Sixers4guidos moved: check us here

The new site is finally up.

Check Sixers4guidos 2.0 as part of the Bloguin network here:

www.sixers4guidos.com

Easy, uh?

I will spread the same BS and blog the Sixers as always, but on a cooler site !

Follow us there. This site will stay here, as memory of how it all started and developed through the years.

New Sixers uniforms: a missed chance

I am sorry, but this is a missed chance.

Call me nostalgic, call me old fart, call me (uhm, what’s the opposite of “up to date”?), but these uniforms (pics via Sixers.com)…

… that you can also see here…

… still cannot compete with these:

..meaning the, classic, storied, glorious, TRUE SIXERS uniforms that we signed the petition for, and that we outscooped everyone about. The kind of unis that never get old, to sum it up.

Few hours before unveiling the 2009/2010 jerseys, Sixers said via Twitter, in reply to a tweet by your fav guido blogger, that the new uniforms would have been “a nice blend of old and new”. As soon as I read that, I started having a bad feeling…

I think that by simply going back to our 1982/83 jerseys – ok, minus the short shorts - we would have done a better job.

But I don’t want to sound too negative or only complain: they are still a HUGE IMPROVEMENT over the ugly ones we wore for more than a decade.

Let’s see the half full part of the glass: it’s nice to definitely get rid of the nonsense black jerseys. And the fact that the new ones have our old logo on (the real, Sixers logo !!) is a big plus, that’s true.

But the red ones look “too Clippers” to me (hey, I love the Clippers and I think their jerseys are very cool… but it’s their jerseys !), and the white ones…well… uhm… they look like… a missed chance.

Not horrible, not bad, and not even mediocre, don’t get me wrong.

More like “coulda/shoulda”, if you know what I mean.

Ed Stefanski blogger conference call

I just came out of a 30 minute conference call with Ed Stefanski, where 5-6 bloggers, including my sorry arse, had the opportunity to put him several questions.

Too busy to have the full transcript, check www.sixers.com lately or other (better, LOL) blogs such as Depressed Fan, Recliner GM, Philadunkia, Real GM, The 700 Level or Liberty Ballers (all attending, all their links on the blogroll), anyway here are some of the thoughts he expressed:

- were seriously interested in signing Warrick but Bucks’ offer was better for him cuz it guaranteed him more playing time. They have 13 players under contract now and want to reach 14.
- were also interested in Ramon Sessions but they are so pleased with what they are seeeing in Jrue that decided not to go after him
- (answering my question) confirms my feeling that Sixers are currently the 4th team in town and that Philly is mainly a football city
- doesn’t believe that having our own D-league team would help
- EXPECTATIONS ARE “making the playoffs” and “making some noise” in them (pretty realistic if you ask me)
- extremely happy with Jrue, his natural position is PG but he thinks that Holiday can play WITH Lou Williams
- seeing Holiday in the gym every day they realized he’s very strong, a good finisher, his shot is better than expected, even if he has to work on making the release quicker. He’s a “willing defender” which is highly appreciated
- open competition for 2 guard but thinks that the lineup will be LW, Iguodala, Thad, Brand, Sam
- Thinks team has a lot of versatility and a lot of different lineups can be used
- thinks that Kapono signing is underrated cuz nobody talks about him (LOL)
- Jason Smith had 4 full months after being totally cleared to do anything on the court, has showed very good signs, can shoot and added bulk (250 if I got it well)
- similar for Brand, he’s “on a mission”, did a lot of rehab also in LA, he’s fully healthy and wants to show what player he is
- Willie Green’s situation is “interesting” (LOL), WG is in competition for minutes at the two but he says that in NJ they played with Kittles and Lucious Harris as back up PGs and can’t exclude that the same won’t happen here (= that’s pretty scaring, LOL)
- has no problem with int’l players (my question again), in NJ they drafted Krstic, Planinic, Nachbar, Sixers didn’t sign them so far only cuz of circumstances but they are looking at foreign players
- Flip Murray wasn’t signed cuz he asked for a “sizeable payday”
- Andre Miller wasn’t dealt last year cuz the offers they got weren’t interesting, same for sign & trade options this summer. They are happy with what he did in helping us to the playoffs
- Iguodala will play some point as well
- thinks playoffs experience for young guys will be a huge factor in their growth

I’m sure I missed a lot more so check the sites I told you for full coverage, this is the best I could do.

