Five Storylines for the 2009-2010 Philadelphia 76ers

In this NBA offseason, the rich got richer (Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs, Ron Artest to the Los Angeles Lakers, Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to the Boston Celtics, Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Vince Carter to the Orlando Magic), while the poor got poorer (in an attempt to shave cap space while hopefully not getting fleeced like Memphis GM Chris Wallace).

The Philadelphia 76ers stayed somewhere in between, content with what they had.

Philly made no major acquisitions, despite the flurry of activity from the preseason title favorites, only choosing to low-ball starting PG Andre Miller out of town and into Portland.

The Sixers are still waiting for the payoff of their biggest offseason gamble in recent history—namely, a five-year, $80 million contract to former No. 1 pick Elton Brand in 2008.

Brand's first season in Philadelphia was marred by injuries, limiting him to playing in a total of 29 games. He had been recovering from rupturing his left Achilles' tendon with the Clippers the season before. Brand dislocated his shoulder in late December and never rounded back into his typical 20/10 form.

When healthy, Brand is one of the only four active NBA players with a career average of 20 points and 10 rebounds (the others being Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and O'Neal).

Injuries, however, have limited Brand to 37 games in the past two seasons (out of a possible 164 games), which leaves Sixers fans to wonder whether they'll ever get the 20/10 post option they thought they'd signed from the Clippers.

Brand's redemption is one of the five biggest storylines to keep an eye on for the Sixers in this upcoming season. Let's check out the others:

1) New Head Coach Eddie Jordan

After losing in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual-Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, 76ers interim head coach Tony DiLeo returned to his position in the Sixers' front office (as assistant GM), leaving a massive vacancy at the head coaching spot.

The Sixers front office didn't wait long, signing former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan to a multi-year deal for their head coaching spot.

Jordan thrived with the Wizards running a version of the Princeton offense, which he has now brought to Philadelphia. The Princeton offense is one of the most complicated offensive systems run in the NBA, as all five players on the court must be viable options to pass the ball to the open man, get an open shot, and knock down said open shot.

So far...not so good for the Sixers. In the preseason, the players have seemed confused by the offense and have often bailed on running set plays within the last five seconds of the shot clock.

"It's a learning process," PG Lou Williams said. "It's not something you can just pick up. It's going to take time to process and to run it and to run it efficiently."

Brand explained the complications of the offense in this way:

"You have to know that guys are out of position and that they're not going to cut all the way through and things like that on the first day. But it makes a lot of sense. Because I'm cutting and this guy's cutting because this guy has an open shot out at the elbow. Or I'm pulling through so Lou Williams can do what he does great and penetrate.

"We have to deprogram ourselves. I'm going to stop at the block sometimes, and you've got to go through. The guards sometimes want to hold the ball, but they've got to kick it ahead to Andre Iguodala and guys like that. We're not used to cutting through and moving the ball the way we are."

While the Sixers have remained disjointed offensively in the preseason, they did manage to run to a 5-3 record...meaning that if the offense stalls, the Sixers appear to have the necessary horses that can break out and run.

2) Skip-to-my-Lou?

The Sixers' biggest offseason move wasn't a move at all—it was their reluctance to re-sign starting PG Andre Miller. Miller was reportedly asking for a contract in the range of three years, $30 million, and the Sixers had no intention of signing him to that amount. Portland stepped in with a three-year, $21 million deal, and Miller was off to the Trailblazers.

Where did that leave the 76ers? In the hands of 23-year-old Lou Williams, a fifth year PG stepping into his first starting opportunity.

The front page of philly.com's Sixers section (as of when this was written) features a write-up on Philly's new starting PG, who averaged 12.8 points, three assists, two rebounds, and a steal per game last season (in slightly under 24 minutes).

Figuring that Williams should receive an uptick in minutes, to somewhere between 34 and 38 minutes per game, his statistics should likely follow suit. Extrapolating his statistics to 30 minutes per game would project the following: 16.2 points, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and a three-ball.

If Williams can manage a productive season like the projection above (while limiting his turnovers—he was 17th in the league last season) the Sixers will be saying "Andre Miller who?" by February.

