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.

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.

Any two year deal with Andre Miller is fine for me. I’d leave the GM to decide the amount of $: 16, 18 millions? You pick, I think those would be fair deals for current NBA standards. With two more years of Andre, Jrue Holiday will have the chance to grow as a PG – with Miller as tutor – and (hopefully) be ready to take the helm in 2011.

There might be another possibility: sign Miller for ONE year. For a higher amount of money, perhaps. 10 millions? 11? I would like that, also. Then again, that’s not what Miller & Miller are looking for, but one year from now the situation might be totally different and surely there could be more options for a very good PG like Andre.

There are two facts that can play a role during the (long, they say) negotiations with Miller:

1) the US economy. But we have seen different signs in this sense. For all the Boozers & Korvers (wisely) picking up their player options for next year, you see Portland on its way to give a 30 y/o player a (too) large five year deal, NY willing to sign a free agent until he will turn 39 (that would make Darrell Armostrong look like a rookie), or a franchise UNDER the cap, that seemed to be in financial troubles – and uninterested in seriously making the team better - adding a loser like Randolph and his 35 millions owed for the next two years. The NBA is crazy. 

2) the boatload of PGs just landed in the NBA through the draft (9 in the first round). This can help the Sixers. Not saying every rookie will start and kick out the former starter, but, you know, a lot of teams now have many options for the spot and can entertain trades.

A solid veteran like Miller will always find a job and get paid big $ for it, but maybe his requests will be downsized a bit. This year, I mean.

To sum it up, I think Sixers are better off WITH Miller, but not at any price. I have faith Stefanski will do the right choice.

Yes, Miller has his well known flaws (defense vs quicker opponents, 3 pt shooting etc) but watching the team WITHOUT him has always been a pretty awful show. I like his silent leadership, the ability to always make the better choice, the clutchness.

We need him to continue in our process of growth, and I think Thad Young, Speights, Jason Smith, Lou Williams and the same Iguodala will greatly benefit by playing another year with Miller.

NOTES: I received an email announcing that on July the 4th there will be this ‘The best dunker in Philly’ event.

We are setting up an outdoor basketball court on Ben Franklin Parkway between 21st and 22nd this Saturday (July 4th), and will begin the competition at 4pm.  The event is FREE and is part of the “Party on the Parkway” event already happening that day.  (Btw…I heard Sheryl Crow and The Roots are doing a free concert that night!)

If anyone is interested, it should be fun. For me, getting there is a little complicated (LOL).

Reportedly, former Sixers Marc Jackson & Reggie Evans will NOT compete in the contest

The first day of free agency in Sixerland is shocked by this rumor (link posted first by poster GuessWHOsBack on the Sixers boards of Philly.com).

Yes, Tracy Mc Grady (I don’t care if he doesn’t play, that’s 23 mill expiring next summer) for Dalembert & Green.

Read it again. Yes, it WOULD be Sam & Willie out, Mc Grady in.

My fav excerpt of that article is:

“There aren’t too many other possible landing spots for Dalembert because of his contract and trade kicker.

“Every team has bad contracts,” the source said. “But that [trade kicker] just adds insult to injury.”

LOL (thank you also for this, Billy King…).

While my reaction to the Dalembert-and-Green for TMac trade is this:

Too good to be true? Sometimes miracles happen.

I know you are thinking Houston can get a lot more than that garbage package for TMac but… pray with me.

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.

3) in a day where a lot of blockbuster trades were completed (Darko to NY, Shaq to Cavs, Carter to Magic – I like this for Orlando – etc), we didn’t make any dumb, hurried move and we decided to stand pat, which I think was the best thing to do given the circumstances. I didn’t like any of the possible trades I’ve read in these days, Dalembert for Radmanovic/Mohammed, moving Brand etc. Lateral moves at best.

My idea: keep this core intact, make it work with the new coach, let the young guys continue to grow, try to fit a 100% healthy Brand into the team and see what happens.

In mid December, we can talk again about trades. Ouh, and by the way, Dalembert’s trade value will be IMMENSELY higher in January, the highest next summer.