Moving soon… to Sixers4guidos 2.0 !!

If someone ever wondered why I haven’t written an update in over than a month, answers are:

1) a shitload of work

2) my home computer decided to die and I still have to buy a new one

3) I am working at building Sixers4guidos 2.0.

The new site (new network, new domain, new graphics, new features etc) will be up …well, soon, I hope. I won’t say any precise deadline because I already missed like 2-3, but it will be… uhm, surely before the first tip off of 2009-2010, ok ???

BTW the latest deadline I scheduled, and missed, was today, the day of the opener of Eurobasket 2009 in Poland. But you can follow my updates about the games on Twitter4guidos:

http://twitter.com/sixers4guidos/

Let’s meet there ! I will be rooting for my beloved Serbia, that shocked favored Spain in the first upset of the competition.

Thanks for your patience, it will be rewarded !!

I, Sixers will miss Andre Miller

(last post before my offseason break. I will be back at the end of August, hopefully with the new site up)

So after weeks of rumors, talks and non talks, Andre Miller signed with Portland.

I think this departure will make the Sixers worse. Possibly much worse. It’s a huge loss. Probably underrated by most analysts and fans.

If you followed this site you know I am a great fan of Andre Miller. I think he’s a really good player and was instrumental in getting us to the last two playoffs (short, I know) runs and making our kids better.

Portland did a nice move by signing him and expect Miller to have solid seasons there, it will be a great addition for the young Blazers core. I I will try to follow Portland closer next year and I wish Andre the best.

What will happen on Sixers side? I think we have to consider this move (?) from two standpoints.

But I have to be honest, overall I think Ed Stefanski and management blew this one.

Wait, Dalembert practicing in offseason ???

(via Sixerguy)

Sixers just released this ’shocking’ practice video:

I have few comments to make.

1) nice to see Dalembert practicing in offseason, he has a reputation for being lazy and not working on his game during the summer.

Good sign, he’s showing some serious committment (or fear to lose his starting spot? LOL).

2) his accent (french?) is sweet, I never listened to him speaking in interviews before. He really seems a good dude… too bad he drives us nuts with all his dumb plays…

3) Jason Smith looks BIG. He worked hard in the weight room, evidently. Props to him.

He is still explosive, though (did you check the dunks? similar to the ones he got us used to in his rookie year - like in the pic) and seems on his way to full recover.

I am a Jason Smith fan and I hope he will be back at 100% and contribute next year. Enough of him in press conferences and presentations, we need his arse on a bball court, and with a (classic) Sixers jersey on.

4) I like Jrue Holiday’s shooting form. He has nice mechanics. He has to extend his range clearly but he has a solid ’shooting fundamentals’ base to build on.

He’s working with Mc Kie, let’s hope he doesn’t imitate Blue with the ultra-slow shot release (LOL).

In a period with few real Sixers news, this was a nice break.

Some little insights you might enjoy

Again, not many news on Sixers’ side, uh?

Yes, no blockbuster trades at the horizon, no all star signings, apparently.

Still I managed to get some info that I wanted to share with readers. 

No breaking news or anything shocking, I warn you.

But still it’s important to make some things 100% sure.

So here is what Sixers4guidos just learned:

NEGOTIATIONS WITH ANDRE MILLER

Few days ago Stefanski said that Sixers were in “sign-and-trade” mode.  No updates since, so that should give us an idea about the situation with Andre Miller and the likelihood of his return.

= no Andre Miller in 2009/2010 (not good news, to me).
 
COMPLETING THE ROSTER

The fact that Sixers are looking for three more players to round out the roster, and reach 14, is confirmed: Stefanski said “a guard, a swingman and two big men”. 

