Here is my dream scenario for the Sixers off-season - Land 2 impact players, preferably at SG and PF, one through free agency and one through trading up in the draft. There are several different scenarios that could land the Sixers these two players, but for the purpose of this article, I’ll present my 2 favorites.
Option #1: Sign SG Monta Ellis to an offer sheet that the Warriors can’t match, then trade up to #5 or #6 and select PF/C Kevin Love
Option #2: Sign PF Elton Brand and trade up to #5 or #6 and select SG Eric Gordon
Personally - I’d prefer Option #1 because I think that Ellis would fit wonderfully into our system and Love’s rebounding, defense and famous fast-break-starting outlet passes would as well.
But I’ll leave the debate up to you (and I’ll chime in) - which of these 2 options would you prefer, and what would be your “dream scenario” for the Sixers’ off-season.
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25 comments ↓
What’s with the Love love? Do you really think a non-athlete could fit in with the Sixers?
Love doesn’t play great defense or anything. Average would be a generous rating from what I have seen and read.
@Jacob
The Sixers have essentially made it known they want to improve their half court offense dramatically. The Sixers have also made it known they will not go in the direction of a “running team” long term. Sammy D could make up for Love’s deficiencies on the defensive end due to the poor athleticism he has shown throughout his brief collegian career making him a good fit as well assuming he is what people seem to think he is.
@Pete
I don’t think an offer exists that the Warriors wouldn’t match. Biedrins and Ellis are their future… right?
I would prefer B from those 2 choices.
But I don’t want Gordon much. I would be fine staying at 16 and taking Rush or Chalmers or Lee.
From those options, definitely Brand & Gordon. I’m not sold on Monte Ellis yet. He’s obviously a great talent, but I think it remains to be seen whether he is a Leandro Barbosa (16 - 20 ppg in a run n’ gun only system with no true position as an undersized guard, that can’t run an offense) or whether he’s ready to carry the “Iverson/Francis/Arenas” mantel of 6′3 legit all star SG’s. I’d put him more in the latter category, but I wouldn’t spend my bankroll on him just yet. I haven’t seen enough of Ellis in a half court set to know whether I trust him in that type of offense.
Kevin Love would be a great PF for us. IMO, “Athleticism” is the single most overrated ability in basketball. Basketball is a game of precision, timing, footwork, teamwork, and IQ. Every year there are 20 mega athletes in the draft, and every year half of them pitter out because they don’t understand the nuances of the game yet. Love’s IQ is off the chart, he’s the consummate teammate, works his butt off, truly understands the games fundamentals, and would be a real solid addition.
Elton Brand is the NBA’s premier back to the basket big man in the NBA not named Tim Duncan, and I see Eric Gordon as a yearly 20 ppg NBA player, and as a potential Ray Allen/Michael Redd type with far better slashing ability. Both Brand/Gordon excel in half court systems, and can get up and down the court as well…Brand is an incredible defender, and both he and Gordon are wonderful people.
Give me option 2. I just prefer the proven post player over the somewhat proven perimeter player. I prefer to have Eric Gordon’s added 3pt threat compared to Ellis’ slashing style. Don’t we have enough slashing wing players on this team?
And although I really like Kevin Love and am less concerned with his athleticism I am worried about his effectiveness against taller players.
When I first read this, I immediately thought of a sign and trade involving Iguodala and Ellis and then a separate signing of Brand via FA. But I guess thats a bit too much to ask for…
I guess I would have to take Ellis and Love. Youth factors in heavily as does Brand’s recovery from last year’s injury. I would also think that Ellis would perhaps be cheaper. @ Dave T: From what I’ve seen of Ellis, I can very easily envision him as a Rip kind of SG. He has a great midrange jumpera and attacks the basket like few can. Love is the big question mark here. I’ve heard both good and bad, so it’s hard to predict his future. I don’t know how much I’d be willing to give up for the right to draft him.
Why are the sixers moving away from the ‘running team’ concept? With a PF like Brand or Love, you could still keep running, right? Heck, you would be even better at it than we were last year. Plus, if we focus on becoming more of a ‘half court offense’, then the issue of outside shooting becomes even more important. Andre Miller can’t shoot the three, the three point shot isn’t part of Ellis’ game yet, and I don’t know about Gordon… Carney?
Off topic comment… Zach is in trouble again and again.
I see no reason to even entertain an offer for him at this point. I was against the former idea and now would be against just about every possible offer I can think of.
Pretty funny he is hanging out with Quintyl Woods still who is a known dog fighting enthusiast.
Z-Bo would have been a terrible addition. Fact. Sorry people.
On the court, I still believe he would have been a terrible addition as well, but that is a moot point now imo.
Option #3 - Figure out a way to get Ellis and Brand and you won’t need the draft pick.
Great blog dude, Narducci just dissapeared. Not even a good bye to his readers. Guy must have no class.
Narducci was reassigned to a much lower position.
Yeah I heard he was reassigned to a lower position covering South Jersey high school sports which I believe is were his roots are.
He regularly contributes NBA stuff on Hoops Hype as well but doesn’t have a blog or any fan interaction over there.
They have some other dude (Peter Mucha) writing about the Sixers on Philly.com now where they allow comments. But feel free to stay here!
