Thursday, December 20, 2007

For Sixers, Chance is Inevitable

As you probably already know, the Sixers fired general manager Billy King. They hired hometown man Ed Stefanski, who used to GM for the New Jersey Nets. I think Stefanski will make many changes to the make-up of this team. He will fire head coach Maurice Cheeks and make some big-time trades.
I don't think Stefanski should fire Mo Cheeks. He has made a below-average team play way above their skill level. This year and last year he has done a good job and communicates well with players. All the players love him and he seems like a great man. He gets along with almost everyone, including former star player Allen Iverson. There is a reason Ed will fire Cheeks, though. For one, Stefanski probably thinks the whole team has to be reformed, and for that to happen, you usually have to fire the coach. He probably thinks these players need a change. Another reason is that Cheeks loves selfless players and hard defense. Stefanski wants to make this team into a high-powered offense, like he did in Jersey. Stefanski will bring in star players, who aren't as selfless as Cheeks wants them to be. Star players need to be a little selfish because, they are star players, the best on the team and should be relied on to make most of the in-game decisions and shoot the ball a lot.
Stefanski wants to bring exciting basketball back to Philly and wants the team to gain respectability throughout the league. I am not saying that these Sixers lack excitement. They have been playing well recently but the attendance is down. The Sixers had exciting basketball when Iverson was here. Even though the team was losing, the fans kept on coming. The fans, including me, loved watching Iverson give his all every night. He would risk his small-for-the-NBA body every night by driving into seven foot juggernauts and getting to the line an amazing amount of time. It is fun watching somebody play their heart out and score 40 points like every other night.
Stefanski isn't just going to sit around and wait until next year to make this team better. The Sixers could have kept Billy King if that's what they thought that Stefanski would do. The let's just wait and see style isn't going to be what Stefanski does. Trust me from experience, the wait-until-next-year-and-in-the-mean-time-watch-a-below-average-team-lose doesn't work in Philadelphia. Stefanski will probably acquire a star blossoming into a super star player by trading or otherwise. There are some players that Stefanski absolutely should not trade. He definelty should not trade Andre Igoudala, who is the closest thing the Sixers have to a star but he doesn't have that much consistency. Some night he will go up and light it up and some nights he will be missing shots like crazy. Kyle Korver has been in the trade talk for quite some time now but I don't think they should trade. He is a good complementary player who can take a game over at the three point line. They shouldn't trade Louis Williams either. The second year player has showed he can lead this team.
Now, who should the Sixers trade for exactly. They will probably trade point guard Andre Miller before the trade deadline comes. Miller is playing great, and with all the teams in need of a decent point guard, he should give the Sixers some talented players. Jason Kidd from the Nets is said to be on the trading block and he is playing like a man possessed. But I don't think the Sixers should trade for him because he is getting older and probably won't get better in the future. Most players don't get better in their later years legally (consult Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens about that). Don't get me wrong, there is no way in the world that Jason Kidd is taking steroids. The Sixers should trade for young players and young players only.
Don't expect giant moves soon, however. Because Stefanski is new to the organization. He is still scouting the current players on the team and seeing their true skill level. But, believe me, change is inevitable.

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