950 AM Radio in Philadelphia is reporting that Elton Brand has signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. No terms of the deal have been released yet.
Many believed that Elton Brand would return to the Los Angeles Clippers, after he chose to opt out so the Clippers could add other talent. The Clippers had to renounce their rights to both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette to be able to sign Baron Davis. Then, they hoped to sign Brand too.
Today, the Sixers traded a future first round pick, Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to Minnesota so they could add a $2.9 million trade exception and increase the salary cap space they had.
Today's Must Reads
No one knew whether it would be Josh Smith or Elton Brand that space would be offered to. But 950, an ESPN affiliate, is reporting that a deal is done.
Brand is familiar with the area, because his doctor who performed ACL surgery for him last year is located in North Delaware(Wilmington), which is about 15 minutes from Philadelphia.
Brand played in only a handful of games last year due to that injury and expects to be at full strength this year.
Deals can be officially signed tomorrow, July 9th.
ARTICLE UPDATE: It is 100% official Brand is going to be signing a 5 year 82 million dollar contract tomorrow. The only question left is how many games will he play next year?
comments (12) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
Bet Baron Davis is feeling sick right now. He and Brand would have been a big time duo. Brand fits well in the East though. The Sixers all of a sudden are a contender in the East. They hung with the Pistons, now they add Brand. Good move.
about 1 month ago
Elton Brand left because the Clippers, quite frankly, suck.
Whenever things are starting to go well, somebody is injury prone. I'm not normally a very superstitious person, but I think the Los Angeles Clippers are cursed.
Maybe if they became the Anaheim Clippers or Kansas City Clippers or Las Vegas Clippers they could break out if this constant state of mediocrity. Or maybe they need to try some Voodoo or something. Or figure out why what they did to get all this bad Karma.
Basically, Elton Brand chose winning and more money over probably not making the playoffs and less money. Most people would make the same choice.
about 1 month ago
He is taking less money than he was offered by the Golden State Warriors...about 15-20 million less.
from about 1 month ago
Is that true? I have not heard that yet, but if he was getting 5 years, 97 million, that would be about 3 mil short of a max contract.
about 1 month ago
He's good to go. No team is going to shell out $82 million without knowing for a fact that the player is 100% healthy.
about 1 month ago
I'm almost positive that the deal he signed with Philly was pretty much comparable to the deal he was getting from the Warriors.
In the end, he chose the 76ers not because the Clippers are cursed, not because the 76ers have THAT much more talent than the Clippers (though I would take Iguodala, Miller, and Young over Kaman, Davis, and Thornton), and certainly not because his agent was trying to "get back" at the Clippers for something. At the end of the day, he went to the Sixers because they're in the East.
Even though the East is getting better with the Celtics winning it all last year, the Magic and Cavs on the rise, and Detroit still looming, at least he can be pretty sure that he'll make the playoffs and probably win the first round if they can get a top 3 seed. In the West, he couldn't be sure he'd even make the playoffs when the list of playoff wannabes goes 12 deep.
Furthermore, the Sixers are a team on the rise, with Iggy and Young only destined to get better, while you pretty much knew what the Clippers had in a nucleus of Davis and Brand- maybe a 7 or 8 seed, but nothing more.
from about 1 month ago
I agree, and I also agree with Ron too, But he has to have gone through a thorough physical. He has to be atleast healthy for the moment.
You never know with his history though.
So John, with all that said Do the Sixers keep Iguodala? Sixers have that 5 million exception and of course veteran exceptions. A Brent Barry would help this team. They have to find the Point Guard of the future, bc Miller will not be sticking around. And they do need a shooter who can play D, meaning a shooter not named Kyle Korver.
Posey or Pietrus would have been a good fit.
from about 1 month ago
I don't think the Sixers get the mid-level exception because they weren't over the cap at the beginning of the offseason. However, I think they have Bird rights on Iguodala, so I think they can go over the cap as much as they want to retain him. No reason I can see not to bring him back, I wouldn't hold his jitters in his first playoffs against him too much.
I don't know who else the Sixers would be looking to bring in. Brent Barry would be a good fit, but I don't think he's leaving San Antonio unless it's to go to another proven contender- maybe the Sixers will contend, but I don't think Barry would go there just based on the Sixers' potential.
Unfortunately, there's not a lot of good guys on the market if you're looking for a PG. I think they should just run with Miller for another year and try to address that need next offseason; the worst move they can do is to commit a lot of money to a guy that won't really solve their problems. Maybe a guy like Jannero Pargo or Eddie House could come in and be a decent backup, but obviously they don't fit the "playing D" criteria.
Basically, after they re-sign Iguodala, I think any additional improvements the Sixers make would have to come via trades, with their two biggest chips being Miller and Dalembert.
from about 1 month ago
you are right, since they were under the cap starting the offseason, the do not have a MLE
I thnk you only need to get a PG if its your guy of the future. bc you gotta save minutes for Lou Williams. I really do not like that guy, but he has to play. What about a trade with Charlotte, for Felton? maybe other names in the trade too.
about 1 month ago
I thoght it was seven years 97 mil...but i think he will be a good fit in philly, hopefully he wuill turn out better then Webber...
about 1 month ago
I like the whole Dalembert/Brand fornt court, that's really neat.
And with Iggy and Miller playing steady, Young rising up and some great role-players, I think the sixers are for real in the East.
A 4-5 seed next year probably...altough anything can happen and who knows, maybe the Bulls will raise from the dead...
about 1 month ago
this is so crazy
write a new comment