Philadelphia 76ers Blog – Page 107 – NBA Blog

76ers sign two front office members to contract extensions

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo and Director of Player Personnel Courntey Witte to multi-year contract extensions. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

“During my time here, I’ve had a chance to see first-hand the work ethic, time and dedication both Tony and Courtney have invested in this organization,” Stefanski said. “I am not only confident and comfortable that their experience and knowledge will continue to be invaluable assets, but I look forward to working with them as we collectively pursue our goal of bringing a championship to Philadelphia.”

DiLeo is in his 19th season with the 76ers basketball operations department. After spending four seasons as the Sixers director of player personal (1999-03), he was promoted to his current position in September, 2003. He is primarily responsible for assisting Stefanski with player procurement through his evaluation of amateur and professional talent, while also supervising the team’s draft effort, and college and professional scouting systems.

During his tenure, DiLeo has been involved in every aspect of the team’s basketball operations, including coaching, scouting and management. Formerly the team’s director of scouting and assistant coach, DiLeo has extensive experience in international basketball, both as a player and coach. He played and coached in West Germany for 10 seasons before joining the Sixers staff for the 1990-91 season. He coached the West German men’s and women’s teams from 1979-90, winning nine national titles in the country’s top division. DiLeo was selected as the West German federation National Coach (1981-85) and the country’s coach of the year in 1987.

Courtney Witte (pronounced Witty) is in his 11th season with 76ers basketball operations department and 22nd overall in the NBA.

After serving as the Sixers director of scouting for two seasons (2001-03), Witte was promoted to his current position in September, 2003. He will continue to be involved in all aspects of the team’s basketball operations, including the draft night preparation and the coordination of Sixers professional scouting and collegiate player evaluation process.

Witte joined the Sixers prior to the 1998-99 season as a video coordinator and scout after spending 11 seasons with the Indiana Pacers. He served as an assistant coach/director of scouting for the Sixers, after a two-year stint as an assistant coach/head scout.

Calvin Booth exercises player option

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that Calvin Booth has exercised the player option on his contract. Per team policy, terms of the contract are not disclosed.

The Penn State product signed as a free agent with the Sixers on September 11, 2007. He appeared in 31 games last season, averaging 0.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.58 blocks in 6.6 minutes per game. Booth averaged 4.24 blocks per 48 minutes played last season, which was the 11th highest average by any player in the league. He recorded four of his season-high five blocks in the first quarter vs. Miami on December 12, 2007. Booth is approaching his 10th season in the NBA.

Origin of `Beat L.A.` chants

The Los Angeles Daily News (Elliott Teaford) reports: For what it’s worth, the “Beat L.A.” chant started in Boston Garden near the end of the Philadelphia 76ers’ victory over the Celtics in the 1982 Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics crowd urged the Sixers to beat the Lakers in the Finals. Philadelphia would lose to the Lakers in six games, but that didn’t stop the chant from spreading around the nation like a plague without a cure. It was even heard in the Meadowlands when the Ducks, who play in Anaheim, not L.A., faced the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. “The fortunate but unfortunate part about the “Beat L.A.” (chant) is that it’s so unoriginal,” Derek Fisher said, breaking into a wry smile when asked if he was looking forward to hearing it from the Boston crowd.

Samuel Dalembert files lawsuit against business partners

The Philadelphia Daily News (Phil Jasner) reports: The 76ers’ Samuel Dalembert has filed a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and fraud, among other allegations, against a group of business partners regarding an investment in the licensing of “Speed Racer” products and merchandise. The suit, filed May 12 in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, says that Dalembert invested more than $1 million in the project in 2006, only to learn that the defendants – New York design studio Art Asylum and others – did not have the licensing rights.

All-Rookie teams announced

Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, the runner-up for the 2007-08 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award, was the only unanimous selection on the 2007-08 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Team, the league announced today. Horford received 58 votes, while Seattle’s Kevin Durant, winner of the 2007-08 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award, received a total of 57 votes.

InsideHoops has to ask: How could a voter not have picked Durant as one of the top five rookies?

Rounding out the NBA All-Rookie First Team are Houston’s Luis Scola (53 points), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Al Thornton (48 points) and Seattle’s Jeff Green (43 points).

The T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of former D-League player, Jamario Moon of the Toronto Raptors (38), Memphis’ Juan Carlos
Navarro (24), Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young, (23), Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey (22) and Houston’s Carl Landry (18).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

76ers fans don’t even go to playoff games

The Boston Globe (Peter May) reports on the Pistons-76ers Game 6 in the first round of the playoffs: All those red seats at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia for Game 6 were not because the Pistons took control early and made the game a runaway. It was because only 14,130 bothered to show up for what turned out to be an elimination game, well shy of the arena’s 20,444 capacity. In fact, none of the three Philadelphia home playoff games sold out; the first two drew more than 18,000. Then again, those who did show up for Game 6 saw the second-biggest loss in franchise history in an elimination game and the worst at home. The biggest: the Celtics’ 120-87 thumping in Boston in Game 5 of the first round in 2002.

