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A source tells InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner that the Philadelphia 76ers may finally be open to the idea of trading Allen Iverson. There are unconfirmed rumblings that serious discussions involving Iverson are taking place. Note that "serious" doesn't mean that a deal is necessarily likely. Only that teams calling about Iverson aren't being hung up on. The Sixers aren't stupid, and we assume would only deal him for big-time talent in return."
"Sitting in his spacious office at the Wachovia Center several hours before the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs came to town Wednesday,
Ed Snider launched into an unprompted diatribe about Philadelphia basketball fans. He doesn't understand them. "When people say Philadelphia is a basketball town, I wonder about it," Snider said. "Is it a college basketball town and not a professional basketball town? What exactly is it? I don't really know."
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What Philadelphia has become over the last couple of years is a city fed up with its professional basketball team, and the 76ers' last two games show exactly why. On Wednesday, the Sixers erased a five-point deficit in the final 20.1 seconds of regulation against the Spurs, and beat one of the best teams in the league in overtime. Then on Thursday night, with a chance to pull to .500 at the all-star break, they were drilled, 117-84, by a Chicago Bulls team that wouldn't even make the postseason if the playoffs started today."
"Look, we haven't been perfect, and we haven't done everything right," Snider said. "But I feel that the basketball fan has to understand that we're trying very hard to build a winner. We're not throwing in the towel. We're not refusing to spend money. We went out and got Chris Webber and his big contract [last year] because we really thought that would be a final piece of the puzzle with Allen and so forth. The fact that it hasn't worked to our highest hopes is one thing. "But I would like to think that the fans know that we're trying hard. I would hope that if it doesn't happen, that just like in other cities and in other sports, the fans would know that we're trying hard and support us. We are working very hard to build our attendance and, you know, I don't think we could do a heck of a lot more than what we're doing. The Sixers staff are tearing their hair out trying to come up with the answers."
"First,
(Maurice) Cheeks isn't going anywhere. After changing coaches four times in the three years since Larry Brown resigned after the 2002-03 season, the Sixers aren't going to make another change, even if it looks on the surface as if Cheeks has lost the team. "We ain't making no more changes," Snider said flatly."
"Second,
King's job is not in jeopardy. Snider is fiercely loyal to the two men - King, and the Flyers' Bob Clarke - he picked to run day-to-day operations."
"Third, no player - including No. 3 - is off-limits as Thursday's trading deadline approaches.
While Snider hasn't given up on Iverson, he said that a team in dire straits has to consider all offers. It will be King's decision whether to move Iverson, although Snider has been, and will continue to be, involved."
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The Sixers have been maddeningly inconsistent. They followed an impressive win at Cleveland by losing at home to the Rockets and on the road to the Bobcats. Less than two weeks later, they lost by 33 to the Bulls after beating the Spurs in overtime the night before. “If I had the explanation (why it keeps happening), I'd give it,” said Allen Iverson. Andre Iguodala, John Salmons, Samuel Dalembert and Kyle Korver have had their productive moments, but disappeared on the court at other times."
"Meanwhile,
the near future finds Webber on the books for the league's biggest salary over the next two seasons ($20.7 million, $22.3 million), with Iverson slated to pocket an NBA-high $21.9 million in 2008-09. The Sixers have $42.4 million committed to Webber and Iverson in two years, when they will be 34 and 32, respectively."
