Sixers offseason

[PhillyPhreak54]

Snider: I didn't order trade of Iverson
By PHIL JASNER
jasnerp@phillynews.com

It was a single sentence in an NBA story in yesterday's edition of the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal.

It jumped off the page.

It said word around the league was that 76ers chairman Ed Snider recently had held a meeting in which he ordered rebuilding, including a trade of Allen Iverson.

One problem. The vacationing Snider, reached yesterday by telephone by the Daily News, said he never held any such meeting.

"I never had such a meeting," Snider said. "I don't give orders like that. I never have in 45 years of professional sports."

Snider seemed troubled by the premise.

"How can I order a trade?" he said. "[Sixers president/general manager Billy King] has already said we'll do anything we can to make the team better. But I can't order a trade of anybody.

"You can't order a trade. [King] calls the shots. He comes to me to tell me what opportunities we might have. If he comes to me with one, I would consider it. No one wants to be in the middle of the pack. If we can make a spectacular trade, break loose and go to the top the way Miami did with Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal]... But until we have that opportunity, there's no way to demand that opportunity."

[reese125]

well that sucks

[hunt]

anybody know when teams can officially start making trades?  only 1 week until the draft so that dope billy king has to move fast.

[hunt]

Sixers look to move up, saying big trade possible
By Joe Juliano
Inquirer Staff Writer
With one week to go until the NBA draft, the 76ers and their brethren throughout the league are feverishly working their cell phones and BlackBerries trying to get themselves in a more advantageous position for the big night.

Although the Sixers are in a good spot at No. 13, president and general manager Billy King wants to move higher and admits that it may take a multiplayer trade to do it.

"We're trying. We're really trying," King said yesterday after watching four more draft prospects work out at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "We're really talking. I'd like to get another pick higher up. I'll have some conversations, and, hopefully, we can get something done."

Naturally, the more people talk, the more rumors surface. One rumor came Sunday from the Akron Beacon Journal, which reported that Sixers chairman Ed Snider had ordered King to rebuild the team and trade superstar guard Allen Iverson.

King denied the report and said his off-season conversations with Snider had centered on the direction of the team next season.

"We've had a lot of conversation on my thoughts on where I think we need to go," he said. "We talked a lot about just how we want to play. It hasn't been, 'You have to rebuild. You've got to trade this guy.' It's more like, 'Let's make sure that we do something that our fans are going to be proud of.' "

King said he wants the team to adopt an identity, one in which the Sixers will play hard every night and not have to second-guess themselves whenever they lose.

"This has been," he said, "an overall process of really just looking at the whole organization, starting with me, and saying, 'OK, how can we do it better?' Even the year we made the playoffs [2005], I thought we didn't have an identity. I think we've got to get back to where we have an identity."

Rather than have an offensive-minded identity like the Phoenix Suns, King said he wants "a blue-collar team that plays hard and wins games in the trenches." He said it's more a matter of players' adopting a blue-collar mentality as opposed to going out and getting blue-collar types.

King would like to pick up a role player or two, "a veteran player with the right attitude," he said. He reiterated that he erred in letting Aaron McKie and Marc Jackson go in the last off-season without taking on veteran leadership in their place.

Whether the Sixers pick 13th in next Wednesday's draft or not, King wants the best player available, but his evaluation of that player will include whether he will battle on the court.

King indicated that he didn't see too much battling yesterday among the four big men the Sixers brought in for the workout - 6-foot-11 Hilton Armstrong of Connecticut, 7-foot Patrick O'Bryant of Bradley, 7-0 Oleksiy Pecherov of Ukraine, and 6-11 Mouhamed Saer Sene of Senegal.

"I was upset when they were playing two-on-two because they were just letting guys catch the ball," King said. "I said, 'You're trying to earn a spot here. If you want to play for us, you've got to stop guys. You can't just let a guy catch the ball on the block... . You guys are sort of on a vacation here.' "

Notes. Rumors that have center Samuel Dalembert switching addresses were shot down by King. "Absolutely not, I have not given up on Sam," he said... . King said the Sixers' evaluations include Maurice Cheeks' coaching staff, but he did not want "to get into exactly what our thoughts are" about whether a change would be made... . The next workouts are scheduled for Friday. Duke star J.J. Redick may be included, but his teammate Shelden Williams has declined the Sixers' invitation. "He thinks he's got a promise to go before us," King said, adding that while he usually holds such a rejection against the player, he may not with Williams because "I do know the Duke guy a little better." King also played at Duke for Mike Krzyzewski... . The 76ers' dance team will hold open auditions for the 2006-07 season Saturday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Applicants must have been at least 18 years old on June 1, 2006.

[reese125]

Notes. Rumors that have center Samuel Dalembert switching addresses were shot down by King. "Absolutely not, I have not given up on Sam," he said.

One question Billy Boy: why havent you?

[ice grillin you]

dalembert will be fine

you dont give away young athletic big men like that...there arent to many around

[reese125]

sure you do guy, you package those kind of athletic big men and you get surrounding talent of multiple positions to better your team. He hurts the team in so many directions regardless of his abilities, that he is expendable.

I know King has made alot of mistakes letting players go and them becoming good players, but this is a case where he needs to let go. How long to you hold onto a guy that just doesnt have a basketball IQ? Its a crying shame

[The BIGSTUD]

I'd trade Sammy before the Sixers lose the chance to. This is their last shot. Maybe they can do something and get a decent player or pick in return for him.

I'm pretty convinced now that Sammy will never amount to anything, but we just have to hope another NBA GM believes differently.

[Drunkmasterflex]

Sammy reminds me a lot like a guy named Keon Clark and we know how he turned out, I agree get rid of him now before it is too late.  The Sixers need to blow up there roster and start rebuilding.  I don't think any player should be safe, accept maybe Iggy.

[Magical_Retard]

trade webber and dalembert for garnett.

simple.

a lil too simple.

[The BIGSTUD]

Eh... ok, then we can throw in Louis Williams to seal the deal...

[ice grillin you]

consensus mock has the sixers taking brewer

http://www.nba.com/draft2006/consensus.html

[reese125]

Sammy reminds me a lot like a guy named Keon Clark and we know how he turned out,

its funny you wrote that Drunkmaster. I had writtten Clark out along with Dan Gadzuric as comparable players-- then erased it because I figured I would give Sammy the benefit of the doubt, being he can post some stellar numbers on a string of  nights. and avg close to a double double

Keon had 1 good year in 01

[BigEd76]

Idea being thrown around:  AI to Golden State for Baron Davis, Andris Biedrins and #9 overall...

[phattymatty]

thrown around by who?

and that would actually be a good trade.