Philadelphia 76ers Roster: How the Lockout Affects Every One of the 76ers

Much to the delight of millions of fans around the world, the NBA lockout appears to be over.

A few minor things still need to be negotiated, but barring an epic collapse, a new collective bargaining agreement should be ratified by the league's players and owners sometime over the next 10 days.

Training camps and free agency are both scheduled to begin on December 9, and one can safely assume that the weeks leading up to the December 25 start of the season will be nothing less than hectic.

Fortunately, the 76ers should be able to keep most of their nucleus from last year's 41-41 team intact. With that in mind, here's a look at how the lockout has affected the 76ers' roster and where each player stands going into the 2011-12 season.

Jrue Holiday

Perhaps no player on the Sixers will benefit more from the lockout being lifted than point guard Jrue Holiday.

Holiday came of age during his second season in the league, averaging 14.0 points, 6.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2010-11. But he's at the point in his career where every little bit of coaching he can receive is vital to his continued development. It's one thing to work on your skills alone or in pickup games. It's completely different to do so under the direction and guidance of coaches.

The 21-year-old Holiday still has plenty to learn, so the end of the lockout means that Holiday will once again be under the watchful eye of head coach Doug Collins. And even with a shortened training camp, Holiday should be ready to improve on his stellar sophomore season.

Evan Turner

It will happen about two months later than expected, but 76ers fans will finally get to see Evan Turner's new-and-improved jump shot.

The second-year swingman spent part of the summer working with legendary shooting coach Herb Magee of Philadelphia University. Turner had some noticeable flaws in his form that led to him shooting 42.5 percent from the field last season.

Whether Turner's outside game becomes more consistent remains to be seen. But even if it doesn't, don't be surprised to see him in the Sixers' starting lineup come opening night.

Not only is Turner a more versatile option at shooting guard than Jodie Meeks, but it only makes sense for he and Jrue Holiday to begin developing some sort of chemistry together. In a few years, a Turner-Holiday pairing could be one of the more formidable backcourts in the Eastern Conference.

Andre Iguodala

The end of the lockout means the beginning of the Andre Iguodala trade rumors once again. But with such a compressed offseason, it seems highly unlikely that the 76ers will deal their jack-of-all-trades swingman.

Knee and Achilles injuries limited Iguodala in 2010-11, and he posted his lowest scoring average since 2005-06 (14.1 points per game). But even at less than 100 percent, he upheld his reputation as one of the best wing defenders in the league, earning a nod to the NBA's All-Defensive 2nd Team last year.

As his move to the "point-forward" position last February demonstrated, Iguodala seems content to play more of a facilitator role with the Sixers, which frees up Jrue Holiday on the offensive end. The days of Iguodala averaging 20-5-5 may be over, but his current game appears to be a better fit with the pieces around him.

Elton Brand

With 12 seasons already under his belt, Elton Brand might have enjoyed a full year without the rigors of NBA basketball. Then again, at 32 years old, Brand may not have many more seasons left, so an extended break might have done more harm than good.

It's clear that Brand isn't the 20-10 force he was a decade ago. But let the statistics show that he's still good for 15 points, eight rebounds and solid defense each and every night. Brand was arguably the 76ers' MVP last season, and he routinely earned the "Ace of Spades" award from head coach Doug Collins for his on-court performance.

Brand's most important contribution to this team is his veteran leadership—a scarce quantity on a team where most of the players are 25 years old or younger. So while he is a prime candidate for the amnesty clause in the new CBA, Philadelphia will likely keep Brand for the remaining two years of his deal.

Spencer Hawes

The 76ers extended Hawes a qualifying offer last June, but it's still unclear what role—if any—he'll play with the team this season.

Hawes started 81 games during his first year in Philadelphia, averaging 7.2 PPG and 5.7 RPG. On the surface, his numbers were noticeably lower than what he averaged during his final two seasons in Sacramento. However, Hawes only logged 21.2 minutes per game last year, as he lacked the toughness the 76ers needed in the paint.

It's unlikely that Hawes will receive much interest in free agency, so expect to see him in a Sixers uniform this winter. However, with Nikola Vucevic and Marreese Speights waiting in the wings, Hawes may find himself in a battle to retain his starting spot once training camp begins December 9.

Thaddeus Young

Re-signing Thaddeus Young is probably the 76ers' biggest priority over the next month.