May 1: Pistons 100, Sixers 77

The AP reports: The Philadelphia 76ers got the Detroit Pistons’ attention. Then they got steamrolled. The Pistons powered into the second round of the playoffs by crushing Philadelphia 100-77 on Thursday night, winning the series 4-2 and again demonstrating how good they are when they feel they need to be. Detroit convincingly won the last two games of a series that wasn’t expected to last this long. The Pistons will host the Orlando Magic, who eliminated Toronto in five games, on Saturday in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The teams split four meetings this season… Richard Hamilton hit his first five shots during Detroit’s overpowering start and finished with 24 points, 13 in the decisive first quarter when he outscored the 76ers by himself. Chauncey Billups added 20 points and Tayshaun Prince had 12 for the Pistons, who reached the second round for the seventh straight season… Andre Iguodala scored 16 points and Andre Miller had another quiet game with 11 for the Sixers, who outplayed the heavily favored Pistons for the first 3 1/2 games of the series but never really had a chance after that… Fans booed as the Sixers walked off the court trailing 79-51 after three, but this should go down as a good season for a team that was widely expected to finish at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Pistons shot 58.2%, the Sixers just 33.8%. The Pistons nailed 9-of-16 threes, the Sixers just 3-of-13. The Sixers drew hoards of fouls and got 36 free throws, but they only hit 24; the Pistons hti 13-of-16. Rebounding was fairly close, but Detroit dished 28 assists, Philly just 12. The Sixers did get 11 steals, but only 4 for the Pistons. Andre Miller shot just 4-of-16 in the loss.

Apr. 29: Pistons 98, Sixers 81

The AP reports: Chauncey Billups scored 21 points, Richard Hamilton had 20 and Rasheed Wallace added 19 to lift Detroit to a 98-81 victory over Philadelphia on Tuesday night and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series… Andre Iguodala scored a career playoff-high 21 points, finally putting together a night that resembled his play in the regular season… Iguodala didn’t have much help. None of his teammates reached double figures until Andre Miller in the third quarter, but that was after the point guard missed nine shots in a row in the first half when the game was relatively close… Billups had a series high in points (21) and assists (12). Wallace had six blocks, one short of the playoff franchise record he matched in Game 1. Jason Maxiell had a career playoff-high 11 rebounds, starting for Antonio McDyess, who is playing with a broken nose. Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince finished with 17 points, giving the balanced team a fourth option offensively. Miller finished with 13 points and reserve Louis Williams scored 16.

Apr. 27: Pistons 93, Sixers 84

The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince scored 23 points and made all but one shot from the field, and Detroit played with a purpose and dominated the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-84 on Sunday night, tying the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series at 2-2… All the euphoria the Sixers created after a 20-point win in Game 3 only grew as they raced to a 14-point first-half lead. The younger, faster, confident Sixers were taking it to the aging, slumping Pistons yet again. Then those 59-win Pistons showed up in the third quarter… The Pistons picked up the defensive pressure and forced seven turnovers in the third. Detroit played like the 76ers did in Game 3, with active hands in the lane and pressure up top that rattled the upstart home team.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Sixers shot better than the Pistons did from the field, but the Pistons took 80 shots, the Sixers just 67. Credit Pistons hustle to getting those extra attempts. Neither team was impressive from three-point range. Both teams made 19 free throws, but the Pistons did it on fewer attempts. Rebounding and assists were close. For the Pistons, Tayshaun Prince shot 11-of-12 for 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Rasheed Wallace (4-of-7 three-pointers) had 20 points, 10 rebounds and too many turnovers. Chauncey Billups shot a miserable 4-of-16 but got free throws for 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. And Richard Hamilton shot just 7-of-22 for 18 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Antonio McDyess shot 5-of-8 for 10 bench points. For the Sixers, all five starters scored between 12 and 15 points, and Louis Williams had 10 off the bench. Samuel Dalembert had 12 rebounds.

Apr. 25: Sixers 95, Pistons 75

The AP reports: The Sixers added one more surprise victory in a season stuffed with them. The win wasn’t the shocker—it was the way Philadelphia completely thrashed the playoff-tested Detroit Pistons in Game 3 that was the stunner. Andre Miller was spot on with his mid-range jumper and scored 21 points, and the rest of the Sixers ran all over the court in a dominating 95-75 victory Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. Samuel Dalembert had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and the Sixers led by as many as 24 points in their first home playoff game since 2005… The Pistons played nothing like a team that won 59 games in the regular season. Perhaps they took the 76ers lightly or maybe one of the most experienced postseason rosters in the league is finally starting to wear down. Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and Tayshaun Prince had 18. Without them, the Pistons might have lost by 30. Antonio McDyess—who left in the third quarter with a broken nose—Rasheed Wallace and Billups combined for 15 points… The Pistons, who led the league with just 11 turnovers per game, committed 25, easily their season high, and the 76ers jumped all over every costly mistake. They scored 29 points off turnovers and scored 40 points in the paint. Philly scored the easy baskets off lobs and layups that mostly eluded them in Games 1 and 2.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The 76ers shot 45.9%, the Pistons just 40.9%. Both teams were awful from three-point range, combining to go 4-of-22. The Sixers got more free throws, and hit a higher percentage of them. Philly got more boards and more assists. The Pistons committed 23 turnovers. The Sixers had 15 steals, the Pistons only 6. Chauncey Billups shot 2-of-11. Rasheed Wallace shot 1-of-6. Rodney Stuckey shot 1-of-7. Jarvis Hayes also shot 1-of-7. The only Sixer to struggle as badly as those Pistons from the field was Iguodala, who went 2-of-9 and had 6 assists but also 6 turnovers.