ducks
06-21-2006, 08:17 AM
Sixers look to move up, saying big trade possible
By Joe Juliano
Inquirer Staff Writer
With one week to go until the NBA draft, the 76ers and their brethren throughout the league are feverishly working their cell phones and BlackBerries trying to get themselves in a more advantageous position for the big night.
Although the Sixers are in a good spot at No. 13, president and general manager Billy King wants to move higher and admits that it may take a multiplayer trade to do it.
"We're trying. We're really trying," King said yesterday after watching four more draft prospects work out at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "We're really talking. I'd like to get another pick higher up. I'll have some conversations, and, hopefully, we can get something done."
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Naturally, the more people talk, the more rumors surface. One rumor came Sunday from the Akron Beacon Journal, which reported that Sixers chairman Ed Snider had ordered King to rebuild the team and trade superstar guard Allen Iverson.
King denied the report and said his off-season conversations with Snider had centered on the direction of the team next season.
"We've had a lot of conversation on my thoughts on where I think we need to go," he said. "We talked a lot about just how we want to play. It hasn't been, 'You have to rebuild. You've got to trade this guy.' It's more like, 'Let's make sure that we do something that our fans are going to be proud of.' "
King said he wants the team to adopt an identity, one in which the Sixers will play hard every night and not have to second-guess themselves whenever they lose.
"This has been," he said, "an overall process of really just looking at the whole organization, starting with me, and saying, 'OK, how can we do it better?' Even the year we made the playoffs [2005], I thought we didn't have an identity. I think we've got to get back to where we have an identity."
Rather than have an offensive-minded identity like the Phoenix Suns, King said he wants "a blue-collar team that plays hard and wins games in the trenches." He said it's more a matter of players' adopting a blue-collar mentality as opposed to going out and getting blue-collar types.
King would like to pick up a role player or two, "a veteran player with the right attitude," he said. He reiterated that he erred in letting Aaron McKie and Marc Jackson go in the last off-season without taking on veteran leadership in their place.
Whether the Sixers pick 13th in next Wednesday's draft or not, King wants the best player available, but his evaluation of that player will include whether he will battle on the court.
King indicated that he didn't see too much battling yesterday among the four big men the Sixers brought in for the workout - 6-foot-11 Hilton Armstrong of Connecticut, 7-foot Patrick O'Bryant of Bradley, 7-0 Oleksiy Pecherov of Ukraine, and 6-11 Mouhamed Saer Sene of Senegal.
"I was upset when they were playing two-on-two because they were just letting guys catch the ball," King said. "I said, 'You're trying to earn a spot here. If you want to play for us, you've got to stop guys. You can't just let a guy catch the ball on the block... . You guys are sort of on a vacation here.' "
Notes. Rumors that have center Samuel Dalembert switching addresses were shot down by King. "Absolutely not, I have not given up on Sam," he said... . King said the Sixers' evaluations include Maurice Cheeks' coaching staff, but he did not want "to get into exactly what our thoughts are" about whether a change would be made... . The next workouts are scheduled for Friday. Duke star J.J. Redick may be included, but his teammate Shelden Williams has declined the Sixers' invitation. "He thinks he's got a promise to go before us," King said, adding that while he usually holds such a rejection against the player, he may not with Williams because "I do know the Duke guy a little better." King also played at Duke for Mike Krzyzewski... . The 76ers' dance team will hold open auditions for the 2006-07 season Saturday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Applicants must have been at least 18 years old on June 1, 2006.
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14864105.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
By Joe Juliano
Inquirer Staff Writer
With one week to go until the NBA draft, the 76ers and their brethren throughout the league are feverishly working their cell phones and BlackBerries trying to get themselves in a more advantageous position for the big night.
Although the Sixers are in a good spot at No. 13, president and general manager Billy King wants to move higher and admits that it may take a multiplayer trade to do it.
"We're trying. We're really trying," King said yesterday after watching four more draft prospects work out at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. "We're really talking. I'd like to get another pick higher up. I'll have some conversations, and, hopefully, we can get something done."
Post a Comment
Naturally, the more people talk, the more rumors surface. One rumor came Sunday from the Akron Beacon Journal, which reported that Sixers chairman Ed Snider had ordered King to rebuild the team and trade superstar guard Allen Iverson.
King denied the report and said his off-season conversations with Snider had centered on the direction of the team next season.
"We've had a lot of conversation on my thoughts on where I think we need to go," he said. "We talked a lot about just how we want to play. It hasn't been, 'You have to rebuild. You've got to trade this guy.' It's more like, 'Let's make sure that we do something that our fans are going to be proud of.' "
King said he wants the team to adopt an identity, one in which the Sixers will play hard every night and not have to second-guess themselves whenever they lose.
"This has been," he said, "an overall process of really just looking at the whole organization, starting with me, and saying, 'OK, how can we do it better?' Even the year we made the playoffs [2005], I thought we didn't have an identity. I think we've got to get back to where we have an identity."
Rather than have an offensive-minded identity like the Phoenix Suns, King said he wants "a blue-collar team that plays hard and wins games in the trenches." He said it's more a matter of players' adopting a blue-collar mentality as opposed to going out and getting blue-collar types.
King would like to pick up a role player or two, "a veteran player with the right attitude," he said. He reiterated that he erred in letting Aaron McKie and Marc Jackson go in the last off-season without taking on veteran leadership in their place.
Whether the Sixers pick 13th in next Wednesday's draft or not, King wants the best player available, but his evaluation of that player will include whether he will battle on the court.
King indicated that he didn't see too much battling yesterday among the four big men the Sixers brought in for the workout - 6-foot-11 Hilton Armstrong of Connecticut, 7-foot Patrick O'Bryant of Bradley, 7-0 Oleksiy Pecherov of Ukraine, and 6-11 Mouhamed Saer Sene of Senegal.
"I was upset when they were playing two-on-two because they were just letting guys catch the ball," King said. "I said, 'You're trying to earn a spot here. If you want to play for us, you've got to stop guys. You can't just let a guy catch the ball on the block... . You guys are sort of on a vacation here.' "
Notes. Rumors that have center Samuel Dalembert switching addresses were shot down by King. "Absolutely not, I have not given up on Sam," he said... . King said the Sixers' evaluations include Maurice Cheeks' coaching staff, but he did not want "to get into exactly what our thoughts are" about whether a change would be made... . The next workouts are scheduled for Friday. Duke star J.J. Redick may be included, but his teammate Shelden Williams has declined the Sixers' invitation. "He thinks he's got a promise to go before us," King said, adding that while he usually holds such a rejection against the player, he may not with Williams because "I do know the Duke guy a little better." King also played at Duke for Mike Krzyzewski... . The 76ers' dance team will hold open auditions for the 2006-07 season Saturday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Applicants must have been at least 18 years old on June 1, 2006.
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/14864105.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp