76ers went to the wire with Rockets
Although the 76ers did not make a move by the 3 p.m. trading deadline, a source confirmed that they were engaged with the Houston Rockets up until the final hours before the deadline discussing a deal which involved Sixers' forward Jason Kapono and big man Marreese Speights in exchange for Rockets' forward Shane Battier. Houston ended up trading Battier to the Memphis Grizzlies for Thabeet and a first-round pick.
76ers went to the wire with Rockets
Although the 76ers did not make a move by the 3 p.m. trading deadline, a source confirmed that they were engaged with the Houston Rockets up until the final hours before the deadline discussing a deal which involved Sixers' forward Jason Kapono and big man Marreese Speights in exchange for Rockets' forward Shane Battier. Houston ended up trading Battier to the Memphis Grizzlies for Thabeet and a first-round pick.
This almost-trade was first reported by ESPN's Marc Stein.
Although Sixers were taking and making calls all the way up to the deadline, and this news is evidence of that, the team moves forward with the current roster. As noted in the previous post, keep an eye on Kapono and his $6.6 million contract, which could be bought out.
--Kate
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Kate, can you tell us the advantage of buying a player out? It just seems to be a favor to the player, but not really much advantage to the team who lets them go.— chriszak- Relieved this trade wasn't made. Speights has talent. Just doesn't get the minutes. Battier is as over-rated a player as there is in the NBA and the last thing we need is a 5th small forward. Memphis getting Rudy Gay for him a few years ago was the steal of the century— 7mel11
- why was there no affordable big man like Perkins (not asking for an allstart just an improvement over Hawes) available?— phatknot
Figured only Stefanski would have thought this trade was beneficial to the Sixers. The Fire Stefanski Chants would have started to come down if he pulled off this pathetic deal.
Keith Pompey has been an Inquirer reporter since September 2004. He takes over the Sixers beat after covering the Temple men’s basketball team for the past three years and Temple football the past two seasons. Pompey also previously covered the Penn and Drexel men’s basketball team and Villanova football team after initially focusing on high school sports.
Pompey is a native Philadelphian and a University of Pittsburgh. Follow him on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers or reach Keith at kpompey@phillynews.com.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
