Sixers forward Elton Brand will be in the starting lineup for tonight's game, coach Eddie Jordan confirmed when he met with the media a little bit ago.

Speculation was that Brand, who signed with the club for five years and $80 million before last season, would be relegated to the bench to begin the game against Charlotte at the Wachovia Center and the Sixers would go in favor of a faster lineup.

Brand had been practicing at the center position this week with the second-team, while Rodney Carney had been running with the starters.

Perhaps it means more minutes for Brand, who could be part of several players trying to fill the void left by Marreese Speights, who is out six to eight weeks with a partial tear of the MCL in his left knee. It likely means an expanding role for Carney, especially because Jordan has indicated a fondness for his Carney's defense.

Jordan acknowledged that their has been a lot of soul-searching as far as the rotation goes, and said that they need to be patient with Brand, who has been hampered by injuries the past two seasons.

For now, Brand remains a starter.
 

Make no mistake: The 76ers would like to trade Samuel Dalembert. And Dalembert is more than ready to go.

But the Sacramento-Boston-Sixers scenario that turned up earlier today on ESPN's web site wasn't a live issue this week, last week or even the week before. It's something that was discussed before the start of the NBA's regular season, according to a source familiar with the Sixers' situation. And while the contract numbers worked, at least one of the three teams didn't feel a need to follow through.

The Sixers would have acquired Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine from Boston, and Kenny Thomas from Sacramento. The Kings would have added Dalembert and J.R. Giddens from Boston. The Celtics would have landed Andres Nocioni from the Kings.

This is just the latest rumor to surface since February, when Dalembert asked to be traded and the Sixers said they would attempt to accommodate him. At the same time, Marc Cornstein, Dalembert's agent, has clearance from the Sixers to try and make something happen. One major stumbling block has been Dalembert's contract, which includes a 15 percent trade kicker of roughly $3.5 million; that kicker must be paid by the team acquiring him within 30 days of a deal.

''There have been a lot of talks, a lot of different scenarios,'' Cornstein told the Daily News. ''I don't think anything is imminent or happening. They're making calls, and are aware that I'm doing the same.''

The same source said a rumored offer of Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic from Charlotte for Dalembert had no legs. Bell and Radmanovic ended up in Golden State in a deal for Stephen Jackson and Acie Law. The reconfigured Bobcats play the Sixers tomorrow night in the Wachovia Center.

Ed Stefanski, the Sixers' president/general manager, was unavailable for comment. 

Sixers forward Marreesse Speights will miss 6-8 weeks with a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. The injury was suffered Saturday against Chicago.

Speights met with reporters today as his teammates were back at practice today, beginning preparations for a visit from Charlotte on Wednesday.

“I felt it pop," Speights said. "When I fell, I was like, ‘Dang.’ Then when I started running, I couldn’t. I stole the ball from [Brad] Miller. My foot planted and then he ran into my leg.”

Speights said his course of action for now is rest and "a lot of treatment."

“I’m disappointed, but at the same time, when I get back I will be stronger and healthier," he said. " Hopefully, it [all] comes out good.”

*

The 76ers could have a challenge Wednesday that they did not anticipate. That will happen if the Charlotte Bobcats' latest acquisitions--Stephen Jackson and Acie Law--pass their physicals and are cleared to play.

The Bobcats acquired Jackson and Law from the Golden State Warriors earlier today in a trade for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. A Bobcats spokesman said they hoped Jackson and Law might join them as soon as tonight in Orlando.

*

More on Speights and what the Sixers do now in tomorrow's Daily News

Sixers forward Marreesse Speights will be out 6 to 8 weeks with a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, the team said today.

Speights was injured in the fourth quarter of the Sixers' loss at Chicago on Saturday night and did not return to the game.

He underwent an MRI exam when the team returned from Chicago and was examined by team physician Dr. Jack McPhilemy.

The injury is a substantial blow to the Sixers because Speights has been one of the team's best players early this season. He is averaging 13 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 23.4 minutes per game off the bench.

"We are discussing options and looking at a list of possible replacements, but don't see quick move," team president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in an email to the Daily News today.

