Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has re-signed restricted free-agent swingman Andre Iguodala.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Multiple reports say the deal is for six years and $80 million.

“Andre is one of the top players in the NBA and he was a key factor in our turnaround last season,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider. “Keeping him a part of our roster was an important off-season move for us. I’m very excited that he has decided to remain a Philadelphia 76er.”

“Ed Stefanski worked very hard this off-season on adding key players to our line-up and keeping our core roster in tact,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “Keeping Andre as a 76er was important to us, as we want to expand on our successes from last season.”

“We have maintained since the beginning of this process that Andre was a main priority for us because he is one of the best all-around young players in the league and an integral part to the success of our team,” Stefanski said. “We are excited that we are able to keep a player with Andre’s talent, athleticism and work ethic here in Philadelphia.”

Iguodala (6-6, 207) was originally selected with the ninth overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2004 NBA Draft following his sophomore season at the University of Arizona.  He has played and started 322 of a possible 328 games in his four-year career, averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.85 steals in 37.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.8% from the floor, 33.1% from 3-point range and 76.5% from the line.

Last season, the 24-year-old averaged a career-high 19.9 points per game and is one of 10 players under the age of 25 who ranked among the top-30 scorers.  Iguodala is also one of a handful of players who have increased their scoring average in each of the past four seasons.  Over the past two seasons, the Sixers have compiled a record of 46-30 (.605) in games in which Iguodala has scored 20+ points and 24-58 (.293) in games in which he played and scored below 20 points.

Iguodala also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.09 steals last season, joining Caron Butler as the only players among qualifiers to average at least 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.00 steals.  In 2006-07, Iguodala joined Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady as the only players to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

Since he entered the league in 2004-05, Iguodala has the third most steals of any player, trailing only Shawn Marion and Allen Iverson.  Iguodala ranked sixth in the NBA in steals last season and had almost as many steal (160) as turnovers (167) over the final 66 games.

In 2006, Iguodala was named MVP of the 2006 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend while also finishing second in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition.  The past two summers, Iguodala was a member of the U.S. Select Team which helped prepare the Senior National Team for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and the 2008 Olympics.

Jason Smith, a very athletic big forward who definitely helped the 76ers a lot last season and was a very useful, but not absolutely essential piece of Philly’s success, has torn the ACL in his left knee. Usually, that means missing an entire season. It’s really too bad. Smith makes any roster better. Philly will have to replace him. Here’s the full news release:

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that center Jason Smith suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee during normal basketball activity on Wednesday.

Smith was examined by team Physician Dr. Jack McPhilemy on Thursday evening and will receive a second opinion from Dr. Dave Altchek in the coming weeks.

No timetable has been set for his return. Additional updates will be provided when they become available.

A product of Colorado State University, Smith appeared in 76 games during his rookie season and averaged 4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 14.5 minutes per game. In the playoffs, Smith appeared in all six games and posted averages of 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game. In the recently completed Las Vegas Summer League, Smith appeared in five games and averaged 18.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game.

The following is a statement from Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski regarding the injury to Sixers center Jason Smith: “It’s unfortunate that this happened, but Jason is resilient and he’ll receive the best treatment available,” Stefanski said. “I was there, along with Coach Cheeks and Tony DiLeo, when the injury occurred, which was during a routine, five-on-five drill at an NBA-approved camp held in Las Vegas. There was no contact made with Jason when he suffered the injury. “At this point, we will continue to explore all available options in order to add an additional big man to our roster.”

The Philadelphia Daily News reports: To commemorate 28 seasons that included an NBA championship, the Sixers will bid a fond farewell to the Wachovia Spectrum with one last game. Yesterday, the team released its schedule for the upcoming 2008-09 campaign with plans to face the Chicago Bulls in the hallowed arena on March 13. “In this, the last year of the Spectrum, we’re thrilled to bring the Sixers back home to play one more time in the Spectrum,” said Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider. “This night is designed for our fans to relive the great Sixers memories there and for those fans who were never able to see them play at the Spectrum.”

