Is Evans a Goner?

[tk76-]

I just hate Kapono's contract.  he makes 1M more per year than KK, and I see him as a weaker player.  He can shoot, but he's a limited player on the floor for someone who is to make over 6M for the next 3 years.

Mat Carrol is similarly limitted,  and locked into the 2nd year of 6yr/29M contract, but at least that is a cheaper price.

[Pure Hatred]

Kapono will expire in the same year and Reggie Evans and makes slightly more money. At this point, I don't think cap room is an issue anymore. To paraphrase someone from realgm, worrying about cap room is the job of lower tier teams. We're done with that
We need to be thinking about filling needs and holes in trades, drafts and Free Agency now, and I think Kapono would do just fine.

[jemagee]

Most teams worry about the luxury tax, not just the lower tier teams...in a city where the team doesn't exactly draw well even when they are winning down the stretch and a corporate owner answerable to a board and stockholders, I doubt that 'whatever it takes' is a mantra floating around the halls of the sixers front office...things like paying the luxury tax and cap room matter to the sixers, it's naive to dismiss them regardless of brand or not

[TheGuiltyParty]

Most teams worry about the luxury tax, not just the lower tier teams...in a city where the team doesn't exactly draw well even when they are winning down the stretch and a corporate owner answerable to a board and stockholders, I doubt that 'whatever it takes' is a mantra floating around the halls of the sixers front office...things like paying the luxury tax and cap room matter to the sixers, it's naive to dismiss them regardless of brand or not

After yesterday, I'm fairly certain the Sixers aren't that concerned about box office draw. Dismissing the talk about the tax is silly and while I believe Ed should continue to keep on top on the cap and not allow bad contracts to pull this team down... that said, I don't think a $1MIL difference is what would prevent an Evans for Kapono trade to happen.

[jemagee]

Yeah, see, that's why they didn't trade iverson for a while, cause they felt he was still a box office draw, even while the team is losing...I saw it last year, philadelphia isn't a basketball town, they don't show up to support the team as much as they do, say, the flyers...who get the fans every night every season mostly...and again, corporate ownership in professional sports is something i dislike immensely...i like that the nfl doesn't really allow it

[TheGuiltyParty]

Iverson wasn't a box office draw for the final 3 years of his time in Philly. I agree that this isn't a basketball town but when there's excitement in the air (see: 2001), it's an AWESOME place to be. I think the Brand signing will help fill that building again. Also, the difference between that building in November versus March was night and day. The fans started coming back after that horrible start and I think they'll continue to come back unless something unfortunate happens.

[johnny broad-street]

I disagree that this isn't a basketball town. I agree the fans don't come out when the team is bad, but I think that is in part BECAUSE this is a basketball town. The basketball history is rich and goes back a long way. The fans here are knowledgeable and they have seen a lot of highs and lows. They get behind Big 5 basketball...High School ball...and when they feel the pros are giving them a worthwhile product, they go and they pay attention.

I am a Sixers devotee but I didn't go to  agame last year until the playoffs. Not because I don't love the game or follow the game (I watched every game on tv, and do that almost every season). I'm just smart enough to know  that spending that kind of cheddar isn't something I can always do if the team isn't winning.

I think you have a lot of basketball people in the Philly area, and they're like really knowledgeable film buffs. They're not going to pay to go see schlock....sure they might check it on cable, or rent it...download/...whatever...but they know what's worth seeing in person and what doesn't make the cut.

I actually feel that attendance is a tough way to tell if it's a basketball town or not. I take pride in the fact that we won't throw blind support behind a team that gives sub-par effort. It shows we know what we're looking at and we're not being duped

Just my opinion.

[jemagee]

It's an opinion i've heard before, and I don't buy into.  Philadelphia is a hockey town, winning or losing people show up for the flyers, knowing that they'll disappint in the playoffs, year after year after year, people show up for the eagles, year after year after year, but they only show up for the sixers if there's a transcendent talent or they are winning (and there were empty seats at last years playoff games, so it's not even just winning either)

Supporting a team (as a city) when it's winning isn't indicative of a town being a 'sports' town, it's indicative of bandwagoning and front running...(i think that's the term)...at least that's how i see it...boston for instance, is a baseball town, year in and year out, good or bad, sox fans are out in force....(they stunk for a while too don't forget)...Los Angeles really isn't an anything town, ultimate bandwagon city...overall, yes there are devoted fans, but they make up a small majority.

