David Aldridge at NBA.com gives the Sixers 2011 Draft rave reviews.

According to this report, the LAL were in hot pursuit of Iguodala but the Sixers pulled the plug over concerns about Odom’s “mental state” if he had to move from Hollywood.

Michael Levin at Libertyballers.com has a few final thoughts on the Sixers 2011 Draft.  Among them is the idea that…”Most importantly though, for the 4th straight year, the Sixers did nothing on draft day but make the one or two picks they were slated to make. No moves, no tweaks, no sign of activity to make me think they did anything during the draft except hope the one guy they wanted didn’t fall during their Solitaire tournament in the War Room.”

cbssports.com posts a list of the Top 50 available free agents.  The good news — none of the Sixers are on the list.  The bad news — unless the Sixers make a trade, they likely don’t have the cap space to sign any of these guys.

Zach Lowe at “The Point Forward” blog writes that the Sixers selecting “Big Nik” has put Spencer Hawes’ job in jeopardy.  Our favorite line from Lowe…”The Sixers played better on both ends last season with Hawes on the bench…”

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Iguodala is going to remain a 76er for the time being, even after several trade offers were dangled in front of the organization for a number of weeks.

Have you ever been caught talking crap about one of your best friends?  I mean everyone has to vent from time-to-time about the annoying characteristics friends sometimes smother you with on a consistent basis.  Sometimes you accidentally chose to vent to the wrong friend (the girly one) and he happens to rumor it around with all of your close buddies.

Well the Sixers didn’t just tell a few close friends about their unhappiness with Andre Iguodala.  They called the whole NBA to the gymnasium for an assembly to announce that they had to get rid of their best player.  At nearly any cost.

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After discussing the Mavericks NBA Finals upset of the Heat at length, there’s one thing all of us here at the Philadunkia offices can agree on — as a team, the 76ers are closer to being the Dallas Mavericks then they are to bing the Miami Heat.  When you first think about that statement, it’s great news, considering the Mavs just won the NBA title.

However, the key words in the above paragraph are “closer to being”.  Make no mistake about it, the Sixers are NOT the Dallas Mavericks and they have a long way to go before they can compete for an NBA title like the Mavs did this past season.  Still there are enough similarities between the two franchises that  there are a few ideas that helped Dallas grab the championship hardware which if applied properly here in Philadelphia could push the Sixers to the next level.

The Philadunkia staff took notes during the Mavs destruction of the Heat and from those notes we complied a list of 5 Things the 76ers Can Learn from the 2010-11 Mavericks.      

Check out the list after the jump.

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Strangely enough, the 76ers were the third trending NBA topic on Google much of last week.  It was the biggest NBA week of the entire season and yet our team couldn’t stay out of the news. 

There were Iguodala trade rumors running wild, Jrue Holiday’s 21^st birthday and probably most importantly was the ownership situation.  All of this news was happening before the offseason had even officially begun.

True Hoop’s own Henry Abbott broke the news that the sale of the 76ers is ‘imminent’.  Current owner Ed Snider, 78, of Comcast-Spectator has reportedly all but agreed to sell the franchise to Joshua Harris, 46.  Harris is the director of Apollo Global Management LLC. and is speculated to be worth upwards of 1.5 billion dollars. Nice little chunk of change.

If this ownership transfer goes down for the 76ers, I believe on the surface that is a positive thing for the city.  I’m all in favor of a young hands-on owner in the mold of Mark Cuban which hopefully Harris will become.  Plus it’s been abundantly known that Ed Snider is solely a hockey guy and that his acquisition of the Sixers in ‘96 was looked upon as a business decision.  Snider was a founding father of the Flyers in 1966.

So now that you understand the gist of things, how thrilled are you to be a 76er fan?  This could be the most important offseason since the summer of 1982, when Moses Malone was signed as a free agent away from the Houston Rockets.

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The only thing hotter then the weather in Philadunkia nation right now is the 76ers themselves.  The 7-6 have been all over the news in the last 24 hours…

Obviously the big news is that the Sixers are up for sale and according to TrueHoop’s fearless leader Henry Abbott who broke the story, a deal is, “imminent”.

Of course once Henry had broken the story, then the locals got into the act…

Dei Lynam had a source confirm it. 

First, Kate Fagan went out and “confirmed” the story.  Then she decided that “imminent” was too strong of a word after talking with her sources.

However, the AP is reporting that the sale of the Sixers should be done in a week.

Also the Iguodala for Monta Ellis trade that surfaced weeks ago is suddenly front page news again.  Most of us here at Philadunkia are NOT in favor of this trade.  This team only has room for one player who shoots with no conscience and plays little defense.  Since we already have Louis Williams on the roster, Ellis would not be a great fit.  Relax Louis…We still love you, so don’t go banning us from your Twitter feed again.  Plus from everything we’ve read, Ellis is a locker room nightmare.

Sixers legend Allen Iverson came out of hiding.  Iverson tells SLAM magazine that he is ready to be a “role” player.  If you are a true Sixers fan, you should take the time to read this interview, it’s very interesting.