3) Who's Keeping Defenses Honest?

The 76ers shot 31.8 percent as a team from behind the three-point line last season...good for dead last in the league.

Since shipping sharpshooter Kyle Korver to Utah in March of 2007 for Gordan Giriček, the Sixers have been notably devoid of a three-point threat. Last season's long-distance troubles had been brewing since '07.

With that in mind, the Sixers acquired noted three-point shooter Jason Kapono from Toronto this summer—who shoots 45 percent from three for his career.

But beyond Kapono, who will the Sixers rely on to stretch their opponents' defense?

4) The Rise of A.I.? Thad Young?

The 76ers are privileged to have a nucleus of talented, young players spearheaded by 25-year-old SG Andre Iguodala and 21-year-old SF Thaddeus Young.

Iguodala is one of the up-and-coming shooting guards in the league, who averaged nearly 19 points, six rebounds, and over five assists per game last season. His well-roundedness provides Jordan's Princeton offense a versatile weapon that can score, rebound, and dish equally well.

Meanwhile, Young has been pegged for a potential breakout season by just about everyone who followed the Sixers last season, and for good reason. Last season, in his second year in the league, Young started averaging nearly 20 points, five rebounds, 1.5 steals, and a three-pointer per game.

The two will provide the Sixers with most of their backcourt scoring (along with Williams and Kapono), but both will be expected to take leadership roles on the team this season.

If either can live up to the considerable hype they've been generating in the preseason, the Sixers could be one of the surprises of the Eastern Conference this year.

5) Brand's Health

As mentioned in the intro, Brand's health will be key to the success of the 76ers in the 2009-2010 season.

The two biggest questions surrounding Brand are "Will he be healthy enough to play?" and "How does he fit into the Sixers' system?"

As much as I wish I could, I have no ability to see into the future, so I'm leaving the "healthy" question aside. I'll cross both fingers and pray Brand's 30-year-old body isn't biologically older than Bea Arthur.

Regarding Brand's place in the Sixers' run-and-gun offense, that's more a question for Coach Jordan, however, I can at least use what I've seen in the preseason as some indication of Brand's role on Philly's squad this year.

When run successfully, Jordan's Princeton offense is predicated on backdoor cuts and all five players on the court demonstrating a willingness to pass the ball to the open man. Judging by the Sixers' preseason, Brand is still trying to find his role.

The Philadelphia Inquirer examined the Brand issue this preseason, asking the player himself and the Sixers coach what they envision Brand's role being this season.

First, Jordan's take: "We need a horse. Everybody needs a horse. And we call [Brand] our horse. It's just a matter of him fitting into our offense, being patient in the offense for his teammates. I don't mind him being overly aggressive right now; I want him to feel good, find his way, and then you can pull back the reins a little bit...Eventually he's going to have to look at the whole picture and say, 'How can I help my teammates?' And he does it defensively; he has to do it offensively."

Now, Brand: "I'm not sure points-wise, but they definitely need me to be a dominant player," Brand said. "I look around, we have a lot of young guys, and we do have some go-to players, but I need to be one of those go-to players."

In the context of these two quotes, Brand's preseason performance could be foreshadowing a more diminished offensive role for the power forward, as he looks to make his impact felt in other areas of the game.

With young guns Iguodala, Young, and Williams surrounding him in the starting lineup, Brand realizes that unlike his time in Los Angeles, he doesn't have to be the nightly 20/10 option for the Sixers to win. Jordan sees Brand as one more rotating piece in the Princeton puzzle (albeit, a large, 6'9", $80 million piece).

Whether Brand can adapt to his new role or not is yet to be seen...but chances are that the Sixers' playoff chances hinge largely on him.

What Do You Think Are the Storylines That Will Make or Break the Upcoming Season for the 76ers? Do You Think This Team Is Playoff-Bound?

One bonus item to watch for: The development of second-year PF Marreese Speights. He was the Sixers' third-leading scorer in the preseason despite averaging only nearly 20 minutes per game. Speights has 15/10 upside coming off the bench behind Brand, and provides the Sixers a wonderful security blanket in case of another injury to Brand.