Off-season moves

The other week, we had looked at the Sixers' roster as of the end of last season in order to identify the Sixers' needs going into this off-season. I summarized my analysis in this fashion:

In general, I think the numbers show that the Sixers' most glaring need was to improve the shooting guard position. Resigning Igoudala also was a clear off-season priority (although, as noted, not for all-star money). Simply accomplishing these two goals would have made the off-season a solid success, most likely ensuring a return to the playoffs. Beyond that, putting together a bench that inspires a bit more confidence was probably the next most urgent need. Resigning Louis Williams seems likely to help in that regard, but he's not nearly as certain to help as I think most people believe (including me before I did this analysis).

The Sixers have now made a number of moves, so it's time to see how these moves match up with the needs we identified. To start with, I think that the Sixers' moves this off-season can be grouped into four general categories: (1) The Draft, (2) The Elton Brand chase, (3) Resigning Our Restricted Free Agents, and (4) Rounding Out the Roster. I'll take each off these categories one at a time over the next couple of days.

In the mean time, I saw that Jason Smith injured himself the other day (ACL tear) and is out for an indefinite period of time. I obviously don't wish injury on anyone. At the same time, since our analysis from the other day indicated that Smith did not help the team much last season, but was still likely to get signficant playing time based on the general perception of his play, his injury (and unavailability to play) could actually be a slight boon to our chances this year. Of course, he was obviously just a rookie last season and therefore could have improved this year, so maybe I'm being too hard.

Up next: The Draft.

The Reggie Evans watch- Game 2

Okay, Sixers games aren't entirely about Reggie Evans, but I am fascinated by his nose for the ball. In their second game, the Sixers defeated the Bulls 96-85. Evans played 29 minutes and had 9 rebounds. That's pretty good, and he wasn't even the Sixers best per minute rebounder. Dalembert had 11 rebounds in 31 minutes and Jason Smith grabbed 6 rebounds in 14 minutes. The guards also helped out the cause-- Igoudala grabbed 10 rebounds, and Willie Green (Willie Green!) grabbed 8. All in all, the Sixers rebounding in the first two games has been superb-- a 77% defensive rebound rate and a 40% offensive rebound rate. That offensive rebound rate in particular is pretty stunning.

Two other trends I noted from the box score: (1) Mo Cheeks is definitely sticking with the small line-up. The Sixers big men played 77 minutes out of the 96 minutes available to them. Two games still isn't proof, but I think we can see the trend. (2) In big games, Mo Cheeks is going to play Igoudala (45 minutes) and Miller (41 minutes) big minutes. Willie Green (38 minutes) also played big minutes, but from the box score it looks like he was having a pretty good all around game so his big minutes might have been an aberration (Igoudala's and Miller's big minutes confirm something we could have guessed, which is why I'm more willing to jump to a conclusion from one game.).

[oops- I thought I had posted this already, but apparently I just saved it as a draft.]

The Sixers select...Thaddeus Young

With the 12th pick, the Sixers selected Thaddeus Young from Georgia Tech. I don't really know much about him, but apparently the Sixers' brass thought he was the 10th best player in the draft so they're very happy. Based on the pre-draft coverage, his selection was definitely a bit of a surprise--so I guess Billy King should be congratulated for not tipping his hand. I'll be curious to watch Young play this year and see how he develops--he's only 19, having only played one year of college ball, so clearly the Sixers are expecting him to show dramatic improvement over the next couple of years. I'm also curious to see how playing time gets split among him, Rodney Carney, and Kyle Korver--three different types of players, but they all share the same position and are all (at least in theory) considered a part of the Sixers long-term plans.

With the 21st pick, the Sixers selected shooting guard Daequan Cook (Ohio State) before trading him (along with cash and a 2009 second round pick) to Miami for seven-footer Jason Smith (Colorado State), who Miami had selected with the 20th pick. I've heard mixed things about Smith, but he's another player the Sixers had ranked high on their board (apparently ranked as the 13th best prospect), so we'll see what happens. I guess the Sixers were destined to select a big man with this pick since they ended up breaking with ten years worth of tradition and not selecting one with the 12th pick in the draft. History tells us not to get too excited about players selected this late in the first round, but the Sixers definitely need to improve their frontcourt so I can't really argue with the Sixers attempting to do so with this selection.

If I was a bigger college basketball fan, then maybe I'd have something insightful to say about these selections. Unfortunately, I'm really just an NBA fan so I'll hold my judgment until I actually see all the draftees play during the upcoming regular season.