Update: Workouts, Kaman, Ellis, etc.
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Update: Workouts, Kaman, Ellis, etc.
According to a report, the Sixers are in trade talks with the Clippers involving Chris Kaman. (AP Photos)
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.
Comments (64)
Why does Iguodala need to bring back a scoring guard? If he gets you a big man, couldn't they play Turner at the 2, Young at the 3 and then look to draft another scoring guard? Isn't a good big man harder to find than a good shooter?— dawk2020- Agree with you completely dawk2020-- Monta Ellis does not play defense-- I can't see him and Collins meshing. Kaman would be great if he wasn't injury proned. A trade for him scares me like the Moses for Ruland deal so many years ago. In a perfect world we would draft Enes Kanter and Iguodala would work on his game instead of saying he is trying to get away from basketball for the summer. I still say Craig Brackins might be just as good as anyone they can get at #16 in this draft. This draft is horrible.
— jojotr44 - It takes two to tango... A trade can only happen if the other team wants what your offering. Yes, I would love to trade Iggy for Andrew Bynum, or Iggy and others for Nene and JR Smith, or Iggy for D Wade!!! But do any of these teams want Iggy and his monster contract. So you need to find a dancing partner who actually wants to dance. Before we gave Iggy $80 mil for 6 years, the teams that wanted him and drove up the price was Clippers and Golden State. So that is likely why we are looking a Clippers and Golden State for a trade...they might want Iggie. Kaman played well with Brand and was actually an Allstar with Brand, but is injury prone. Ellis was targeted in the draft by Sixers when we had only a 2nd rounder but was taken a couple picks ahead by Golden State and the Sixers ended up with Lou Williams. So there is a reason things happen. But at the same time, Thorn has to get a agressive and ask other teams that maybe never showed any interest in Iggy. Focus on teams with needs for defense, and with several good pieces to bring back. Bynum would be great, Jersey kid, Long with a mean streak and just had a blow up with Lakers after they tanked to Dallas. But do the Lakers or any other team you suugest, want Iggy? That is the question???? — Fo Fo Fo
- Iggy played pretty well last year with achilles tendonitis. I've had it for two years now. It's unpredictable, chronic (it doesn't heal easily), and definitely limits what you can do. In some ways, snapping an achilles (see: elton brand pre-trade) is way more painful but easier to totally return from, apparently.— Leegles
- If you trade Iggs, Thad Young can play his natural 3 position. Then you have Jrue, Monta Ellis (who is a scoring STUD), Thad, Elton, and a center to be named later. Turner off the bench to spell Young when we go small because he's tall enough to play the 3 position against most other teams. Then get servicable big men to grab rebounds. Ellis, Holiday, Thad, and Brand should easily handle the scoring, as Ellis will take 25 shots a night if need be, and their not high arcing bricks like Iggy takes.— Clearly Ambiguous
- I'd love it if people would stop saying Thad's natural position is the SF. He's played well at SF any year. He doesn't play 4 because Iggy is in his way. It's out of necessity — dmanns
- Just get rid if Iggy PLEASE.....trade him for a water boy....with him around Young is out of place...and he's better than stinky...i mean Iggy
— mbutley - I dont usually gripe about a bad article but how about some info on Kaman since the article headline has him as the potential player to be traded for.— PhillyFever
- No, they should not explore Iggy for Kaman. A few yrs. ago Kaman was good, but due to injuries he has lost a lot and he's not enough of a defensive presence. If we do trade Iggy, we should get back a player who will have an impact and should be a front-court offensive WEAPON. I say we try to get Beasley. I see people saying they would rather Wesley Johnson, he's a "nice little" player, but he"s no unstoppable scoring force. He's the type of players we already have on our roster, he"s not and we don't have a late game difference maker. Beasley is Carmelo lite. I say we try to trade Iggy for Beasley. Beasley has star power.— Anguilla Al
