I wasn’t ready for this. I didn’t want this. I don’t want to acknowledge it’s happening. After a summer filled with rumors that the Philadelphia 76ers were engaged in trade talks for San Antonio Spurs superstar Kawhi Leonard, the air came out of the bubble today. The Toronto Raptors will reportedly acquire Leonard in a blockbuster deal for a package built around 4-time NBA All Star and 2018 All-NBA Second Team member DeMar DeRozan:
Toronto has reached agreement in principle to acquire San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard for package that includes DeMar DeRozan, league sources tell ESPN. Trade is larger on both sides, and players are still being informed of their inclusion in the deal. Trade call with league today.
Anyone who’s followed the Kawhi saga this summer knows of the report that Leonard would prefer to play in Los Angeles for either the Lakers or Clippers. There had been some hope in Sixers circles that Leonard would consider signing an extension with Philadelphia if a deal could have been struck. I can’t imagine he’s thrilled with the news of his basketball deportation to north of the border.
If true, why not just get Sam Hinkie on the phone?
This was the crux of the Twitter reaction:
“Well, if the Sixers are looking for an analytics-focused and forward-thinking executive, I can think of someone who might fit the bill!”
Of course, a Hinkie redux would be contingent on both parties putting aside any lingering ill-will, if it exists. It was about 25 months ago that Morey’s former second-in-command resigned as the Sixers’ GM and wrote a 13-page manifesto explaining his thoughts and decision making and touching on the bright future he saw for the franchise. I have no idea what kind of relationship Hinkie now has with Josh Harris and ownership, but Bryan Colangelo is gone, Jerry Colangelo is basically a lame duck peripheral character at this point, and Brett Brown, I assume, would not have any qualms with Sam assuming his former position.
Free agent forward Nemanja Bjelica — who had agreed to a one-year deal with the 76ers — informed the team on Monday that he will stay in Europe this season, league sources tell ESPN. He never signed his contract with Philadelphia.
It’s obvious that Bjelica’s priority is the NBA, however, he expected a better and especially a longer deal than the mid-level exception of the Sixers for one year.
That’s why the 2015 EuroLeague MVP remains puzzled and Europe can be an option for him. Of course, very few teams can afford him, but on the other hand, the chance of signing Bjelica could be intriguing for every EuroLeague powerhouse.
Slow news day until this popped about 25 minutes ago:
The Philadelphia 76ers have been rebuffed in their attempt to hire away Houston's Daryl Morey to take over as their new general manager, @NYTSports has learned
Yeah, well, who wouldn’t want the NBA’s reigning Executive of the Year to run their team?
You’re probably familiar with Morey as the guy whom Sam Hinkie worked with before coming to Philadelphia. Both are known for being progressive, analytics-based player-personnel executives, to put it mildly.
Morey built a 65-win Rockets team that was a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from an NBA title this season, so I’m not sure why he’d jump ship to Philadelphia right now. Of course, if the Sixers wanted someone in Morey’s mold, they could simply re-approach Hinkie. That would go over very well with half of the fan base while being blasted into oblivion by the other half.
The Sixers have been without a general manager since parting with Bryan Colangelo on June 7th.
Woody Paige was on “Around the Horn” when I used to watch the show 15 years ago in college.
He’s apparently still a regular contributor, which I did not know until I saw this video clip floating around on Twitter.
On Tuesday’s show, the panel was talking about LeBron’s decision to choose the Lakers over the Sixers, which Paige described as a mistake.
Let’s pick it up at 1:26 –
Here’s what Woody got out before he was slapped with the mute button:
“He made a tragic mistake as far as I’m concerned. If he wants to win more championships it sounds like he’s following the advice of Shaq: stop chasing championships. You’ve established your reputation and that’s what he’s gonna do. He’s not gonna win any championships with the Lakers. You talk about a young core, nobody is able to shoot, he doesn’t have a second guy, and he doesn’t have a third guy. I told you that yesterday.
If he goes to Philadelphia, he can live in Cherry Hill New Jersey, which is just as nice as LA, and he can…”
Both Pau and Marc Gasol are icons in Spanish basketball and practically any news of their accomplishments on the court are reported on heavily. However, this one was different; it was an article about an NBA trade rumor and that simply doesn’t usually get traction on their basketball side. Marca picked up on a story by former ESPN basketball writer and current senior sports gambling writer for Get More Sports, Chris Sheridan, who reported today that Pau Gasol has been mentioned in trade scenarios between the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers as part of a Kawhi Leonard deal:
“When you are having simultaneous conversations with people all around the world and not a single person is telling you “That is untrue,” you have a smoke/fire situation.
