76ers Basketball

If there were any fans that stopped following the team when AI got traded or didn't care when they were losing games, it's time to get back on the wagon.

The LA Times is reporting that Elton Brand has a verbal agreement to sign for about 80 million over 5 years. This is a little more than the Clippers were prepared to offer to bring him back, but it's also a little less than what Golden State thought it would take to bring him in.

The Elton Brand offseason has been quite a story. He opts out of his current contract with one year remaining, but not to get more money. He wanted to create cap room so the team could sign Baron Davis, who opted out of his contract, to become contenders. The 76ers went all-out in pursuit of Josh Smith, thinking the window on Brand was closed.

However, at some point, Ed Stefanski and Brand's agent had a meeting. This was probably best for both sides. Why would Brand want to leave a team out of negotiations and not explore every option, and why would the Sixers not want to look into every player? It turns out, it was the right idea for everyone.

The Sixers extended a contract offer, and Brand was interested. Apparently, the Clippers had previously made a lesser offer and said that they could not offer any more money. When they caught wind of Philadelphia's proposal, they changed their tune. Brand was not happy about the lowballing attempt and was turned off to LA.

To make room for all of this to take place, the Sixers made a little deal with Minnesota. They cleared out just enough cap space by sending Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth and Utah's first rounder for for Minny's trade exception and a second round pick. This freed up just enough room to increase the offer to Brand and get him interested. Now we just have to wait for it to become official, and hopefully it does.

Basketball Free Agency Kinda Starts Too

Players can't actually sign on the dotted line until sometime next week, but that's not going to stop the 76ers from negotiating with free agents. Ed Stefanski has made it clear that he's going to spend the available money this summer, and I hope it's the right guy. Who are the available right guys?

Elton Brand, for one. He just opted out of the final year of his contract with the Clippers, and he's probably target #1. Although the team just drafted Marreese Speights, Brand gives them a legit low post threat, which opens up the rest of the offense. If Iguodala or someone can develop a consistent jump shot, Brand's game down low will really open that up.

Restricted free agents are tough to get in the NBA, and that's a significant hurdle to possibly landing Josh Smith. Smith is younger and more athletic, and those make him a very appealing target. His game is still developing, and he already posted a 17-8 season last year at the age of 22.

I would take either, but it also needs to be understood that both come with risks. Brand is obviously a huge injury risk because he just sat out 90% of last season with a serious injury. If he can come back healthy, the Sixers just made a good gamble. If he has some more problems, this city isn't seeing another NBA championship for a while. Smith is more of a mental gamble. He apparently loses focus at times and can disappear. He's a young guy, and the coaching staff and leaders of this team can probably help with that.

Beyond PF, Jose Calderon is another player out there. He's also a restricted free agent, and after trading away T.J. Ford, there's no way the Raptors let him walk. He would obviously be a valuable asset in the post-Miller era, which might begin sooner rather than later.

We'll see what happens. It's an exciting offseason to be a Sixers fan, and it's been quite a few years since someone could say that.

Eastern Quarters Game 1: Sixers at Pistons (1-0) POSTGAME

The Sixers pulled off the upset and defeated Detroit 90-86. It's only one game of a 7 game series, but this was one that was expected to be over before it started. They don't match up against the Pistons at all, and it's good experience for the young team to get a series lead.

Reggie Evans played one of, if not the best, games of his career. He scored 11 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. He's normally a liability on offense, but he provided good energy and even hit 3 out of 4 free throws. Willie Green was another unexpected hero tonight. He was 7 of 11 from the floor and was second on the team in scoring.

Free throws cannot be an issue. They were bad in the regular season, and the best player on the roster didn't even play tonight. They missed some key ones down the stretch but managed to come away with the W anyway. To pull off upsets, the underdog can't cough up opportunities to let the favorite back in it. They were lucky tonight, but it might not be the case next game.

Return Of The JedAI

That was the worst headline in history.

Allen Iverson is back in Philadelphia for the first time since last December's trade which brought the Sixers Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first round draft picks. The Sixers and Nuggets have actually played twice since then, but both of those meetings were in Denver.

It's sure to be an emotional night. He obviously had some incidents here, but even his biggest detractors can acknowledge what he did for the team and city. He's one of the greatest of all time, and he's still playing at a high level. He carried this team on his back for a decade, and it's too bad the organization couldn't deliver the help he needed and win a championship.

I hope the 20,000 Sixers fans attending tonight's game give him the respect he deserves. When the ball's thrown up in the air and the game starts, the crowd should obviously be pro-Sixers, but during introductions, every fan should be on their feet cheering for the guy that gave everyone so many memories.

As for the actual game, the Sixers defense has to play strong. Denver is a great team, and as their 168 point night against Seattle indicates, they have a pretty high powered offense. That game wasn't even all AI and Anthony either. They have a bunch of other players to chip in, and Philadelphia needs to maintain their very good defense to come away with a win.