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Over the last two weeks we have highlighted what numerous “experts” believe the 76ers will do with the 16th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.  If you have been following along, then you know that there is little agreement among the ”experts” on which direction Rod Thorn will go later this month.

The one common thread in these predictions is that all of the “experts” are forecasting that the Sixers will select a big man at No. 16.  For us here at Philadunkia, that’s good news, as we (like a lot of people) have been calling for the 7-6 to address their interior issues for over a year now.  So even though a true “center” may not be available at #16, we’re still hopeful that the Sixers frontcourt will get bigger, faster and more athletic on June 23rd.

After the jump we have an updated look a who numerous “experts” say the 76ers will take in the 2011 Draft.

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Remember that speculation blog post I delved into about a week ago?  The one about the Timberwolves shipping the #2 pick and some players for our #16 and Iguodala? 

That dream scenario got closer to reality last night when the Timberwolves shocked the NBA world and announced that 2009 first round pick Ricky Rubio would be leaving Spain to test out his point guard skills in the world’s premier League.

It is quite clear that Minnesota agreed to fork over a decent amount of cash to convince one of basketball’s most dazzling passers to commit to their sorry organization.  This theoretically means the T-Wolves are not keen on selecting someone they are going to have to pay in the 5 million dollar range, a player that they don’t particularly want.  They would rather spend that money on an established player, rather than another young project.

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As glorious as the 2010-11 NBA season was for Doug Collins and the 76ers franchise, a couple of glaring weaknesses were established this past year for our beloved Sixers:

• Opponents’ height advantages became a serious problem.  Even though rebounding wasn’t necessarily an issue – the Sixers ranked 13^th– post defense was a nightmare.  Spencer Hawes isn’t imposing, Elton Brand is generously listed at 6’9” and Mo Speights failed to turn the corner in that often pivotal third NBA season.  With Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Al Horford, The Miami Heat… heck even Brook Lopez and Roy Hibbert in the East, the Sixers need a big answer on the defensive end.
• The backcourt is a crowded mess.  Jodie Meeks’ explosion ability – 20 points in one quarter, the main factor in a win over the Bulls– kept him at the shooting guard position majority of the season. Meeks is the only deadly three point shooter on the roster and will remain a Sixer for quite awhile.  That leaves questions as to how much time Evan Turner and Lou Williams will see the floor. Lou was a big reason why the Sixers held it together through a rocky January.  Turner played some of his best basketball in the postseason and extremely reassuring sign that he will one day lead this team. And I mentioned Monday how this now Jrue Holiday’s team.

So it’s hard to believe Rod Thorn is going to draft a guard, unless he’s absolutely in love with Jimmer Fredette and can move Lou Williams.  I would suggest drafting a center to replace Spencer Hawes but this year’s class is rather feeble and rather international (a.k.a. highly risky).  

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If you’ve tuned into NBA postseason basketball since the Sixers destruction, I’m sure you’ve witnessed the impressive Chicago Bulls team of late.  The Bulls, who finished first in the East, recently demolished the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the second round.  Granted it is a seven game series, and nearly everyone expects the Heat to fight back, it’s still hard to ignore how good the Bulls looked. 

Mainstream media mainly credits this season’s MVP Derrick Rose and Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau for the Bulls’ resurgence.  Rightfully so, those two have been the driving force behind the 21 win turnaround from a year ago.  He has instilled his defensivphilosophy which has flourished incredibly in Chicago as Derrick Rose has attacked the rim with arguably the most explosive power we’ve ever seen at the point guard position.  With all that being said, there is an x-factor in Chi-town that may go unnoticed:  Luol Deng. 

In Game 1, Deng pestered LeBron James all over the floor by applying constant ball pressure defensively.  He managed to contain James by keeping his total at just 15 points on 5 of 15 shooting.  Offensively, he was equally impressive scoring 21 points including four three-pointers, snatching four steals and grabbing seven boards.  On the season, Deng has averaged 17.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. 

Luol Deng shares many similarities to one of our dear Sixers.  That certain individual, like Deng, is an aboveaverage scorer but not a go-to guy, a premier defensive specialist and a solid rebounder for his position.  Also, in recent years they’ve both been discussed in League circles during trade talks. 

Yes, I’m talking about Andre Iguodala. 

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Slowly, but surely, the 76ers embarked on a promising regular season that led to a playoff berth following an appalling 3-13 start.  With a young nucleus, and a seasoned head coach, the Sixers witnessed the most surprising turnaround in the NBA by someone NOT named Derrick Rose. 

Had the team continued on a path similar to the 3-13 opening record, Andre Iguodala would’ve been traded during the All-Star Weekend.  Instead, 76ers’ President Rod Thorn and GM Ed Stefnaski lobbied to compete for postseason contention once the club began meshing and production improved on the floor. 

Obviously, keeping Iguodala was vital to the team’s turnaround thanks to his 14.1 points, 6.3 assists, 5.8 rebounds per game and superior perimeter defense (led to NBA’s Second All-Defensive Team).  However, now it’s time for the lifelong Sixer to departure The City of Brotherly Love.   

At this point it seems inevitable that Dre is a goner with the offseason approaching.  And the feeling is mutual as seen by AI9’s no-show to meet with team officials.  

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