Update: Workouts, Kaman, Ellis, etc.
The 76ers have already held four pre-draft workouts and they announced today that they won't be holding anymore until next week because members of the front office are traveling overseas for a scouting trip. So we can all rest easy that this weekend won't produce an onslaught of draft prospect info. (Or am I the only one who will rest easy with that news?)
Update: Workouts, Kaman, Ellis, etc.
The 76ers have already held four pre-draft workouts and they announced today that they won't be holding anymore until next week because members of the front office are traveling overseas for a scouting trip. So we can all rest easy that this weekend won't produce an onslaught of draft prospect info. (Or am I the only one who will rest easy with that news?)
As for trade info, this is a busy time of year. As Sixers president Rod Thorn has said, he talks to "15 to 20" teams a week about potential trades. Some are more specific than others, some get leaked and some don't. Right now we're working with two specific trades the Sixers have (as confirmed by the Inquirer and Marc Stein of ESPN) discussed: swingman Andre Iguodala to the Golden State Warriors for guard Monta Ellis and Iguodala to the Los Angeles Clippers for big man Chris Kaman.
Both deals can be done straight up and both deals fill a hole -- one for a scoring guard, the other for a big man -- that the Sixers need filling. As we've said repeatedly here, the priority in trading Iguodala is landing a scoring guard. Filling the need at center can come in other ways: the draft, free agency, etc. If Iguodala is the biggest chip, then he has to bring back the most crucial need. Take from that what you will. We'll stay on both of these trades.
We caught up with Iguodala this week at the NBA Players Association's broadcasting school, which is held in affiliation with Syracuse University. He hasn't yet started working out because he's been resting his knee and his Achilles tendinitis that hindered him throughout last season. He leaves today (Thursday) to go over to China for a Nike program he does every year. He said when he returns from China, he's cleared to begin working out.
There's a lot of news out there: Sixers sale, potential trades, draft, workouts, lockout, etc. We'll be getting it on here whenever it's relevant. On Friday (tomorrow), we'll be holding our weekly Live Chat at 1 p.m. We'll be taking all questions about the Kaman trade, the Ellis trade, the potential sale, everything, so please join in if you have a few minutes. Also, this weekend is Part IV of our Sixers 2.0 Blueprint series. That will be in Sunday's edition of the Inquirer. As always, please follow on Twitter, that's where everything goes first: Deep Sixer.
--Kate
Each week, Kate will check in from the road and answer fan questions about the Sixers. Click here to ask Kate a question or e-mail her at kfagan@phillynews.com.
@xing. I smell what you're cookin now. Yes, we agree. I guess the way i wrote that i can see how it would be misinterpreted. I was trying to emphasize the point that if we were to get beasly who plays PF also, then we would need to get rid of ,brand but i just don't seen MN or any other team taking Brand's contract right now..
@joeyc444. i totally agree with you. Everyone keeps posting about iggy while brand has gotten a chase utley pass this season. he had a solid season, don't get me wrong, but the fact of the matter is, I personally believe he knew he wasn't 100% 2 yrs ago and he still accepted the deal(can't blame him if our mgmt is dumb). brand is the elephant in the (cap)room because he's older, more injury prone and a bigger question is: can he give us the same production for 2 more yrs straight? i highly doubt it.
These guys will build off last season. Iggy will have a chip on his shoulder and i think will have a great season if 100% healthy. jrue & evan & thad will only get better. so keep the core unless something fantastic just blows them away for iggy that they can't refuse.(no not kaman or ellis)..
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K4 knows about checkdowns I agree wtih you homie. Some of these sheeple on here don't watch the games and say what they think is the right moves for the team. Ellis makes no logical sense; He would if we had a team along with a center built on defense and he was the sole offensive threat(iverson in "01" anyone?). I slightly disagree with you that doug won't play whomever is drafted. I think he had a grudge in which stef wanted evan and doug didn't, so he stuck it to the player instead of his boss! It'll be interesting to see if thad leaves whether he'll play brackins or not.
Evan has been ripped unfairly. i think there was so much pressure on doug to return the team to relevancy that he did whatever it took to win. Evan didn't get the minutes he should have. The sixers weren't poised to win it all this year so he should have played him. And in a weak draft, we would have had a higher pick; (maybe that doesn't matter now) but the final reacord was what cheeks had i think. Yeah we really improved with a .500 finish from a horrible eddie jordan. Doug's second year is when we'll see what he's really capable of. His past record indicates otherwise.
— Mack of the Pack
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.