No direction about specific skills they are looking for in those players (off/def minded, young/vets, specialists etc), but Stefanski has a list of players at those positions he is keeping his eye on in regards to the team’s needs.

(I hope Calvin Booth didn’t make the list, same for Kevin Ollie)

MAKING THE SUMMER LEAGUE AND SPLITTING THE TEAM WITH THE NETS

Boki Nachbar remembers Sammy D…

In a pretty quiet period with (no) real Sixers-related news, Hoopshype made this nice interview with former Net Bostjan Nachbar.

Why I post it here?

First because I have to prove I am alive, second because it’s an interesting read, especially in terms of understanding the economic situation of int’l bball and reminding the differences between european and NBA hoops, third because there is a fun Sixers reference at the end, as you will check.

Since the quality of the video from Hoopshype is not very good, I found another video of the same play, that you might ‘enjoy’:

So much for the “intimidating presence”.

Sam got shawnbradleylized there…

UPDATE: since we are in a You Tube mood, enjoy also this great Dr. J – George Gervin video, via Twitter4guidos – FreeDarko:

(NOTE: I will be working at my new site in the next days, I hope I will be able to launch Sixers4guidos 2.0 soon, let’s say within the end of the month. Stay tuned, it’s gonna be a great, brand new blog)

Forget about Bibby, he’s staying in Atlanta

This is the link to the news reported by Atlanta JC, and this is the excerpt:

Free agent point guard Mike Bibby has agreed to a three-year deal worth an estimated $18 million to return to the Hawks, according to two people familiar with the situation.

What does this mean for the Sixers? GOOD NEWS. For Miller fans, I mean.

1) one less option for Sixers. Bibby, rumored to get interest by Stefanski, won’t come to Philly.

2) one less option for Miller. He won’t go to Atlanta.

3) setting a reasonable range for Miller’s new contract. Bibby is two years YOUNGER than Miller and will make 6 mill per year, for the next three. Same contract of Artest, btw, both for length and amount of $. Funny, uh?

(Six millions per year is also what Kapono will make until 2011, but I’m digressing…)

This deal means that the original request of 3 years at 10 mill per year made by Miller’s camp is out of the market. They will have to calm their arses down downsize it.

The 2 year-16 mill proposal I (nearly) randomly made here few posts ago looks even too generous now… maybe something in the 12-14 mill territory could be more realistic. And eventually get the job done.

Again, I am all for keeping Miller. For two years. At a fair price.

Time works in Sixers’ favor. Portland is perhaps the only (good) option left for Miller, but the TrailBlazers will probably make offers to other FAs, such as Lee, that won’t come for cheap.

Interesting situation here.

The Miller situation from a Miller fan perspective

Short recap.

Andre Miller, through his agent, says he wants to stay in Philly.

“Andre has a strong interest, a strong desire to come back”.

Ed Stefanski likes Andre Miller and thinks Sixers are a better team WITH him.

Ricky has always been a great fan of Andre Miller too and would like to have him back next year. And the year after.

In the meantime, the first day of free agency in the NBA was extremely interesting, with Pistons throwing crazy money at Ben Gordon & Villanueva (!), Clippers getting Q Rich for Zach Randolph (!!) – another proof that the “There must be a reason why they are GMs in the NBA and you are just a blogger” is wrong – and Portland reportedly close to make a huge offer to Turkoglu.

Rumors pile up, and since we are talking PGs, the three year offer ready for 36 y/o Kidd is the most shocking one to me, especially coming from a team in rebuilding mode like New York.

Back to Sixers’ PG situation, if the request of 30 millions for 3 years reported by Tom Moore is true, I would say ‘goodbye Andre’.

I assume the Dalembert+Green-for-McGrady trade will not go down, so Sixers have to mantain their flexibility for the summer of 2011, when with Dalembert, Green and newly acquired Kapono coming off the books they will have around 23 millions in expiring contracts.

So the third year, in any Miller deal, should be a TEAM option. Which of course the Millers (Andre & Andy, his agent) will be reluctant to accept.