Elton to the Sixers?

[Turk]

ESPN has an article up saying the Sixers are going to try to make a run to sign Elton and pry him away from the Clips. If it happens, huge add for Philthy; bad news for Baron Davis...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3477424

[mr. synellinden]

Perhaps Elton Brand, aspiring movie producer, would want to keep in the good graces of Baron Davis, aspiring film critic.

[Clipsfan]

There has been some talk that the Davis deal was struck under the table with Brand also agreeing to come back. If at all true, all these other negotiations could just be to cover up the tracks. Either way, odds are he'll stay a Clipper (at least I hope so!)

[pfrduke]

There has been some talk that the Davis deal was struck under the table with Brand also agreeing to come back. If at all true, all these other negotiations could just be to cover up the tracks. Either way, odds are he'll stay a Clipper (at least I hope so!)

And even if the Clips get a Joe Smith-sized penalty for this, it's not clear whether taking first round picks away from the Clippers would be any worse than a normal draft - ba-zing!

[arnie]

ESPN just announced that Brand has verbally agreed to an $85 Million contract with the Sixers. And Magette to the Warriors.

[dukemsu]

ESPN just announced that Brand has verbally agreed to an $85 Million contract with the Sixers. And Magette to the Warriors.

Yep, Elton to Philly has been reported.

It will be interesting to see how this gets spun in the press. I can see it being written by some (Doyel, etc) that another Dukie goes back on his word (after the Boozer mess). At the same time, Elton has built up quite a bit of cred with the media over the years. Save for the flap with the email when he declared for the draft, I can't remember a single unfavorable word being written about Elton. Boozer, rightly or wrongly, seems to be portrayed as a bit more aloof.

IMO, Elton is a pro who can make his own calls, but he may catch some flak for this. I'm sure he knew that and weighed it along with all the other factors while making his decision.

Best of luck to Elton in Philly.

dukemsu

[yancem]

Yep, Elton to Philly has been reported.

It will be interesting to see how this gets spun in the press. I can see it being written by some (Doyel, etc) that another Dukie goes back on his word (after the Boozer mess). At the same time, Elton has built up quite a bit of cred with the media over the years. Save for the flap with the email when he declared for the draft, I can't remember a single unfavorable word being written about Elton. Boozer, rightly or wrongly, seems to be portrayed as a bit more aloof.

IMO, Elton is a pro who can make his own calls, but he may catch some flak for this. I'm sure he knew that and weighed it along with all the other factors while making his decision.

Best of luck to Elton in Philly.

dukemsu

Everyone seems to be making the assumption that Baron Davis wouldn't have agreed to sign with the Clippers if Brand wasn't already as good as signed. Has anyone read anything about how why Davis ended up a Clipper that inferred that he had discussed things with Brand? I haven't. Everything I've read made it sound that Davis wanted to be in LA. I haven't seen any comments by him that even mention Brand.

Now Brand may have made Davis a promise, but his public comments have always been that he would like to stay in LA but was going to see what would be the best situation for himself. Making a promise and then going back on it doesn't sound like something Brand would do. If there ends up being any sour grapes then that's a shame. Philly offered almost 50% more money than the Clippers and unlike the Boozer situation, which Cleveland let him out of his contract in a "good faith" gesture and in hopes of signing him for less than market value, Brand opted out of his contract which should have clued people in that resigning him wasn't a given.

[Uncle Drew]

Okay I don't follow the NBA as much as I do college. Would someone please explain in their opinion if this is a good move for Elton and Philly? I mean I can see it being good for the 76ers picking up a great player. But how does he fit in on the team they have right now? If he returns to pre-injury form I would hope he could contend for an Eastern All-Star spot.

[geraldsneighbor]

EB coming to Philly (my place of residence) is like Christmas morning to me. Elton's days at Duke were great and I am really excited to get to watch him every night in a Sixer uniform. I am dieing for a championship and maybe just maybe we are starting to put something together in Phila.

[yancem]

Okay I don't follow the NBA as much as I do college. Would someone please explain in their opinion if this is a good move for Elton and Philly? I mean I can see it being good for the 76ers picking up a great player. But how does he fit in on the team they have right now? If he returns to pre-injury form I would hope he could contend for an Eastern All-Star spot.

Its a little difficult to tell how smart of a move this is for Brand. If he had stayed with the Clippers he could have run with Baron Davis and been part of a solid frontcourt of Chris Kaman and Al Thorton. The Clippers also drafted Eric Gordon who could become a real stud and when he get used to the nba would round out a solid starting 5. The down side of LA is well they're the Clippers and they are in the tougher western conference. Also, Davis while dropping a solid number of dimes a game also shoots a lot. Gordon is also likely going to shoot frequently. This might not have let Brand get the same number of touches that he is used to getting. Plus with the departure of Maggette, he would no longer have one of his best friends on the team.