And what I am hearing is that a trade scenario that would send Gasol to the 76ers is very much in play as one of the various Kawhi Leonard deals being pondered by the San Antonio Spurs.”
In addition to Gasol being an expiring contract, there’s a feeling that he could bring invaluable leadership and experience to a team led by the young core of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Markelle Fultz. Remember, Brett Brown and company once pursued Manu Ginobili as a veteran presence for a young Sixers squad.
In 2018, you would think that people know how to mute their phones on a conference call.
But noooooooo, we can’t have that, and some bozo on Tuesday’s Wilson Chandler phone call let someone yap in the background during the entirety of the availability.
Most of the audio, however, did come through well enough, and though Chandler didn’t have anything groundbreaking to say about joining the Sixers, a few things did stand out, specifically this answer to a question from the Philadelphia Tribune’s Donald Hunt, who asked Chandler what he thought of the Sixers’ franchise while playing the last seven seasons in Denver.
“First of all, I think the organization deserves more credit,” Chandler said. “They had a couple years where a lot of people were giving them shit about ‘what are they doing?’ and all that stuff, but they’ve done a great job putting a good team together. They have two young stars. I think Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are future stars. In my eyes, they’re really good right now but they’re future stars and I see big things for both of them and big things in general. They did a good job putting a lot of good, young talent together and (inaudible because idiots were talking over the call).”
Chandler is an 11-year NBA veteran, a 6’8″ small forward who I would think plays the three spot on the team’s second unit, though he has the flexibility to switch 2-4 defensively.
Assuming the starting five of Simmons, Embiid, Covington, Dario Saric, and JJ Redick remains intact, you’d be looking at a second team that could feature Amir Johnson, Nemanja Bjelica, Chandler, first-round draft pick Zhaire Smith, and Markelle Fultz, if Brett Brown decides to run him as a point guard to begin the season.
But there are multiple looks for Brown to deploy next season, and Chandler should provide a lot of two-way utility and flex.
“From what I saw last year, I think I fit in multiple ways,” he said. “I don’t think I have one skill set that that benefits the team, I think it’s playing off of other people. I can play with Ben, play with Covington, or alongside them and with Joel. I think I can do a good job of complementing other players.”
Chandler did start 71 of the 74 games he played on a 46-win Nuggets team last season, operating as a small forward alongside Paul Millsap (PF) and Will Barton or Gary Harris (SGs) when the team was mostly healthy towards the end of the season. He’s been a regular starter throughout his career but did log 30+ bench appearances in the 2012-2013 and 2016-2017 seasons, seeing some time at power forward with Danilo Gallinari logging significant minutes at the three. Whatever the situation, Chandler hasn’t played fewer than 25 minutes per game since his rookie season back in 2007, and finished with 31.7 MPG this past year.
“We didn’t get into specifics about that. Me personally, I’m not worried about coming off the bench or starting,” Chandler explained. “I’ve done both in my career. I’ve come off the bench more than I started. I’m not opposed to that at all. I just want to win. I’m just glad to be back on a playoff team. I’m looking forward to pushing them as far as I can.”
Chandler has only played twice in the playoffs, both first-round exits with Denver that took place more than five seasons ago. But he seemed to understand the embrace the challenge provided by the Boston Celtics, specifically the perimeter struggles they presented to the Sixers in the postseason.
“I love to play both ends of the floor,” was the response to Tom Moore’s question about Brad Stevens’ club.
The consensus seems to be that Chandler is an upgrade in that department, a wing that can shoot a bit but also defend better than someone like Marco Belinelli, a pure scorer who had issues with the Celtics athletic back court in the conference quarterfinals. The Sixers will also be hoping that Zhaire Smith can do the requisite defensive job as another athletic, two-way wing.
“In my opinion, I think this team is built to make a run at the title, go to The Finals,” Chandler said. “My expectations, I think, are (the same as) everybody’s should be.”
His career stats, courtesy of Basketball Reference:
An interesting Twitter thread from Julian Coltre, a New Jersey based reporter. He may or may not own some of Bryan Colangelo’s possible dress shirts before he got canned.
Here’s his white-collar story:
I wonder the exact amount he got, but we’ll continue. Continue Reading
