Philadelphia 76ers

It is probably among the more farther things on your basketball mind at the moment because the draft is coming up before the end of the month and OMG DID YOU SEE THAT GAME LAST NIGHT!?!?!?, but the Sixers are still looking for head coach to lead them on the court at the start of the Hinkie era, and Yahoo! Sports' Marcus Spears has provided us with an update on said search. Don't be surprised if Sixers don't hire a coach until after summer league, a source told Y! Collins' assistant's still got year left on deal — Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) June 19, 2013 It is not specified exactly why Collins's assistants, the most prominent one being associate head coach Michael Curry, are relevant here, although it is possible that they are needed to coach the Sixers in the summer league provided they do not find other jobs ahead of time. That being said, if the assistants do find jobs (and Hinkie should not have any issues letting with them out of their contract), then there are some, uh, interesting names from a bygone era still on the Sixers' payroll in some capacity.* *Dr. J. I'm talking about Dr. J. The initial reaction from fans over the extended wait may be a desire for greater urgency in hiring someone before everyone is picked over, but I'm not sure I see the downside to waiting things out. Sam Hinkie is a smart man, if he wanted to hire someone he felt would be easily picked over, he probably would have jumped on it more. Hinkie is gathering all the information and looking for the long-term hire to lead the Sixers into the future. The Sixers are not looking to contend now, but rather they are looking to build a team, and it is going to start with this coaching hire. The Sixers Front Office knows that they are doing and that feeling is so weirdly awesome.

If you have paid any attention to the basketball world since 2005, you are very aware of the Zeller family.  The family’s oldest son, Luke first joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2005 before graduating in 2009.  Tyler soon entered the college realm in 2008, suiting up for the esteemed North Carolina Tar Heels.  He graduated in 2012, but not before serving as a reserve in a national championship game and being named an AP 2nd Team All-American in his senior year. Then, along came along Cody.  After he posted a stellar freshman campaign in 2011-2012, he decided to stay at Indiana for one more season and was considered to be the front-runner for the top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. During the 2012-13 college basketball season, Cody and fellow top draft prospect Victor Oladipo, helped Indiana hold the No. 1 overall ranking in the AP Poll for a total of 11 weeks over two separate stints.  Tom Crean, Zeller and company earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were thinking championship.  But, a sensational season for Zeller and the Hoosiers came to end in a somewhat embarrassing defeat at the hands of Syracuse in the Elite 8. Putting IU’s “March Madness” disappointment behind him, Zeller went to work on his game and body.  All of the hours he logged were obvious during mid-May at the NBA Combine in Chicago, as Zeller tested off the charts in the Combine’s athleticism drills and physical measurements.  He did not participate in any live-ball activity in Chicago, but the reports from his post-Combine individual workouts have been stellar. That’s good news for Philadunkia nation as nearly every creditable NBA Draft blog or website has the Sixers picking Cody Zeller on June 27th, 2013.   According to the blogosphere, the Sixers selecting Zeller is a bigger lock than Kim Kardashian having her picture taken by the paparazzi today. Given the likelihood of Zeller becoming a Sixer, Philadunkia scribe Jake Fischer recently caught up with Cody before his workout with the Charlotte Bobcats to talk about his ongoing Draft process and the possibility of being selected by the Sixers at #11. Philadunkia:  What teams have you worked out for so far? Zeller:  I worked out in Salt Lake City (Jazz), Phoenix, Portland, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis (Wolves), Sacramento and Philadelphia. Philadunkia:  At the Combine, you told ESPN’s Andy Katz that you think you could be a Stretch-4 in the League.  How can you make that adjustment? Zeller:  It’s not too much of an adjustment.  I shot from the outside when I was growing up in Indiana playing high school and AAU and all that stuff.  So, it won’t be much of an adjustment. Philadunkia:  What’s your biggest strength on the court? Zeller:  I think just my quickness and athleticism for a big guy. I think I’ll be able to use that to my advantage to beat bigger guys off the dribble. Philadunkia:  What do you think is your biggest weakness? Zeller:  I think it’s definitely going to be a challenge going up against some of the stronger guys in the NBA, but I’ve always been undersized.  All the way going back to growing up with Luke and Tyler, I’ve always been undersized and I learned to make up for that with how hard I play. Philadunkia:  Speaking of your lineage.  What does having such a strong basketball family background add to your game and yourself as an NBA prospect? Zeller:  I think it adds somewhat just because I’ve been able to compete with them and I grew up playing against them and everything.  They definitely helped me growing up and now I’m able to bounce some ideas off of them. Philadunkia:  When you all get together, do you three still play out in your driveway or backyard? Zeller:  Yeah, for sure.  It’s been a while since we’ve all been together.  But we still compete and get after it when we get together.  We’re all really close off the court, so we’ll compete and get in arguments and stuff.  But, once it’s over we’ll help each other out and talk about what works and

