NBA Free Agent Frenzy: Three Best Signings Become No Big Deal

First of all, they didn't have to lose anybody to gain anybody. They already had the most cap space and are in the Eastern Conference, where the battle of the third best team won't be that hard to win. 

Maybe even the battle of the second best team, unless the Pistons do in fact start to reassemble that team.

But there is also a reason that the Sixers had so much cap space: They are not that talented and they lack experience.

Andre Iguodala is perhaps one of the best young players in the game. Athletic, and well-rounded, he could form a nice duo with Brand. However, he could also regress.

Playing second fiddle didn't seem to work out too well for him when Allen Iverson was in town. 

It's possible that his game will mature and he'll just get better with Brand now manning the middle. But Iguodala has been "the man" in Philly for the last year and a half. Does he even know how to throw it down low? When was the last time the Sixers had a big man that could score?

Outside of those two, Philly has point guard Andre Miller, center Samuel Dalembert, and forward Thaddeus Young.

And not much else.

When Brand and the Clippers were finally relevant in the 05-06 season, it was because they had veterans. That was a team led by Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley.

Andre Miller is no Sam Cassell. He's a question mark every time out, as far as what he's going to do. 

Dalembert could produce at a Kaman-like level, but not even  Kaman usually produces at a Kaman-like level when he plays next to Elton Brand.

So, where does this leave the Sixers?  Probably somewhere around the fifth or sixth seed and a first round exit.

Unless Brand performs at a 24 PPG level for 70-80 games while the team gets production from a player other than Iguodala, the Sixers won't be much better than the other middle-tier teams of the Eastern conference. 

In the end, after the three biggest free agent moves of the off-season were complete, no team advanced their playoff hopes much.  No team made the Celtic-splash we had been waiting for. Furthermore, the Clippers have their fans waiting again for next year.

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