Sixers should subtract Brand, Iguodala

ASSUMING THE NBA and its players aren't stupid enough to deep-six the handshake agreement that will get the season under way, I don't care much about the particulars of the deal.

Unless you're a family member or close friend, who gets what percentage of a huge pot isn't something that should concern you.

The bottom line is that the players are going to stay rich and the owners are going to stay even richer.

But with an amnesty provision included in the agreement, the Sixers need to take a step back from the progress they made last season under coach Doug Collins with the intent to move forward toward the future.

Much of the good things about the 2010-11 Sixers were amplified because they were compared to the wretched, one-season reign of Eddie Jordan that preceded it.

Realistically, however, the Sixers were a .500 team that got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by a team that went to the NBA Finals. Those are the same results as the 2008-09 team that no one believed was moving in the right direction.

The Sixers shouldn't try to fool themselves that they are more than they are. They have some potential in young players such as Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young (assuming Young, a restricted free agent, returns), but they need a good shake-up before becoming a serious player in the Eastern Conference.

The Sixers played about as well as could have been expected and finished seventh in the East. This is not an elite roster that can challenge the likes of the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic or New York Knicks.

With the amnesty clause, the Sixers have a one-time opportunity to change the dynamics of the roster.

It's simple. Use the amnesty to remove the remaining years of Elton Brand's contract from the salary cap and then trade Andre Iguodala in whatever deal that will take the remaining years of his deal off the books.

The Sixers' payroll of $54.8 million is 14th in the NBA, with the salary cap projected at around $58 million. There is not enough bang for that many bucks. If the Sixers waive Brand, that will shed $17.1 million from this year's cap number and, more importantly, $18 million in 2012-13.

If the Sixers can move Iguodala in a deal that will shed all or most of the $14.7 million in cap space he is responsible for in 2012-13, they may be able to jump-start their rebuilding program rather than spin their wheels for another two seasons.

The Sixers are not going to be a factor in this abbreviated season. They could set themselves up to have hope for a brighter future. If they can rid themselves of Brand's deal and make the correct kind of Iguodala trade, one that obviously involves expiring contracts, they could shed nearly $35 million in cap space for 2012-13.

Factor in Andres Nocioni's team option of $7.5 million for 2012-13, and the Sixers could be looking at a windfall of cap space to alter the roster.

Obviously, that won't all be available because you're going to have to sign draft picks, and you'd think they will want to get Young under contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season. But if the Sixers do this right, they could end the abbreviated season with Young, Holiday, Turner, Lou Williams and first-round pick Nikola Vucevic under contract and have the ability to fix the rest of the roster in meaningful ways.

Ultimately, it might not work, but it offers more hope than the Sixers presently have. And that's more than anyone could have expected out of the NBA lockout.