In an unsurprising development, the Philadelphia 76ers frontcourt struggled mightily at times during Andrew Bynum's lost season. The question is, with that particular glaring weakness in mind, should Sam Hinkie specifically target a big man with the eleventh pick? <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> Not necessarily. The Sixers currently have a grand total of two players on the roster, Jrue Holiday and Thaddeus Young, who are thought of as surefire contributors on a contending team. That's not enough. What the Sixers have more than anything is a talent deficit, which badly needs an upgrade. When the Sixers are finally on the clock, if the best player left on Hinkie's draft board happens to be a point guard -- the same position that Holiday, the current face of the franchise happens to play-- he should select that player. Could Michael Carter-Williams or Dennis Schroeder, two lead guards who very well could be available at number 11, end up as the Sixers' first round pick? Draft Express, an excellent resource for anyone even remotely interested in the NBA Draft, currently ranks Carter-Williams as the 12th-best prospect overall and Schroeder 13th. Invoking the great Lloyd Christmas, I'm telling you there's a chance. These are two players that come from very different basketball backgrounds. While Carter-Williams was playing for American basketball fans on national television twice a week, Schroeder was putting together an extremely impressive season in Germany's highest professional basketball league Michael Carter-Williams, 6'6" guard, Syracuse Carter-Williams seems like one of the most obje

Brazilian center Lucas Nogueira has waited patiently, while developing his game in Spain's Liga ACB. Now, he'll finally take his talents to the NBA.

A few weeks ago, the editors of all SB Nation NBA team blogs had their very own mock draft via email where trades were allowed. We would basically be the GMs. If you've ever interacted with me in any way, you know this is my wet dream on steroids. So I WENT TO EFFING TOWN and emailed at least 20-25 of my Blog GM peers about trades. It was... awesome. Just ridiculously, crazy awesome. I hate that this reality is not the actual reality. I ran into some problems of GMs over-fetishizing their players (especially since I do exactly none of that with the Sixers), but I made two trades, which were announced as a 3-teamer, despite trying to make LITERALLY (LITERALLY!) thousands of trades. You'll read about them all in the next iteration of the LB group email thread. It was total chaos. Anyway, read about the trade I made here at Ridiculous Upside, who are breaking the entire Mock Draft in this storystream. It's a great exercise in just how insane this draft could be. Any one move could shake the entire framework of the draft. I'll round up some of the moves I was doing after the mock is totally completed in a few days. So here's the trade: SIXERS RECEIVE:DeAndre Jordan#7 (via Sac) - Anthony Bennett CLIPPERS RECEIVE:Spencer Hawes (!!!)Jason Richardson#35 (via Philly) KINGS RECEIVE:#11 (via Philly)#25 (via LAC) It initially started as a deal between the Sixers and Clips, where I had offered them Hawes/J-Rich for Caron Butler, Grant Hill, and #25. But then Hill retired and, somehow, the Clips GM offered DeAndre in their stead. After unrolling my tongue, we finalized the deal: Hawes/J-Rich/35 for DAJ/25. Moving Hawes, Richardson's contract, getting a young big with only 2 years left on his deal AND moving up 10 spots in the draft? Euphoria. Then I went to work trying to move up into the Top 7 of the draft. I had a deal in place with GM Rohan of the Hornets, but when Trey Burke fell to 6, he bailed. (You'll see when the thread comes out that I had like 8 deals in place that people backed out of. TOUGH LIFE.) Then I talked to Tom Ziller in Sacramento about the 7th pick. He wasn't in love with Bennett, so he was willing to make the deal providing a few of his guys were still around at 11. So that trade was 11 + 25 for 7. And I took Bennett. I'll talk more about the other trades I tried to make next time, but check out my reasoning and the Clippers' reasoning over at Ridiculous Upside. Here's what I said about moving Spencer: Have you ever been constipated? Not just "eat some Raisin Bran!" constipated, but the kind of constipated where you have to cut off your butt and just let it fly? That's what it feels like to trade Spencer Hawes. Sure, I've now got a rabid case of Assless Chaps, but that's totally worth it, don't you think? I'll be waiting for the influx of gifts and praise now, thank you.

