Training Camp Opens

[The Guilty Party]

I e-mailed Phil Jasner a couple of days ago to see if he knew when and where the Sixers were going to open training camp this year. Phil e-mailed me back that the Sixers have yet to release that info so today I decided to e-mail Mike Preston in the Sixers' PR department and got an answer. Here's the e-mail exchange...

Hi Mike... You were kind enough before to answer one of my trivial questions before about the team's logo and colors and so I figured I'd press my luck and hit you up again. September is the worst month to be an NBA fan and so with little to read about or discuss, I have two insane questions...

1) When do the Sixers open up training camp? Will it be around here (Philly) this season?
2) You said before that the team is going to use the old uniforms and logo more this season to honor the 60th anniversary. Will the home court also reflect the old logo and colors?

October needs to get here sooner than later.

Thanks for your time,
David
***********
David –
Not insane at all.
1)Camp opens on 9/30 at Penn State (ironically, we’re sending our press release out about that today).
2)Court will remain the same (save for the Spectrum game, when we may have something special planned)

And I can’t wait for October, either.
Thanks,
Mike

Alright, so we're less than a month away. Did the Sixers have training camp at Penn State last year??

[dbodner]

I'm not sure if they had it last year, but they definitely have had it there in the past.

[PrimeTime21]

My Gawd 25 days, I thought it would be in the next week or so....oooyyy, long month!

[sec-106]

Couldn't be more excited for this season.

"In Ed We Trust."

[The Guilty Party]

I think the last time my expectations were as high as they are right now was when we entered the 2001-2002 season. That was the season after we were in the Finals and I expected us to get back there. My expectations aren't that high for this team but I do expect to have a better chance of getting to the ECF than we have in any other season since the end of the '02 season.

[sec-106]

Agreed.

4 FA's at the min reminds me of BOS last year.

I really like the way this roster is constructed.

Who knows?

[The Guilty Party]

I just remembered that last year the team held an open practice that was free to the public. I went over there and thought it was awesome to see the team run through their drills. hell, it was that practice that showed me that Thaddeus Young was going to bust it every night on the court and that Derrick Byars wasn't going to be a member of this team for long.

I'm hoping that they will do that once again although now that they have Brand, I don't think they are as desperate for fan attention.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

TGP: Since you were able to see Byars, do you think he's worth an invite back? Was he out of shape, lazy or a bust?

[ankle420breaker]

TGP: Since you were able to see Byars, do you think he's worth an invite back? Was he out of shape, lazy or a bust?

I was there too. He was a combination of the 3. I was a a fan of Byars at the time, but his overall lack of effort in that practice was very discouraging.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

I can't wait to see Elton Brand as a Sixer for the first time ever.

[geiger]

I don't think the issue with Byars was ever effort. I wrote about him on a different board (scout) at the time we drafted him. He simply does not have an NBA game. He had one good college year, but his game doesn't translate well to the NBA. He's an average defender without a true position, who can't put the ball on the floor and who doesn't move well without the ball, while being an average shooter with average range. He's a typical solid college player who simply fell a tad short on talent when it came to the NBA. If he plays well overseas for a few years and develops his jumper, he could develop into a guy who might get a shot to be a 12 to 15 minute a game back up for an average to bad team, but he simply wasn't good enough to make it.

[The Guilty Party]

His talent has a HUGE part of him not being in the league however... the man's effort was in serious question by me. The man got lapped by Thaddeus Young in sprint drills and it wasn't just because Thad was that much faster but Thad was busting his ass while Byars jogged. If you're going to come to training camp as a 2nd Rd Pick, you need to hustle a helluva lot more than what he did in the open practice.

Either way... he's old news and done. I suppose this thread can be an around the league thread as well... what's the deal with Ben Gordon?? At what point does he sign the one year deal with the Bulls? The night before training camp or does he wait even longer than that??

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

I find it weird that Ben Gordan has yet to sign. Clearly no team in the NBA will spend 11-12 million on a sixth man. And Chicago won't sign him to that either. It's not going to get better in 2009 or 2010. He'd recieve 5-8 million dollar offers. I think BG should sign with the Bulls and play his heart out. Brian Westbrook got a contract extension, if Gordan plays at a similar level he could reap similar benefits.

[geiger]

Different sport, different circumstances, different rules. He could take the qualifying offer, but the risk is huge. If he gets injured, he could be losing out on $46 to $66 million, depending on what he believes or the Bulls believe he is worth. He could do it, but if I am his agent, I probably don't advise it. I think they are at a place where they want to play chicken and see who blinks first. Maybe they settle on a 3 year deal with the numbers somewhere in the middle of what the Bulls offered per year and what Gordon wants. Not sure. Maybe there is a multi-player trade. Or maybe he squeezes a little more money out of the Bulls and signs a 5 or a 6 year deal with them. Maybe he signs for what they offered but gets an early termination clause. Something has to happen fairly soon.

[sixerfan1976]

Antywane Robinson and Jared Reiner are camp bodies that will be cut during the preseason...but will be at Penn state for training camp. read that somewhere this morning.

I am so excited for the season.....I may even go to a preseason game. Ok..maybe not!

[ankle420breaker]

I am so excited for the season.....I may even go to a preseason game. Ok..maybe not!

I here you on the excitement....really looking forward to reminding the casual Philadelphia sports fans that the city still has a basketball team.... and uh... I actually am going to the 2nd preseason game against the Knicks.

[The Guilty Party]

We still have 1 roster spot open, right? Not that either of those two names do anything for me but why can't 1 of them stay on with the team??

[sixerfan1976]

Maurrese Rice is also invited to camp.

[The Guilty Party]

My favorite thing about Rice is that he's from Strawberry Mansion which has always made me think about chocolate waterfalls and candy ladders. That said, that neighborhood has always sounded like a sweet Dreamland yet in reality it couldn't be much more of a 180 degree difference since it's a pretty rough area in the city.

Either way, I wonder if any of these three kids really has a shot of staying with the team.

[sixerfan1976]

I would say no they probably dont...i think we keep 14(that includes Jason Smith)