Bob Cooney: Brand an early concern for Sixers

The generously listed 6-9 forward was brought in here, courtesy of an $80 million, 5-year contract, as the biggest free-agent signee in the summer of 2008. He wasn't thought to be the missing piece that, say, Moses Malone was to the 1982-83 team that won 65 games and strolled to the NBA championship. But it was assumed that Brand would provide substantially more than he has.

This is where it gets a little dicey in the arguments concerning his signing.

The other free agent the Sixers coveted was Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith. He was a restricted free agent, though, so whatever money the Sixers threw at him ultimately could have been matched by the Hawks.

The Sixers and general manager Ed Stefanski did their best to lure Smith - wining and dining him much as the Phillies did for Jim Thome before the 2003 season. But the fact that they ultimately could not lock him in hung like a black cloud.

So there was Brand, who was offered huge money from his previous employer, the Los Angeles Clippers, and from the Golden State Warriors.

This is where the poker thinking started. With the Hawks capable of matching what Stefanski could offer Smith, had he not offered a contract to Brand, he would have been left empty-handed.

Many might say that would have worked out best, as the Sixers then could have been patient, maybe suffered a year or 2 through poor seasons, and built the team with drafts and the money they had saved.

Of course, they didn't. They signed Brand, who was coming off a ruptured Achilles' injury. Matters were further complicated when Brand had season-ending shoulder surgery after playing in only 29 games while averaging 13.8 points and 8.8 rebounds in his first season with the Sixers.

Now, the situation has been thrown fully into a blender, as new coach Eddie Jordan doesn't appear to have enough confidence in Brand to have him on the floor in key situations. Brand has not played in the fourth quarter in four of the past five games. In those games, he has averaged only 24 minutes, 7 points and 5.2 rebounds.

A bad move by Stefanski to sign the Duke product? Perhaps.

Too early to tell? Again, perhaps.

This much is obvious: Brand is not the player who came to the Sixers with an average of 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in nine NBA seasons. He probably isn't as unproductive as the player who has averaged only 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game this season. But he is now 30. And maybe finding his old form after the injuries and at his age just isn't possible.

Brand is the ultimate professional. For weeks, he's been questioned by the media about what appears to be a deteriorating game, and for weeks he has answered every question. He is a workhorse on the practice floor. He is the ultimate teammate.

He also is a player going to battle without a full arsenal of ammunition.

"Elton is trying to find his way, no question about it," Stefanski said yesterday. "Basically he's had 2 years off from playing games. I think the more games he plays, the better he'll progress. [Wednesday night against the Nets], he was much more lively rebounding the ball early in the game. So I think it's a matter of a process here. And then of him not playing at the end of games - well, what's happening is a lot of teams that we've played so far are playing one 'big' and four 'smalls,' and the other thing is Marreese Speights is playing great basketball."

Which is another bone of contention among Sixers fans - a second-year player making minimum money taking minutes from the star free agent.

It doesn't sit well with Brand, either.

"I'm a realist, I understand," Brand said of the fans' frustration. "You get a good contract, and you're expected to produce numbers. But I just feel that in practice, I'm getting better. It's a long season. I have total faith that I'll be fine and that the team will be fine. That's the most important thing."