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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... rap-080909

Apparently bored to tears, John Hollinger wrote a column today that went over EVERY SINGLE transaction that happened this summer except for a handful of major moves that he wrote specific columns for with the Elton Brand signing being one of them. Here are his thoughts on the Sixers' moves.

-Restricted free agents Andre Iguodala, Luol Deng, Emeka Okafor and Josh Smith got roughly similar deals, with Smith's being a year shorter after he signed an offer sheet with Memphis. That's a bit odd, since Smith is the best player of the bunch, but he also was in the worst negotiating position because his qualifying offer was so much lower than the other players'. For the other three, it was fair value for not-quite-All-Star talent; for Smith, it could end up being a steal.

-Louis Williams, on the other hand, looks like a bargain at five years for $26 million. He is in his third year out of high school and has improved every year, and when you put him side by side with Ellis, there doesn't seem to be $40 million worth of difference.

-Royal Ivey signed a two-year deal for the minimum in Philly; although he's very limited offensively, this was a nice move because he's a big guard who can defend 2s but play the point on offense -- which means they can pair him with Louis Williams off the bench.

-Donyell Marshall signed with Philly after the Sonics, er, Thunder cut him loose, and his 3-point shooting could be a big boost off the pine as a zone buster.

-Kareem Rush isn't really any good, but he can shoot and might see minutes on a Sixers team that needs floor spacers.

-Theo Ratliff showed he might have something left in his stint with Detroit; he'll back up Samuel Dalembert in Philly.

It seems like Hollinger is a fan of Stefanski's summer moves since he spent plenty of his column ripping into GMs for making stupid decisions.

Thanks for the link. I agree with Hollinger to the extent that the Ivey signing might be a very good one for the Sixers. Other than making nut-cracking jokes about him, most of the post-Brand FA talk has been about Rush, Ratliff and Marshall. All bigger names, but I think Ivey gets bigger minutes for exactly the reason Hollinger stated, he fits very nicely with Lou Williams. If he can play physical D, bring the ball up at times to free Lou to score, play tough defense and, along with Reggie, bring a "physical" aspect to the team I would be vrey happy. If he helps keep WG on the bench I will be ecstatic. Ivey was over-exposed terribly in Atlanta and was just starting to come into his niche as a role player in Milwaukee, but could be a great fit here.

I love the Louis Williams comment..

It's a pretty good point especially when you factor in the character issue that has now come up with Ellis. I'm still a little shocked that Williams signed a 5 year deal with the team but I guess he'd rather get his guaranteed $26MIL now and become a UFA at the age of 26 where I'm sure he'll be looking for a much bigger payday. Hopefully he can earn that bigger payday while wearing a Sixers' uni since I wish nothing for the best for the kid.

Lou seems loyal..unless management totally jacks things up i see him staying here.

I was shocked that his agent let him sign a 5 year deal. I thought he would look for a 3 year deal for sure, or 5 years with an opt out after 3. In 3 years, he could be an all-star playing on a $5 million a year contract.

I agree 100% with you, geiger. I thought that a 3 year deal made a LOT more sense for Lou since he would be able to hit the open market at a younger age and begin collecting a bigger paycheck sooner. Also, what if the following likely scenario plays out...

1) Andre Iguodala makes a successful transition to the 2
2) Thaddeus takes over at SF and begins to develop into the quality player we think he will be
3) Andre Miller re-signs a 2 year extension with the Sixers next summer

If that scneario plays out, then Lou will be playing the role of 6th man for another 3 seasons. Perhaps his agent saw that and figured that he'd rather have Lou hit the open market after he was a starter in the league but I don't think there are any guarantees that he's the starting PG if/when Miller leaves.

Either way, I'm happy we have him wrapped up for such a small price for a long time.

That was a great contract they signed for Lou. It will be interesting to see if he can ever become the starting PG, or will he continue to be a 6th man. It's not like that would be a bad thing, he can be a great player in that role.