I am not a great fan of Sam, as you might know, but whoever thinks that it’s possible to play Brand at C for a season, or is ok with Nazr Mohammed as starter, should have his brain examined. Want to get rid of Sam? Fine. But give me a half decent, REAL CENTER to replace him. A Kendrick Perkins, a Brendan Haywood (= Dalembert’s efficiency/numbers, but for half the price). 

But these are different stories. So instead of trying to analyze a player that I actually don’t know, I decided to make a little collection of comments about Holiday: it will be fun (or sweet, depending on his efficiency) to read them at the end of the season.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel first puts Holiday among last draft’s winners…:

Last year UCLA had a point guard battle between Holiday and Darren Collison. Bruins coach Ben Howland went with the experienced Collison rather than the freshman Holiday, who played shooting guard.

So, for at least a night, Holiday got a little friendly revenge. He wound up on top, getting picked by Philadelphia at 17. Collison had to only wait until New Orleans grabbed him four spots later. Those must have been some pretty good practices in Westwood.

.. then describes him like this:

Analysis: This isn’t to bash UCLA, a premier program with a great coach. But why Holiday ever went there is a baffling. He’s a point guard who had to play shooting guard (out of position) because the Bruins already had a starter. Had he gone somewhere else (every school wanted him) he could’ve started and probably would’ve been a higher pick, which based on the fact he left after his freshman year was clearly his only goal in college. Very well may be a steal at this spot.

On Kate Fagan’s report we can enjoy DiLeo’s enthusiasm:

“We tried to move up a little bit, we couldn’t move up, we feel very fortunate because most people had him going top-10,” said Sixers assistant general manager Tony DiLeo. “For him to drop to us, we’re ecstatic. He’s exactly what we wanted.”

“Our scouting staff was unanimous,” DiLeo said. “Looking at the players in our area, players we thought might drop down to us, he was a wish player to us. We didn’t think he would drop down. But we were unanimous as a staff that if he dropped down, we were going to take him.”

On DraftExpress’ Holiday page you can read his strenghts and his weaknesses (3 pt and FT shooting woes worry me a bit, I have to be honest…) while Hoopshype has Rodney Stuckey and Keeyon Dooling (LOL) as best case/worst case scenario comparisons:

Still a work in progress. Possesses a high basketball IQ and shows the ball handling skills and unselfishness to project as a point guard down the road.

Let’s go on with Kate Fagan’s post on her blog, I like these excerpts:

Holiday’s strengths appear to be his versatility, his court vision, and his ability to execute, especially off the pick-and-roll. He doesn’t seem to be a guy with explosive athleticism and game-changing skills in transition (like Ty Lawson), but as far as strong point guard skills and upside (let’s keep in mind this kid is 19), Holiday has plenty of that.

The knocks on Holiday are that he is unproven (and this is very true, with what was seen at UCLA), that he doesn’t have a go-to scoring mentality (although that might not be a bad thing on a Sixers roster filled with guys who think they are go-to scorers), that his outside shot needs work (although I heard from a number of people that his form is textbook and he just needs more repetition), and that he has average athleticism and explosiveness

A sweet end of this post could be Chad Ford’s analysis on ESPN:

I really like what the 76ers did, taking an opportunity to nab a lottery talent who was falling because of injury concerns. Holiday is in a long line of players who slipped when team doctors got nervous, with Danny Granger as a prime example. The Sixers could’ve gone with a more proven guard like Ty Lawson or Eric Maynor, but Holiday has more upside and could turn into a terrific pick for them.

A steal? A stiff? A player that will contribute immediately? Lately? A project? We’ll see.

Welcome Jrue (?), can’t wait to see you in a (old, of course) Sixers uniform.

In UCLA he was like this (I like his shooting form !):

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.