Young became a restricted free agent this offseason when the 76ers tendered him a $4 million qualifying offer in June. Young made $2.9 million in 2010-11, and he may come close to doubling that on the open market.

In a reserve role, Young averaged 12.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season. More importantly, he was a matchup nightmare, as opposing teams struggled to find someone who could guard the 6'8", 220-pound forward.

Andre Iguodala's presence means that Young won't start for the Sixers anytime soon, but if he does stay in Philadelphia, he'll likely be the first player off of the bench.

Lou Williams

Lou Williams was the 76ers' most productive player in the clutch last season. He also shot 40.6 percent on the year—a product of questionable shot selections at times.

Often the first guard off of the bench, Williams is more of a scorer than a playmaker. Ideally, he'd be the perfect guy in relief of Jrue Holiday, but Williams is primarily effective when the ball is in his hands on offense.

The 6'2", 175-pound guard also leaves something to be desired on the defensive end of the court, but it's hard to deny the energy and the passion that he brings to the team. He and Thaddeus Young are two of the best reserves in the entire NBA—together, they gave Doug Collins a number of intriguing lineup possibilities last season and will do the same in 2011-12.

Jodie Meeks

Jodie Meeks began last season on the Sixers' inactive list. He ended it as one of the team's most important players.

In his first stretch of meaningful playing time since entering the league in 2009, Meeks started 64 times in 2010-11 and averaged 10.5 points per game. However, with the emergence of Evan Turner, Meeks will likely return to a reserve role this season.

Even so, he remains the team's best three-point shooter, and he's a more-than-adequate starting option should the need arise in the future.

Andres Nocioni

The amnesty clause in the new CBA likely means the end of Andres Nocioni's tenure with the 76ers. Nocioni was on the books for $6.65 million for 2011-12—Philadelphia can use the clause to remove that figure from their salary cap this season.

The 76ers would have likely bought Nocioni out anyway: At the end of last year, the team informed Nocioni that he was not part of their future plans.

Nocioni has been keeping active during the lockout. After starring for Argentina in this summer's FIBA Americas tournament, he signed a deal with Penarol in the top-level Argentinean basketball league.

Last season, the 32-year-old Nocioni appeared in 54 games (17 starts) for the Sixers and averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

Marreese Speights

Few big men in the NBA have an outside shot as solid as the one Marreese Speights boasts. But his inability to play defense last season led Doug Collins to quickly fall out of favor with his 6'10" center.

If Speights was more consistent on both ends of the floor, he could easily get 20 to 25 minutes a night in the Sixers' rotation. However, minutes in Philadelphia's frontcourt will be harder to come by this season with the addition of first-round pick Nikola Vucevic.

Speights spent most of the summer working out at the Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas, and he reportedly looked impressive against NBA-caliber talent. If that offseason work translates into better effort once training camp starts next month, expect to see a much improved Speights this season.

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins only appeared in three games for the Sixers last season, averaging 2.7 points in extremely limited action. However, it's almost a certainty that his playing time will increase in 2011-12, considering that a number of Philadelphia's forwards (Andres Nocioni, Jason Kapono, Darius Songalia, Tony Battie) are no longer with the team.

The 6'10" Brackins was extremely productive during his stints in the D-League last season, averaging 20.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 18 games with the Springfield Armor. Brackins was also solid in the four games he spent with Israel club Maccabi Ashdod this fall, totaling 55 points and 21 rebounds.

In training camp, the burden will be on Brackins to prove to the 76ers' coaching staff that he can be a valuable rotation player this season. If not, he may find himself back in the D-League in short order.

Nikola Vucevic

Due to the less-than-stellar play from Spencer Hawes last season, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that the 7'0" Vucevic—the 76ers' first-round pick this year—could start on opening night. However, with such a compressed training camp, Vucevic appears to have his work cut out for him.

Vucevic has stayed busy during the lockout—he signed a contract with Buducnost (Montenegro) earlier this summer. To date, he has averaged 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in eight games in the Adriatic League.

Lavoy Allen

While waiting for the lockout to end, 76ers' second-round draft pick Lavoy Allen took his talents to France. Specifically, to top-level French club Strasbourg IG, where he's averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

The 6'9", 225-pound Allen won't see a lot of time with the Sixers this season, but he has every intention of returning to the States once the new CBA has been ratified. And on a team who only has one reliable option at the 4 and 5 spots (Elton Brand), Allen could easily carve out a niche in Doug Collins' rotation.