The other day, I wrote how the 76ers should approach building a real contender by tanking and trading for superior but injured players.   Today, we will assume that their are enough parts in place to build something.

Like a hostile takeover of a corporate entity, cutting the dead weight is an obvious first step.  From there we will look at some undervalued assets around the league, similar to what was done in (A plan for 13-14).

What to do with “The Enigma”, Evan Turner?  It’s quite simple actually.  Whomever the GM for the Sixers is, he needs to call ET into his office on a weekday morning.  From there, they should ask, “Evan, if we can trade you to another team, is that something you would be interested in?”

The obvious answer will be yes.  The next move is to pick up the phone and call every single NBA team.  It will certainly be a humbling experience for Mr. Turner.  A combination of quick hang ups, laughs and outrageous demands (give us your lottery pick, is Thad coming too, We will give you Beasley/Bargnani/Ellis for ET, we require all the tea in china etc etc) will make it obvious to ET that the NBA truly has no interest in his services at $6,700,000 for the 2013-2014 season.

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According to a report over at Yahoo Sports by Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers have received permission to interview Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Malone as well as Utah Jazz assistant and former Sixer Jeff Hornacek for the franchise’s head-coaching vacancy.  According to Woj’s sources, “Malone is considered a serious candidate for the Sixers job.  The Sixers have been doing a great deal of research on Malone and getting excellent feedback”

Earlier this week, Dei Lynam of csnphilly.com fame posted a story in which her sources said the 7-6 have “contacted” Pacers’ associate head coach Brian Shaw about their vacant head-coaching position.  Obviously the Pacers are currently in the playoffs and hold a 3-2 lead over the Atlanta Hawks in their first round series, so it could be sometime before Shaw will actually interview for the Sixers job opening.

Now, I know the rumor mill is going to churn out a lot of these stories until the opening is filled.  Some of them will be accurate and others not so much.  And I am happy to see that the Sixers front office is doing their due diligence and interviewing a number of prospects.  Lastly, let me just say that I have nothing against giving any of these alleged candidates (so far) a look see.

Still, I have to ask, ‘Has anyone in the Sixers organization even sent Phil Jackson so much as a introductory text message?’

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Last night, I watched the Denver Nuggets narrowly defeat the Golden State Warriors in the Pepsi Center in order to extend their first round series to a sixth game.  Naturally, I found the Warriors play through the first four games of the series refreshing and thrilling.  But, in Game 6, the Nuggets morphed into the Pistons of the “Bad Boys”  era with a touch of  pop and pizazz and secured a win.  The player who pushed the Nuggets to the win last night was former Sixer Andre Iguodala.

The once heir apparent to Allen Iverson, Iguodala dropped a line of 25 points, 12 boards and 7 assists in 40 minutes of play on 10-17 shooting from the field.  On the series, Iguodala is averaging 16.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the floor in 40.2 minutes per (Those stats are much improved over his regular season numbers of 13, 5 & 5 and 45% shooting from the field).

With his playoff averages, Iguodala would have ranked second on the Sixers in points, tied-second in rebounds, second in assists, second in field goal percentage and first in minutes during the regular season. And, the dude is doing this in the playoffs no less against a stingy defensive team in the Dubs.

Regardless, I still say the Philadelphia 76ers are better off with Iguodala elsewhere.

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Few could have imagined the season turned out the way it did.  The 76ers were supposed to be this, that and the other thing.  What came to pass was the realization that this past summer was one of the uglier summers in NBA history.  

Now the Sixers are a team left with holes larger than just the void in the middle cause by Andrew Bynum’s knees.  As I have mentioned ad nauseum, the 76ers are in a very bad place going forward with no clear path to anything.  

After the jump, are some trade possibilities that can be a change for the better next year or the long run.  The premise is to do all of these trades or none at all.  Part 1 will be for the future, “Hello, 25% shot at Andrew Wiggins and the return of the Anti-Gravity Treadmill”.  Part 2 will assume the future is now

On last note, while the ESPN.com trade machine says the salaries don’t work, once Jrue’s $9.2 million salary kicks in, these trades would work.

 
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After the 76ers announced their acquisition of a new D-League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers (a.k.a. “the Sevens” — insert laughter here), the Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Mitchell crafted an interesting story based off a discussion with team owner Joshua Harris while the two were down in Newark, Delaware for the “big” 87ers press conference.

In the article, Mitchell discusses a general theme that the Sixers will approach their head-coaching search diligently and steadily. However, the Inquirer columnist said that Harris and current GM Tony DiLeo will be the two men conducting the process.

“Harris, who doesn’t talk publicly about contract extensions, said that he and general manager Tony DiLeo, who has an expiring deal on June 30, are running the search.  And he noted that while they have yet to interview anyone, they have several candidates in mind.  In fact, Dei Lynam of csnphilly.com is reporting that the Sixers have already reached out to Pacers’ assistant coach Brian Shaw.

