Tom Moore 2.0

steveb21 · Post #81 » by **steveb21** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:06 pm

yeah Portland needs to figure out what they want to do. We are at their mercy.

We're only at their mercy if we want Blake. I don't know why Ed isn't being more proactive about this situation...it's almost as if he wants Miller to walk away for nothing. It makes me wonder if upper management has told him not to spend any money this offseason...

sixerfan1976 · Post #82 » by **sixerfan1976** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:19 pm

look at the signs about money problems:

no one goes to the games
two coaches that have contracts were brought back rather than pay a non employee
refusal to pay luxury tax
split squad summer league team

other than bibby(who is off market now), nobody worth MLE in their opinion.

they want blake.....if a sign and trade can be done....otherwise...yeah lou starting PG..ugh..with a vet min backup

9th Wonder · Post #83 » by **9th Wonder** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:20 pm

ankle420breaker wrote:Nice catch

We couldn't get in on that?!?! I mean, we need a pg and he was one of the only stop gap options available that could have helped us in the immediate future, and we watch him sign with an eastern conference rival who has already improved their back court depth. This is a little disheartening.

It's slightly above the MLE, unless it is higher than people are speculating. If I was Bibby I would likely stay with Atl for slightly more money, the familiar city and system, a slightly better team, etc.

Also, I don't think Ed was willing to offer two years, let alone three.

Sixercise · Post #84 » by **Sixercise** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:26 pm

sixerfan1976 wrote:look at the signs about money problems:

no one goes to the games
two coaches that have contracts were brought back rather than pay a non employee
refusal to pay luxury tax
split squad summer league team

other than bibby(who is off market now), nobody worth MLE in their opinion.

they want blake.....if a sign and trade can be done....otherwise...yeah lou starting PG..ugh..with a vet min backup

hey at least we're not milwaukee....they lost CVill and might not be able to resign Sessions, not to mention that they now have little to no frontcourt depth (essentially, Yi ended up bein traded for junk)

Johnny Broad-Street · Post #85 » by **Johnny Broad-Street** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:30 pm

sixerfan1976 wrote:look at the signs about money problems:

no one goes to the games
two coaches that have contracts were brought back rather than pay a non employee
refusal to pay luxury tax
split squad summer league team

other than bibby(who is off market now), nobody worth MLE in their opinion.

they want blake.....if a sign and trade can be done....otherwise...yeah lou starting PG..ugh..with a vet min backup

As unsatisfying as it is I have to agree with their asessment of the market. I'm glad we're not throwing whatlittle money we have around just to spend it. If the Miller situation breaks in away that nets Blake, I'd say it was a shrewd off-season with a solid (though not overwhelming) result.

Then again, I have faith in Brand returning to form, and I like the draft pick, so I'm already inclined to be positive.

sixerfan1976 · Post #86 » by **sixerfan1976** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:36 pm

I agree..if we get blake...and add some veteran depth at swingman and center to fill out roster...i would say we did the best we could with what we had.

blake and kapono improve your shooting pretty drastically honestly.

my only qualm....is that dalembert is still here...but its knock for lack of trying to move him

ankle420breaker · Post #87 » by **ankle420breaker** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:37 pm

9th Wonder wrote:
ankle420breaker wrote:Nice catch

We couldn't get in on that?!?! I mean, we need a pg and he was one of the only stop gap options available that could have helped us in the immediate future, and we watch him sign with an eastern conference rival who has already improved their back court depth. This is a little disheartening.

It's slightly above the MLE, unless it is higher than people are speculating. If I was Bibby I would likely stay with Atl for slightly more money, the familiar city and system, a slightly better team, etc.

Also, I don't think Ed was willing to offer two years, let alone three.

I don't see any reason why he'd shy away from 2 years. I highly doubt Holiday will be ready to step into a starting role in his sophomore year, and Bibby is a guy who can run the offense, facilitate the pick and roll, and improve our outside shooting. Bibby was never going to accept a 1 year deal, which I'm sure Ed knew full well, so you can make a legitimate argument that we didn't even make an attempt to lure in Bibby. If they don't see anyone else worthy of the MLE, and Miller is close to signing with Portland, then the front office must really feel comfortable with Lou Williams running the show.

