It’s almost a done deal. The first round draft pick of the sixers eleven years ago is frustrated with the situation in Philadelphia, and the upper management are frustrated with him.
Seven hundred seventy four articles on his possible trade here.
Possible destinations for the perennial all-star here. My choice is Minnesota so he can play with Kevin Garnett (and possibly win a championship).
In regards to a blast from the past, the NYP is reporting thusly:
— Speaking of ex-NBA head coaches, the scuttlebutt around the league is that Larry Brown definitely wants to coach again and perhaps even this season. Brown will undoubtedly have pick of the litter. One of Brown’s associate said he wouldn’t rule out Brown coaching anywhere – including Milwaukee – but believes the Philadelphia 76ers would be Brown’s first choice if that team founders.
Mr. M_m mentioned that the Knicks were the worst team in the league. Nope – the sixers are worse, with one fewer win than the hapless Knicks. The HAWKS are playing .500 ball, which is crazy in and of itself.
Lisa and I have been debating about the merits of trading A.I. Now that it’s almost a certainty, here’s what I think is going to happen.
A.I. will be traded to Minnesota for Randy Foye and other players (Troy Hudson maybe?). K.G. has made overtures (now that he heard A.I. was being traded) and because Minnesota’s franchise player would be infinitely happier to have a reliably go to guy, McHale will try his hardest to get A.I. Really, K.G. has given his heart and soul to the Minnesota franchise with nothing to show for it (he could’ve been the second coming of Wilt, but we would never know with him playing on so many bad teams). K.G. likes passing the ball, A.I. likes shooting the ball and his assists are up – so that would be a fierce combo.
Chris Webber will try to be traded, but with his monster contract he’s probably not going anywhere. The Sixers, taking a cue from the Phillies, will likely dump a potentially good player like Andre Iguodala (gulp) or Sammy Dalembert (never really lived up to his potential) to get rid of Chris Webber.
In the offseason, I would be surprised if Billy King keeps his job, ESPECIALLY if the Timberwolves go deep into the playoffs (a rejuvenated A.I. and K.G. versus the league??? I would take the T-wolves!).
It looks like the Sixers are lottery bound again this year, and I don’t see anyone in the draft that could help the Sixers out, personally speaking.
In my fantasy world, I would like to see the team run the ball through Webber (that’s what he is good at) with Iguodala, Green, Dalembert and Carney running the floor with Korver coming off the bench. The Sixers really lack talent, and I don’t particularly like Carney as a starter (yet) but it is what it is.
A.I. is/was the straw that stirs the Sixers drink. He guarantees 15 wins a year, by simply putting the team on his back. He puts fans in the seats. But with both wins and fans coming slowly/not at all, economically, there isn’t any reason to keep A.I. anymore.
Let’s get one thing straight – the Sixers will be the loser on any trade. Once a player says they want to be traded, the trading team loses power in the deal. The Sixers will end up being like the last time they made a huge trade – Charles Barkley. The team stunk long after that trade… until A.I. was drafted.
…Sigh. There very rarely are players of his caliber that you can simply draft. And the last few years, only Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade appear to be bonafide stars that can carry a team. It’s going to take a few years for the college scene to reset such that a player with good fundamentals will come down the pike.
Not that it matters, because the Sixers are likely going to be a lottery team for a while.
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
That is all.