Music is awesome. That's why we talk about it often here at Liberty Ballers. Whether it's a preview or a recap featuring a song with altered Sixers theme lyrics, or discussing tunes that describe your feelings towards the Sixers, there's no doubt about it: we're a musical blog. The arena music the Sixers play is only a natural topic of discussion here, then. Leave the basketball stuff to the basketball people. Sam Hinkie's too busy not hiring a coach and preparing for the NBA draft. Adam Aron is focusing on whether the court lighting should be darker or not (it should). Here at LB we focus on what matters MOST: the music. So we've got you covered. The first thing that stands out when you think "Sixers arena music", and I know there's a lot of you out there who think about that, is the obvious. Yes, the classic, old school 76ers anthem we all know and love. Some may think it's overplayed, but I'm a fan of the vintage tune. Sure, it's cheesy, but that's kind of the point. It's not like it's been easy to take the team seriously the past yea-- forever? anyway. Plus, it's reminiscent of the Franchise With The Third Most Wins in NBA History's glory days. The player introductions could be better. Although we've been teased with THE BEST PLAYER INTROS OF ALL TIME! before, I'm still not satisfied. I need next level player intros. I'm talking WWE stuff here. Each starter has their own video and song. Pyro everywhere. Jrue Holiday zip-lining down the WFC rafters HBK style."I'm just a sexy boy." Thaddeus Young making a surprise heel turn at Summerslam. And so on. Alright, maybe that's a little unrealistic. Still, I imagine the Sixers will need to update the generic pop songs they usually play. I want to hear artists like Blink 182, Sum 41, (+44), M83, U2, Boyz II Men, Three Doors Down, Matchbox 20, and the B-52s. Why? NUMBERS. Now that GM Sam Hinkie and his analytic presence is here in Philadelphia, it's time to embrace the numeric. Therefore, here's the top songs I want to hear: 1) #41 - Dave Matthews Band2) Ten Thousand Fists - Disturbed3) 19-2000 - The Gorillaz4) Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams5) Bound 2 - Kanye West* *Since choosing "the new Kanye West album in entirety" isn't practical, I'll settle for this. Kanye West's latest album, Yeezus, is my current obsession. Not to worry, I even power ranked the tracks for you pro bono. With all that said, I turn it over to YOU, the people. What list of songs should they play at Sixers games? What kind of music do you want to hear?