I've gotta say, with each passing day in free agency, I'm sensing the feeling that our front office is satisfied with what we have going into next season, which is a slap in the face to their dwindling fan base.

Johnny Broad-Street · Post #88 » by **Johnny Broad-Street** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:40 pm

Yeah man...sounds like they did all they could on that front from what you've said. Sometimes it just is what it is.

Another point we haven't really discussed much is that our bigs can almost all shoot it well. If we can exploit the mid-range with the Princeton, we have a number of guys you have to watch out for, which is not something we've forced teams to do in recent years. I think we'll be tougher to guard this year than we have been.

sixerfan1976 · Post #89 » by **sixerfan1976** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:43 pm

i think they were ok with a 2 year deal with miller or bibby but not 3. its not realistic to assume holliday is ready to be the man next year. could he be? sure..but its definitely not a given.

i also think they arent all that convinced about lou running the show...but they may not have a choice.

Gsraider · Post #90 » by **Gsraider** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:45 pm

sixerfan1976 wrote:look at the signs about money problems:

no one goes to the games
two coaches that have contracts were brought back rather than pay a non employee
refusal to pay luxury tax
split squad summer league team

other than bibby(who is off market now), nobody worth MLE in their opinion.

they want blake.....if a sign and trade can be done....otherwise...yeah lou starting PG..ugh..with a vet min backup

All valid points, except that Philly's marketing team will be working hard to get fans to come to the games next season in any case. I'm sure their efforts would stand a better chance if they gave the fans more of a reason to come. It's a double edged sword.

ankle420breaker · Post #91 » by **ankle420breaker** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 3:51 pm

Now they may not have a choice...

Going after Bibby, that WAS a choice... they didn't make it. I'm not even the biggest Bibby fan, but if the alternative is Lou Williams as our starting point guard, then it puts a whole new paint job on things...

9th Wonder · Post #92 » by **9th Wonder** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:09 pm

ankle420breaker wrote:
I don't see any reason why he'd shy away from 2 years. I highly doubt Holiday will be ready to step into a starting role in his sophomore year, and Bibby is a guy who can run the offense, facilitate the pick and roll, and improve our outside shooting. Bibby was never going to accept a 1 year deal, which I'm sure Ed knew full well, so you can make a legitimate argument that we didn't even make an attempt to lure in Bibby.

I completely agree with you, but if Atlanta is offering 3 yrs at a salary slightly above the MLE and Ed is offering two at the MLE, it's a pretty easy decision for Bibby to make.

If we don't get Blake, I'm going to be a little disappointed. I have very little confidence in Lou at the PG spot.

The76thDegree · Post #93 » by **The76thDegree** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:10 pm

The market seems to be made up of mostly older guys, like kidd, bibby, miller, wallace, and younger guys looking to be overpaid, like lee, milsap, turkey glue, so I dont have much of a problem with the FO not throwing money around.

Hops2thesky · Post #94 » by **Hops2thesky** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:12 pm

Johnny Broad-Street wrote:Another point we haven't really discussed much is that our bigs can almost all shoot it well. If we can exploit the mid-range with the Princeton, we have a number of guys you have to watch out for, which is not something we've forced teams to do in recent years. I think we'll be tougher to guard this year than we have been.

And the great part about that it, with the bigs opening up space with their outside shooting threat, Andre will have a field day in the paint. As might Lou and Jrue.

The76thDegree · Post #95 » by **The76thDegree** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:14 pm

Like hops said our bigs shooting outside will open things up, esp if speights uses what showed in the first half of the game, along with the addition of kapono, and hopefully blake.
I'm looking forward to see how much our offense will improve because of that.