(S4G) My blog, Sixers4guidos, last year started an online petition to bring the old Sixers uniforms back. More than 130 fans from all over the world signed it and the word was spread all around the Internet: evidently a lot of Sixers fans cared. Reactions after the news of the switch were pretty much enthusiastic, 90% were like “about time”… How did the feelings of fans affect your decision? Did you make any survey, poll, market research before you took it? In case, what were the results saying?

(PRICE) We always appreciate the input from our fans and season-ticket holders.  We take a proactive stance when it comes to surveying them so we can accurately gauge their opinion on a great number of topics, which includes our uniforms and logo. 

As a result, we believe we made decisions pertaining to those elements that will be very well-received both locally and nationally.  
 
I know for sure that Ed Stefanski is a fan of the old unis. Did he play any role in the decision of “going retro”? And Snider/Luukko?

Mr. Snider, Peter Luukko and Ed Stefanski all had major input and were very supportive of the decision to return to the traditional red, white and blue logo. Additionally, it is important to acknowledge that the NBA and Adidas were also very helpful as we went through the design and approval process.  

(great ! thank everybody !!)
 
Can we now safely say that changing the uniforms’ colours and the logo wasn’t exactly a smart move? (NOTE: maybe it paid back in terms of revenues, but I don’t care…). I don’t recall Lakers wearing black jerseys, or Knicks adding gold to their logo, so don’t you agree that Sixers, like Celtics, Lakers, Knicks etc, are such a storied franchise that they wouldn’t need to follow “fashion” trends but they should stick to their glorious tradition? (I’m asking also because next winter among the trendy colours there will be purple, and I am scared…) 

Very rarely do teams go through their entire existence without altering their logo or implementing changes to their color scheme to reflect the times. For example, the Knicks and Celtics adopted black as a primary part of their uniform or logos at various points, while the Pistons changed their logo altogether before returning to a modified version of an earlier version. 

Our previous black, silver, gold, red and blue logo was very popular for many, many years but at this point in our franchise’s history – coming off of our 60th Anniversary – we were ready to make a change to our traditional logo.

(have to check about the other franchises, this research could be interesting. Our logo with black, gold etc MIGHT have been popular for a while but sucked big time, I’m sorry)

Can you anticipate something about the look of the 2009-2010 uniforms? Will they look 100% like the old ones or will something be changed/restyled? In case, what? (please make sure that whoever styled the unis of the ‘Shawn Bradley era’ does NOT take part to this process..)

Again, our uniforms will be a modern interpretation of traditional uniforms featuring the red, white and blue color scheme. We will wear white uniforms at home and red uniforms on the road with no alternate uniform for the 2009-10 season.

(sweet to hear)
 
Let’s talk $ a little bit, if you don’t mind. How much does the total of unis sold count in terms of revenues for the franchise (% on the total of merchandise turnover and/or overall figures, if available: number of jerseys sold per year, total of $ made out of those)?

Per team policy, those are figures that we do not discuss publicly.

(uhm, ok. I won’t complain since this is a day of joy !)

THANK YOU MRS PRICE, THANK YOU ERIC, THANK YOU SIXERS !

Now let’s do the same with the uniforms

(UPDATE: reading Kate Fagan’s article, you gotta love Stefanski’s words…

Stefanski said the organization reached out to fans and received an “overwhelming” response to return to the old logo and uniforms.

We guys were “overwhelming”. How cool is that ??)

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

(Brian – Depressed Fan) When it comes right down to it, who gets the playing time: a weak defender who fits the offensive system or a strong defender who does not? What is the priority?

Eddie Jordan: “There has to be a balance. If you have skill to score the basketball, you’re going to play. I mean, you can’t win 0-0. If you have a weaker defender, you play team defense to cover for him. At the same time, if you have four strong offensive players, then you can carry one defender, sometimes two. I think championship teams start with a solid, veteran front line”.

(Ricky – Sixers4guidos) - with strong guido accent – Do you see Lou Williams in the combo guard role he’s played in the past, coming off the bench, or could he slide in as a starting point?

Eddie Jordan: “In this offense, you really play two combo guards at all times. In training camp, we’ll see how Lou handles it. But yes, I see Lou as a combo guard”.

