Philadelphia 76ers: An Open Letter to the New Owners

To the new owners of the Philadelphia 76ers:

Thank you.

Thank you for rescuing our team.

Not that Comcast-Spectacor did a poor job of running the 76ers necessarily, but it seemed as though our beloved franchise was treated like an unwanted stepchild by Chairman Ed Snider.

It's clear Snider's first love is the Flyers—completely understandable since he literally created the team from nothing some 40-plus years ago. Even so, a franchise with as much history and success as the 76ers shouldn't take a back seat to a hockey club that didn't even exist until 1967.

I can't express how great it feels to have an engaged ownership group once again. We don't need to see you rappel from the rafters like former team president Pat Croce, but we do need to see you. Snider sightings at Sixers games were all too rare, and he appeared to have an air of indifference while taking in the product on the court.

I don't think that will be the same under your watch. By several accounts, a couple of you are avid 76ers fans. So perhaps you remember the excitement surrounding the team during Allen Iverson's first tour of duty here in Philadelphia.

He was only 165 pounds soaking wet, but Iverson carried the hopes and dreams of an entire fanbase on the back of his modest, rail-thin frame. Realistically, we knew that the 76ers couldn't contend with the elite teams in the NBA. But that didn't stop us from watching breathlessly each and every night. We didn't know what was going to happen, but we knew that we would be treated to a show virtually every time the Sixers stepped on the court.

To say things are different now would be an understatement.

I don't know if you've been to a game recently, but if you have, then you were likely greeted with the sight of thousands of empty seats at the Wells Fargo Center.

That shouldn't be the case. Without question, Philadelphia is a basketball city. It's the only city that boasts six Division I programs, and the various summer leagues draw players from all over the region.

Many of the NBA's all-time greats - Chamberlain, Monroe, Erving and Bryant, among others—either grew up or plied their trade in the City of Brotherly Love. Much like the local football team, the sport of basketball is woven into the blue-collar DNA that makes us who we are. There are those who doubt it, but the buzz generated by the team during the playoff run this spring is proof positive of one thing:

This city wants to fall in love with the Sixers again.

So how can that happen? Winning helps, of course. So does an exciting player or two. As luck would have it, the future of the team looks more promising than it has in years. It's been a long time since the roster was filled with so much young talent.

The NBA is becoming a point-guard driven league, and Sixers fans are blessed to have Jrue Holiday at the helm. If the first two years of his career are any indication, it looks as though we'll have one of the league's premier guards for several seasons to come.

You may have read a few things in the papers about Evan Turner: some good, some bad. All you need to know is this: he wants it.

Yes—his jump shot is a work in progress, and he doesn't always seem comfortable while out on the court, but it seems like he'll put in the time and the effort to figure it out. Between him and Holiday, you have the makings of a cornerstone backcourt duo that could evolve into one of the more exciting tandems in the NBA.

I'd tell you what my thoughts are on Andre Iguodala, but let's keep things positive, shall we? I'll gladly defer to Doug Collins' opinion on Iguodala—I'm sure he's far more rational and level-headed about the situation than I am.

Speaking of Collins, there isn't much for me to say about him that hasn't already been said. Last season, he performed the biggest miracle anyone has seen since a few thousand people were fed with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish.

His hiring was one of the best moves that current general manager Ed Stefanski has ever made. By the way, I saw that you're allowing Stefanski to interview with other teams, so if you need someone to run the personnel side of the house, just let me know—I'm sure we can work something out.

So once again, thank you. Thank you for giving us yet another reason to be excited about this team.

Oh yeah, and one more thing:

#ShowYaLuv