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Sixers could be signing Antonio Daniels as insurance for injured Lou Williams

Nancy Lieberman's loss might be Sixers' gain? How is that possible? Well, the Sixers might be signing her star player in the NBA Development League to a 10-day contract.


With the right hamstring strain that guard Lou Williams suffered in Saturday night's loss to Milwaukee likely to keep him out for a while, the Sixers appear to be moving towards signing veteran point guard Antonio Daniels to a 10-day contract.

Daniels' coach with the Texas Legends, Nancy Lieberman, confirmed last night that the Sixers had contacted her about Daniels and that he would be in Philadelphia Monday to talk with the team.

In 38 games this season with the Legends, Dainiels has averaged 14.5 points, 8.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Lieberman said he has played his best ball of the season over the last eight games. In the past four games, Daniels has accumulated 40 assists and no turnovers. More than numbers, Lieberman said, it's the leadership quality that Daniels possesses that make him so valuable.

"He works hard, eats right and is very serious about improving every day," said Lieberman, the first woman to coach a men's professional team. "The best thing about Antonio are his leadership skills and the way he can communicate with young players. He takes the young players under his wing and shows them what professional basketball is on and off the court.

"This is bittersweet for me. As much as i want to see Antonio back in the NBA, I hate to lose someone like him. I think it is so important for a point guard and a coach to be on the same page. You see it all over the NBA. I think (Sixers coach) Doug (Collins) will have that same type of relationship with Antonio that other successful point guards and coaches have."

The 36-year-old Daniels, who is 6-4 and weighs 193 pounds, has played for five NBA teams after playing college ball at Bowling Green. In 868 games in the NBA Daniels has averaged 7.6 points and 3.4 assists. His best year came in 2004-05 when he averaged 11.2 points off the bench for the Seattle SuperSonics. His last season in the NBA was 2008-09 for the New Orleans Hornets when he played in 61 games.

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