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Inside the Sixers: For Sixers, standing pat at trade deadline the best move

There's no correct way to feel about the 76ers' tradeless trade deadline. If you're generally an impatient, the-grass-is-always-greener type, you're likely troubled that the Sixers did nothing to improve their situation before Thursday's NBA trading deadline. Chances are good you're also frustrated when the Eagles punt on fourth and 1 from midfield.

The Sixers seem to be pleased with their current group of players. (John Raoux/AP file photo)
The Sixers seem to be pleased with their current group of players. (John Raoux/AP file photo)Read more

There's no correct way to feel about the 76ers' tradeless trade deadline.

If you're generally an impatient, the-grass-is-always-greener type, you're likely troubled that the Sixers did nothing to improve their situation before Thursday's NBA trading deadline. Chances are good you're also frustrated when the Eagles punt on fourth and 1 from midfield.

If you're more a practical, patient, bird-in-the-hand type, then you're likely relieved the Sixers didn't jeopardize their situation by acquiring some new player and messing with the fragile chemistry coach Doug Collins has created.

Chances are good you're content kicking a field goal from the goal line, as well.

Whichever lens you usually view the Sixers through - optimistic or frustrated - likely tints your view of this week's lack of happenings, too.

But the X-factor, for both sides, is Collins.

Let's be honest: It's annoying the Sixers never seem capable of putting together the big deal. For the third consecutive season, the Sixers held on to assets. (They didn't trade Andre Miller in 2009 or Samuel Dalembert in 2010.) Why does every other franchise within a few miles of the Atlantic Ocean seem hell-bent on getting something done?

The Boston Celtics, already twice as good as the Sixers, wanted a talented forward and were willing to part with effective big man Kendrick Perkins to get him. The New York Knicks pined for Carmelo Anthony, so they wrapped a package including three starters, put a bow on it, and shipped it to Denver. The New Jersey Nets were desperate for a star, and they mortgaged their future for point guard Deron Williams.

What did the Sixers do? Nothing. Quiet. Empty. Tradeless. It's just another season we get to hear about the "promise" of the team's "young nucleus" with "limitless potential," a group that will almost certainly get knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. The Sixers legitimately need another interior piece, a backup big man or even a starting big man, to be considered capable of upsetting the Celtics or the Miami Heat in the playoffs' opening round.

If you let yourself, you could get quite worked up about all of this.

But the X-factor, again, is Collins.

If it weren't for him, these columns of words would be oozing frustration about this franchise's unwillingness to deal their own, about their lock-tight grip on the players they drafted and then signed, a group of guys the front office seems committed to proving can get it done.

But we trust Collins. We have to after what he's done through the season's first two thirds. He's the buffer between frustration and calmness. If he says this roster needs the rest of the season as one, to prove itself, to evaluate who can do what in each pressure situation, then that carries weight. And it should. If he says swapping guys would disturb an offense predicated on spacing and a defense tethered by communication, then the next 24 games are his, with his guys.

Not many folks within the organization command this level of trust. You could hem and haw and point to previous failings and question the prudence of guarding a roster that has never been better than mediocre.

But what ulterior motive might Collins possess? He did not draft Marreese Speights; he did not sign Lou Williams to a five-year extension.

He simply believes in them. And that's good enough for us.

For now.