June 21, 2010 12:16 pm  |  14 Comments

Good Riddance

I’m happy that Samuel Dalembert’s gone. But on second thought, uh-oh…

by Doobie Okon

Thursday night will be one of the most important in recent Philadelphia 76ers’ history, one that could decide the fate of this heavily troubled franchise in the new decade. With a lil ‘Holiday’ spirit, the Sixers managed to draw the second pick in the Draft lottery last month, and now the nation will get to see if the Sixers really are as shortsighted as advertised and pass up on Evan Turner.

From my standpoint, it seems fated for the former Buckeye to stand as the new face of the Sixers organization. This is definitely a top-5 heavy Draft, but it doesn’t get more obvious then Wall/Turner at the top of the board and so Philly is in complete control of their destiny at this juncture.

But then comes Sixers GM, Ed Stefanski, who is slowly turning into the master of the head-scratchers. After eight frustrating years with Samuel Dalembert, Stefanski finally dealt the Haitian center to the Sacramento Kings last week.

This was my first reaction:

Pppppaaaaarrrrrtttttttyyyyyyyyyyy tttttttttttttiiiiiiiimmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Joy  to the worldddddddd.

This was my second reaction:

@%*&.

At first glance, the trade is just instant gratification. Ever since Billy King, former Philly GM, extended Dalembert to the tune of 6 years, $50 million back in 2005, Sixers fans have been aching to move the bloated contract.

In his long stint in Philadelphia, Dalembert proved to be a true basketball enigma. At 6-11, he is long, fast and incredibly athletic. Shot-blocking and rebounding have always been Daly’s strengths and he definitely had his rare nights where his potential was clearly staggering.

But those games were few and far between, and mostly we were left with a very unproductive center whose offensive game was as boring and lackluster as Shawn Bradley’s. My favorite is when Sammy thinks he’s MJ and launches a sky-arcing fade-away from 16 feet. Never, ever, ever goes in. Beware, Kings fans…it’s a sight.

So being a long-time proponent of trading away this bust from Seton Hall, you can understand why I was so happy with this trade…at first.

Then I saw that the Sixers received Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni. Ok, whatever. To be honest, I was so happy that Slammin’ Sammy D was gone that I didn’t care who we got in return.

I’m not going to pretend that I’m a huge Kings follower, but Nocioni has a toughness in his reputation that you have to like. And Hawes is the real key to this trade, being that he’s probably the replacement at center. He doesn’t have the shot-blocking and rebounding ability of Dalembert, but the boy is actually able to shoot and score. Some semblance of an offensive game at least.

But then after looking at the contracts, I realized two things:

A) Stefanski actually thinks that Spencer Hawes is the Sixers’ future at center. I mean, let’s look at it. Dalembert was about to go into his final year of his horrible contract at $12.2 million. And let’s face it: the Sixers might take some baby steps this season towards becoming a respectable franchise again, but they aren’t going to make any kind of significant run in the 2010-2011 season. Just isn’t happening.

So why not just eat Dalembert’s final year and become big players in the free agency market next summer? Well, clearly, Stefanski had to have Hawes. Clearly, he believes Hawes style was compromised to fit the Tyreke Evans offense in Sacramento and thus he will be all-mighty in Philadelphia. Clearly, getting Spencer Hawes (and Nocioni’s contract which runs through 2013) was worth getting rid of Dalembert’s huge expiring contract.

B) Stefanski is planning on breaking a lot of hearts by selecting DeMarcus Cousins or Derrick Favors on Thursday night. I don’t think option A is true at all–Stefanski doesn’t really think Hawes is the answer at center. So is he just freeing up the position so we can draft a big man who might be the solution? God I hope not, but who knows.

Doug Collins is reportedly pretty high on Favors, even though the organization has stated that the Dalembert trade won’t affect the Draft at all. Well, I’ll believe that when I see it. Because if the Sixers really just gave up a massive expiring contract for two average players just so they can then pass up on Evan Turner, I’m simply gonna lose it.

I don’t like scenario A or B, but at least the former holds the probability that the 76ers draft Turner. Sure, I think the Dalembert trade was rash, but if the Sixers get their guy from Ohio State, Philadelphia can breathe a sigh of relief and finally feel some optimism for the future. If not…well, heads will be rolling, and Sammy D will have proven to screw the Sixers one last time, even in his grandiose exit.

