Looking into the possibilities of the Sixers offseason

By:Ryan Clement ... 76pack.blogspot.com

With the NBA free agency period beginning today, I'm going to look into the possibilities that lay ahead for the 76ers and what they could potentially mean for us this upcoming season...

First things first...Andre Miller, one of your teams best players and starting point for the past 2 seasons is an unrestricted free agent. Word is that he is looking for a 3 year deal, at about 10 million per...which is a hefty price tag and also a little longer than you'd like to sign a 33 year old point guard to. Ed Stefanski should have bit the bullet and traded him away for something of use at the deadline but will now have to fight with his inner Billy King demons and play hard ball with Miller and his agent, because honestly, there aren't many teams with cap space and much of a market for Miller either.I will now attempt to take you through a few possible scenarios for this off season and the pros and con's of each...

Scenario 1:

Ed Stefanski and company play a little hardball, and make Miller and his agent realize there isn't a huge market out there for Miller(especially based off his $$$ wants) and are able to work out a fair deal and resign Andre Miller to a 2 year contract...ideally somewhere in the realms of 2yrs/16 million.(paying 8 million annually for the mathematically inclined readers)

-Pros:This scenario would keep this teams chemistry mainly intact and bring back the teams reigning floor general.While there will still be a learning curve for the team with a new offensive system being installed by new head coach Eddie Jordan,Miller's knowledge of the game and his supporting cast could help bode well for everyone.Miller would be able to continue to run this team well, and also serve as a great teacher to the rookie Jrue Holiday, who hopefully will reap the benefits from playing behind such a savvy true point guard and be ready to take the reigns as the franchise PG after Millers contract expires in 2 years.

If the team could truly grasp Eddie Jordan's princeton offense for what its worth, and stay healthy we could potentially see the 76ers in a 2nd round playoff match up for the 1st time in awhile.

-Cons:Andre Miller has a very high basketball IQ, but his game doesn't translate that well with the princeton offense and the sixers hopeful personnel in my opinion.

Hes a great passer and has good vision, but it is best served and used in the open court.Now,The Sixers will still likely get out and run on every transition opportunity possible but when in half court sets Miller tends to work best in isolation situations...which is far from what the princeton preaches.He doesn't work tremendously well off ball and has limited shooting ability outside of 17-18 feet which hurts with spacing. Also take into account that Miller doesn't work the pick and roll particularly well (which Elton Brand excels in) and with so much attention being put into learning Jordans new offense, the lack of Dre's defensive ability hurts on the other end...Miller found himself the poster child of much younger, quicker point guards' big games and highlight reel crossovers alot last year.

Scenario 2:

One of the teams with actual cap room and potential interest in Miller, are the Portland Trailblazers.While they have space, they are looking to add Hedo Turkoglu via FA, so in order to maximize their cap space, a sign and trade would likely be necessary to land Miller.

SO,Andre Miller signed and traded to the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for PG-Steve Blake and either Travis Outlaw or Martell Webster...

Pros:I'll be the first to say Steve Blake is NO Andre Miller, nor a top tier starting point guard in the NBA,BUT Blake is a solid starter/rotational point.He could very well be the perfect stopgap point guard to replace Miller for 2 years until Jrue Holiday is ready to jump into the starting role. Blake has played under Jordan before, so he knows the In's and outs of the Princeton Offense which could help with the learning curve early on...he's a solid 3 point shooter(40% last year) which helps with the teams horrid perimeter shooting and he's also a pretty good passer as well. Blake's no lock down defender but he plays on ball pressure D and also works very well off ball and in catch in shoot situations, which fits perfectly with both Jordans offense and Iguodala's ability to handle the ball in a point forward like set.

The addition of either Outlaw or Webster would help strengthen this teams bench...which is always a plus, especially with some of the injury issues this team has had. Both would fit in with this teams young,athletic transition game and can also step out and knock down the open shot, which also helps try to strengthen this teams weak perimeter shooting.

This scenario would really be something id like to see, as it fits in with Jordan's system better in my opinion,paves the way out for Jrue Holiday to take the reigns in a year or 2 and also has limited financial risk.

Cons:Losing Miller and bringing in a new starting point guard could ruin some of the teams chemistry sustained over the past 2 1/2 seasons together. Miller carried the team on his back more than a few times last season and while Blake can knock down some shots, but hes rarely going to come up like Miller has in the past and carry the offensive load for stretches of a game. If this scenario was to go down, someone would most certainly have to elevate their offensive games and consistency.

Scenario 3:

-The Sixers brass and Miller fail to see eye to eye on a contract, and Miller walks leaving us with nothing in return except the ability to utilize the full mid level exception...(around 5.5 million)

Pros/Cons:Well I honestly do see many of either. The list of potential targets for the MLE, especially at the point are slim pick ins and if this happens Ed could really catch some heat for not making Miller's expiring contract useful at last years deadline.SG Anthony Parker is rumored to be high on the Sixers list because of his shooting ability at the SG spot,while i love his shooting...wheres that leave Willie Green,Iguodala and Thad??? are we playing small ball all year?,i hope not.

Another name that's popped up lately is former Utah Jazz reserve Ronnie Price, who is rumored to be a plan B for us if Miller walks.

While Price is a good athlete,has shown glimpses of solid passing ability and can knock down an open shot all the way out to the 3...i don't see him coming in and starting.He's never really gotten a chance to play consistent, meaningful minutes and his game seems like it could potentially flourish in an uptempo setting like ours... he'd likely be used in a split role with Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday.

Other names potentially available to fill the void at point are Brevin Knight,CJ Watson and Marcus Williams. Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd are also both unrestricted FA's but are likely to command more than the MLE, or sign with more legit contenders.

Scenario 4:

Miller walks, leaving us with the MLE to use...and Stefanski somehow finds a way to make a sales pitch and lure Mike Bibby to the Sixers for a 2-3 year deal for the full MLE.

Pros:I LOVE this potential idea, but its an absolute long shot in my opinion. Bibby made around 14 million last year, and is highly unlikely to get an offer from Atlanta who drafted Teague and traded for Jamal Crawford... or anyone else for more than the MLE(unless Portland strikes out with all potential FA's) so maybe if the market's low, we could land him.

Bibby played under Jordan in Sacramento, so hes got a knowledge of the princeton just like mentioned with Blake,so it could help ease the learning curve for the team. He's a good shooter and would help with our perimeter woe's as well and unlike Blake is also a proven veteran starting pg in the NBA, so the impact of his could be similar to what Miller brought, but in a different way.He works the pick and pop and pick n roll very well and another big perk is that he has actually led a team to winning a playoff series, which is something Blake nor Miller can claim. This would be my ideal addition, but like I've mentioned, it's a serious long shot.

Cons: Like listed with the Blake scenario...could shake up the teams chemistry.

There are definitely more possible scenarios that could potentially unwind this upcoming off season but these mentioned are just a few that have been mentioned,talked about or rumored to be possibilities.It should be interesting to hear in the coming days if any of these heat up and I'm sure hoping that Stefanski and co are working to get the best possible outcome of the situation...it could be crucial for the Sixers season to come.