In our continuing efforts to keep you posted on the off-the-court life of 76ers icon Allen Iverson, we actually have a little bit of good news to report today. It seems Allen will be avoiding jail time — for now. According the the celebrity gossip juggernaut TMZ.com, shortly after Iverson’s ex-wife Tawanna Iverson filed paperwork stating that Allen owed her $40,000 in child support, Tawanna was back in court filing additional docs insisting Allen had all 5 of their kids holed up at an Atlanta hotel and refused to hand them over to their mother on the designated exchange date. I an not a an attorney, but that does not sound like a positive series of events for Iverson. However, according to TMZ’s sources, “The Answer” has in fact returned his kids to their mother.  Allen also testified in court that he was never holding them hostage in the first place. More from TMZ on Allen’s latest court appearance after the jump. According to TMZ sources, Allen appeared in Fulton County court in Georgia last Wednesday and told the judge his ex-wife had full access to their kids during their stay at the hotel and therefore he wasn’t doing anything wrong.  TMZ notes that Tawanna also testified that she could have picked up the children from Allen but didn’t want to drive 45 minutes to his location. After “Bubba Chuck’s” latest testimony, the judge decided the former 76ers star didn’t deserve to be thrown in jail — despite his ex-wife’s request that he be put behind bars — before the hearing.  The kids — ranging from ages 3 to 16 — were returned to their mother following the hearing. Additionally, sources connected to the case tell TMZ that Allen and Tawanna have worked out some of their issues and she has already allowed Allen to spend more private time with the kids. There is no word on whether or not Allen has paid Tawanna the $40,000 in child support he allegedly owes her. There has been no public comment from either side in this ongoing drama. My question is, “What do you think all of this is costing Iverson in attorney’s / court fees?”

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports The Philadelphia 76ers have a big decision to make this offseason. Last year, they went after a giant name via trade, landing former Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum. That move was supposed to give the 76ers a cornerstone to build on for years to come. That didn’t happen… …at least not yet. The 76ers could still re-sign Bynum this offseason. But, after not playing a single game for them in 2012, how do they know he is worth a long-term deal? Actually, how does anyone know he is worth a long-term deal? What the team could wind up doing instead is letting Bynum walk and investing in an established name on the market this summer. One of the biggest names hitting free agency is Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith. Having been on the trade block for what seems like years on end, Smith is seeking a big deal elsewhere. The 76ers may just be the potential suitor he is looking for. Of course, that may take some convincing of Smith to head to a team like Philadelphia. Not exactly title contenders yet, the 76ers still have a few pieces to get in place. Smith would be a nice start for them, especially playing with a guy like Thaddeus Young. Joining a front court that also features Spencer Hawes would form an underrated but very interesting group down low. Young and Smith would surely be exciting to watch and could give point guard Jrue Holiday some interesting highlight reels when all is said and done. Smith has been somewhat inconsistent at times, but overall is a phenomenal player with still tons of room to improve. Defensively, Smith is a great shot blocker and rebounder. Last season to go with his 17.5 points, he put up 8.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He also chipped in over four assists per game as well. There are few players with the arsenal that Smith possesses. He is an all-around player that needs the right team and environment to succeed. In Philadelphia, he could be ‘the man’ and with the direction of Holiday they could develop into a very exciting tandem. Smith may be a long shot for the 76ers in some eyes, but with the right type of offer it wouldn’t be too crazy to see him wearing a Philadelphia uniform come summer time. Ryan Heckman is a Senior NBA writer for RantSports.com also contributing to the NFL. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman  or add him to your network on Google.

Joshua S. Kelly – USA Today Sports While everyone is focusing on what the Phialdelphia 76ers will do with the 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, it is important to also note that the team has two second -ound picks in this year’s draft: number 35 and number 42 overall. The Sixers can take a few different approaches when it comes to the second round. Depending what they do with number 11, they can either draft a shooter and another big man in the second round, or they could package the picks to try and get back into the end of the first round to get a more polished prospect. Assuming they elect to keep the picks, one prospect to keep an eye on is Isaiah Canaan out of Murray State. Canaan burst onto the scene during the 2011-12 season when he averaged 19 points per game for a Murray State team that won its first 23 games of the season and eventually lost in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Canaan averaged nearly 22 points per game but didn’t receive the same notoriety because Murray State did not make the tournament. The knock on Canaan is that he comes from a small school and that he is not a true point guard. Damian Lillard (Weber State) also came out of a small school and was able to win rookie of the year for the Portland Trailblazers. As for not being a true point guard, look no further than former Philadelphia 76er Louis Williams. Lou Will, a former second-round pick, was an undersized shooting guard who came off the bench and gave the team a much needed scoring punch. Canaan would be able to do the same thing and could end up being one of those prospects that pans out in the second round. Guys like Marc Gasol, Monta Ellis, Manu Ginobili and even Willis Reed were all former second-round picks who have had successful careers. The Sixers could take a chance on Canaan and see if he becomes the next. Zach Slotter is a writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter, Like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.

