cx09 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
i understand what you're saying but i feel like you need to give stefanski more of a chance. he inherited a non-ideal situation wrought with king's mistakes, the 60 cents/dollar he got for iverson being chief among them. unlike riley, stefanski doesn't exactly have the most dominant big-man of the last 15 years as a trade chip (i guarantee you no player on the current sixers roster gets traded for marion & banks, regardless of how obvious it is to you that they're better than shaq), nor does he have large expiring contracts attached to useless players (davis, williams).
just curious, what would you say he should've done differently up to this point?
completely agree.
G.Party, I'm shocked that you (1) grouped Ed Stefanski with BK and (2) claimed that Ed doesn't "get it" regarding rebuilding. Usually your posts are pretty logical. Where did this come from? What are you basing this on?
Comparing the Heat to the Sixers in terms of rebuilding projects is outrageously unfair to Stefanski. The teams have completely different pieces in terms of talent-level and contracts. If you or I were running the Heat, and Steve Kerr called to offer the Matrix for your 35-yr old center, we would both accept in a heartbeat. Believe me, Stefanski would too. But he has a much different challenge.
Stefanski has done everything right since taking over the Sixers. He's evaluating. He's not getting locked into any preconceived notions about what moves this team should make. Like any good basketball mind, he saw a major logjam at the wing position, and got rid of the worst defensive liability since Izel Jenkins to make room for Thad. It was the exact right trade for this rebuilding project. KK was the odd-man out on this team, and anyone who paid attention could see that the Sixers +/- was significantly better without him. For all the KK supporters out there, just wake up and admit that
he still can't defend.
Stefanski has opened up the playing time for all the young athletes on this team. Believe me, he "gets it."
He's been here a little bit longer than 2 months. Everybody sees the Gasol/Shaq mega-deals and suddenly expects their respective team to make a blockbuster. These trades were the result of very specific, relative circumstances. If Stefanski could hit a home run right now, he would.
But he's not getting offered anything more than expirings and a late pick for Miller. He's doing the right thing by keeping him. Andre Miller is playing at a very high level right now. Plus, you want to talk about rebuilding? That's a long-term project. By keeping Miller, you stagger your cap space. This way, he'll have flexibility both this summer and next.
What exactly do you expect Stefanski to do at this point? If a slam dunk for Miller becomes available, he'll do it. Otherwise, you have to be patient. The young guys are developing. Sam has improved drastically this year. The team's future is bright.
Lastly, people keep making the mistake of expecting Ed to know what will be available this summer via FA and trade. That continues to baffle me. People say things like, don't trade Reggie Evans until you know
exactly what you'll do with that cap space. Nonsense. I can see keeping Evans because he's a productive role player off the bench. But nobody knows who will become available this summer in any capacity. We can see who the FA's and RFA's will be, but it's impossible to project who exactly will want to come to the Sixers. In fact, pursuing this would be tampering.
Also, with injuries, the unknown fate of teams in the upcoming playoffs, and countless other factors,
nobody knows what will happen this summer. That's the whole point of having cap space. Because nobody knows what disgruntled star will become available, or what young player will emerge to render someone expendable, the name of the game is flexibility. That's what you aim for when you're rebuilding. Not predicting the future. That's impossible. You want flexibility for flexibility's sake. Not for some specific name who may or may not become available (and the names people keep throwing out there are beyond ridiculous - Josh Smith, Arenas, Brand, etc.). If you don't use all your cap space this summer, it doesn't expire. It doesn't disappear. It's not a wasted opportunity. There's absolutely no shame in remaining under the cap for multiple years until the right piece becomes available.
Ed Stefasnki is a fan's dream for GM. He grants interviews to bloggers. He calls 10 season-ticket holders per day to ask them about the status of the franchise. He is a great basketball mind. And he's a Philly guy. Stefasnki knows talent, and he knows the business. Believe me, he "gets it."