- Not convinced that trading Iggy has to get us a scoring guard when we need both a scoring guard and a strong rebounder/defender. It seems to me that the draft could be used to get whatever Iggy doesn't get, since there are many scoring/shooting guards available in draft. I understand they don't bring the proven aspect, but neither do the prospective draftable forwards to fill our gaping rebounding/defending hole.— JohnFC
- I would rather Ellis than Kaman. Not a knock on Kaman's ability but they guy just can't stay healthy. I'm not sure I would deal Hawes for Kaman if the salaries matched!— FetchDixon
Comment removed.- This story scares me to death.— MrSmithTP
- Andre for Andrew--that is, Iggy for Bynum.— Romus
- Hmmmmm, I love your articles Kate BUT is it possible, just a bit, that you want them to get a 2 guard due to your own propensity at shooting the rock?!?!? Just sayin'? ;)— andrewc23
- what I would do is trade Thad and the first pick for Beasley and Wes Johnson. Keep Iggy more valuable than Thad. Thad doesn't play hard like Iggy... Believe me. I've been a sixers fan for over 35 years and they always find a way to trade talent (hello Barkley) for has beens... New owners make the right call.— s1xers1
- Why not Iguodala and hawes for j.r. Smith and mozgov? Ellis is a loser. A scorer on a bad team. NO! How will that work with Lou and jrue. Come on.. This trade makes absolutely no sense. Smith has the size and big game experience v higher level competition. I don't care too much for Lou. Ellis and Lou are similar give or take. I want a TOTALLY different dynamic from jrue and Jodie. A skilled BIG guard. He's bigger than wade and as athletic as lebron. I like Jodie and jrue together. THE SIXTH MAN ROLE NEEDS TO BE UPGRADED! Smith upgrades Jodie and Lou all in one. If j.r. Wants to start. LET HIM! Give HIM that liberty. I does not matter what he decides. WE WIN! Give him his money. Give him freedom offensively. But he HAS TO commit defensively and to aggressively rebounding. It's win win with j.r. A total and COMPLETE fit! He does not need the ball because he can catch and shoot. He can create his own shot with the clock winding down. He can close the game. Not v ANYBODY BUT EVERYBODY! He gets his v everybody. I haven't seen it but I'm pretty sure Ellis has a match up. A player who can shut him down. His j is not pure. J.r.'s. J is a PURE STROKE! Considering he's a ball handler and driver who can finish over the rim. that's all any of you need to know. J.r. Smith instead of Ellis please.— combocancer1975
- Iguodala and hawes=Kaman Aminu.
the mle= Sam.
The 16 pick lou and noc or turner= j.r. Smith. The sum of the acquisitions are > than any 1 player.
#50. Jajuan Johnson benson nikola. Not one player. ITS THE PIECES THAT CREATE THE WHOLE!— combocancer1975 - i'd prefer ellis so we have a down the stretch go to guy and a shooting guard who can literally shoot for the first time since andrew toney was here. i'd still do Kaman but only because of the cap space he provides. either way, it's clear iggy's got to go. he's eating our cap space and just isn't a number one guy.— 76ers in 2076
- It's so hard to bounce back from a bad trade for a center but shooting guards are easier to come by. This is a tough one to call but I would package Thad and Hawes for Kaman not Iggy. I believe that giving Turner starters minutes at the 2 will help produce outside scoring, length defending on the perimiter and good ball handling on the break.— nceagle
- I don't think that Kate is the only one who thinks that a scoring guard is more important than a center. The people who Kate gets info from(76ers front office)must think the same way, which is why 76ers got to watch Dalembert for 8-9 years. A quality center, to me, is definitely a higher priority. A lot of people will probably think that Rudy Gay is a better player than Marc Gasol, and they may be right. But if Gay is healthy, and Gasol is out, does Memphis even get by San Antonio? Do they challenge OKC the way they did? Again, Gay would certainly beat Gasol 1-on-1, but it isn't a coincidence that most NBA title winners have quality big men.— 76erfn
- Yo stop saying that. THIS HAVES NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOTBALL! — Gotenks
- Comment removed.
