Prior to Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, 76ers president Billy King said he wouldn't be crushed if the 2007-08 Sixers don't make the playoffs.
If we progress and are headed in the right direction, that will be the determining factor, King said. I'm not going to set the bar at the playoffs as the be-all and end-all. That's what you play for, but you also want to see progress.
I understand King doesn't want to put pressure on the players by saying they have to get to the postseason. Perhaps King learned his lesson three years ago at the lottery when he said he wasn't coming back he's returned to Secaucus, N.J., in each of the past two Mays.
But I don't have a problem saying it.
Next season won't be a success and it could put the jobs of King and coach Maurice Cheeks, who are heading into the final year of their respective contracts, in jeopardy if the Sixers don't make the playoffs.
Had the Sixers played just over .500 ball, as they did in going 30-29 during the 59 games after King traded Allen Iverson to the Nuggets on Dec. 19, for the entire season, they would have finished 42-40 and sixth in the Eastern Conference, earning them a date with the Raptors in the first round of the postseason.
Given a first training camp with terrific point guard Andre Miller, continued improvement of Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver, Samuel Dalembert, et al, and the addition of two or three first-round picks if not a veteran to plug into the rotation there's no reason to believe the Sixers should regress next year.
I'm not talking about threatening the Pistons or Cavaliers for Eastern Conference supremacy.
There's nothing ground breaking in this article, but I get an overwhelming feeling of two things from reading it..
#1 - Andre Miller will not be traded this offseason.
#2 - The Sixers won't use all three first round picks, instead using any combination of them and something else in return for a veteran.
I believe these will happen in order to protect the short term dream of simply making the playoffs.
__________________ Who cares about a championship drought?:
My teams will never win a championship anyway, so why don't you discuss everything else at my forum? Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so. It's called.. Booing Santa Claus. See you there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rollins
The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.
I don't know about a veteran, but that would be stupid beyond imagining. Why would you go into a rebuilding process, and then trade for veterans? It doesn't make sense. They have no chance of winning a title regardless, get some young guys and try to work your way up. Damn, why do they keep these clowns?
I agree, this team needs some veteran leadership. I can't see this team progressing next year with 3 more 'Rodney Carney' type players on the team. We're gonna have to package a couple of those picks w/someone else in order to get a decent player in return.
__________________ I think religion is a neurological disorder that prevents people from thinking on their own.--Bill Maher
I agree, this team needs some veteran leadership. I can't see this team progressing next year with 3 more 'Rodney Carney' type players on the team. We're gonna have to package a couple of those picks w/someone else in order to get a decent player in return.
even with these pieces, they won't really be a contender in the next 5 years. tank next year.
I don't know about a veteran, but that would be stupid beyond imagining. Why would you go into a rebuilding process, and then trade for veterans? It doesn't make sense. They have no chance of winning a title regardless, get some young guys and try to work your way up. Damn, why do they keep these clowns?
Sliccat no its not, thats perfect Billy king thinking
I've never understood the playoff goal if you are just going to get trampled in the 1st round anyway (In a weak conference as well which makes it all the more sad), is it really that good to have happen? I guess getting experience is nice, but the Jazz seemed to do just fine this year with relatively no big experiences outside of Fisher, and that's just one example....I just remember playing Detroit a few years back in the first round and I think Sixer fans were thinking the same thing as me since neither home game was even close to selling out because everyone knew the end result of that series (I was in attendance but I was almost ashamed of how poor the attendance was, just no atmosphere or anything).
"If you've ever seen Iverson play in person, you know that his improvisational skills are amazing. Baron Davis calls him unguardable. He's a killer on the fast break. One on one, even one on two, when the guy they call the Answer is on a one-way trip to the basket, you better just foul him. People can hate all day about the number of shot attempts. But, damn, give him props for even getting them up. He's small enough to have every shot contested. That 39% shooting sounds terrible to the regular reader, but have you seen these NBA players lately?"
-SLAM issue #68, April 2003
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FAVORITE TEAM: Denver OTHER FAVORITES: New York, New Orleans, Charlotte, Memphis, LA Lakers, Philadelphia, Indiana, Boston, Houston TOP 5 FAVORITE PLAYERS: Allen Iverson, Adam Morrison, TJ Ford, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul (and OJ Mayo) OTHER FAVORITES: Samuel Dalembert, Michael Redd, Salim Stoudemire, Rajon Rondo, Gilbert Arenas, Emeka Okafor, Kobe Bryant, Randy Foye, JJ Redick, Marcus Camby, Kyle Lowry, Andre Iguodala, Sasha Vujacic, Acie Law, Thaddeus Young, Joakim Noah, Javaris Crittenton (rookies: Mayo, Beasley, Speights, Batum, Hickson, Weaver, Rose, Gordon, Gallinari)
I've never understood the playoff goal if you are just going to get trampled in the 1st round anyway (In a weak conference as well which makes it all the more sad), is it really that good to have happen? I guess getting experience is nice, but the Jazz seemed to do just fine this year with relatively no big experiences outside of Fisher, and that's just one example....I just remember playing Detroit a few years back in the first round and I think Sixer fans were thinking the same thing as me since neither home game was even close to selling out because everyone knew the end result of that series (I was in attendance but I was almost ashamed of how poor the attendance was, just no atmosphere or anything).
It depends on the direction your team is going. That Sixer team made the playoffs due to a late season spurt and we're pretty much leaking oil going into that series. Leaking oil as an 8th seed is murderous, but with that said they had a very competitive season. I think if they built on that by making some alterations to the roster the post season experience would've been beneficial. Of course anything that was gained was undermined because the main change was the removal of O'Brien and the insertion of Cheeks and the roster pretty much stayed the same.
If you're really building something even a four game trip to the playoffs is worth it because your core does gain experience.
__________________ Who cares about a championship drought?:
My teams will never win a championship anyway, so why don't you discuss everything else at my forum? Good idea, right? Yeah, I thought so. It's called.. Booing Santa Claus. See you there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Rollins
The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.
Playoffs the goal for Sixers..
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