But the trade is done and that can’t be changed, so I say good luck and good riddance, Sammy Dalembert. It’s been…..okay?

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  • t-rocc Posted: Jun.21 at 12:50 pm
    This is driving me nuts, too. I have railed against Sammy for years, but he played pretty well last year and it stands to reason that he’d play to prove himself this year.
    Nocioni and Hawes aren’t going to make up for Sammy’s rebounding, and I doubt that Brand will step up to it. I really liked the idea of a Turner/Iggy/Jrue backcourt, but instead we’re settling for Favors in a “one step forward, two steps back” trade.

  • JL Posted: Jun.21 at 12:55 pm
    the only thing is, turner, iggy, and young are all kinda similar players who play the same position. and other than a fully healthy brand and if the coaches let lou williams play, those are the best players on the team. how many SFs can you put on the floor without hurting your outside shooting as well as rebounding and interior defense?

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jun.21 at 1:02 pm
    Great read, Doobie. I feel like the Sixers will make the right pick and take Turner. As we know, it’s difficult to understand what’s going on in the Sixer front office, and that’s probably why most people are worrying. Honestly, to me, Hawes looks like Dalembert’s replacement, Nocioni a nice bench player, and Turner the team’s cornerstone.

  • Enigmatic Posted: Jun.21 at 2:23 pm
    Anyone else have the Green Day song stuck in their heads now?…..no?….ok, just me then.

  • thalilbigkahuna Posted: Jun.22 at 12:10 am
    “Because if the Sixers really just gave up a massive expiring contract for two average players just so they can then pass up on Evan Turner, I’m simply gonna lose it.” That’s exactly how I feel.

  • Morgan Posted: Jun.22 at 5:40 am
    This is all about the Sixers…how are the Kings going to cope with this expensive goal-tender?! not well you say? oh no wait you didn’t say anything because your view is 1 dimensional - your going down the same route as Lang is with the Hawks..and by “going down” I mean he is at the end of it waving a flag, sticking feathers up his butt trying to make himself a Hawk.

  • codeman Posted: Jun.22 at 9:06 am
    Dalembert’s contract goes off the books after next year. The Kings have nothing to lose and they get out of having to sign Spencer up for several years when his rookie contract expires next year. Spence will likely become a serviceable player but doesn’t fit in with the King’s new offense.
    Hopefully, the Sixer’s choose Turner so the big guys can fall further towards #5.

  • catface34343 Posted: Jun.22 at 9:23 am
    I dont get why everyone says turner iggy and thad are similar. Thad can not make his own shot, he needs to be set up. Andre is better with the ball in his hands, but has not been driving to hole the past couple seasons. Hes best when hes making plays for others. Turner is a ball handler. He is at his best when he is dribbling. Shooting off the dribble and making plays for others. I think the complement eachother and they will be a good fit with an unselfish player like Jrue and someone who will open things up like Elton.

  • Young C Posted: Jun.22 at 11:27 am
    I agree at JL.
    Those contracts by Iggy and Elton are just terrible. Please move both of them, if you can!

  • Gerard Himself Posted: Jun.22 at 5:09 pm
    I can’t imagine them passing up Turner. And if they do, not even sure if Iguodala would be traded. I read that a GM said that you don’t trade AI, that he’s better right now that what people believe Turner would become. But there are so many rumors right now, and I think to keep us all sane is to believe none of them. Philly will not draft a big man, I think they believe Hawes and Speights will get it done as their centers for now. They’ll draft Turner, and work from there.

  • Seven Duece Posted: Jun.22 at 6:28 pm
    I think they should draft Favors over Turner, because he’s at least proven he can be productive without having the ball in his hands all the time.

  • JACO Posted: Jun.22 at 8:48 pm
    im not a sixer fan…far from it but i want to know philly fans if they dont pick evan turner will you be calling for ed stefanski’s head by the next day?

  • Exiled Zebra Posted: Jun.23 at 2:35 am
    Yea, pretty stupid to trade away an expiring contract for an overpriced bench player

  • DDB Posted: Jun.25 at 8:45 am
    I can’t wait until Cousins turns into the best player from this draft class and Sixer fans everywhere are angry.

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