don't forget hearsey hawkins.- AWESOME!!! RE-UNITE Brand and Kaman!! THAT'S ONE OKAY COMBINATION.— Gotenks
- 56/31/32......These are the # of games Kaman has played in 3 of the last 4 seasons. The 1 season he played a full year (still missed 6 games but we'll call a full year) he avg 18 and 9 boards...not bad at all but you cant trust that he can stay healthy. This would be an awful deal as I see igs being worth a lot more than this. Players around the league say Igoudala is the 2nd best perimeter defender behind Lebron and that HAS to count for something. While his scoring is inconsistent and he doesnt have the jump shot he should at this stage of his career, his defense definitely makes him an extremely valuable asset. Im not against trading him but not for this walking injury chump. Not excited about Ellis either, but could live w that over kaman.— mjtp03
- Aargh!!! Kaman's a stiff. Just because we need a big man doesn't mean you take an inferior one. That's the mentality that made us draft Sean Bradley. Just because you think it's time for a player to move on doesn't mean you trade him for damaged goods. That's the mentality that made us trade for Jeff Ruland. Kaman's slow, is a defensive liabilty, can't jump and often injured. If they trade for Kaman, check craigslist because I'm selling my tickets.— mtairy1
- kaman is a bonafide stiff, slow, weak, injury prone can't defend or jump looks like he is 55yrs old..reminds me of a guy the sixers already have..hogg man hawes you don't improve your team by getting this kind of trash, iguodala is strong can run and defend good passer and rebounder will avg 13-17 pts a game. don't sign kaman the kook or hawes the hogg they add absolutely NOTHING".— only 9
- Kaman is too unreliable and Monta shoots too much. The argument that the Sixers need a "number 1 guy" is specious. Last season, Iguodala was in that role and things could have gone a little better (especially if he were a good free throw shooter). Next season and thereafter will be a different story however as Holiday is maturing and Turner will not be a rookie. Those two guys are our offense down the stretch. Throw in Lou Will too if he's around- he loves to take clutch shots and he's pretty good at it. Ok, that problem is solved. Now, as for trading Iguodala, he was the best player on our team last season and he will continue to be a valuable player on the team for several years. Moreover, we were winning lots of games last season after the miserable start so the bottom line is that the guys we have now are winning. They can get 50 next season if it started tomorrow.— incog69
- No
NO
And HELL NO!— BlackFeet01 - I've heard of the possibilities of swapping our pick with Minnesota, and Wesley Johnson which possibly might include other players from both squads. Or making a deal with Sacramento involving Omri Casspi and their #7 pick. Much rather do these deals.
http://www.libertyballers.com/2011/5/17/2177031/the-sixers-should-inquire-about-the-second-pick
http://pardonmybias.com/nba/should-the-kings-trade-for-andre-iguodala.html— BlackFeet01 - I disagree that trading Igoudala has to land the team another scoring guard, but I still would rather have Monta Ellis over Kaman. Just from the talent standpoint. Ellis would be a definite upgrade over Igoudala. I'm not so sure about Kaman.— MrMiles1
- Keep Iguodala or trade him for a center. Then draft Jimmer Fredette.— jaslats
- s1xers1 I TOTALLY AGREE W/You, it's just that they continue to report al these trade Iggy threads. I don't want Iggy to go, but if he must, lets get someone worthy. I would trade Thad in A NY Minute, but there's no need for Johnson.— Anguilla Al
- Neither deal does much. Kaman is mediocre and Ellis doesn't have the best reputation for playing within a team and never has been with a winner. Wonder why?— alwaysphil1
- 76'ers are leaking the info for a reason, any ideas?— camasbud
- This trade would be a net loser for the Sixers. Despite all the trashing, Iggy was the best all around player on the Sixers, especially on D. If they trade him, it should be for a serious defensive center or a really good shooting guard and have Meeks come off the bench.— Salviati
- Just trade the guy already. Let Doug decide who he wants back for him. I trust Doug but not STIFFANSKI or THORN in our side.— The Marco Islander
- Trade Iguodala immediately for Monta Ellis, an electrifying 25-year-old budding superstar. You need to get your head examined if you have any hesitation about this. Can always get a big in the draft. -- Nollis Marie Milo— mariemilo
- Kaman? Are we serious? The Clippers have one player and it's not Kaman. We have to do better than this. We're in such a rush to dump one of the best defensive players in the NBA. Hope we don't end up with nothing.— jcybb2nc
- They need a DOMINANT big, not an ordinary big like Kaman. Wouldn't mind seeing them wheel and deal to land Kanter. I'd rather see them get Ellis and draft Faried or someone who can rebound rather than make a lateral move for a guy like Kaman. To me if he's not on the level of the top big guys in the conference then it's just not worth it.— stikolaboloni
- lol@ thorn in our side..
