>I guess this is the larger point. Are you willing to pass the
>franchise on Bynum's knees? Or cut bait, take the large $
>you'll have in the off-season and build around The Damaja

Is this a question for me or what I assume to be a grossly incompetent Sixers medical staff and management? I have no idea the condition of Bynum's knees. Judging by the always vague, always moving target for his return, neither do they.

I have been a huge JRue fan from day one, loved that we took him and now Lawson or Teague (who are fine players). I still don't think he is a franchise player. He is a good No. 2 guy. We are making him score too much now and generally depending on him way too heavily, especially at this stage of his career.

I would say that re-signing Bynum would be the most likely outcome. Second most likely, cutting losses with a cheap-ish sign and trade (picks to a team with cap space and/or one year deals) and then restructuring the roster from there. I think some of that depends on how badly things wind up (lotto pick and where?). I don't foresee him walking for nothing or being part of some elaborate sign and trade. If he is good enough for people to seriously want him, he will get kept.


>I would hope not. Then again, you never know what type of
>hasty moves a GM is willing to do to get a spark from the
>team. They were playing reasonably well earlier in the season
>and then they hit a huge wall. Granted, they don't have the
>expectations of Avery Johnson in BK or Mike Brown in LA, but
>Skiles got let go and all they really have are role players
>and a great backcourt.

GMs don't really fire coaches, owners do. Buss sure as shit fired Mike Brown, not Kupchak. I bet the Nyets was a similar situation but I don't really care enough to know. The owners will not fire Collins.



>He CAN be the best center if he plays up to potential. Pains
>me to say it, but Brook Lopez might be the best offensive
>center in the East (sigh)
>But again, are you willing to roll the dice on him? Because if
>you lock him in and he can't get back to form, you are royally
>screwed for basically Damaja's entire Sixer tenure.

I mean again you are asking questions about major unknowns here, bro, not just the health of his knee but also the level of interest of other teams. If there is a lot of interest, he is worth resigning because if push comes to shove you can move him. If not, sign him to a shorter deal that limits liability and makes amnesty a feasible move sooner if things don't work out.

Bottom line, I am not losing sleep over this situation. It will play out how it's going to play out and right now we don't know. Obviously there is a history of the Sixers bungling this EXACT situation and many very similar ones. I can laugh or I can cry about that, I choose to laugh.



>I ask playoffs for 2 reasons
>1. They were in the 2nd round last year (albeit by Rose
>injury)

They were a totally non-competitive team last year and the fact that they were a game away from the ECF is an indictment of the conference and absolutely no credit to their success. They would have lost to the Bulls without Rose if Noah had been healthy, I shit you not. He was eating them raw when he got hurt, total mismatch for Brand, Hawes, Allen, et al. The Celtics just showed they had a chunk bit off them by Atlanta because they should have won the series in five or six games. They played terrible and I was surprised they recovered to push Miami.

So that, to me, could not be less relevant. There was no momentum from that. I was happy to get an infusion of money with four more home playoff games than anyone expected. It was exciting. But there was NOTHING, zero, going forward. If that wasn't true immediately (which it was), it was certainly obvious when the team moved its best player, its leading scorer and numerous pieces to shake things up.

>2. You're not TOO far behind the 8th spot, and it's still
>January.

Like I said, I find that news encouraging. With no Bynum, this season is about individual players. Are guys like Hawes and Allen going to find roles, get consistent and stick long term? Obviously the big things are the development of the starting guards. Jrue is on track, Turner is still kind of up and down. If those guys can prosper and progress, I don't care about the team's record. I would be delusional to think they could do anything significant and in the NBA you're better off doing nothing than doing average IMO. Even with Bynum they were not a contender, but they could have been moving in that direction.

>I don't think the lottery really gets you the guy you needed.
>From what is being speculated, there aren't many bonafide
>studs to draft, but very solid role players. And if that was
>the case, you gave all that up (including Iggy) in the Bynum
>deal

I don't know enough about this upcoming draft to comment. Obviously I know what guys are at the top and I know that in every draft there are a few very good players. I would rather take my chances in the top ten than smack in the middle, no question.


>Yeah, Harkless is solid, but Vuvecic is balling...that does
>sting. And it is eerily similar to the BK way. I don't know
>off the top of my head if the 1st rounder was still in the
>deal

Either way there are not a lot of picks to be had but since the one we moved to Dallas I believe was lotto protected for 2013, then I would like to be in the 2013 lotto even more since it's our last chance to grab talent for a while.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.