In going to Philly, he will still be part of a solid front court featuring Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodola. Andre Miller, while not as good as Davis is a solid point guard that passes the ball and runs the offense well. Philly has generally been a better franchise (although not top tier recently) and by playing in the weaker eastern conference he has a better shot at the playoffs and the all-star team.

I guess, in a way, I am disappointed because it would have been cool for Brand to carry the Clippers to relevance but in the end I have always kind of liked the 76's (big Dr. J fan) and think that in the long run he has a better chance at success.

[Uncle Drew]

Its a little difficult to tell how smart of a move this is for Brand. If he had stayed with the Clippers he could have run with Baron Davis and been part of a solid frontcourt of Chris Kaman and Al Thorton. The Clippers also drafted Eric Gordon who could become a real stud and when he get used to the nba would round out a solid starting 5. The down side of LA is well they're the Clippers and they are in the tougher western conference. Also, Davis while dropping a solid number of dimes a game also shoots a lot. Gordon is also likely going to shoot frequently. This might not have let Brand get the same number of touches that he is used to getting. Plus with the departure of Maggette, he would no longer have one of his best friends on the team.

In going to Philly, he will still be part of a solid front court featuring Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodola. Andre Miller, while not as good as Davis is a solid point guard that passes the ball and runs the offense well. Philly has generally been a better franchise (although not top tier recently) and by playing in the weaker eastern conference he has a better shot at the playoffs and the all-star team.

I guess, in a way, I am disappointed because it would have been cool for Brand to carry the Clippers to relevance but in the end I have always kind of liked the 76's (big Dr. J fan) and think that in the long run he has a better chance at success.

I must say with all the speculation around draft time where various players could end up, the last few weeks have played out very weird for lack of a better term.

I was thinking Davis to the Clippers was a move to make them better when they kept Brand or perhaps Maggette. Now that both players are gone I can't see them being much better than last season but I could be wrong. And in bringing in Davis it looks like Clipper management has doubts about Livingston ever coming back near his potential.

Then with Corey I'd heard rumours about him going to a contender in a backup role. I was looking forward to seeing which team and hoping another Duke guy might earn an NBA ring. But his move to the bay area seems like a lateral move for money. If that's the case so be it, I'm sure he'll be living in a nicer retirement home than me either way.

As far as Brand goes some were talking about a return to the Bulls after next season (or Boozer) and honestly other than cash the main benefit to joining the 76ers is an easier night in the weaker Eastern Conference on average. But my hope is he is a building block in the rebuilding process and Philly can get some more tallent around him. This free agency thing seems even harder to predict than recruiting!

[blazindw]

Everyone seems to be making the assumption that Baron Davis wouldn't have agreed to sign with the Clippers if Brand wasn't already as good as signed. Has anyone read anything about how why Davis ended up a Clipper that inferred that he had discussed things with Brand? I haven't. Everything I've read made it sound that Davis wanted to be in LA. I haven't seen any comments by him that even mention Brand.

Now Brand may have made Davis a promise, but his public comments have always been that he would like to stay in LA but was going to see what would be the best situation for himself. Making a promise and then going back on it doesn't sound like something Brand would do. If there ends up being any sour grapes then that's a shame. Philly offered almost 50% more money than the Clippers and unlike the Boozer situation, which Cleveland let him out of his contract in a "good faith" gesture and in hopes of signing him for less than market value, Brand opted out of his contract which should have clued people in that resigning him wasn't a given.

I concur. I have heard nothing but complaints from my friends about another Duke player that supposedly has turned back on a promise (bringing up the Boozer situation again), but there is absolutely nothing that states that B-Diddy wouldn't go to the Clips unless Brand re-signed. Like you said, B-Diddy wanted to be in LA, where he's from. The Clips offered him a deal he couldn't pass up to return home. Brand said he would be happy to stay in LA but had to see what's out there. Philly gave him $85 million, while LA offered $75 million, I believe. Golden State reportedly offered $90 million. He went with Philly, and they seem like they will have a really good team with a nice mix of young talent and seasoned veterans like Brand. I think their starting lineup consists of 5 players who all averaged over 14 points per game last year. In the East, that could cause the Sixers to do some damage next year.

[weezie]

B-Diddy...good one.
But I would have liked him as Piston instead.
Good for Brand to be coming home. Commentators were saying the Clipperdome is haunted.

