by Michael Weissman
Last year the Philadelphia 76ers won a total of 22 games. Surprisingly though this was actually an improvement from the previous year. With the Sixers constantly on the move a common question keeps reappearing. Ar they still the same old 76ers?
Whether a questionable shooting guard or not, Jerry Stackhouse merely started the revolution. Since the Sixers had a terrible year, they landed the NO.1 pick in the 1996 draft. Allen Iverson, a highly venerated point from Georgetown University, was drafted by the desperate Sixers. Now with Jerry Stackhouse, Allen Iverson, Clarence Weatherspoon, and Derrick Coleman the team was supposed to be going places. They went all of 22 games.
Is it the players or just the organization? The question stems from a team that both traded Charles Barkley and drafted Shawn Bradley. Derrick Coleman, an all star at New Jersey, comes to Philadelphia and has absolutely no impact. Even with the rookie of the year in Iverson and two decent players in Stackhouse and Weatherspoon, the Sixers needed some role players. They neither received them on the court nor through trades.
In June when it became time for the 1997 draft things began to change. It wasn't necessarily who they drafted, but who they got. The Sixers both needed new talent and to get rid of lack of talent. The New Jersey Nets became the perfect pawn. The Nets strongly desired to acquire Utah's big man Keith Van Horn. This desire was so strong that they were willing to give up one above average guard, one average center, and two draft picks in return for Van Horn and 3 below average, over-paid players.
With the 1997-98 roster reading as follows: Allen Iverson, Jerry Stackhouse, Jim Jackson, Scott Williams, Eric Montross, Clarence Weatherspoon, Tim Thomas, Anthony Parker, Rex Walters, Derrick Coleman, and possibly Marco Milac, there is a positive outlook. But is there really? One thing that is going to play on the Sixers is both there lack of big men and overabundance of guards and swing men.
Already with Allen Iverson, Stackhouse, Jackson, Weatherspoon, Rex Walters, and two draft picks, the question of where Tim Thomas will fit is going to pop up. With really only 3 big men in Coleman, Montross, and Williams, Tim Thomas, a true small forward, will probably be asked to play power forward at 6-9.
Another question, however, is are there too many headcases for one team. With Iverson wanting his 40 a game, Stackhouse constantly crying, Jackson with his problems in Dallas, Coleman never playing, will a player like Weatherspoon or Tim Thomas be willing to come off the bench. The true problem though is Coleman. Even with all of these new acquisitions the Sixers need to trade Coleman. He has a gigantic salary and he never plays. Some possible trades are Coleman for Mashburn and P.J. Brown, Thorpe and Long, or Thorpe, McKie, and Childress. Although some deals are better than others, any deal would be beneficial.
It's almost definite that the Sixers moves are going to make them better, but exactly how much is the question. It all comes down to Coleman. If he stays so do the Sixers, if he moves so will they. Andrew Hendler sums it up best when he says that "last year the Sixers couldn't have beaten many of the WNBA teams, however, this year through an infusion of quality talent the Sixers look to improve to a playoff contender".