king kolb, you never fail to impress me with your wisdom about this team. At least i know you watch the games.
mariemilo, monte isn't all that electrifying. a spark next to Dwade or kobe, i'd go as fas as to say rose who acts like a SG at times.
I think the sixers are just throwing scenarios out there to see what teams will be desperate enough to bite. i have a funny feeling iggy is just a decoy and the sixers will deal Thad. i hate to see him go also, but thad doesn't have the D iggy does or goes up as strong.
The sixers hurt themselves by not giving young a deal earlier in the season(unless he commanded too much), can't say i blame them with the CBA looming though. Only way i can see thad and iggy coexisting is if thad asks for alittle less & doesn't mind being the 6th man off the bench. but that's not likely no matter how much doug butters him up— Mack of the Pack - @blackfeet..the link you posted with the iggy to MN. trade makes so much sense that the sixers FO won't do it because management works in illogical ways. I forgot that MN wants Vets. I would NOT send iggy & our #16pick though. It would be wes johnson and their pick for iggy and obviously we'd have to take back a crappy player to make the salaries work i guess.
MN will not give up beasly and we'd have to deal brand to get him.[not happening]unless you relegate him to SF and have thad back him up.i think much of thad's decision this seaon will depend on starting.
Wes johnson is the player supposedely that collins wanted all along (though he denies it) and the dude can hit from long range if need be.Plus he's a young SF that'll grow with Evan & Jrue. The only downside to this is, what do you do with Thad? I think he'd find it insulting to come off the bench for a soph(and he would for evan too should he play sf). should you keep both, then you're back at the arguement that young is not allowing wes to grow the way people are saying iggy is doing to evan(which i disagree with by the way). Do you then deal him? You won't get as much in return as you would iggy unless you just want to move up in this draft.
Truth be told, i wouldn't even send thad to LA for kaman. I'd send the kids mopping the floor on each possession halfcourt for kaman if they're tradeable; throw in a cheerleader or two also; we are 3-4 yrs away from being serious, so i'd say build your youngguns. pull the trigger on this one
— Mack of the Pack - Iggy for Ellis is better. Legit 20 pt. scorers are valuable. Ellis and Hawes teamed up is better any day of the week than Meeks and Kaman. And Kaman has played less than 1/2 the games two of the last three seasons.— DeanoP44
- Kaman would be a big mistake..He's on the downside and not really much different than Hawes. Ellis is the right move.. He can really score and it moves Meeks back to 4th guard where he belongs. What people need to realize.. you cant fill every spot in one year.. Get the stud scorer.. Draft a big forward or center this year.. And next year keep building with another big man.. Ellis is 25 yrs old.. Kaman is 5 years older..— bradco
- DRAFT PICKS!
What ever deal gets done they better make sure they get some extra draft picks for next years draft, which is deeper.
btw: Beasley has some star power and he gets my vote.— sdeens - Comment removed.