I’ll take the proven post guy over ‘potential’ anyday. Move Brand to the East where there are barely any good bigmen and he will have an immediate impact. He becomes the 2nd best bigman in the Atlantic division behind KG instantly.
monta ellis.. gotta love that dude.. he did wonders for my fantasy team back in the season..
Do both those scenarios envision Igoudala in a sign and trade deal? Not so sure about the wisdom of that move, if so.
But I will say that Brand has got to be the Number 1 guy, somehow. Igoudala, Miller, Young, Brand and Sammy is the starting 5 of a 50 win team in my opinion.
Let me know if I am wrong here people… please.
Morty says that getting Brand would create a 50 win team. Fine, but is that the case? The Sixers were a 40 win team last year. They played at a 50 win pace for about 4 months straight last year showing a ton of promise.
Shouldn’t we be expecting a 47+ win team this year from this team? No one should really get worse. Miller is coming off his best season. Lou, Thad, Smith, Carney all have shown signs that they are still improving. Thad, in my opinion, is going to be the best player on this team in just 2 years. Sammy had a good year. Iggy managed to have a 2-3 month stretch where he was a #1 scoring option.
Am I wrong to think that Brand should make us contend and finish around 60 wins?
Without Brand, I certainly expect a 45 win season at least next year assuming we stay healthy.
My basic point is we very well could be a 50 win team without Brand. With Brand, we should be challenging Detroit and surpass the Magic easily.
I live in the SF Bay Area but I’m a Sixer fan. I watched pretty much every Warriors game this season and I can truly say that Monta Ellis is exactly like a Tony Parker, a guy who can get into the lane anytime, even in a half court offense when they were in those situations last year, and his mid-range shot, like Parker’s, is pretty much automatic. He can’t shoot 3’s yet, just like Parker, but anyways, I want a Tony Parker type guard on my team, and Monta Ellis is exactly that.
No way would I ever want Eric “softy” Gordon. You gotta be a man to play in this league, and Gordon has consistantly shown that he can’t hang with physicality.
And could we please get rid of Dalembert? The guy still looks like he’s never played basketball in his life. Slowest reaction time I’ve ever seen from an NBA player.
Joe, we’ll see after all the offseason moves. A lot of the lottery teams, whom we feasted on, will be better next year. Also, Philly got some exposure in the playoffs, I think teams will come prepared for our defend-n-run.
To do better than we did last year, I think we have to develop along with the league, but go a little bit further. Lou has to shoot a better %, Rodney has to keep playing like he did in the 2nd half of this season, etc.
BTW, after watching the finals, I’m not for Zach Randolph anymore - between him and Sammy, there just wouldn’t be enough total offense + defense. Add that to the article you linked to, and the fact that he would take 17 shots per game AWAY from our current group, stunting their growth. I’d prefer to watch Jason Smith, Thad and Rodney try and shoulder more of the offensively load, rather than give that load to Zach, because at least from those 3 you get hustle and defense, which we need as much as we need low-post offense.
Anyone:
It’s been 2~3 weeks now, the top players the Sixers have worked out so far are JJ Hickson, Jamont Gordon, JaVale McGee. Who would you take, if those are the only guys the Sixers are considering?
Zack -
We’ve worked out Donte Green as well.
I’d take JJ Hickson.
ZACK(SIXERZGUY): You never went back to our “Gillickball” discussion.
bski, you can cover a lot of ground when you talk baseball, including what you write on the Zo Zone. I honestly don’t have as many good ideas as you do about the Phils, if I had something to contribute, I would’ve. I’m going over to “Phillies Ramblings”…
What prompted the name change, sixerzguy?
Morty, my original idea was to go on Deep Sixer and post fresh new takes on the Sixers in the comments section, and I thought I’d be the only one on there writing “articles”. There weren’t any of the Deep Sixer regulars except for Dean at that time. I’m a big reader of all things NBA, and there just wasn’t a lot of interesting stuff on the Sixers in cyberspace. So I thought – why not write that interesting stuff myself? As an homage to Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, and because of the Z in my name, I used “sixerzguy” and tried to write a little like him when talking about the Sixers (I pale in comparison).
But I don’t think there’s a place for that “sixerzguy” role anymore, there hasn’t been for a while now, and I was just too lazy to change my screen name. Now I feel like it’s a community of really smart, funny, interesting, crazy, wacky, weird, eccentric Sixer fans, and when talking to you guys I thought I should just use my first name. Especially here, under reclinergm.com. I can’t seem to change my name on Deep Sixer though.
Zack:
Word, thanks for the explanation. So, I guess Deep Sixer is done, eh? Oh well, I hope others find their way over here for Sixers talk. Personally, I’m getting excited for the next couple weeks.
I dont understand the fascination with Igoudala. I think the guy helps out better in a sign and trade then on the court next year. I dont like the way he finished in the lane, always off balance, always expecting to be bailed out by the refs. I dont like the way he uses his jump shot to set up his drive, even though he has a sketchy jump shot. I dont like the way he mean mugs his teammates when they dont catch another of his bad passes. I am not so sure that Stephanski is sold on him either. My dream would be a sign a trade with him for Maggette.
And of the two options, I would have to take option 1. I am not a fan of Gordon, so I want no part of him in Philly. Would take Brand, Love, or Ellis though.
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