STChaser · Post #96 » by **STChaser** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:18 pm

I don't understand the panic about getting a backup PG or even a starting PG. I also don't understand the concern about trading Sam - though I'd like him gone as well. Who cares if we have no depth at the 2 either.

But lets be realistic here; no move we make is going to propel us into the finals against the East - especially after Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, etc. bolstered their rosters. This should be our sacrificial / experimental year with Lou and Holiday at the point - with a malcontent Sam at the 5 - with a coach trying to introduce an entirely new system, etc. We have EVERY reason to bomb this season. There are no preconceived notions of THIS squad accomplishing much - especially without Miller. So lets all be realistic and accept that this team, as currently constructed, SHOULD not achieve much. Let's hope they don't so we can FINALLY get a high pick in the draft and get our future 5. Low expectations should be the motto this year. If EVER there was a year that we tried to get a lottery pick, it should be this season with the other teams in the East bulking up to win it all.

Hops2thesky · Post #97 » by **Hops2thesky** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:24 pm

STChaser wrote:I don't understand the panic about getting a backup PG or even a starting PG. I also don't understand the concern about trading Sam - though I'd like him gone as well. Who cares if we have no depth at the 2 either.

Gotta agree with you on this one.
If we have another 1st round exit, with Lou and Jrue at the point, and a season where we see some improvement from Thad, Jrue, and Speights and a healthy Elton Brand, that would be just about all you can realistically hope for.
Pick up a Sammy replacement in next years draft (which is chock full of big men), and I think the Sixers are in great shape for quite a few years.

83SixersRocked · Post #98 » by **83SixersRocked** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:32 pm

Though if the rumored trade involving Stackhouse and a subsequent buyout were to happen...any interest as a backup SG? I don't know the scoop on him, if he's done or if he was injured, or... ?

Johnny Broad-Street · Post #99 » by **Johnny Broad-Street** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 4:52 pm

I missed that rumor...any chance somebody can fill me in?

bebopdeluxe · Post #100 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Tue Jul 7, 2009 5:01 pm

If nobody seems torqued up to bring in a legit PG (Bibby, Jack, etc) for the next couple of years until Jrue is ready...if everybody is OK with 40-45 wins and another 1st round loss...if everybody is fine with pi$$ing away a year of Brand's contract without May basketball...then why aren't people as pi$$ed as I am about the roster/PT decisions that Stefanski and DiLeo made back in February when Brand shut it down for the season?

Everybody got all juiced up because - with Iggy at the 3 and Thad at the 4 - we were back to that wide-open, running the floor game that was like a sugar high when you OD on Capt. Crunch on Saturday morning...

(you know - that high that comes crashing to the ground in the playoffs when you can't run anymore and you have to SCORE THE BALL IN THE HALFCOURT)

Forget whether Speights could have handled Willie-Green-like starter minutes at PF. We didn't play Iguodala at the 2 (hey, that reminds me...can Iggy play SG?) and Thad at the 3. We didn't give Williams more focused minutes at PG...

But we MADE THE PLAYOFFS!

Freaking yay.

Buy hey - Stefanski saved face with the Roberts boys by making the playoffs...and think of that valuable experience the players got (especially in Game 6).

I get ripped all the time by posters who think that it is a JOKE to suggest that Speights should have been made a starter when Brand went out in February..."hey - you EARN your minutes by playing defense, and Speights' defense wasn't good enough to get him out on the floor..."

Fair enough.

But by that standard, how freaking irresponsible is it for this team to go into this season with our primary PG rotation projecting to be two guys who have a total of around 1000 minutes of college AND NBA experience at PG...COMBINED.

Huh?

If we are planning to go with Lou/Jrue (which - based on the PATHETIC attempt of talking to Bibby and the lack of buzz around Jack or Sessions seems to suggest) - with the inevitable growing pains that will come with that - Stefanski better have the sack to come out and say that he blew it last spring by not giving the young guys more experience...especially after Brand was done for the year.

(bebop holing his breath until the Stefanski mea-culpa press conference)