This mess gets messier
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This mess gets messier
Updated: Allen Iverson will not return to the 76ers this season. The Sixers officially confirmed this morning. Here's what General Manager Ed Stefanski said in this morning's press release: "After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply," Stefanski said. "It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life."
As if the 76ers on-court performance wasn't enough tonight, tonight became even more disturbing after the game.
Only a few minutes after tonight's 126-105 loss to the Orlando Magic, Sixers coach Eddie Jordan had some pretty harsh words about the character of his team. Here's Jordan's words from tonight's post-game press conference:
"We just didn’t respond in a passionate way. We lost the passion to compete. We saw some pooor body language and there was a couple of timeouts where we addressed it. And I wasn’t going to have it. I addressed it a couple of times; I addressed it just then, just now. It’s leadership or lack thereof. It’s contagious where misery, just one guy’s miserable and it’s just contagious throughout the team and we just can’t have. Someone has to stand up and try to rally the troops, your teammates. The coaches are certainly trying to do it every timeout, every time we get a chance to. But it doesn't come from the coaches ... We try to address it; we try to get them with some more spirit and some more positive energy. And it’s just hard when you don’t have that sort of internal leadership."
How often has he encountered the problem?
"Maybe once or twice, but certainly tonight was, I didn't want to see the same sort of body language, the same sort of lack of energy. We were right there with it. I don't know if it was worse than last year or about the same, but it was certainly addressed."
More from Jordan: "They just dominated the game. We were dominated. We were dominated. And whether you’re dominated or not, you have to learn how to compete, you have to learn how to rally, you have to learn how to hold your chin up, as individuals, as professionals, you have to learn how to do it. If you've gone through it before, and you went through it again, now is the time you should have learned some lessons and try to get it up. But, obviously, our team hasn’t learned it."
"You start to play the blame game and it really leads to a dead end, it doesn't go anywhere. I'm just going to go out there and keep doing what I've been doing my whole career, which is play basketball the right way."
jordan is supposed to be the leader and he ruined it. he needs to admit that this team was much better before he came along. he needs to go! i question brand's injury. guys like him don't want to play on a team like this. i think he is done for the season.— CBent1- Q- Whats the difference between the 76ers and the Titanic? A- The Titanic had dancing.— drmonday
Comment removed.- good job Jordan, it only took you 59 games to finally hold someone accountable, and even when you did that, you were still afraid to call specific names out. With the way this season is going, I wouldn't be surprised if Jordan is placing some blame on Jrue Holiday, simply because it's the most illogical thing he could do.— CallerNo9
- good job Jordan, it only took you 59 games to finally hold someone accountable, and even when you did that, you were still afraid to call specific names out. With the way this season is going, I wouldn't be surprised if Jordan is placing some blame on Jrue Holiday, simply because it's the most illogical thing he could do.— CallerNo9
- ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!— nixman101
- I'm glad Stefanski made those moves at the trade deadline. Oh wait, he didn't make any moves. Sorry.— scootch
well, you know what they say- there is a ying and a yang to everything. hence, Philly has the Phillies. and Philly has the Sixers…it all evens out.— bboybeballin- It's time for Jodie Meeks to step up and offer some real leadership. Can't this team be contracted?— mjb
- This team is imploding. I cannot understand how this team can play so pathetically and this coach still have a job. This is a better team on paper than last year and playing like they are the Clippers (opps, they just beat the Jazz). I know for a fact that if Eddie Jordan was to be fired, several season ticket holders will renew their tickets. I, being one of them, do not believe many will renew IF Jordan is still the coach at the end of this month. The ball is in management's court, what will they do???? I hope they finally fire this "coach" (word used technically).— dharner
- you can't blame everything on jordan. stiffanski is also an idiot, and the players are practically all stiffs, and many of them are well overpayed. the whole team is a disgrace. i would really love there to be just one game by the end of the season when the wach is just empty. like no fans. ZERO. that would be sweet— Menace.II.Sobriety
- Sad to think we could have and should have signed Josh Smith instead of Brand. Then again I guess an older guy coming off an injury that plays better in the half court game looked better at the time. So far Stefanski's best move as GM was to bring back the old unis.— bosshog
- i like how i clicked on a link that was supposed to be about iverson missing the season, and read 2 sentences about him followed by a bunch of ranting about how the sixers suck.
- hey bboyeallin, how ironic is it that when the sixers were doing good, the phillies were in the exact opposite. now yeah we got the "sixers and the philies" enough said.
- Jordan tonight sealed his fate, by essentially calling out his boss, Edward Stefanski, for putting together this slop, and his call out was followed by the Postgame show when Marshall Harris, Donyell Marshall, and Bruiser Flint all concurred that veteran leadership is lacking, players like Andre Miller, for example. Jordan probably wants out before his diminished reputation is further tarnished and is essentially prodding Stefanski to put him out of his misery. Just who is going to put Sixers fans out of their misery is yet to be determined.— chuckw
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.
