Holiday falls to Sixers. Happy?

Apparently, yes. And welcome to Sixerland dude.

(NOTE: please give me credit at least for avoiding any pun in the title… Holiday time, Sixers go Holiday etc).

I always admitted I don’t know shlt about college bball. I confirm it again, of course, I cannot pretent to be an expert now, it would be silly.

I just don’t have the time to follow NCAA hoops, watching and blogging the Sixers from here requires a lot of time and dedication, so no room for junior overseas bball (LOL).

That’s why I really don’t know what to say about Jrue Holiday, Sixers’ latest draft pick.

He was expected to be a Top 10 pick, I read almost everywhere. That’s why I used the verb “fall” for the title. I guess that is said every year for many, many players.

But what I am 100% sure of is:

1) in recent years, very rarely Sixers completely f’d the draft up. Instead, they often found good/very good players and also some gems, even with late picks.

Think Willie Green, Korver, Lou Williams, all excellent players in terms of # of pick/efficiency ratio. Dalembert as well – not his fault if he was eventually overpaid, we are talking about what spot he was drafted at. Jason Smith had a promising rookie season and then got injured, but he showed he can play.

Thad Young and, to a lesser extent – but only because he played only a full season - Marreese Speights, can be considered real steals. Very good players that many teams passed on - and now regret it.

The only Rodney Carney could perhaps be labeled as a bust so far, but it’s not completely excluded yet that he will lately turn into a good/decent NBA player (think Matt Barnes or John Salmons, also former Sixers).

That’s why I am confident that DiLeo (almost a genius in evaluating young talent) & his staff did a good job once again. Also I am always optimistic, so no reason to panic or complain.

2) we needed a PG and we drafted a PG. Makes sense.

Exclusive interview: Lara Price on Sixers’ “new” logo

As promised this is a great day for all of us old school loving Sixers fans,  following the official announcement of the return to the old logo.

In related news, here is the exclusive interview I did with Lara Price, Sixers’ senior vice president of business operations. 

Remember, as Sixers4guidos revealed in January, she was the first to announce, to a group of season ticket holders, that Sixers were ‘going retro’, switching permanently to the old classic uniforms and logos in the 2009/2010 season.

While we all should give credit the franchise for listening to the fans and taking this wise decision, I would like to publicly thank Eric Blankenship, Sixers’ marketing vice president, that had a key role in the process of making this comeback possible.

I’ve been in contact with Eric for a pretty long time and he was always supportive in this ‘battle’: he immediately said to me that he was a fan of the old unis/logos, that in the front office there were fellow “old schoolers” (also at the top…) and definitely pushed me keeping the petition & the ‘lobbying’ activity going.

Bottom line, the franchise takes into great consideration fans’ opinions and feelings, which is is less obvious than you might think (LOL).

But let’s listen to mrs Price.

New/old logo: tomorrow is the day

Premise #1: this site was the first to campaign to bring the old Sixers uniforms/logo back.

Premise #2: this site was the first to announce that Sixers were switching permanently to their old jerseys/logo, back in January (= reaching the all time peak of traffic, btw).

Premise #3: on June 11th in a live chat with fans Ed Stefanski announced that the new logo would have been introduced…tomorrow.

12:08
[Comment From Guest]
Are the Sixers officially back to the old logo?
12:09
Ed Stefanski: No hints, but I’m an old school guy and you should be ready for an announcement about our logo on June 23.

Premise #4: Sixers just released this announcement regarding their branding. Excerpts:

…The public is invited to attend the Philadelphia 76ers re-launch of their brand identity in the lobby of the Comcast Center…

…Hip-Hop – who will be temporarily sporting a new look in conjunction with the announcement…

All of the above to remind that tomorrow will be a great day for all Sixers fans.

We will dump this shit:

 and finally go back to this:

or something very close to it (I am curious !).

To celebrate this huge battle won, I’ll have an exclusive interview with a Sixers’ top manager up. So stay tuned and party, as a new/old era started for this storied franchise.

After the logo, we would like to go back to the successes of those years also !!

Tomorrow, be here.

Iguodala enjoying the offseason in Italy !

Just released on Andre Iguodala’s Twitter page:

“I’m so far gone right now…at a beautiful place on earth…”

He didn’t say where he is but guido sources I can 110% guarantee you that’s ITALY !!

The billboard on the left is from ENI, Italy’s #1 oil company… eheheh…. the city should be Rome, if I am not mistaken (EDIT: it is, actually. That’s ‘scalinata di piazza di Spagna’, or ‘spanish steps’, for you american guys ! And between the two buildings in the background there’s Via Condotti, Rome’s Fifth Avenue… Andre went shopping for sure)

Andre, enjoy your stay in guidoland, have some pasta fun and holla if you need tips !

And don’t forget to shoot 300 free throws per day (LOL) !!!

Sixers4guidos, where insightful offseason posts happen.

Getting to know better Jason Kapono

From someone who watched him closely for the last two years.

What follows is the result of a Q & A session I did with Romy from Hoop Heads North, the Raptors site of Bloguin network. I think it’s worth a read. We owe Romy also the nice pic, taken at Bosh’s birthday party..

S4G: are you happy for the Kapono/Evans trade? Were you a Kapono fan or critic?
 
HHN: The biggest thing missing from the Raptors this past season was “toughness” The team knew it, Bryan Colangelo knew it, the fans knew it and it was an area that needed improvement for the offseason. 

We had a little bit of it with J.O. but lost it when he was traded to Miami. So when I heard about Reggie Evans, I know it was Colangelo’s attempt to cover that void. From what I’ve ever seen from him, he’s a great rebounder and can bang around down low. He has all the skills that Andrea Bargnani lacks. I can see Evans as one of those guys can grab 20 boards but won’t do much offensively.
 