(Uhm. After last year, I don’t think Lou can play the point, which was something I actually thought possible before. To me he doesn’t possess true PG skills and also lacks the correct attitude. He is turning more into a gunner combo guard, ala Jamaal Crawford, which I don’t like much. We’ll see)

(Derek – RealGM) – Can Iguodala play the two?

Eddie Jordan: “Yes. I think he can flow from the two to the three. I like to think he’s a three-man first. It depends on the roster, if Smith or Speights can earn time, then he’s at the two. I played Jared Jeffries at the two on a team that went to the second round of the playoffs. I will use him at the two if one of those big men can earn the time”.

(No Jared Jeffries on the Sixers, thank you… and no Reggie Evans at the two either, LOL)

(Dannie - ReclinerGM) How will Samuel Dalembert fit into the offense next year?

Eddie Jordan: “Just like everyone else Samuel has to buy into being an unselfish player that cares about his teammates. That has been a knock on him, he has to get past the selfish up and down mentality of playing in the NBA.

I’d like to see him care about his teammates, the offense can run through him or around him, and he can still be a valuable part of the offense. He has to have an approach that he can be highly competitive and being unselfish teammate and that’s what we’re looking for first”.

(love this reply. Hidden message: Sam, move your ass and don’t complain or you’ll get single digit minutes soon)

(Ricky – Sixers4guidos) The Sixers couldn’t sell out the arena last year, even during the playoffs. Is this because the Sixers just have to win more basketball games, or play a fun style of basketball or both?

Eddie Jordan: ”I don’t know. I really don’t. I haven’t been here long enough to understand why they haven’t filled the arena for playoff games. I think if you have an exciting team and they win than people will come out to see them.

That’s been proven throughout the NBA in the history of the NBA. If you win and you’re exciting, and if you have a chance to play for either the Conference championship or NBA championship, than they will come and fill the arena. So outside of that I don’t have a problem”.

(coach is right, I should have put this question to the GM and not to him. Anyway, in Philly even winning games doesn’t guarantee you filling the seats, as we saw during the 2008 and 2009 playoffs, when we couldn’t sell the arena out despite the team being up 2-1 in both series…)

(Brian – Depressed Fan) During your time in Washington it seemed as if once you had your full arsenal of players with Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison you were one of the fastest teams in the NBA and had close to the most possessions per game. Than when you were hit by injuries in 2007-08 that pace slowed considerably and that was how you competed with a depleted roster. What do you foresee for the Sixers this year, do you see them as a top 10 team in possessions per game?

Eddie Jordan: “I think we’re going to be a high possession team. Two reasons: number one we have terrific athletes. I think Andre Iguodala can run, I think Thaddeus Young is a runner, Samuel at the center position can be a runner if he puts his mind to it, Willie Green can get up the floor, Jason Smith was very athletic before he got hurt and that’s number one.

Number two, this team has shown they can generate points on the defensive end. They can create turnovers and they get out and run. We should continue to defend well, rebound well, turn people over, get out and get earlier baskets and if not than get into the offense.

I think part of this team matches Washington. Gilbert Arenas was a really quick shooter off the break and in the offense, Antawn Jamison at the forward position was a catch and shoot guy in the early offense, so I don’t see those type of players here and when we were hit by injuries especially Gilbert we had to slow it down because our backup guards weren’t fast enough (DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels) so we slowed the game up a little bit. I really envision our 76ers being a high possession team”.

(not surprising but still good to hear. After all that’s what Sixers hired him for, I guess)

(Chris – Heard in the cheap seats) One of the primary weaknesses of this team last year was defending the perimeter and I’m curious what is your philosophy is on the defensive end of the floor particularly around defending the three point shot?

Eddie Jordan: “Well you emphasize containing the defense, you emphasize containing the dribble. One of the first things you work on, and work on very often throughout the season is one-on-one containment. If you can defend the first dribble, then you’ve done 80 percent of your job on the perimeter. If you get deep on the first dribble than it’s hard for help to come.

