Full story from ESPN:
On Thursday, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that offseason aquisition, Elton Brand, would have season-ending knee surgery. Gee, like nobody saw that coming.
If you want my opinion, I bet that the 76ers forced this issue for Brand to have the surgery. Let's go back in time. They hand over a 5 year, 80 million dollar deal to this guy in the offseason. Ok. Now, this is a guy whose style of play clashes with the style of offense the 76ers like to run - the run and gun. So right off the bat, the Sixers paid over 15 million a year for Brand; when in reality, he was nothing more than a gamble. They knew his style didn't suit the offense but Mo Cheeks wanted this guy and he and his staff thought they could draw up some "creative" plays to get him space at the top or draw players out to the perimiter giving him one on one inside. Well, Cheeks' vision didn't pan out at all and he didn't even make it through the first half of the season. Now you have a new coach - Tony DiLeo, a guy with virtually no experience, but he's well-liked in house and by Stefanski.
BUT, DiLeo has actually been a pretty good coach for the 76ers. Since the loss of Brand and DiLeo's taking over, they've won 11 of their 15 and seem to be establishing a rhythm. Tony Bruno last night on ESPN Radio even called the Sixers the 4th best overall team in the Eastern Conference right now. Now, here's the difference between DiLeo and Mo - DILEO HASN'T HAD TO WORK WITH BRAND! Brand's been on the bench with the initial injury. The Sixers get hot. Brand comes back and looks awful - just downright awful. Totally slows down the offense. Nobody really knows what to do while he is on the floor. It's a disaster.
So, the Sixers had to come to grips with the face that he just downright doesn't fit this team - healthy or not. When Brand was healthy, the Sixers still weren't that good of a team. And think about it this way. When a guy comes back from injury and the head coach says that they need to "work him back into the offense," that's never a good sign for the chemistry of the team. This team's best chance to win is having Iguadola, Dalembert, Young, Miller, and as much as I hate to say it - Willie Green, on the floor. The Sixers have two potentially great young players coming off their bench in Speights and Williams, that when given their opportunties this season, have stepped up. Meanwhile, the 76ers had to approach Brand and tell him that they believed it was in his best interest to have the surgery now. They told him it was fine and that he shouldn't worry about anything but getting healthy. I smell bullshit. It's more like this. Elton, we don't really like what you bring to this team. We took a gamble and we're paying for it. But do us a favor. Instead of us looking foolish, say you want to have this surgery, so we get you off the floor without admitting that we straight up messed up.
Sorry 76ers. I said over the summer when they made this deal that it wouldn't work out, and so far.. I couldn't be more right. They would have been better served offering ATL FW Josh Smith a 5 year, 70 million dollar deal. Atlanta got him for 58 million and probably wouldn't have been willing to match the extra 12 million. Smith fits the dynamic of the Sixer offense, and is turning into a dominant player. Would have made much more sense.
If the Sixers want to rebound from this mess, here's a possible option. You put Andre Miller, Sammy Dalembert, and Thaddeus Young on the block. Hate to say it about Young, but I have a feeling teams wouldn't want to give up too much for Dalembert, and Young is the best, yet most expendable piece they have to get some value. I say Miller because he is up there in age, and because I think Lou Williams is ready to take over the starting job. Also, there always seems to be that team at the deadline that is looking for that veteran PG to ensure a deep playoff run (i.e. Dallas Mavericks getting Jason Kidd right before the deadline last year). I'd love to see the Sixers use a combo of these 3 pieces to go out and get themselves a shooter. That's what this team lacks right now- a jump shooting threat. Get one of those and the Sixers are capable of winning a playoff series - maybe two.
As for Brand: can't worry about it too much now. You have to focus on getting the most out of this season that you can. But unfortunately, it looks like Brand = Bust.
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