Sayonara, arrivederci, adios, goodbye and whatever else you can think of
So Allen Iverson is finally going to be traded.
‘Bout time.
Before I get into the particulars, I have to say one last time that if the Sixers had traded AI when I thought they should have, Philadelphia would be in year four of rebuilding right now.
Would they be Title contenders? Probably not. But they would at least be competing for the eighth playoff spot in the East (which, you’ll notice, they aren’t now).
Those Sixers would hopefully be a young squad on the rise, and in the best case scenario, only two or three years away from being legitimate contenders for the Championship.
Instead, Philly management decided to delay the inevitable by four summers and here they sit.
Believe it or not, I think GM Billy King actually has slightly more leverage now then he did in the off season. I say “slightly” because A) Other teams still know what they are getting with AI and B) Chairman Ed Snider said on national TV that Iverson is definitely on the move.
How could those factors give BK more leverage you say? Well, it says here that since play has started some clubs are more desperate then others (ahem, Boston & Minnesota). Meaning that they want to shake things up as badly as the Sixers do.
Now for the reality check.
Yes it does worry me that Billy the King is in charge of this operation. I’d feel so much better if Kiki Vandeweghe was the man pulling this trigger. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.
While I’m not going to get into specific players or teams, I do have an outline of what Philly needs to do as they finally begin the long overdue rebuilding process.
1) Don’t be greedy.
You’re not trying to retool a contender on the fly here. This is a fresh start (for those of you that despise the term “rebuilding”), so you have to think long term.
There’s also ZERO chance that the Sixers get “equal” value for Allen. I, for one, actually don’t think he’s all that valuable outside of Philly anyway. And you can be sure that I’m not alone in that line of thinking.
2) *Try* and take back no contracts that last beyond the 2007-08 season (2 years).
The rational behind this is that Chris Webber is going NOWHERE until his deal is up. So you need to position yourself to have the most cap space possible when his sizable number comes of the cap.
This will be a tough one for BK to follow through on, and by no means should it be a deal breaker, but I probably wouldn’t take back any deals that last longer then 3 years. Remember, we’re thinking big picture here.
3) Don’t be afraid to expand the deal.
Philly is carrying a lot more dead weight then just AI & C-Web (thanks to BK himself). See what you can get for Iverson and Samuel Dalembert (his contract is the next biggest albatross after Webber). Willie Green, Kyle Korver and Steven Hunter should also be made available. Basically, everyone on the roster should be in play save Andre Iguodala.
Also, BK can’t be afraid to cut guys like Kevin Ollie, Alan Henderson, Shavlik Randolph, Steven Smith, Bobby Jones or Ivan McFarlin if need be to make a trade happen. (The roster limit in the NBA is 15 players.)
4) Be patient.
There’s absolutely no need to be in a hurry here. The team stinks, and is going to stink after the trade. Assembling a deal that makes sense for the franchise in the long run may take three or four teams and involve upwards of 15 players. Plus, the longer you hold onto your cards, the more people will pay to see them.
5) Attempt to start a bidding war.
As down as I am on AI’s value (and trust me, more people agree with me then don’t), it only takes one sucker. There’s bound to be three to four teams that really think Iverson can make a difference for them.
There also could be one or two clubs out there that still think Allen is misunderstood, just needs a change of scenery or to be in the right situation. This is a long shot, but like I said, it only takes one chump.
Like most you, I have no earthly idea how Billy King still has a job, but this is a HUGE opportunity for him. Not only can he resurrect interest in his team, but he can also undo a bunch of his past mistakes and salvage his reputation all in one fell swoop.
Of course, he could also completely fork this up and be fired by spring time
It’s on BK to do his due diligence here. He should have called all 29 teams by Monday, not only to gauge their interest in “The Answer”, but also to see if they are willing to be involved in a much larger swap. (This means offering everyone up but AI2.)
Look people, I know these are dark days for the franchise that are about to get much darker shortly, but this is a good thing…..I promise.
The Sixers are finally turning a corner here, and AI will soon be someone else’s problem. After he’s gone, not only will Philly have a new leader, but they will play hard every night, listen to their coach and be much more entertaining to watch. You have my word on all of that.
Rejoice and halleluiah!