If you can stay in front of your man on the first dribble than that’s how you can stop the draw and kicks and you don’t have to help so much. When you help you leave somebody to help and there’s a shooter left open or the next guy passes to the next guy.

So that’s number one, you have to defend the first dribble and defend the dribble on the perimeter. How do you do that? First of all you’d like to have guys who are defenders first, you have to have athletes. You have to be able to move your feet, stay in front of the dribble, change direction, and sometimes get up on somebody to make it hard for them to even put the ball on the floor.

That’s how you can number one stop the three, two if there is help you have to keep coming in the rotation and that’s a term we use throughout the season. Don’t stop your defensive rotation, if they draw and kick and one guy flies at him another guy must come and another guy must come so keep coming and you have to run people off the three.

You have to rebound the ball and not give a guy a second chance because you see a lot of games where there’s an offensive rebound and a kick out for a three. Those are daggers as we like to call them. So again stay in front of the dribble, keep coming in your rotation if there’s a breakdown, and you have to rebound the ball so there won’t be a kick out for a three”.

(Ricky – Sixers4guidos) In terms of veterans inside the locker room, Andre Miller might not be back, same for Theo Ratliff and Donyell Marshall. Do you think the team will need a couple of veterans to keep the locker room united and also to play on the floor or are you fine with 25 year olds running the show?

Eddie Jordan: “I think that’s a good question, that’s a good point. You always like to have solid veterans in the locker room to keep everything professional, to keep a work ethic, to keep a focus, to keep a serious mindset of going to practice everyday, and that’s very important.

Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler were great leaders in our locker room in Washington. You like to have responsible veterans to be there and keep our young guys focused. It is a relatively young team, but I do think our young guys are very serious and they have great work ethic. I’m talking about Thaddeus Young and even Andre Iguodala is still very young and has great work ethic and a serious mindset. That is a big part in the NBA”.

(yes coach, I always raise good points…LOL. Let’s expect another couple of seasoned players to be signed to replace Theo and Marshall. And you are right about Thad and Andre)

(Dannie – ReclinerGM) How would you address the roster the way it is in terms of strengths and weaknesses?

Eddie Jordan: “I haven’t had much time to talk about personnel with our front office. I just got the job on Friday and we’re looking at the draft and working guys out tomorrow. We’ve already addressed some issues with the team: three point shooting, point guard if Andre doesn’t come back, and probably another big man that can defend in the paint.

Right now I think the playoff experience that this young core group has had is very important they’ve got to the first round two years in a row. Number two this team competes. They’re undersized but they compete. I think that’s partly due to one of the best players being defensive minded: Andre Iguodala.

If one of your best players defends than everyone else follows. It’s a young team it’s a team that’s got some talent and some young players that haven’t played a whole lot like Jason Smith.

Plus Elton was out all year and he’s been a continuous all-star. So I like the fact that they compete and they’ve got two guys coming back from injury that didn’t compete last year”.

(Great point about Iguodala, but unfortunately the playoffs experience of 2008 didn’t help much in 2009, as the run ended exactly in the same way…)

(Brian – Depressed Fan) Will there be a full-time shooting coach on staff?

Eddie Jordan: ”Yes it is something we’re looking into. We hope there will be”.

(definitely good news. How about hiring also a FREE THROW SHOOTING COACH, full time ??)

(Brian – Depressed Fan) Coaching against the Sixers you were 7-11 against them and I was wondering as an opposing coach what is the look on the Sixers. What are you trying to shut-down what are you trying to exploit? As the Sixers coach what are you going to do to try to improve those areas?

Eddie Jordan: “Number one when you’re going against the Sixers you want to prepare to not turn the ball over. They’re a very fast team and if you turn the ball over against the Sixers than they can get out on the fast break on you and score on the open floor.

So number one, limit your turnovers. Number two you can’t allow them to get offensive rebounds. Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala can both hit the glass and they both pose problems on the offensive glass.