I liked Kapono in Miami but not so much with the Raptors. He just didn’t fit into the system but will probably flourish in Philly. The Raptors were overloaded with mediocre swingmen, so dropping Kapono was a step in the right direction.
 
S4G: can Kapono play SG or is he more of a SF? can he create his own shot?
 
HHN: Create his own shot? I think he’s better as a catch and shoot guy. Creating his own shot can be disastrous. I’d say he’s more of a SF, and he’s a perfect fit for the Sixers as they’ve struggled with the three point shot.
 
S4G: it’s pretty safe to say that Kapono is not a great defender (and Sixers didn’t get him for defense, obviously), but can he play SOME defense or, to quote the immortal Donnie Brasco, we have to “fuggeddaboudit”?
 
HHN: Fuggeddaboudit. (S4G: LOL)
 
 S4G: do you see Kapono being a good fit in Philly, with Eddie Jordan’s Princeton offense system? will he thrive or struggle?
 
HHN: Well, I think the Sixers were missing that Kyle Korver type of player to knock down threes, so I don’t see him having a problem fitting in. 

The Sixers have a great crew of players that can create their own shots, Kapono can wait on the wings for the big shot. He’s a great team guy and off the court seems like a pretty easy going and funny guy. I honestly think this is a trade that works for both sides.
 
S4G: any skill or flaw he possess and that few analysts/fans noticed during his career?

HHN: Well he’s a shooter and that’s what he does best, outside of that don’t expect much more. The problem is that his one major strength wasn’t utilized in Toronto.

(Note: I will return the favour and reply to Romy’s questions about Evans later, I’ll edit the post to add the link – EDIT: here it is, my answers to his Reggie questions)

Sixers trade Evans for Kapono !!

Wow, just reported !

Sixers are trading Reggie Evans for sharpshooter Jason Kapono.

If you have been following this blog you know I have always been a Reggie Evans fan but to me it’s a very good move, and here are the reasons:

1) obviously, it addresses a desperate need we had, three point shooting.

Not much to add here, really: we are getting a  former 3 pt shooting contest winner (see the video above) and a real threat from the perimeter. Exactly what we lacked.

2) no lost of depth in the frontcourt.

Elton Brand will be back, Jason Smith will hopefully be back, we still have Sam, Speights + another veteran big man that will be probably signed to replace Theo (Jordan made it clear in the blogger conference call).

Reggie Evans was clearly the odd man out in what is still a very solid four man-rotation, that will be extended to five. Also, Evans’ game was surely a difficult fit in Jordan’s system.

3) no cap troubles

Kapono’s deal expires in 2011, same as Evans’, with 6.2 and 6.6 mill owed for the next two seasons, slightly more than what was making Reggie (4.9 and 5).

Remember in the same summer of 2011 the dumb huge contracts of Dalembert & Green will come off the books, and this will mean a good 22.8 million relief for the Sixers.

Unlike many Sixers fans, I say I will miss Reggie Evans but this is a move that will help us (and actually also Toronto, but we don’t care much about that, right?).

More to come about this in the next days. In the meantime, well done Mr Stefanski.

Eddie Jordan blogger conference call: I was there

So this afternoon, at 3 PM guido time, meaning 9 AM in Philly, I had the privilege to take part to a blogger conference call with Eddie Jordan set up by Sixers’ PR department (thanks again for the opportunity).

Colleagues/friends that joined were Brian from Depressed fan, Derek from Real GM and Philly Arena, Dannie from Recliner GM, Chris & Anthony from Heard in the cheap seats, Jeff from Philadunkia (all links to their cool sites n the blogroll on the right).

Not sure why Jordan (the blogger…) from Liberty Ballers, Enrico from The 700 Level and other excellent Sixer bloggers did not take part, surely they will next time.

Your fav guido blogger is the last to have a post up, because Depressed Fan wrote this, Recliner GM has this, Philly Arena has this and fellow guidos the Iafolla bros have their own post up as well.

To my credit – like somebody cares… - I started a thread on the Sixers board of philly.com immediately after the end of the conference, to share some observations made in the call with posters there.

There is no podcast unfortunately this time (this will save you from hearing my terrible english) but Jeff was patient enough to transcript the whole conference so here is what we said in those 30 minutes. My comments following some of the coach’s answers are in …italics

Sixers hire Eddie Jordan. Uhm…

Have to post this, even many days late, to end the draught of posts (too much damn work + a 5 day holiday trip with wifey)

And also because I needed an intro article for the post above, the Eddie Jordan blogger conference call.

Here is the news about the new coach hiring and here are my quick takes about Jordan:

I am not that excited, honestly. My fav candidate was Avery Johnson – but he apparently declined – followed by this Thibodeau guy (I liked the challenge and the bold move) and Jeff Van Gundy.

If you want to see the half full part of the glass, I am happy we didn’t get the washed up Doug Collins, or Casey (read below), or Rambis.

Is Eddie Jordan a good coach? Yes, probably. Despite the 230-288 record (8-18 in the postseason), I mean.

Will he play fun basketball, uptempo, exciting offense, fastbreak, high scoring? More than likely.

Is he the kind of coach that helps a team plenty of (young) talent improve? We’ll see. I am optimistic in this sense but not 100% sure. He looks like a good teacher, though.

Is Eddie Jordan a coach that can take the Sixers to the title? Probably not. And I think the goal of a team should be winning a title, not piling up 44-46 W seasons. But Doc Rivers won a title, so you’ll never know…

Of course, I will be more than happy to be proved wrong for the 245th time.

So my first comment to the Eddie Jordan hiring is/was: uhm…

(but let’s quickly move to the Jordan blogger conference call of this morning, that I took part to… read above)