The Sixers have 13 on their roster and 12 available players. Primoz Brezec will be active for the first time since the season opener when the Sixers resume play Wednesday at home against Charlotte.

Eddie Jordan, in his first season as the coach of the 76ers, views Elton Brand as ''one of 13'' on the roster. Reporters, observers and various scouts view Brand as something much more than that. He was signed two summers ago as the most heralded unrestricted free agtent in the NBA. He is working on a five-year contract worth $79.8 million. And he is struggling mightily. He hasn't played in five of the last six fourth quarters. He sat out the final 16 minutes of Friday night's 112-90 loss to the short-handed (9 men available) Utah Jazz. Who knows how much, or how well, he might play tonight in Chicago, the city in which his pro career began?

We know what we see. He came out aggressively against the Jazz, taking his first touch hard to the glass, only to have it stripped by Carlos Boozer, one of the several former Duke stars Brand sees as he goes around the league. But for all of Brand's aggressiveness, all he got for his night's work was 11 points and 3 rebounds in 24:08. He knows the team needs more, particulary on a night when the opponents, using an all-rookie backcourt of Eric Maynor and Wes Matthews, go up by as many as 26 points. How to do it is another matter.

Is it simply a matter of regaining his legs and rhythm as he comes back from a ruptured achilles tendon and a dislocated shoulder? Or just a matter of learning to play in Jordan'sd supposedly equal opportunity systerm that includes a lot of fast breaking and the use of a pass-and-cut, read-and-react Princeton system? And how much of it is psychological, between the ears?

''I've never been through an achilles injury; I don't want to put it on the injury,'' Boozer said. ''He's the guy I looked up to my whole career; he'll you that. He's helped me a lot in my career. He's got the body of a power forward and the quickness of a 3-man (small) forward) when he was with the (Los Angeles) Clippers. The achilles injury hurt him a little bit, but he's also trying to get used to a new system.

''In my mind, EB's a 20/10 (points and rebounds) I'm used to seeing. He's taught me how to do a couple different things being an undersized power forward. He helped me a lot, especially early in my acreer. I love him to death. He's a hard worker. They (ought to) give him some more minutes, some more touches, in my opinion. Nothing against the coach, though, but Elton, to me, is a great talent. They don't go to him a lot; they go to Thaddeus (Young) and Iggy (Andre Iguodala) a lot, and deservedly so. In my opinion, he's one of the best power forwards in the game. He juswt needs to get a little more opportunity.

''When he was with the (Los Angeles) Clippers, he was their offense, except for the year they went to the playoffs when they also had Sammy (Sam Cassell). For the most part, they went to him 5 out of every 7 possessions. But the system now is a little different. He told me it's hard to get going when everything is perimeter oriented. With the Clippers, it was inside/out; here, it's outside/in; when the perimeter players get going, then it goes inside.

''Don't get me wrong, I mean he has to step up to the plate and do his job, but at the same time they have to use him in a different way. Also, here in Philly, there are some tough critics. He's going to hear it every time, so he's going to try and do more and more. Nothing against what they're doing over there, but if I had Elton on my team as a coach, I'm going to feed him til he tells me he can't take any more. He's a star trying to fit in instead of standing out.''

Jerry Sloan, who was regarded as one of the toughest players of his era and has coached the Jazz the same way since 1988-89, said ''When guys get injured, they lose a little confidence. The organization has to fight to try and get him back; they know what he can do. Thast's what I'd try and do.''

''An injury can make it a job, I don't care who you are,'' Sloan added. ''Some guys handle pain better than others, but it doesn't get any easier. As a coach, all I can do is support (a player coming back from an injury). I can't run for him. I can't fight through for him.''

*****

Yo, Lebron:

Lebron James wants to switch from his No. 23 with the Cleveland Cavaliers to No. 6 because he thinks Michael Jordan's number should be retired. Nice sentiment, but faulty.Really, really faulty.

Last time I checked, No. 6 means Bill Russell in Boston and Julius Erving in Philadelphia. They're among the guys who helped create the NBA in which James has become a superstar.

I'm hoping league authorities don't cave in to this. They shouldn't/

Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams has left the team due to personal reasons, according to a post by the Deseret News. Williams, who is averaging 20.4 points and 9.9 assists, will not play when the Jazz visit the 76ers this evening at the Wachovia Center.

