Sixers Hire Eddie Jordan

[DuckyNinja]

Just announced on CSN during the Phillies game.

[Skates]

Yawn.

[tk76-]

My initial reaction is a middling coach for an average team.

I guess we can at least watch to see how the offense goes.  Expect some bumps in the road next year.  Their current team lacks players well versed in the new offense and lacks shooters.  But I guess this could work well for Thad and Iguodala down the road... if the coach and GM last that long.  7 coaches in 8 years- at least they make good money (well maybe not by NBA standards.)

Overall, seems like a move that has Ed holding on to complete control.  He did not give up on iota of power by making this hire.

[DuckyNinja]

My initial reaction is a middling coach for an average team.

I guess we can at least watch to see how the offense goes.  Expect some bumps in the road next year.  Their current team lacks players well versed in the new offense and lacks shooters.  But I guess this could work well for Thad and Iguodala down the road... if the coach and GM last that long.  7 coaches in 8 years- at least they make good money (well maybe not by NBA standards.)

Overall, seems like a move that has Ed holding on to complete control.  He did not give up on iota of power by making this hire.

Which coach on the list was worth giving power to?

[Skates]

This hire also paints the bullseye right on Stefanski.  By next season he will have his coach and mostly his players.  I think Jordan is a recipe for mediocrity, but installing the Princeton offense will at least be interesting.

I think we can say goodbye now to Andre Miller and look for shooting PG immediately.  They know they have to add shooters already and I am not worried as much about Brand scoring in this offense.  He is actually pretty mobile and a very smart player, but he did not appear to be a very good passer last year.  Speights and Jason Smith may get significantly more play under Jordan, they both ahve some passing skills.  Dalembert needs to go, he will stick out like a tall, skinny sore thumb in this offense, heck, like he does in most offenses.

They need to grab a good passing center to pair with Brand in this offense, or a smaller slashing type center who can block shots and finish cuts and otherwise stay out of the way.

[johnny broad-street]

I think this move makes a Brand move to the 5 a smart idea. He's a solid pivot with a low center of gravity and good passing skills. We could get away with he and Speights at the 4-5 spots. They can both knock down a shot and Brand passes well from the low block. Sammy really needs to go now. He makes no sense under Jordan at all.

I say draft the best player available at 17, and hope it's a combo-type PG. Someone quick who can hit the mid-range will be very helpful in this system.

[rickortreat]

There's no way Brand can play the 5.  He's 6'8" and would be overmatched nearly every night.  Speights is 6'11", but he's not strong enough, or wasn't this season to play in the post.  J. Smith has a lot to prove to me, before I'd let Sammy go, besides, he's under contract for a few more years, and no other team will pick up his salary.

The Princeton offense should work fine with this group. Brand is a very good passer, and so is Iguodala. Speights and Young both have excellent range for their size.  I'm much more concerned about defense and rebounding in the half-court with these players.

The Sixers can't afford to drop Miller either, do you really want to have the team run by a rookie point?

Ed still have a lot of work to do this summer, Rush and Ivey aren't good enough to keep, and Reggie Evans needs to go.  I wonder if he might be able to pry away one of Chicago's guards. If we could get Heinrich, then we could let Miller go.

[carolina blue]

There's no way Brand can play the 5.  He's 6'8" and would be overmatched nearly every night.

One of the things that has made Brand such an effective player of the years is his freakish length.

His wingspan is 7'5.5" and his standing reach is 9'2" - those number put him right there with a lot of guys who play center in the NBA

[Skates]

Having watched Brand for the time I could this past year and from some of what I remember watching him in LA, I think calling him a good passer is over rating things a bit.  He was average at best, perhaps below average in passing.  Maybe it was the systems and not his skills and the Princeton offense would certainly offer better passing lanes and options, plus he is a smart player.  But until I see better I do not think of Brand as being more than a barely competent passer.

[tk76-]

I get the same sense.  Brand won't make stupid, high risk passes like Sam or Evans- but he also does not make quick decisions with the ball.

I think brand will work fine in the Princeton because you can give him the ball at the top of the lane and he will make a good decision.  He might not make a great pass like Vlade, but he will make a high percentage pass within the offense.  I actually think it is easier for a big to pass from up top than to ask them to make a cross court pass when double teamed (as in a convensional offense.)

Speights looks to be a good passer.  Again, not fancy, but decisive when a guard is open.  Really impressed with that part of his game (and his jumper.)  Smith should be fine as well.  None of these bigs are in the Vlade/Mike Miller category, but they should fit better than Brendan Haywood .

[Skates]

In this offense I don't think you will find Brand camped out down low very often.  He will play primarily in the high post, where he has a history of being a very effective player and he is also a fairly adept cutter for a big, bulky guy.  This offense doesn't really look for a lot of slow-down the ball and back it in type post-ups.  In some respects this is a very good thing for the current personnel, because we don't have anyone who can really do that effectively any way.

Iggy should play facilitator and finisher in this offense, he can't pound the ball up top looking for a jumper to come open any more.  Thad should flourish, maybe to all-star level at SF.  Sam will be a complete obstacle to any progress offensively.   Miller is as good as gone IMO.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a rookie running the point before the season is over.