What we are learning about Ed and the teams direction

[tk76-]

It looks like Ed is once again proving himself to be a straight shooter.  So far he has followed through on several things that at the time looked like GM speak and smokescreens.

1.  Said he was not planning on moving Miller at the deadline.
-At the time many expected Miller gone, but what Ed said came topass.

2.  Said he wanted to evaluate Mo and the front office and give them a chance.
-Most media assumed Ed would want to clean house and bring in his own people.  Right or wrong, Ed again showed to be a man of his word.  At least in the case of DiLeo it is clearly a wise choice.

3.  Ed talked on DNL about getting more PT 1st for Young and then for Carney.
-Not surprisingly Mo quickly changed his lineups to work in the young guns- and was surprisingly rewarded with wins.

4.  Prior to the draft Ed said he was going to stand pat at 16 and pick a big with upside who is raw.
-Not a shock, but Ed again did what he said he would and drafted Speights, and tried (and is trying) to get Jordan.

5.  Ed said he wanted to build a "superathletic" team that was up-tempo but defensive minded.  A team with good players at every position (a la Detroit) but without one star focal point.

-Once again, Ed is trying to do just as he said he would.  His main target appears to be Smith.  That means building around youth, superior athletasism, and not investing in a proven superstar.
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I'm not saying I agree with Ed's decisions- and its is way to early to judge him (he may not even sign Smith.)

My point is that Ed is showing himself to be an anomaly amongst front office types.  He is both available to media and even bloggers, and yet he doesn't try to use the press to blow smoke or create misdirection.  He pretty much says what he plans to do with very little spin.

So listen closely to what Ed says- he's like our own insider.  When Ed says things like claiming the Sixers will try to find shooters from on the roster, or Lou might start at SG it is likely an indication of what is really on his mind- without much spin or artifice.

[Skates]

We are also learning that when he says he wants long athletic players who can defend multiple positions he really means it.  This team is going to be built with defense as its strength, no doubt.

[TheGuiltyParty]

Ed's a straight shooter and doesn't seem to BS. That's nice and I like it but can he build a championship team??? If we sign Smith, the USOC should fly the Sixers to Beijing just in case the entire track and field team becomes sick. I have no doubt that Smith, Iguodala, Williams, Thad, and Carney can bring home the gold in most of the events.

[jemagee]

A championship team is not built over night...the sixers were a moribound mess when stefanski took over and they still have some issues (Dalembert and Greens contracts) to deal with...plus to build a championship team you need a little bit of luck, you know like the spurs getting duncan instead of the sixers in the lottery...or a stupid GM offering you pau gasol for scraps.  I'd be itnerested to see what (if any) nets players Stefanski makes a run at, he knows those players best...for instance, marcus williams, rumored to be available and on the outs in jersey, if stefanski obtains him i'd be confident that he's going to be a good point guard cause he saw him every day.

I don't think we know squat about ed's vision yet...i think all the things he's been saying publilcly are nice and everything, but they are obvious, like i said in the other thread, let's see what happens NOW, if (when) the sixers miss out on smith, when Stef has to work, scour the rosters of other teams, see whats available and see what he can get to improve the sixers, and let's see what happens if he can't find the right piece, does he panic and over pay for something or does he play it smart and tell the fanbase I know better than you do or you'd have my job (i.e. is ed going to run the team like the phillies or like the eagles)

[TheGuiltyParty]

I'd love to see us get Marcus Williams but I'm beginning to suspect that Ed does NOT want to bring in another young PG because he wants Williams to continue to get minutes there. Bringing in Williams only creates more of a logjam even though I believe Marcus Williams has a greater chance of being a solid starting PG than Louis.

[jemagee]

Not if you trade andre miller

[Skates]

NJ is very down on Marcus Williams.  If Stefanski was of a different mind-set from the end of his NJ days I think Williams would already be a Sixer.  My guess is Stefanski knows the inside scoop on Williams and has so far decided to pass on him.

[jemagee]

NJ is very down on Marcus Williams.  If Stefanski was of a different mind-set from the end of his NJ days I think Williams would already be a Sixer.  My guess is Stefanski knows the inside scoop on Williams and has so far decided to pass on him.

Or there are bigger fish to fry...like filling the hole at PF...or they are negotiating and trying to work out a deal cause the nets don't want willie green for marcu williams cause no one wants willie green.

There's 100 possible reasons and no one here knows any of them really.

[darius08]

Smith's prowess on the defensive end must clearly be whta is attractive to us. He has the tools to be an amazing defender. If he develops them, a line-up that features Iguodala, Thaddeus (another player with the tools & desire to develop into a superlative defender), Smith and Dalember would be an amazing defensive line-up. The other team, whoever they are, would struggle to score. The problem is that so would we.

[bebopdeluxe]

I think that Andre Miller must be traded - this summer if possible.

He has served a valuable function for this team - bridging the gap from the dysfunctional AI/CWebb team to the team that is starting to develop into something pretty interesting.  Count me among those (a minority?) who though that winning all of those games in '06-07 (and getting into the playoffs last season) was important in terms of the development of the young players on this team.  Stefanski now has a pretty good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of this roster, and Miller was a big help.

Thanks, bro...and don't let the door hit your azz on the way out.

If we do get Smith, then I guess that I could see holding onto Miller for another year - all that we will likely be able to move him for would be another expiring that may not be necessary ('Sheed, Marion).  If we can move him at the deadline for more value, then so be it.  But if we are not getting Smith, then I am definitely interested in seeing if we can move him this summer - perhaps for one of those stop-gap one-year PF's...and we could use our cap room to think of improvements other than PF (such as our long-term solution at PG).

[TheGuiltyParty]

If we do strike out on Smith... then I'd really like to see Ed try to move Miller for a PF since I think Miller could land a better PF than the cap space would on the trade market. Either way, I guess we need to just sit back and see how the Smith thing plays out first. Then again, if we sign Smith, Iguodala, and Williams to contracts... I doubt that Miller's expiring deal would really help us have any decent amount of cap space. I'm sure Ed knows the deal and we'll hear more about this after free agency.

[jemagee]

Unless of course they don't use the cap space this summer cause there are no real options, and then they are flush next off season.

The problem with your plan, and I agree that it's a plan with exploring is that when you trade miller for the PF - you just swap holes - now you have a hole at point guard and unless you are comfortable with louis williams starting point guard (i'm comfortable with Louis Williams, GUARD, either position, as back up, maybe 20-25 MPG between the two positions), you have to replace the PG.  And there are a lot of available PGs this off season but can the sixers get them?

[bebopdeluxe]

jem:

I like Hinrich...and depending on what happens with Gordon, he may be available for cheap.

Good defender.  Good shooter from distance.  Until last season (an admittedly dysfunctional season for the Bulls), he was putting together a pretty nice little career there.  Contract declines in value over time.

I would view him as a potential PG of the future...and he's a heckuva lot more proven that Marcus Williams, Critt, Felton or any of the other names being thrown around.

[jemagee]

Well I'm a huge hinrich fan myself and advocated gettign him for a while before banned in a few places, but was told he wasn't worth it.

Thing is, Paxson is notoriously stingy with 'his guys' even when he wants to move them and can the sixers offer up enough to get it done?

[johnny broad-street]

Man...I'd be all over Hinrich as a Sixer.