July 9th 2008: Two Players Jump Ship and Create Monumental Shift in the NBA

NBA free agency is underway with a big bang. The Philadelphia 76ers worked some late minute magic and lured Elton Brand away from the Clippers. The Sixers have searched for a low post scorer for ages and have finally landed him. Somewhere Allen Iverson is asking why this didn’t happen sooner. If it did he wouldn’t be talking about practice.

Brand provides a solid midrange game and is great in the paint. The move takes pressure off Samuel Dalembert, who won’t be relied to develop into an offensive contributor anymore. With Dalembert’s defensive prowess to compliment Brand, the Sixers instantly become more dynamic and a great rebounding team.

The move should also allow Andre Iguodala to have his best season as a pro. With an established scorer in the paint it will cut down on Iggy’s shots and allow him to take much better shots overall. He’ll have easier drives to the hoop. His efficiency should improve substantially next season.

But the biggest move by Philly in hindsight is the one they didn’t make. It was widely speculated the Sixers would deal away Andre Miller to a contending team in need of a solid point guard. Instead the Sixers decided to hold serve and were record-wise one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference after the all-star break. He helped lead the young players. Now with an established veteran in Brand on the team, Miller should be able to incorporate his game to its highest potential. He will set up many good plays to Iggy and Brand. He will be hovering around 10 assists a game next season.

They were able to make an upgraded offer to Brand by dealing Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to the T-Wolves for more cap space. Minnesota needed an athletic SF to challenge Corey Brewer and Carney fits the bill.

The Sixers now have one of the best starting lineups in the East but they are suffering from lack of depth. They will need a backup guard. Right now Louis Williams is the only one on the roster. Jason Smith, Reggie Evans, and Marreese Speights will have to serve as the backups for Dalembert and Brand. Clearly most of the starters will have to log big minutes over the course of the season. Dalembert and Brand have suffered nagging injuries in the past and this team could easily nosedive in a hurry if one of them goes down.

It is debatable as to whether Willie Green should be a starter in this league, but his game fits this core group of guys very well. He will be ignored by opposing defenses and will have to become the shooter of this starting 5. He will have to work on his perimeter game and if he can knock down shots regularly it opens up his ability to get to the hole while giving defenses headaches over who to guard and who to leave alone.

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