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**Coatesvillain** · 05-05-2005, 01:34 PM

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The million dollar question is: How do the 76ers get better next season?

If nothing else, the most glaring thing in their first-round playoff series with the Detroit Pistons is that the Sixers have a long, long way to go to get to the championship or elite level.

Sure, the Sixers won Game 3 and were in position to win Game 4. But who among us thought the Sixers were the better team and would win the series?

"We do have a ways to go," Sixers forward Kyle Korver said Wednesday.

"Certainly that is our goal, that we want to grow this thing toward a championship level," Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said.

O'Brien feels that he fulfilled expectations this season. The Sixers won 43 games - up from 33 last season - and they made the playoffs, which they did not do last season.

"Not only did we accomplish 10 games better than last year, we really got a bunch of guys quite a bit of experience, including experience in a playoff series against the defending world champions, which will help our guys in the future," O'Brien said.

They probably won't trade Allen Iverson, and they probably shouldn't. Let's face it: Iverson's play and Larry Brown's coaching are the primary reasons the Sixers got to the NBA Finals in 2001.

And Iverson is still one of the most special players in the league and his playoff performance showed that.

Sure, general manager Billy King should listen to what other teams may be willing to offer for the nearly 30-year-old Iverson, but he can't be foolish.

King talked Wednesday about keeping the team pretty much intact.

"We're going to try to keep the core of this team together, because you can't keep bringing new pieces in," said King, whose team doesn't have a first-round draft pick for the upcoming NBA Draft. "I think we've had three coaches in less than a year. We had a lot of new faces. We've got to give these guys a chance to go to training camp and play together. . . . If you look at the (good) teams, Detroit, Indiana, San Antonio, they've been together for a long time."

There were times last season when Iverson displayed a completely selfish attitude, and mainly for that reason, I thought he should hit the road. Plus, there is always the issue of his body, which takes more pounding than any other player in the league and you have to keep asking how long he'll be able to hold up.

Again, if you can get Seattle's Ray Allen, or perhaps someone like Milwaukee's Michael Redd, then maybe you look closely at the possibility.

Iverson is a future Hall of Famer, and as Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said, he has "the heart of a lion." He will play every second of every game if you let him and he pretty much did that in the five games against the Pistons.

King has said repeatedly he will match offers for restricted free agents Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green and Kyle Korver. Dalembert's performance in the playoffs only enhanced the offers he likely will receive.

"The first priority is re-signing the free agents," King said Wednesday. "That's No. 1 - keeping our young core intact . . . Their agents said they all love it here."

Asked specifically about Green, a player O'Brien played sporadically, King said, "Willie will be a part of this team next year. That's my goal. Willie Green is somebody we want on this basketball team."

Another issue is Chris Webber, who can still play, on one leg and all. His 4-for-16, 11-point effort in Game 5 was disappointing, but he has some special abilities, including passing, which must be utilized more.

Following Tuesday's 88-78 Game 5 loss, Webber, who is owed $62 million over the next three years, was asked about playing with Iverson. After talking about how he's played with quite a few quality point guards in his career, including Iverson, he said, "It was a learning experience. It made me a better person and my faith in God is definitely going to increase."

"Looking at our team at the end of the season, maybe we have to play a different way or implement (Webber) a little more," King said.

LINK

Vermillion · 05-05-2005, 05:12 PM

At least he's sending the message that he's keeping Green. The real question is, can he?

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