I also think that the bench with Lou Williams coming off and Willie Green was coming off the bench at one time, I think the bench had a lot of risk takers but they turned you over. You’d have to keep the energy off their bench.

Now as far as us as a team when I’m coaching them I think you have to be a lot more organized and a lot more often in the offense. I think that’s a big key for us this year”.

(great question by Brian, who knows the game well. Jordan’s reply is good in theory, too bad the record shows his plans didn’t work, LOL. Ok, chill out, I’m just being evil…)

(Jeff – Philadunkia) The shooting guard position has kind of been a pressing issue during the off-season so far. I saw that you have Toney Douglas of Florida State, Stefon Jackson from UTEP, Jodie Meeks from Kentucky, and Terrance Williams from Louisville coming in tomorrow to workout who are all shooting guards. Is this definitely a need position that you’re looking into in the off-season?

Eddie Jordan: “Yes it is a very big issue that we’re addressing that we need better three point shooting whether it’s from our forward or from our guard spots. Both positions have to improve and the coach and the coaching staff has looked at improving through development.

Now that’s not always going to be the end all, we need to acquire better shooters. Our job is to continue to work with our players and see if Willie Green can be a better three point shooter, if Andre Iguodala can be a better three point shooter, if Lou Williams can be a better three point shooter.

I had DeShawn Stevenson the last two years and he improved to be a 40 percent shooter last year from the three point line. So its how much work can our current players put in and how much work our players are willing to put in with our coaches to improve and get better.

Than its up to our front office to see if we can make transactions where we can acquire, without losing our core guys, some shooters”.

(I’d pay to see Green turning into a Stevenson type of three point shooter… If coach Jordan manages to reach this goal, he will be officially proclaimed the new Red Auerbach)

(Anthony – Heard in the cheap seats) The coaches last season tried to fit Elton Brand into a certain system and than he obviously got hurt. So how do you see Elton Brand fitting into what you want to do, especially offensively? Also do you believe as a coach it’s better to fit a player into your system or kind of tweak the system to better utilize the skill-sets that certain players have?

Eddie Jordan: “Number one Elton will be moved around in the offense, he’ll be facing the basket from the logo area, he’ll be facing the basket from the elbow, he’ll be posting up on the box.

He’ll even look at the basket from the top of the key or between the top of the key the free throw area, he’ll play a lot of two man games off the elbow like Kobe and Lamar Odom would do or Kobe and Gasol would do, hopefully he can get out and run, than we’ll do some pick and rolls with forwards and guards and Elton likes to pick and than pop so all those options are available for Elton in this offense.

Number two, I think that Elton is a guy who has to defend the post, but again a lot of these things will work out in training camp. Good coaches develop players and fit a system with their players. Whether it’s the triangle, whether it’s the UCLA offense that Jerry Sloan has been using for 20 some odd years, we fit the offense to our best players and that’s what good coaches do.

Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler were the highest scoring trio in the NBA in the system and before that Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, and Antawn Jamison were the highest scoring trio in the NBA and that’s because we tilted the system to fit our best players”.

(Ricky – Sixers4guidos) Is there any chance that Thaddeus Young could evolve into an Antawn Jamison type of power forward?

Eddie Jordan: ”That’s a very good comparison. I think he could because Antawn was an interior player to start and even when I talked to coach Dean Smith he said that he saw Antawn had been taking a lot of threes and he never thought that he would evolve into that type of player but it’s effective and I said yes coach he’s worked on it and he’s been an unorthodox player since he’s started with scoring in the paint and he moved out to the three.

I think Thaddeus being left handed could pose some problems of first being an interior player and we’re going to see if he can move out and improve his mid-range jump shot and see if he can make a high percentage of his three point shots”.

(again, I knew I rock, LOL… actually I hate comparisons, but I know you americans like them so I threw one out there. I like both Thaddeus Young and Jamison so I would be happy to see this “transformation” happening)

Thank everybody, it was nice to have the chance to do this and all bloggers did a great job, each on his part. Sixers said this kind of interaction could be repeated soon, maybe with the GM or some of the players, so stay tuned.