Recently Philadunkia scribe Jeff McMenamin spent some time with 76ers forward Thaddeus Young (@yungsmoove21). 

Thad talked to our man Jeff about what he’s been up to the summer, his basketball camp, Doug Collins, the Sixers 2011 Draft, the lockout and of course whether or not he thinks ’Dre will be back in a 76ers uniform next season.  

Philadunkia:  What have you been doing this summer to get ready for next year?

Thad:  I’ve just been working out.  Lifting, running, and just doing the normal things I usually do that are part of my everyday habits. I’ve just been hitting the gym and getting up shots and doing the things that the coaches have asked of me. Just trying to stay in sync and stay in the midst of things.

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Solid piece from Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the passing of former 76er Armon Gilliam. 

Bob Cooney at philly.com writes that Gilliam will be remembered as a “good guy”.  Wonder if Sir Charles feels that way? 

Well respected hoops blog “The Basketball Jones” ranked Allen Iverson as the 6th best point man of the last 30 years.

Beckley Mason of HoopSpeak lists the Sixers Evan Turner as his 2010-11 rookie who is ready to rise as a sophomore.

With Quin Snyder bolting to Los Angeles, who will be Doug’s fourth assistant in 2011-12?  We’d like to suggest a former NBA point guard be brought in to help with Holiday’s growth.

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Andre Iguodala, who Sixers fans can be pretty tough on sometimes, had a recent meeting with coach Doug Collins (Who was on a national tour of get-togethers with all the Sixers players.) to talk out the problems he and the organization have had since the season ended.

We imagine it could have gone a few different ways.

Andre Iguodala’s Meeting with Doug Collins, as Imagined by Sixers Fans

Haggard and visibly exhausted from the seven-hour flight, Doug Collins walks into Andre Iguodala’s LA summer home.  He drops his bags at the door and is led into a TV room by an undocumented worker who is paid less than minimum wage.  Her back is really sore, but she can’t go to a doctor because her multi-millionaire boss doesn’t pay for her to get health insurance.  He mumbles really cruel and sexist stuff about her under his breath too.  She has like six kids.

Iguodala sits on the couch playing NBA Live when Collins walks in.

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To start off this column I want to congratulate longtime Philadelphia Flyer defensemen Mark Howe on the announcement of his upcoming induction into the NHL Hall of Fame.  He is one of the greatest skaters to suit up in a black and orange sweater and his selection for the Hall was long overdue.

The great news on Mark Howe got us thinking here a Philadunkia about which former 76er is headed to the Naismith Hall of Fame next.  So I want to lay out some evidence as to when the basketball junkies here at Philadunkia will be able to rejoice with the Flyers fans, as one of our own 76ers is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.  Honestly, there are only two retired candidates worthy of  even being discussed:  Mo Cheeks and Allen Iverson.

I’m going to take a harder look at each of our former superstars’ resumes while they ball’d in Philadelphia and then hypothesize a realistic year the Hall of Fame voters would consider electing them to the ultimate enshrinement.

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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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This one comes to us via barstoolsports.com / philly…

While his defense and court vision probably aren’t getting any better, it seems that Louis Williams’ hip-hop music career has jumped up a notch.   

More after the jump…

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Our editor and chief Carey Smith was correct during the 2011 True Hoop mock draft, when he selected Nikola Vucevic, the 7-footer out of USC.  Rod Thorn and the 76ers grabbed the big man from Montenegro with 16th pick in last night’s Draft and potentially filled the enormous hole in the middle for the 7-6.

While I trotted alongside Vucevic (Voo-CHAY-vitch) as he made his way to the media room at the Prudential Center, it actually wasn’t his height that I first noticed but rather his weight.  At 260 pounds, the big man is literally just that; someone who potentially could be a brute force down low for the 76ers.  A source within USC told me he put on at least 50 lbs. since enrolling at the university.

Many scouting analysts were stunned when Vucevic entered the draft this year as a junior.  He had just come off of back-to-back Pac-10 rebounding titles – a feat no other player in the history of conference had ever achieved.  It seemed as if he was just harnessing his talents.  Experts had pegged the Trojan as an early second round pick at best.  But Vucevic impressed several teams because as Ed Stefanski put it “he’s a stone-cold center.”  His workouts catapulted him all the way into Lottery territory of some mock drafts.

“I think I learned how to play tough and aggressive in college,” said Vucevic in his post-draft press conference. “Coming to America helped me a lot.  I think I will be able to play the position in the NBA.”

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The 2011 NBA Draft is just hours away and if you have been following all of the mock drafts, online expert predictions and television analysis, it seems there is no consensus as to what the Sixers will do with the No. 16 pick in tonight’s Draft.

However no one knows the Sixers better then the scribes here at Philadunkia.com.  So with that in mind, everyone here at Philadunkia submitted an opinion on which prospect the 76ers will draft at No. 6 tonight as well as why Rod Thorn and company will go in that direction.

Check out our thoughts after the jump.

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The Westin Hotel in Times Square was the center of the NBA world Wednesday afternoon.  The top 12 draftees were each continuously grilled by give-or-take 100 members of the media, including yours truly.  Each prospect was seated at a circular table in the fifth floor conference center of the hotel.  It is almost guaranteed that all of these players won’t fall to the 76ers at 16. Guess what though?  Andre Iguodala is the most available player on the market, and some team is going to bite for his defense after seeing what Shawn Marion was able to do to LeBron.

That means the Sixers could end up with one of these guys. 

After the jump are my personality assessment and some of the quotes I gathered during my first NBA Draft media day.

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