemed shocked that an NBA team would play that style. Frankly, as a Sixer fan I felt a little embarrassed, but I know it’s true. Here this guy is suppose to an offensive coach and he puts out a product like that, he’s the one who should feel embarrassed.
L.A. Steve – Ed Pinkney said it best late in the game. “Sixers need to get some good offense going. They seem to just be running random offense out there” That goes to your point of him having lost the team, and there being little to no execution. The way they played last night, the Nets are the only NBA team that they could have beaten, and if the Nets actually had a healthy PG who cared about getting the ball to the teams best player(Lopez) the Sixers would have lost this one
Dannie-Thanks for the info on player contracts. I always thought the team u was with could always offer u more but what u said made perfect sense. Like u said it would be a surprise to see lebron leave the cavs but not impossible. The nets do have the number 1 pick and brook lopez that right there is a good start. The nets could be on the rise a lil bit next year for sure.
Dannie, Why would Celts trade Ray? Simple – he’s in decline. Age (will be 35 this July) & 1,064 NBA games have taken toll. (Wisdom without ability to move goes for naught.) Not much more than a catch-and-shoot guy at this stage. And the trouble with that is, his calling card is wrinkled this year: .339 3-pt % – lowest of his career. His defense, spotty, even when heart is applied. It’s possible he could jack up his game some when stimulant of playoffs arrive, but he’s not the triangle-finisher Celts had in previous two seasons, from what I’ve seen and read. Their halfcourt offense is stagnant: Garnett not the finisher of his prime; Pierce - passive sometimes, picks his spots; Wallace, erratic; Tony Allen – tough, if only he could shoot; Rondo - real nice player, pushes the ball, creates for others & gets to the rim but weak jumpshooter. They a need a jolt, an added dynamic, some easy buckets. I could see them having interest in ever-willing Lou Williams, figuring they could hide, tolerate or improve his pourous defensive traits.
Garvey, (any kin to steve?), you’re right, only the Nets could lose that game last night, and Pinkney is right too. Both he and Fratello came to the same conclusion, but why not, it’s rather obvious.
Good news for Iguodala fans, from Marc Stein’s Weekend Dime and today:
Dallas’ interest in Sacramento’s Kevin Martin was last week’s big trade topic, but the Kings keep saying that Martin is not available. And while Washington’s Caron Butler and Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala are most certainly available, one plugged-in source insisted this week that the Mavs have real reservations about trading Howard for Butler and are hesitant regarding Iguodala as well largely because of the four years and $56 million left on the Philly swingman’s contract after this season.
The Mavs, remember, were reluctant back in November to take on the contract of Stephen Jackson, who wanted so badly to come to Dallas before Golden State traded him to Charlotte … and who would have been half as expensive as Iguodala.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Rockets have indeed expressed an interest in Wizards forward Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood. But for a Wizards-Rockets deal to go through, Washington would almost certainly try to hold out for at least one of Houston’s rotation players, such as Luis Scola, in addition to McGrady.
That leaves Portland and Phoenix (according to Ric Bucher).
Something I thought was funny from Wayne Winston, the +/- lineups guy, via TrueHoop. He has a mid-season review of every team, and this is what he says about the Sixers:
Philadelphia
Nothing too interesting to report here. Despite an excellent PER rating Marreese Speights (Points Rating of -10, Defense Rating of +8) has hurt the 76ers.
Phil Jasner had an interesting chat today on philly.com with a lot of “personality”, and I found it kind of refreshing (unlike a lot of the people who commented after the chat). Seriously, I think there was lot of interesting things there and I recommend it highly. This part hurt:
[Comment From brianbrian: ]
If Eddie Jordan is fired, do you really think a big name coach would want the job….
Phil:
Doug Collins wanted it. He couldn’t get an interview.
Doug ain’t no master coach. Too high strung.
jjg, I don’t think he’s a master coach either, but for 2 to 3 years I think that kind of demanding personality would’ve been great after Mo Cheeks and DiLeo. Plus, he wanted the job and for me that counts a lot, think of talented people who are into something just for the money (like a lot of doctors and lawyers out there) and how when their heart isn’t into it they don’t really achieve anything and they never really will.
Zack, Totally agree on your heart angle. But with only 30 of those jobs to go around, I venture to say that the large majority, if not all, are emotionally invested.
Including the inimitable Eddie Jordan.
Collins would be an upgrade, but I want someone who can, given time, take a group to the mountaintop. Don’t have that confidence in him, though I like him and remember him as a fine player when he had two healthy feet. JVG & Avery,
better choices imo for this slack group of Sixers going forward, if either had the Philly inclination (sounds like they didn’t).
Coaches are subordinate factors to talent anyway in NBA. It’s mostly about the roster.
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/282506/Picture_1.png Courtesy of Libertyballers.com
Here’s an interview Jerry west did almost a week ago. Choose either text or audio.
http://sportsradiointerviews.com/2010/01/27/jerry-west-on-the-lakers-this-year-%e2%80%9cthis-is-by-far-the-most-talented-team-in-the-league%e2%80%9d/
Ken, thank you, good stuff.
Hey guys, I saw this on espn.com insider today.
Since losing his job as the head coach of the Hornets earlier this season, Byron Scott has yet to return to the coaching ranks.
But might the Sixers, who have struggled with Eddie Jordan in his first year coaching the team, be a spot for Scott?
Travis Heath of HOOPSWORLD tweeted this yesterday: “Little birdie currently employed by a NBA team just whispered in my ear that he expects Byron Scott to eventually be head coach of 76ers.”
Scott could also be in play for the Lakers if Phil Jackson decides not to come back next season.
Please let this happen!!!