(My apologies if Iverson ends up on your favorite team.)
‘Bout time.
Before I get into the particulars, I have to say one last time that if the Sixers had traded AI when I thought they should have, Philadelphia would be in year four of rebuilding right now.
Would they be Title contenders? Probably not. But they would at least be competing for the eighth playoff spot in the East (which, you’ll notice, they aren’t now).
Those Sixers would hopefully be a young squad on the rise, and in the best case scenario, only two or three years away from being legitimate contenders for the Championship.
Instead, Philly management decided to delay the inevitable by four summers and here they sit.
Believe it or not, I think GM Billy King actually has slightly more leverage now then he did in the off season. I say “slightly” because A) Other teams still know what they are getting with AI and B) Chairman Ed Snider said on national TV that Iverson is definitely on the move.
How could those factors give BK more leverage you say? Well, it says here that since play has started some clubs are more desperate then others (ahem, Boston & Minnesota). Meaning that they want to shake things up as badly as the Sixers do.
Now for the reality check.
Yes it does worry me that Billy the King is in charge of this operation. I’d feel so much better if Kiki Vandeweghe was the man pulling this trigger. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.
While I’m not going to get into specific players or teams, I do have an outline of what Philly needs to do as they finally begin the long overdue rebuilding process.
1) Don’t be greedy.
You’re not trying to retool a contender on the fly here. This is a fresh start (for those of you that despise the term “rebuilding”), so you have to think long term.
There’s also ZERO chance that the Sixers get “equal” value for Allen. I, for one, actually don’t think he’s all that valuable outside of Philly anyway. And you can be sure that I’m not alone in that line of thinking.
2) *Try* and take back no contracts that last beyond the 2007-08 season (2 years).
The rational behind this is that Chris Webber is going NOWHERE until his deal is up. So you need to position yourself to have the most cap space possible when his sizable number comes of the cap.
This will be a tough one for BK to follow through on, and by no means should it be a deal breaker, but I probably wouldn’t take back any deals that last longer then 3 years. Remember, we’re thinking big picture here.
3) Don’t be afraid to expand the deal.
Philly is carrying a lot more dead weight then just AI & C-Web (thanks to BK himself). See what you can get for Iverson and Samuel Dalembert (his contract is the next biggest albatross after Webber). Willie Green, Kyle Korver and Steven Hunter should also be made available. Basically, everyone on the roster should be in play save Andre Iguodala.
Also, BK can’t be afraid to cut guys like Kevin Ollie, Alan Henderson, Shavlik Randolph, Steven Smith, Bobby Jones or Ivan McFarlin if need be to make a trade happen. (The roster limit in the NBA is 15 players.)
4) Be patient.
There’s absolutely no need to be in a hurry here. The team stinks, and is going to stink after the trade. Assembling a deal that makes sense for the franchise in the long run may take three or four teams and involve upwards of 15 players. Plus, the longer you hold onto your cards, the more people will pay to see them.
5) Attempt to start a bidding war.
As down as I am on AI’s value (and trust me, more people agree with me then don’t), it only takes one sucker. There’s bound to be three to four teams that really think Iverson can make a difference for them.
There also could be one or two clubs out there that still think Allen is misunderstood, just needs a change of scenery or to be in the right situation. This is a long shot, but like I said, it only takes one chump.
Like most you, I have no earthly idea how Billy King still has a job, but this is a HUGE opportunity for him. Not only can he resurrect interest in his team, but he can also undo a bunch of his past mistakes and salvage his reputation all in one fell swoop.
Of course, he could also completely fork this up and be fired by spring time
It’s on BK to do his due diligence here. He should have called all 29 teams by Monday, not only to gauge their interest in “The Answer”, but also to see if they are willing to be involved in a much larger swap. (This means offering everyone up but AI2.)
Look people, I know these are dark days for the franchise that are about to get much darker shortly, but this is a good thing…..I promise.
The Sixers are finally turning a corner here, and AI will soon be someone else’s problem. After he’s gone, not only will Philly have a new leader, but they will play hard every night, listen to their coach and be much more entertaining to watch. You have my word on all of that.
Rejoice and halleluiah!
(My apologies if Iverson ends up on your favorite team.)
posted by D$ at 9:37 AM
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