[johnny broad-street]

Does it mean nothing that so many Flyers attendees aren't knowledgeable and are there because they've been given tickets by their employer or a friend or something?

A Canadian friend of mine who is a REAL hockey guy comments regularly how when he goes to Flyers games he's amazed at how little the crowd understands what they're watching, and how many people seem to be first timers or casual fans. It's not the rabid crowd of die-hards it used to be. A lot of those people are at home watching on TV.....just like the Sixers. I think the difference is, Hockey is more violent and because of the price point is percieved to be a bigger event for the casual fan to take advantage of seeing when they can.

I think there are more Sixer fans in my position than you may be giving credit to. My small circle of friends represents about 15 or so who fit the descripion I laid out. I would imagine there are many in the same boat.

[jemagee]

We aren't talking knowledge level, we are talking fan support of a team, showing up...knowledge level most phillies fans are morons stuck in the 70s as well, but they show up seemingly more often than they do for the sixers.

Quick comparison question - don't know the answer

What percentage of seats were empty at the Wachovia Center during the playoffs last year vs What percentage of seats were empty at CBP during the playoffs last year (where the phillies were much more embarassing than the sixers in relation)

BTW - quite a bit of the sixer season ticket holder base is ALSO corporate....

[johnny broad-street]

Agreed, but when the Sixers product is good, you get a very blue-collar crowd filling the remaining seats.

Couldn't disagree more about knowledge vs. fan support. To me, what makes a city a "basketball city" or a "football city" is the level of interest and knowledge of the fans. I don't believe that's reflected in whether or not someone goes to the game. I feel it's reflected in WHY they do or don't go to the game. Philly has such a basketball tradition that goes FAR beyond the Sixers. Actually, the area has far more basketball history and tradition than any of the other sports, probably. As Isaid...Big 5...the Palestra...The Public League...tons of Philly area born Pros...a good amount of stars, in fact...Sonny Hill's camps...I don't want to belabor the issue, but I don't think empty seats at Sixer games is a great barometer for whether or not this is a basketball town.

Likewise, if the Eagles went south and the fans decided to show their disfavor by not going, I don't think that should tarnish the view of football interest in Philadelphia

[jemagee]

1.  Showing up when a team is winning has been referred to earlier in my post
2.  Dear god I'm tired of Philadelphia being referred to as blue collar...PITTSBURGH is blue collar, Philadelphia as much as it wants to be just isn't a blue collar city folks...it's a myth as far as i'm concerned, and it's as irritating as rocky being considered a sports icon for philadelphia.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the knowledge base, one like you said your small group of friends, it's a small group, it's not reflective as the majority of basketball 'fans' any more than this board or realgm is a larger representation of the overall fanbase, the devoted 'fanatical' fan is a small percentage of any fan base, and those are the ones posting on the internet and calling sports radio...a city is defined by its overall fan base in my opinion not just the samll rabid portion

[eagleye7377]

If this team every did win it all, I can picture Reggie as looking like the happiest man on earth.  He would put Mark Madson to shame.  The same part of me that hated to see KK go would regret losing Evans.

KK and Evans could not be more different as players, but they both have that passion fo the game.  There's no doubt those guys are not in it for the $'s or for ego.

Then again I would trade him in an instant for a mercenary who can defend  and had a dead eye jumper.  Maybe another Ron Anderson?

Or...James Posey perhaps? Sucks we used up our MLE.

[TheGuiltyParty]

Now that I think about it... what town is a basketball town? MSG has been empty plenty of nights, Miami was a ghost town last season (they have prettier places to be) and even a place like Sacramento, which is regarded as a great fan base, only filled 80% of their tiny building last year.

What city in the NBA shows up when the team isn't winning?? We can't really judge Utah since they make the playoffs every year but we know that "Rip City" wasn't buzzing with excitement or a filled arena when John Nash was running the team. Boston was certainly empty 2 seasons ago.

This is no less a basketball town than anyplace else. The difference here is that this is a HUGE sports town and so when we compare apples to oranges, we think the fanbase is weak.

[eagleye7377]

And I think this is a basketball town. This may sound mean/racist, but one of the reasons Philly has such a basketball history is the players that come from here, i.e. the inner city. Everybody in the poorer neighborhoods would probably love basketball, but they just can't afford to come out to many games. Basketball isn't totally a white man's game, which is what most of the crowd is, which is why we don't get the biggest crowds for the Sixers, unless there's a reason.

This town will always love every sport, and just because they don't always show up, doesn't tell the whole story to me.