After Wednesday's 105-86 loss at Boston, Williams tweeted that the team was in need of change. Yesterday, he attempted to clarify, saying he wasn't looking for trades but just some changes in the lineup.

In a story by Ross Siler of the The Salt Lake Tribune, Williams said: "It's not the end of the world. I didn't mean to tweet like it was the end of the world. Just we've got to do something. I know the fans watching, I know the fans sitting at home, they're not happy with us right now. I'm not happy with us, either."

The loss to the Celtics dropped the Jazz to 3-5. In the game, Williams had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes of play.

Williams had been battling back and calf injuries, but had stated yesterday after practice that he would be okay to play against the Sixers tonight, though he did not participate in the full practice.

The third overall pick by the Jazz in 2005 out of Illinois, Williams has career averages of 16.3 points and 8.7 assists

Eddie Jordan remembers early conversations with Jerry Sloan, the Utah Jazz's now-Hall Of Fame coach.

''I've always done that, always talked to other coaches,'' Jordan was saying as the 76ers prepared for Friday night's game against the Jazz. ''I was a young coach, and he was very enlightening. He helped me out a lot. We had a few beers--he had a few more than I did--and I learned a lot.

''We try and incorporate some of what they do. I don't know if I could be as tough and hard-nosed as he is, but that's his makeup.''

Sloan, 67, has been the Jazz head coach since 1988-89. He owns 1,139 victories, fourth-best on the NBA's all-time list.

While most league observers doubt that any coach will ever again have that sort of tenure with one team, Jordan smiles and says ''It's possible. It could be possible. They always say records are made to be broken.''

Part of Sloan's philosophy has to do with reminding his players that the season is a marathon, and that things are never as good or as difficult as they might seem. He mentioned that to Jazz reporters the other day.

''That's a favorite line people use all the time,'' he said. ''But that's the way life is. You sometimes think the world is going to cave in on you when things don't go your way. But you get tested on your cfharacter. You get to see what kind of character you have. Do you fight back? Or do you just fold your tent and get in to the fetal position and wait for someone to carry you around?

''(The players) have to learn how to overcome (early struggles). A lot of guys haven't had any problems to deal with; things are going pretty good for them. When (things go wrong) guys sometimes get thrown out of sync and they've got to fight through that. It's fun to see them do that, though. That's a positive thing. I think they feel better about themselves for having done that.''

I don't see a lack of confidence in Elton Brand.

I don't sense him having doubts about himself.

I do sense . . . puzzlement.

Watching the 76ers' games, seeing him in practice, paying close attention to his interviews, I sense a guy in search of the rugged, bruising power forward he used to be.

But whatever he's looking for, coach Eddie Jordan apparently doesn't see it, either. Going in to tonight's game in New Jersey, Brand hasn't been on the court in two of the last three fourth quarters. He only appeared in the other one after Marreese Speights went out with a banged knee.

I'll accept that Jordan's eye, as an experienced coach, is more trained than mine, but I still don't see the explosion in Brand's legs. I see him bumping and grinding and using his strength and body positioning, but still struggling to break free for his mid-range jump shot or a hard move to the rim.

When Brand was with the Los Angeles Clippers, he knew when he'd be on the court, where he'd be spotted, how he'd be used. He doesn't seem to have that comfort zone yet. And it's even harder to find when some of the players around him, notably center Samuel Dalembert, are equally struggling. Those two have been trying to locate chemistry since early last season.

''I don't think I've had the opportunity to be out there and say 'Hey, let's do something different,''' Brand said after Tuesday's practice.

But understand this: Unless Jordan has a sudden, dramatic change of plans, the starting lineup will remain in place.

"We look at Elton and Sam as our starting 4 and 5 (power forward and center),'' Jordan said. ''We give them the chance to keep those minutes. They won that in training camp.''

And if, for the moment, that means Speights and Jason Smith are on the court down the stretch, so be it.

I don't think Jordan's plan is etched in stone for even the next 8-10 games, but I do believe Brand--as a veteran and as a major free agent acquisition--has earned the right to try and play his way back.