76ers make trade
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
76ers make trade
Here's the official deal: the 76ers have traded guard Royal Ivey and center Primoz Brezec plus a second-round draft pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Jodie Meeks and center Francisco Elson. It was initially reported that the Sixers would receive a second-round draft pick, but that information was backwards, they have given the second-round pick.
Earlier at Sixers practice, saw Brezec standing against the wall being talked to a lot, didn't see Ivey, but was told he was at the practice. When I asked to talk to Ivey -- a little bit late -- was told he was already gone from the facility.
Here's what Ivey Tweeted earlier: "Well it's done I'm going back to the Mil! It's been real going miss my teammates real rap! It's a business got to get it!"
Here's what Andre Iguodala Tweeted: "Shout out to my man Royal Ivey, one of the best t'mates I ever had. Didn't get to show what he could do this year, but will show and prove: Good Luck!"
According to a source close to situation, the Sixers were most interested in getting Meeks, a 6-foot-4 rookie shooting guard from Kentucky who the Sixers were reportedly interested in drafting this past summer. This season, Meeks is averaging 4.1 points in 11.9 minutes a game. In the 2009 NBA Draft, Meeks was the 41st overall pick by the Bucks. He's 22 years old and, for anyone following college basketball, was a big-time scorer at Kentucky and shot 40.6 percent from three his junior season (he didn't stay for his senior year).
Meeks is making $650,000 this season and has a 3-year deal.
Elson is a 7-foot center-forward in his 7th NBA season. He's played in only 11 games this season, averaging 0.9 points in 5.6 minutes a game.
Again, the heart of this deal was to get Meeks.
Ivey and Brezec have played -- to say the least -- a very limited role this season on the Sixers, with both spending a good deal of time on the inactive list.
Obviously I can already predict the reaction to the news of this deal, especially considering the deals going down around the league right now including names like Boozer, McGrady, etc. It looks like a non-move, non-impact, etc. Agreed that it's not changing anything for this season, but getting a guy with upside like Meeks could help the team in the shooting department, especially going forward. (Read: next season.)
I'd say, going forward, the Sixers picked up a player -- Meeks -- that could fill a void they need filled. A shooting guard who (supposedly) can shoot. Not a starter, but a guy that could potentially be in an 8-man rotation. As the trading deadline of 3 p.m. closes in, we've learned the Sixers/Stefanski believe(s) in the talent on this roster.
So now that the details of the trade are confirmed and the specific are down, let's get to the more important thing: Does it matter? What's this trading deadline say about the Sixers?
The Sixers believe they have the roster/talent to be a playoff team. If they didn't believe they were better, significantly better, than their 20-33 record, they would have made a big-time move. They didn't. They didn't because they believe this season has been a worst-case scenario. What's it mean if the franchise believes in the ability of the players, but is confused about the record? It probably means that a hefty portion of the blame for the record is going on the shoulders of Eddie Jordan.
If you were sitting around talking about the Sixers and their lack of a headline-worthy deal, you'd come to the conclusion that Stefanski doesn't believe the roster is the issue. If he'd made that big-time trade (taking McGrady's expiring), he would essentially be saying that this 20-33 record was because of the roster, nothing else.
Instead, Stefanski kept his roster in tact and gave up a future second-round pick for a guy, Meeks, he thinks could become a contributing member of something better in the future.
Right or wrong, the Sixers are holding tight with their roster. But will they hold tight with everything?
--Kate
Elson wasn't traded this morning. The Bucks changed the deal with the Bulls to send Joe Alexander and Hakim Warrick for Salmons, so maybe you should do your homework instead. Meeks is a decent prospect. He certainly won't burn the house down, but he's a solid outside shooter who doesn't have as one-dimensional a game as Kapono. He could definitely steal some minutes from Willie Green. I like this trade, getting a young prospect for two guys who usually are in dress clothes at the end of the bench, plus a 2nd-rounder, which is where the Sixers drafted Lou-Will, Willie Green and Kyle Korver.— the theory- I see Ed is bored and is making a useless trade just to keep the illusion his job matters— LGbalsac
- What the Sixers have needed now going on 10 years are guards who can actually shoot. Again we fail to do this. Stefanski and Snider need to both go!— Grill
- What a joke— sjguy1979
- Sorry kate, im wrong. espn has retracted the statement that Elson was traded to chicago. And Ivey has tweeted that hes going back to Mil— Rabel
In other news, Ed Stefanski passed gas in his leather office chair today - it was the most productive thing he did all day.— dpcoz- So why is it being reported then that the Sixers are the ones who gave up their 2nd round pick?— khouse
- What time is the press conference?— elfman
- Meeks fits Jordan's Princeton system, which is bad news for fans; Eddie J. is here to stay!— chuckw
- uuuh why couldnt we just combine the 2 teams and call them the Milwaukee Sixers, cut half the team and play half of the games there and the other half here, at least we would have been half way satisfied......Geez— AFRO_FACTS
- Still trying to improve the team and doing a poor job at it. Other teams are getting expiring contracts. That's the way the game is played Ed. Wake up. Can't even lose right. The ultimate loser GM, coach and organization.— pgcd3
- I keep hearing the meeks is supposed to help our shooting, he shot 40% from 3 in college, etc, etc., but what im seeing is that we traded Ivey, who averages over 40% from three for the year for a guy who is averaging 28% from three this year. What gives? It looks to me like we gave up a solid definsive role player who has shown steady improvement as a shooter for a projected & gave up a second round pick to do it.— duder
- whats the point???????— fkd629
- whats the point???????— fkd629
- This will boost attendance and bring us back to championship contenders. Stephanski has to go!— raw84
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
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.
