Not sure if Miller, Joe Smith and 2 low round drafts is that high a price for one of the best players in the game. I think the deal is very fair for both sides. Miller is an upper echelon pure point guard (13 pts, 9 ast, 5 reb). I think with Philly he is capable of putting up 15-16 pts per game as he will be counted on for a little more offense than what Denver required. Joe Smith is a throw in player. He won't have any impact for the 76ers. The 2 first round choices could be used in possibly trading up in the draft with the 76ers own pick. For instance, if they were #4 or #5 they could trade up to #1 or #2 by giving away 1 or both of the first round Denver picks. Could end up being very valuable with Greg Oden possibly at stake.
Philly is going to try its hardest to turn those 2 draft picks plus its own #1 into a package to get the #1 overall pick and pick up Greg Oden.
That's my thought. All depends on how well they do the rest of the year with Miller at the point. My guess is they will continue to struggle as they don't have a legit scoring threat. Iguodala gets to show how good he can be. I just think he is a complimentary player to a superstar rather than being the superstar. We shall see. With Memphis getting Gasol back, I think every Western conference team will have a better record than Philly. In the Eastern conference I think Atlanta, Charlotte and the Knicks are the only teams capable of having a worse record than the 76ers. That puts Philly no worse than 4th, which means they will be in the lottery and have a excellent chance at ending up in the top 3 picks. Worse case would still be 4th pick overall. Here is a look at the teams who could potentially be ahead of the 76ers in the 2007 draft and their big man in the middle: Charlotte - Emeka Okafor Atlanta Hawks - Zaza Pachulia New York Knicks - Eddy Curry Memphis Grizzlies - Pau Gasol Okafor is technically a power forward but still represents a big man in the middle. Pachulia and Curry are up and coming centers who are playing really well and could easily be regarded as a mainstay at the center position for their respective teams. Pau Gasol has already made his mark as one of the premier centers in the game. I think all 4 teams are capable of trading down with Philly. The 76ers draft picks acquired from the Nuggets are regarded as more valuable than what they would be otherwise in previous years drafts, due to the depth of the upcoming 2007 draft.
IF Camby can stay healthy, this team is a legitimate threat to win it all.....this year. But damn that's such a big IF. Nene is a perfect complimentary piece to the puzzle and Smith is a legit 3 point threat.
I don't know, this draft is gonna be pretty deep with all the kids that would come out last year if not for the new NBA age limit. Getting a couple top players could be better than betting everything on one guy. Also, Philly is going to make a run at Greg Oden just by being a horrible team the rest of the year. The ultimate coup would be to win the lottery and then use the other 2 picks on solid players. What a draft class that would be!