The 76ers re-signed guard Lou Williams, who I think is more talented than many people realize. I’m not positive he’ll ever be a really good starting point guard in the league, but at the very least he’ll be a terrific backup, and the way he seems to be progressing it’s quite possible he winds up a full-time starter in the future.

Here’s the news:

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced Monday that the team has re-signed restricted free-agent guard Lou Williams. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are very excited that we have reached an agreement with Lou Williams,” Stefanski said. “He is not only a very talented player who exemplifies our up-tempo style of play, but he is also a young man who exhibits great character and qualities off-the-court, as well. We look forward to having him in a Sixers uniform for many years to come.”

“We’re happy that Lou is back, as he has proven to be an integral part of the team,” Head Coach Maurice Cheeks said. “He’s made great strides as a player and we’re very confident he’ll continue to excel with us for years to come.”

Originally the 45th overall pick by the Sixers in the 2005 NBA Draft, Williams (6-2, 175) has appeared in 171 games, averaging 7.2 points, 2.2 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. For his career, he has shot 42.9% from the floor, 34.7% from 3-point range and 75.7% from the line.

The 21-year-old enjoyed breakout success last season, averaging career-highs in scoring (11.5 ppg), assists (3.2 apg), rebounding (2.0 rpg) and steals (1.01 spg). Williams had the fifth highest point/rebound/assist total for any player coming off the bench last season and received votes for both the Most Improved Player and Sixth Man of the Year awards. He scored the fourth most points of any reserve last season, had the second-most assists, tallied the most steals and recorded the third-most free throw attempts.

After hitting a total of 14 three-pointers in his first two seasons, Williams was second on the team with 55 3-point FGM in 2007-08 while shooting a team-high 35.9% from behind-the-arc. Williams was also the Sixers second leading scorer in fourth quarters last season, with 42.3% of his season point total coming in the fourth.

In the summer of 2007, Williams finished second in MVP voting at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and was also named to the All-Rocky Mountain Revue Team. He led both leagues in scoring, averaging a combined 24.7 points per game. In late November of 2006, Williams was assigned to the D-League for three games and averaged 26.0 points on 71.1% shooting from the floor and 62.5% shooting from 3-point range.

Williams attended South Gwinnett High School in Atlanta and was the winner of the 2005 Naismith Award, signifying the nation’s top high school player. He tallied 3,338 points during his career at South Gwinnett and was a four-time All-State selection as well as being named Mr. Basketball in Georgia his junior and senior seasons.

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Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Royal Ivey. Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

“We’re happy that we were able to add Royal Ivey to our roster,” said Sixers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski. “As we continue to add to our team, we feel that his versatility, ability to handle the point guard duties and defensive strength will bolster our depth and provide us with additional options in our backcourt.”

In four NBA seasons, Ivey (6-4/215) has appeared in 263 games with 109 starts, averaging 4.0 points, 1.5 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game while shooting 42.1% from the floor, 33.1% from 3-point range and 71.4% from the line.  He has averaged just 0.7 turnovers for his career.

Last season for Milwaukee, Ivey saw action in 75 games with 20 starts, averaging career-highs of 5.6 points, 2.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game.  He hit 35 3-pointers in 2007-08 after having just 12 3FGM total his first three seasons combined.  Ivey scored in double-figures 15 times last season after doing so a total of 14 times his first three seasons.

Ivey was originally selected by Atlanta with the 37th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.  He played his first three seasons with the Hawks and made 66 starts for them in 2005-06.  That season, Ivey committed just 23 turnovers in 73 games played.

A four-year starter at the University of Texas, Ivey helped guide the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament each season, including three consecutive “Sweet 16” berths and one Final Four appearance.  He was a two-time Big 12 Conference All-Defensive team selection and was named third-team All-Big 12 by the media his senior season.