It’s time for another edition of Philadunkia 4on4… As a reminder, this Philadunkia question and answer series is “loosely based” on ESPN.com’s highly successful, NBA related series of posts titled “5on5?.  Our version of this genre of posts will ask 4 Philadunkia scribes to answer 4 topical, hot button questions about our Philadelphia 76ers. Now you’re probably asking, “Why not simply stick with the “5on5? format that ESPN.com uses?” Well as any great hoops coach will tell you — playing 4on4 is the best way to truly learn the game of basketball. After the jump four key questions that are currently facing our 76ers and some answers from four Philadunkia scribes.  Included in this week’s edition are questions surrounding the upcoming NBA Draft, the Sixers coaching search and what the Sixers should do in free-agency. 1. On a scale of 1-10, how frustrated have you been by the Sixers coaching search? Jeff McMenamin:  8. It’s incredible that the Sixers have been without a coach since April 18 and yet little to no progress has been made in the candidate search. Other quality coaches are being swept away daily, while the pickings keep getting worse and worse for the 7-6. I don’t agree with going into the draft and potentially Summer League without a coach. The point of a draft is to find players that will fit a coaches gameplan on top of team needs. All signs point to Michael Curry taking over the reigns in the 2013-14 campaign. Steve Toll:  0. It seems to me that Michael Curry is going to be the head coach next season.  Players win championships, not coaches and this team isn’t close to winning anything.  Sam Hinkie and Josh Harris had a plan in place at the time of his hiring.  I think this was part of the plan. Michael Kaskey-Blomain:  8. I didn’t want them to rush into the search, but seeing all these candidates get snatched up by other teams is kind of disheartening. It seems counterproductive to get a coach after the draft when other roster moves could potentially be made. Jake Fischer:  0. I’m not frustrated at all. Sam Hinkie has mad it clear that the Sixers are going to find the team’s players before the coach and I like that approach. Yes, coaching is extremely important, despite what naive fans say. Look at this current NBA Finals: it’s a chess match. But, at the end of the day, a coach can only do so much and you need the players on the court to win ball games and perform. If the Sixers don’t hire a coach until Summer League, I wouldn’t be surprised nor upset. 2. DraftExpress.com has the Sixers taking Cody Zeller at #11, good or bad? Jeff McMenamin:  Bad. I’ve watched Zeller play. The last thing the Sixers need is another soft big man filling the paint who thinks he has range. My current NBA player comparison to Zeller is a poor-man’s Nick Collison. He has an array of post moves that can make him successful around the rim, he’s knowledgeable and he’s money from the free-throw line but he’s severely lacking in athletic ability. At best he’s a high energy guy off the bench. Against the top big men in the NBA he doesn’t stand a chance. The Sixers should use #11 on a quality scorer such as Shabbaz Muhammad and try to get back into the first-round for a athletically gifted project with size such as North Texas’ Tony Mitchell. Steve Toll:  Good. Cody Zeller is going to be a legit NBA power forward.  He might not be a good one until he is 23/24/25 but that’s not a big deal.  It is perfectly in line with the improvement curve of players his size.  I’d be totally content with picking him at #11.  That would allow the 76ers to move Thaddeus Young to small forward, FULL-TIME. Zeller, Arnett Moultrie and Lavoy Allen can fight over the 48 minutes at power forward and throw in Spencer Hawes if Bynum is re-signed. Michael Kaskey-Blomain:  Bad. They could get some size at a better value later in the draft. Jake Fischer:  Bad, but not for the reason that m