Whether DiLeo remains the general manager will be resolved in time.  But right now DiLeo is the basketball mind that Harris, who inherited Collins from the previous owners, is leaning on to fill the franchise’s most vital position.”

Now, it’s important to remember that the last time the Sixers hired a head coach, Ed Stefanski and Ed Snider were running the front office and spearheaded that job search.

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Growing up in the late 90s and early 00s, I developed an affinity for the Cartoon Network program, Ed, Edd n Eddy. The animated show featured three boys who wrecked havoc on their parents and really just lived their daily lives in their cul-de-sac kooky pandemonium.

Thus, when the 76ers, who were then led by Chairman Ed Snider and General Manager Ed Stefanski, fired former head coach Eddie Jordan, I wrote a crafty blog post that constructed a conspiracy on how Ed Stefanski and Eddie Jordan in 2010 (who had been friends from their days with the New Jersey Nets) worked to derail this dilapidated organization.

Now, looking back on my adolescence, and knowing what I now know about the NBA, I realize that the only legitimate conspiracies in the League only involve officiating and injuries.  However, I still truthfully believe that the Ed, Ed and Eddie era of the Sixers set back this organization to where they are now.

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Luring LeBron James back to Cleveland will no longer include Phil Jackson as the Cavaliers announced yesterday that they’ll be rehiring coach Mike Brown who previously found great coaching success with the Cavs.

Brown went 272-138 previously with the Cavs, teaming with LeBron James on a run to the NBA Finals in 2007.  He also had two seasons where he won more than 60 games in 2008-09 (66-16) and 2009-10 (61-21).

The move seems sudden for the Cavs, as just three days ago they had apparently been courting Jackson over the open job position with the team.

This leaves Jackson at the way side again, much like he was back in November when the Lakers fired Mike Brown after the teams 1-4 start to the season.  Rumors swirled at the thought of Jackson being rehired for the Lakers’ job much like his name was before Brown got the job with the Cavs, but the Lakers impatiently grabbed Mike D’Antoni instead.

If the Zen Master indeed wants to take to the sidelines one more time, which it’s been said he’s “itching” to do, then why not look at a proud organization like the Philadelphia Sixers?

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If there is anything the eight Game 1s of the 2013 NBA Playoffs taught us, besides that home court actually does matter in the NBA, it’s that whichever team has the better players wins.  It’s a simple as that.  Thus, it make sense for the 76ers to start their rebuilding process by focusing their attention on getting the best players on the court, right?

Wrong.

This, if anything, the troublesome Sixers ownership and management group must start this off-season by making key off-the-court decisions before they can start looking to solve their on-the-court issues.  The Sixers brass must find a smart general manager who can run this franchise correctly. 

Recent NBA history has proven this method can be very successful.

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Yesterday, Doug Collins officially notified the 76ers organization, the media and Philadunkia nation that he would not be returning to the sidelines next season – something he decided and informed Tony DiLeo of back in December.  So the Sixers are officially in the market for a new head coach.

No, the Sixers’ struggles this season don’t fall solely on the shoulders of Collins.  Not only did he have to deal with a serious string of injuries throughout the season, he never actually got to coach the team he envisioned, and built around, last off-season.  With Bynum sitting the entire season, Collins was often left to play catch up, plugging players in as he went along.

Nonetheless, after such a disappointing season it is no surprise to see fingers pointed at the head coach, especially considering the large hand Collins had in assembling this underachieving unit.

This pseudo-rebuilding stage the Sixers are in is more than Collins bargained for, so it’s no surprise to see him stepping away. 

Realistically, the best available coaches, the likes of hall-of-famers Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan are not going to come to Philly on a rebuilding mission.  Coach Cal isn’t going to leave the comfort of Kentucky to revive the 76ers, and Larry Brown isn’t going to walk through the door accompanied by a 27-year old Allen Iverson.  Let’s get those lofty options out of the way early.

However, even with all of those options eliminated, there are plenty coaching choices for the Sixers to pursue; coaches who will be eager to embrace the challenge of turning the team around.

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All good things must come to an end.

But, unfortunately for the 76ers organization and its fans, their immaculate 2012-2013 season came to an end before it ever began.

In August, the Sixers introduced their addition of Andrew Bynum — and, oh yeah, Jason Richardson — at the Constitution Center in front of a raucous crowd.  But, before Bynum could even get through hinting at signing a 5-year max extension, he stopped in his tracks.

Then, as all of Philadunkia was imagining Bynum backing down the likes of Roy Hibbert, Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler before turning them into a poster, the team announced that Bynum would be undergoing surgery on his knees and going to Germany.

We all know he would go on to never suit up in a Sixers uniform outside of a photo shoot.  We all know he participated in less practices than his jersey number, 33.  We all remember his parade of ridiculous hairdos and his romantic long walks on a freakishly expensive anti-gravity treadmill.  His season, and maybe his career in Philly, was over before it even had a chance to commence.

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