The Philadelphia 76ers' Summer League Debacle

This was pathetic. This, my friends, was terrible.

After five lackluster games and a handful of tepid performances, the Philadelphia 76ers left Summer League action in Orlando with an 0-5 record and very little to build on.

Why?

Why did the 76ers even go? Why did they split a team with the New Jersey Nets, who provided little help? Why did they not participate in the more profound NBA Summer League in Las Vegas?

Unfortunately, the 2009 Rocky Mountain Revue was cancelled by the Utah Jazz due to declining interest from teams.

So, the 76ers found themselves stuck in the Orlando Pro Summer League, sharing a team with the Nets.

They shouldn't have even made the trip. By now, we all know the economy has been less than appreciative to society lately.

However, Comcast-Spectacor has had little trouble spending every penny on the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers the past few seasons. Chairman Ed Snider loves the Flyers because there would be no hockey in Philadelphia without him.

That's fine, but the 76ers deserve better. After spending big money on Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala last offseason, it has been pretty quiet this summer for the 76ers.

At the very least, they could have done better than this low-budget trip to Orlando. The players deserved better.

Marreese Speights sparkled in his first game, scoring 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against the Pacers. He ended up falling off the map in the final four games, as the 76ers lost by; eight, 23, 22, 21, and 13 points respectively in their five games.

Rookie Jrue Holiday, whom the 76ers selected with the 17th pick of this year's draft, wasn't impressive statistically...but did please some scouts.

The 76ers were one of five teams in the NBA not to field a full-squad team in either of the summer leagues.

Could this be the first sign of cost-cutting moves from the 76ers?

It may not be General Manager Ed Stefanski's fault. Unfortunately, in this league, one mistake can cost a team years of growth.

Signing Brand wasn't necessarily a bad move. But dumping Andre Miller would be, especially if he was replaced by Lou Williams, or rookie Holiday.

The commitment of the front office appears to be wishy-washy. It remains to be seen where the 76ers will now turn their attention, but there are serious questions about this team. 

Unfortunately, it appears we may already have some of the answers.