 Straight From Sixerblogger
Sorry Ed but Philadelphia expects to win and win it all. We're not too fond of second place finishes or bad products produced by our sport franchises. Some of the old heads remember the elite teams the Sixers had in the late 70's, early 80's and even that one year in the new millennium when Allen Iverson and Larry Brown went on a magical run that had some Philly faithful believing after a Game 1 upset win over the mighty L.A. Lakers that we could actually win it all. The Phillies stop the drought but for the true Sixer hoop fan, it's been a long time since we even had a chance to win a championship.
Does Eddie Jordan qualify as the man to take us to a level we haven't seen in a very long time? His past says no, the future doesn't appear too bright and has more questions than answers. Let's see, we have two small forwards that can't move over to the shooting guard position, a point guard who I feel is gone as soon as another good team throw him some paper and the right amount of years, a center who never could play but gets top center money, no shooting guard and a injured major signing in Elton Brand we hope can come back and be close to the 20 point, 10 board beast we thought we paid for. |
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Well free agency is here and as of now Andre Miller is still an unrestricted free agent. The talk around the net and local papers in Philly is that Miller wants a 3-4 year deal with money similar to what he was previously paid. The Sixers are more interested in a shorter deal in the 1-2 year range, not wanting to commit too long to an aging point guard who may not be good value in a couple of years.
The Sixers with their #17 pick selected Jrue Holiday, the guard from UCLA. Holiday who played one season with the Bruins, averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assist. Holiday received Pac-10 All Freshman honors. Holiday has good size and can play both guard positions. With the unknown status of Andre Miller, the Sixers add some much needed help in the backcourt. The Sixers will need to figure out if he will be the shooting guard or point guard of the future.
Sixers former backup combo guard Royal Ivey opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent and can talk to any team on July 1st. Ivey is more known as a defender and backed up free agent Andre Miller this past season. Ivey agent indicated that this was the plan all along and will look to find Ivey and better deal which paid him the veteran minimum. He could return to the Sixers probably at the same # if teams don't show interest. 
It's been quite awhile since we heard from Jason Smith after suffering an ACL injury in the summer league last season. Dr. David Altchek was pleased with the progress of Smith's knee and gave the ok for Smith to return to the court without any limitations. That is good news for Smith and the Sixers getting a young big man back in the fold. Smith for the next few months will sport a knee brace as the Sixers medical staff keeps an eye out on Smith.
The Sixers made a good move in acquiring a much needed perimeter threat acquiring shooting forward Jason Kapono from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Reggie Evans. Evans energy and physical play will be missed in the post but the Sixers have the bigs to replace him in the lineup. With a healthy Jason Smith, Marreese Speights and Elton Brand, they should be covered for the upcoming season barring Brand & Smith comes back healthy.
Eddie Jordan will be formally introduced today at noon as the new 76ers basketball coach. Ed Stefanski ultimately decided to go with the guy he knows better than any other candidate the Sixers interviewed. Eddie Jordan will more than likely bring his Princeton based offense to the Sixers and try to implement his philosophy to a Sixers team that is now in the middle of a crossroad. Jordan was an assistant with the New Jersey Nets that went to the finals twice and has coached the Washington Wizards to four playoff appearances. Jordan will have an interesting task of trying to revamped the Sixers into a legitimate contender.
After two season as the color analyst of the Sixers, Bob Salmi was let go. A statement issued by Maureen Quilter, director of communications, said: "At the conclusion of the Sixers' 2008-09 season, we evaluated all areas of the Sixers telecast. With this, Comcast SportsNet has decided not to renew the contract of broadcaster Bob Salmi. We thank Bo for his contributions to the network." Salmi replaced Steve Mix. Salmi was also a former Sixers assistant coach.
