Brand to Sixers? - Carney Available

[Blackjack]

I don't see Brand going to Philly,(at least I sure as hell hope not) but if they're going to get rid of Carney just to make a run at him??? Maybe we could get a young athletic wing out of it.

I'm not sure if our exception would be enough, but maybe he'd be a better option than Delfino. At least he'd be cheaper and have more upside.


Sixers trying to get in position to lure Brand from West Coast

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

It's starting to look as though the biggest threat to the Los Angeles Clippers re-signing franchise forward Elton Brand can be found much further east than Oakland.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Monday night that the Philadelphia 76ers are again "actively involved" in the Brand hunt after initially fearing that they couldn't compete financially with the Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

Although the leaguewide consensus remains that Brand will return to Hollywood to form a new partnership with Clipper-to-be Baron Davis, sources said the Sixers are growing increasingly confident in their ability to create additional salary-cap space by finding a new home via trade for swingman Rodney Carney and then make a sufficiently rich offer to Brand.

Dealing away Carney -- with Memphis and Minnesota quickly emerging as possible destinations -- would shed nearly $1.7 million from the Sixers' payroll next season as long as the trade doesn't require new GM Ed Stefanski to take any salary back.

The Sixers are already expecting to have at least $11 million in salary-cap space to spend when the league announces next season's cap figure to all 30 teams Tuesday night. If the cap ceiling for the 2008-09 season comes in higher than the widely projected estimate of $58-to-59 million -- and if the Sixers can indeed move Carney and/or center Calvin Booth -- Philadelphia could have the flexibility to start a five-year offer to Brand at a first-year salary in the $14 million range.

Sources said that the Sixers remain highly interested in Atlanta Hawks restricted free agent Josh Smith, but it appears that Philly will give itself every chance to emerge as the unlikely winner of the Brand sweepstakes before deciding whether to sign Smith to an offer sheet that the Hawks would have seven days to match.

If Philadelphia can indeed manufacture a first-year salary of at least $14 million, that would be in the same ballpark as the Clippers, who must preserve enough cap space in retaining Brand to formally sign Davis to the five-year, $65 million deal which the former Golden State point guard verbally agreed to last week.

The Warriors can still outbid L.A. and Philadelphia for Brand thanks to Davis' defection. If next season's salary cap is announced at $59 million or thereabouts, as expected, Golden State should have the wherewithal to offer Brand a five-year deal worth just over $95 million.

Sources close to the process told ESPN.com on Monday that the Warriors continue to have dialogue with the Brand camp and have not abandoned hope of luring the 29-year-old to Northern California.

Yet separate sources suggested Monday that Brand -- if he's ultimately drawn away from his Face of the Franchise status with the Clippers -- would be more inclined to jump to Philadelphia than Golden State, given the Sixers' residence in a conference with far fewer contenders than the West and the opportunity to join a young Philly nucleus (Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala and the considerable wingspan of center Samuel Dalembert) that won many admirers as last season progressed.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3477424

[timvp]

The Spurs could buy Carney with their trade exception. That said, giving the Sixers even more cap room probably isn't a good idea at this point. Pretty interesting, though.

Brand needs to decide so the next dominoes can begin to fall.

[DPG21920]

The world keeps turning...

[Blackjack]

The Spurs could buy Carney with their trade exception. That said, giving the Sixers even more cap room probably isn't a good idea at this point. Pretty interesting, though.

Brand needs to decide so the next dominoes can begin to fall.

Normally I'd agree about not giving a team (specially in this case) more cap-room, but I have a hard time believing that Brand would screw Davis over like that. Maybe it's wishfull thinking, but everything that I've heard tells me that Brand is a man of his word.

They're going to have to get rid of Carney before Brand makes a decision, so why not take advantage of it?

Hopefully (and what I expect) Brand stays in L.A., we get Carney for the exception, and sign Maggette this week. :smokin

Not likely, but a man can dream. :)

Oh, and thanks (I'm assuming timvp) for fixing my post. :toast

[ShoogarBear]

How long in this thread until Sequ says something about T Park?

[Bruno]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AofBPxFnypfowMABy6sK4Wm8vLYF?slug=aw-phillytrade070608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Sixers hope to clear cap room for Brand

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 4 hours, 19 minutes ago
Yahoo! Sports

Philadelphia 76ers forward Rodney Carney has been told he will be traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the centerpiece of a package that could free as much as $2-3 million in additional salary-cap space for the Sixers to offer free agents Elton Brand or Josh Smith, league sources said Monday night.

Two league executives believe Philadelphia has reached an agreement in principle to send Carney, center Calvin Booth and a future No. 1 draft pick to Minnesota for a $5 million-plus trade exception born of Mark Blount’s trade. Carney, 24, was told over the weekend by Philadelphia management that he had been sent to Minnesota, a source close to him said.

Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski’s intentions are clear: Get into the bidding with the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors for Brand or make an offer to the Atlanta Hawks’ restricted free agent, Smith, that will be too steep for the franchise’s ownership to match.

Getting Carney and Booth off the cap gives the Sixers the chance to offer a starting salary between $13 and $14 million a season to a free agent. The Sixers won’t know the precise figure until the league announces next season’s salary cap late Tuesday.

The 76ers have the luxury of going hard after Brand, 29, until he decides on a team. Most league executives still believe he’ll return to the Clippers for a five-year, $70 million deal, which is about $20 million less than the Warriors are offering. Nevertheless, this salary dump gives the Sixers the flexibility to get into the competitive bidding for Brand.

One league executive believes Brand has delayed his decision on returning to Los Angeles with hopes that Stefanski could cut this deal and make him a comparable offer to that of the Clips. He was born and raised in upstate New York, and has been intrigued with returning to the East Coast. Should the Sixers lose out on Brand, they’ll still be in position to turn their attention back to Smith, a 22-year-old rising star.

For a cost-conscious Atlanta ownership, an offer that exceeds Philly’s original $11 million a year could be too rich for them. Still, ownership loves Smith, a hometown kid who could be on the brink of stardom. Nevertheless, the Hawks would have seven days to match Philly’s offer sheet, and should they do so, the lapsed time could cripple the Sixers’ chances of securing a star player elsewhere.

Smith, 22, visited Philadelphia on Monday and left impressed with the 76ers’ desire to secure him. Stefanski had envisioned a wildly athletic and versatile frontline that includes Smith, Andre Igoudala and Sam Dalembert. Still, Brand would give the Sixers a fierce low-post presence, toughness and leadership. Either way, it appears the Sixers have thrust themselves into the game now.

[Bruno]

IMO, Sixers are trying to generate a max of capspace for Josh Smith, not for Brand.

It could help Spurs to get Maggette. The more money they throw at Josh Smith, the most likely they will get him and won't be able to go after Maggette on June 16th.

[SenorSpur]

I really believe tht Brand and Davis have a "gents" agreement that they want to play together in Clipperland. I doubt if Davis would've ever come to LA without some assurances from Brand that he would resign with the Clip joint.

[mrspurs]

IMO, Sixers are trying to generate a max of capspace for Josh Smith, not for Brand.

It could help Spurs to get Maggette. The more money they throw at Josh Smith, the most likely they will get him and won't be able to go after Maggette on June 16th.

agreed, why pay so much for brand when he will end up hurt most of your season....paying big bucks for players who are always hurt is for suckers....seems everyone from the clippers team is always hurt and sitting...imo it was a rare sight to see all their paid stars playing at the same time for more then a month at a time...

[TheMadHatter]

agreed, why pay so much for brand when he will end up hurt most of your season....paying big bucks for players who are always hurt is for suckers....seems everyone from the clippers team is always hurt and sitting...imo it was a rare sight to see all their paid stars playing at the same time for more then a month at a time...

Brand is not "always hurt". He's pretty much played all 82 games every season save last year. The 3 prior seasons he played 81,79, and 80 games. Get your facts straight. Brand is not leaving LA. This is just posturing so it doesn't seem like he and Davis had a pre-made plan to opt out together.

The 76ers will throw the max at J. Smith but ATL will match it. They have said so. Brand stays in LA, J. Smith stays in ATL.

[oligarchy]

Brand is not "always hurt". He's pretty much played all 82 games every season save last year. The 3 prior seasons he played 81,79, and 80 games. Get your facts straight. Brand is not leaving LA. This is just posturing so it doesn't seem like he and Davis had a pre-made plan to opt out together.

The 76ers will throw the max at J. Smith but ATL will match it. They have said so. Brand stays in LA, J. Smith stays in ATL.

If ATL matches, they will leave Childress exposed. I guess it's a matter of who they prefer more. I don't think they can keep both. I also believe, that if they match Smith, Philly will offer close to the same to Childress that they can't match.

[ChumpDumper]

Well I called trading Booth for cap room but I didn't expect Carey to be in there as well. Philly is serious.

[Blackjack]

Ric Bucher just shed a little insight (or at least another angle) on why Brand hasn't committed to L.A. yet.

Apparently, it's all a power-play on the part of his agent to try an re-establish his significance. If he's able to get 10-15 mil. more out of the Clip's, he not only proves his worth to Brand but all potential clients.

Bucher still believes Brand will end up with the Clip's and this waiting-game is nothing more than agent trying to regain his prominence. Obviously if true, it's one obstacle avoided in the Spurs' pursuit of Maggette.

[EJK5032]

Carney was traded to the T-Wolves