[duke74]

B-Diddy...good one.
But I would have liked him as Piston instead.
Good for Brand to be coming home. Commentators were saying the Clipperdome is haunted.

(emphasis added)

Philly is not home. New York (Peekskill) is. Wish he were a Knick!

[Carlos]

My memory may be a bit clouded on this but I'm pretty sure that when Coach K's mother died it was right in the middle of one of those peak recruiting periods where coaches could actively contact players. Of course, everyone here knows how much Emily Krzyzewski meant to Coach K so it should come as no surprise that he took some some time away from recruiting to deal with the situation. He had his assistants contact each of the guys that Duke was pursuing and only one of the recruits complained that he wasn't getting attention from Coach K... that would be Baron Davis.

Baron went off and signed with UCLA for the chance to play for legendary Jim Harrick and a hot deal on a used Blazer. I've always viewed him as a putz since then so if he feels that he's been duped here I'm really pressed to find a way to measure my apathy for him.

As for the Clips and Davis feeling that Brand went back on his word I guess the bigger question here is if it was so important to those parties to have Elton in place in order to make the move for Davis then why didn't they just wait to sign Davis until after they had wrapped up a deal with Elton? Why is it incumbent on Elton to sign for considerably less than his market value? If the Clips had offered him $5.50 an hour to play for them would he still be a bad guy for taking a different offer?

[duke74]

[QUOTE=Carlos;165318]
As for the Clips and Davis feeling that Brand went back on his word I guess the bigger question here is if it was so important to those parties to have Elton in place in order to make the move for Davis then why didn't they just wait to sign Davis until after they had wrapped up a deal with Elton? Why is it incumbent on Elton to sign for considerably less than his market value? If the Clips had offered him $5.50 an hour to play for them would he still be a bad guy for taking a different offer?(emphasis added)[/QUOTE]

Carlos,

You know way more about this than I do, but I think that no one was actually "signed' at that time based on league rules. It is more of a verbal, to be memorialized when signings are permitted (yesterday I believe). There actually were discussions on ESPN last night as to whether Baron could "back out" and sign with another team (assuming a "deal" had fallen through with EB). The consensus was that he wouldn't based on the comp he got from the Clips vs that t be offered by any other team.

[bluedev_92]

Elton,

WELCOME to Philly! Couldn't have a better addition & I can't wait to cheer you on.

[Edouble]

My memory may be a bit clouded on this but I'm pretty sure that when Coach K's mother died it was right in the middle of one of those peak recruiting periods where coaches could actively contact players. Of course, everyone here knows how much Emily Krzyzewski meant to Coach K so it should come as no surprise that he took some some time away from recruiting to deal with the situation. He had his assistants contact each of the guys that Duke was pursuing and only one of the recruits complained that he wasn't getting attention from Coach K... that would be Baron Davis.

No, your memory is not clouded. That's the way it happened. The staff soured a bit on him after this and really never pursued him with the same zeal that they had begun his recruitment with.

[Cormac]

For what its worth, Mike and Mike and Cowherd have all been very supportive of Brand's decision to get out of the "haunted" franchise. I agree with them. He gave them 7 years (very good years actually), which is basically a career in professional sports and the best they ever finished? SIXTH in the West. Brand averaged finishing 28 games out of the playoffs. OUCH. Cowherd pointed out that he's terrible at the same thing all guys are: Exits, but that he did the right thing in terms of trying to win. I guess I just wanted to point out that not all of the national attention is negative towards Brand right now. Anyway, good for him. He cashed in and moved to a better team in a weaker conference.

[DukeDude]

As a Sixers fan, this is sensational news! I am going to have to get the NBA League pass this season. The Sixers biggest need was offense in general and post offense in particular. Essentially he replaces Reggie Evans who averaged 5.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. (No, I didn't get those reversed.)

C Samuel Dalembert 10.5ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.3bpg
PF Elton Brand 20ppg, 10rpg
SF Thad Young 8.2ppg
SG Andre Iguodala 19.9ppg, 4.8apg
PG Andre Miller 17.0ppg, 6.9apg

Bench
Louis Williams 11.5ppg, 3.2apg
Willie Green 12.4ppg, 2.0apg
Marreese Speights
Jason Smith 4.5ppg, 3.0rpg
Anyone but Kevin Oliie

Not too shabby. They will still need to win with defense, and Brand will have to do his part there. Outside shooting is still a glaring weakness, with Louis Williams being the only reliable long range shooter. But still, I am actually optimistic about the Sixers for the first time in many years.