- I feel the greatest need that we can't hope to fill internally is a quality center/big man. We have the potential to develope a shooting guard within the organization(Turner?) A frontcourt presence Could be filled via the draft or trade. I just worry that we won't get equal value for a quality player such as Iguadola.— JamesSeitz
- THe advantage to Kaman is if he is his typical inconsistent, injury prone self, he has an expiring contract (http://www.spotrac.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/chris-kaman/), so that's 12.2 million off the books if you decide he's not worth taking a run at in 2012 (when he is an unrestricted free agent)— MattKnife
- I think the Sixers have another player they can trade in Nocioni, unless the thought is he gets more minutes with Iguodala gone. I would try to package Nocioni with Speights for one need and Iguodala for the other. Kaman only works because of his expiring contract, but how much room will the Sixers have after new deals with Young and Hawes? I don't like Ellis. We already tried a small scoring two guard who couldn't play D. It didn't work, and Ellis is no Iverson.— BeFrank
It was pointed out to me yesterday that Kaman's last big year was 2005-2006. Just say NO. Deja vue....Webber, Brand Kaman...NO THANKS.— scmona- Ellis and Kaman are both bad moves. Iggy was hurt this past year, and with rest he will be back to himself. Ellis is not the player AI was on offense, and is still a defensive liability. We should not give up Iggy for the toothpick of a one-handed offensive player. He will not take us over the top to make us legit contenders. Kaman- we don't even need to discuss. He is just a hobbled big year after year. Iggy will get us better than this. The FO is just floating this out there to see the reaction from the fan base. I'd rather keep Iggy than get these guys.— xing
- Mack of the pack- you think the Sixers wouldn't deal Brand to get Beasley? Brand the injured for 2 of the last 3 years? Brand the Phillymax contract guy who ma have us so close to the salaray cap? The Sixers FO would drive Brand and move his things to Minnesota if they were getting back a young player AND Minn would take Brand's salary off their hands.— xing
- I agree with Mr. Smith. Igoudala for Captain Caveman would be a disaster. I live in LA and hate the Lakers so I've watched some Clippers games. The best thing that can be said about Kaman is that he's a functional or serviceable as an NBA center when he's healthy. He'll never make an All-Star team, he'll never lead a team anywhere in the playoffs. Just because he could probably beat Spencer Hawes in a game of one on one doesn't mean you should be dealing your best player to get him in a Sixers uniform.— T-Money
- I like the Andre for Monta deal the best. Monta is pure poetry at the offense end. With a Collins' coaching staff getting on him and teaching him defense, he'll improve by leaps and bounds defensively.— Dion
- Here's the deal. Trade Iggy. you have to let Turner develope, and he can't do that with Iggy getting the minutes.he showed during the playoffs, that he can create his own shots. If he's working on his outside shot, BINGO! our go to guy. As for the big man, be smart sixers and get TREY TOMPKINS. A horse who already has a NBA post game and a tough rebounder and shot blocker. at 6-10 he'S OUR NEXT CENTER ! GO Sixers !— kerryt
- I hear you xing but it's easier said than done. Please enlighten me on a team you think is desperate enough to take on brand's contract with a new CBA looming at this stage of the game?— Mack of the Pack
- No one wants Brand's contract. That was my point, and maybe it was yours too. Maybe I misread your previous post, but I thought you were saying the Sixers wouldn't give up Brand for Beasley.— xing
- The team will be taking a step backwards if they trade Iguodala for Kaman or Ellis, but the step won't be far enough back to get another top 5 pick in the draft. They will win 40 games and move sideways yet again. They should keep the core (Iguodala, Young, Holiday, Turner, Williams and Meeks) in place (except for unloading Brand since he is 32 years old)and roll the dice and go after Greg Oden. If Oden doesn't pan out then so be it as it is it is the only possible chance that they will have in the next 3 years to challenge the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.— joeyc444
@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)..- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- 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
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About this blog
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.
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