BK.....OUT!

On 12/4 the Philadelphia 76ers made the long overdue move of firing GM Billy King. Unfortunately the decision comes at least a year too late, if not more.

Before I get rolling here I want to get something out of the way. I am *not* a Sixer hater, quite the contrary in fact. While it’s true my primary allegiance has always been with the Lakers, I spent many years rooting for Philly. And in the days before I had League Pass they were actually the club I followed on a day-to-day basis.

Ok, back to business.

As is the case with most poorly run franchises – and make no mistake, the Sixers are a poorly run franchise – they can’t seem to get out of their own way. Don’t get me wrong, canning BK was undoubtedly the right move. But why now? What did he do or not do recently that suddenly tipped the scale out of his favor?

I’m not going to run down King’s litany of ill advised transactions, but the guy had been handing out terrible contracts to marginal players for YEARS. Not to mention the numerous “BK Specials” (acquiring a player only to get rid of said player in less than two years) he had served up.

So what happened 17 games into the season that prompted this move? Think about that for a minute. King was coming off trading the franchise player (a sure sign of rebuilding) and a draft where he had four picks in the top 38. Then he gets fired?

Huh?

What happened to the “three year plan” that was the talking point of the entire organization? Herein lies the problem in Philadelphia…absolutely positively stone cold clueless ownership.

When the decision to trade Allen Iverson was made it came from the top, meaning Chairman Ed Snider. In the NBA there isn’t a single personnel chief that would be allowed to deal a franchise cornerstone without ownership giving the green light first.

Now a good owner, one with his finger on the pulse of the league, would know that when the call is made to blow it up and start over you want a fresh perspective to lead the way. Not, I repeat NOT, the same buffoon who got you into the mess in the first place.

So what Snider essentially did was compound his error of keeping BK around to rebuild by letting him start the rebuilding process and then giving him the axe. But wait, it gets better. Apparently it wasn’t Snider who made the call at all, but rather President Peter Luukko.

Mr. Ed it seems was content to let King run the show in perpetuity until Luukko went behind Snider's back and contacted the Nets. So the President goes behind the Chairman’s back and no one in the organization has a problem with it?

What’s going on over there? Who’s really calling the shots? And most importantly, does Ed Snider even care about the success of his basketball franchise?

Luukko’s motivation is clear…dollars. The Sixers are 29th in attendance right now (12,342 per home game). So he pulled the trigger on something he thought might reinvigorate the fan base.

Nice try buddy, but I’m not buying.

At first I stopped tuning in to see Philly play because I couldn’t stand to watch Iverson dominate the ball one second more. Then when AI was dealt it morphed into a full on boycott until BK was fired. Now I’ve decided to keep it up until the team is sold because the root of the problem has always been Snider, and no one else.

Whew, I think that’s enough ranting for about a month or so.

On to the guy the Sixers hired, Ed Stefanski. While he’s not Kiki Vandeweghe or Donnie Walsh, Philly could have done much worse than Stefanski. All I really know about Eddie the S, other than he’s a “Philly guy,” is that he studied under Rod Thorn for the last seven years. Being that Thorn is one of the better GM’s in the league, that’s a good thing. The other point I consistently hear about Stefanski is that he’s a top notch talent evaluator.

SO IF THE FORTE OF THE GUY YOU HIRED IS TALENT EVALUATION, WHY WASN’T HE ALLOWED TO RUN THE MOST IMPORTANT DRAFT IN RECENT FRANCHISE HISTORY?

Sorry, had to get off one more blast.

Anyway, Stefanski’s first order of business should be getting rid of “consultant” Larry Brown. I may not give LB his proper due as a coach, but soliciting his input on free agents and draft picks is completely asinine. Next to go is head scout Tony DiLeo and anyone loyal to him in the scouting department.

Look, if you’re gonna start over might as well do it right.

Unfortunately for coach Maurice Cheeks his days are officially numbered as well. Mo did a fantastic job with a horrible squad last year, and that should certainly buy him the rest of this season, but new GM’s generally like to name their own guy to steer their ship. Cheeks is probably better suited to be an assistant coach anyway.

As for actual player movement, Stefanski’s first test will be what he receives in return for Andre Miller. A Mil is certainly not part of the rebuilding plan and he still holds plenty of value around the league. So we’ll get to see what Ed S is made of relatively soon.

The proof will really be in the pudding come summer time though, as the Sixers look to be the only club in the entire NBA with sizable room under the salary cap. Stefanski will have a bumper crop of free agents to pick from, and he better “choose wisely.”

Even if he does well in the off season, Philly is still in for a long haul back to respectability. Just look at the four guys they have under contract through the 2010-11 season; Samuel Dalembert, Kyle Korver, Reggie Evans and Willie Green. WOW, what a “core” that is.

Thanks BK, and good riddance.