Philadelphia 76ers Blog – Page 64 – NBA Blog

Jrue Holiday reportedly seeking a max contract

Jrue Holiday will be asked to be a more vocal leader and take ownership of a squad that features eight new faces.

Holiday enters a critical fourth NBA season. He will play the 2012-13 campaign likely on the final year of his original four-year contract. The Sixers can sign him to an extension now, but given that Holiday is seeking a max contract, the more likely scenario is that he will become a restricted free agent next summer, which means the Sixers will have an opportunity to match any offer that comes Holiday’s way.

The 22-year-old point guard has started 198 games over the last three years, including every game the last two seasons. He averaged 13.5 points per game and 4.5 assists last season. Those statistics, when compared with those of other starting point guards in the Eastern Conference, are about middle of the road.

— Reported by Dei Lynam of CSN Philly

Andrew Bynum should do big things for Sixers

For the first time since the days of Moses Malone, the Sixers have a true scoring center in 24-year-old Andrew Bynum.

To be clear, Malone is a Hall of Famer. Bynum has been an All-Star once in his young career. Still, Bynum opens a world of offensive opportunities for a team that struggled to put points on the board a year ago.

The 7-foot center commands a double team in the low post. Since his rookie season, when he shot 40 percent from the field as an 18-year-old, Bynum has never shot below 56 percent.

But Bynum wasn’t the focal point of the offense in Los Angeles. The Lakers were – and still are – Kobe Bryant’s team. That didn’t change when Bynum was selected 10th overall in the 2005 NBA draft.

Last year, when Bynam averaged a career high 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds, he was the team’s second-leading scorer and his 13 field goal attempts per game were third on the team behind Bryant and Pau Gasol.

— Reported by Dei Lynam of CSN Philly

Doug Collins downplays talk of becoming Olympic coach

Collins doesn’t seek the subject, but when asked during this weekend’s reunion of the ’72 team about whether he would like to be the Olympic coach, he showed typical candor while also professing a desire to stay with the Sixers long-term.

“It’s a tremendous honor that somebody would even throw my name out there,” Collins said. “It’s four years down the road and I understand in this business you hope you are an active coach at the time.”

Which means obviously with the Sixers.

“I am hoping that I am still active and I would like to coach four or five years in Philadelphia,” he said.

So much for the assumption that Collins was taking things in Philadelphia on a yearly basis.

“I feel good about our team and I love my staff, what we are doing and where we are headed,” Collins continued. “The ownership, Josh [Harris], has been so good to me, so I feel really good about that.”

— Reported by Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Sixers may like Sam Hinkie for GM job

In their search for a new general manager to replace Rod Thorn, the 76ers, according to SI.com, have turned their attention to Sam Hinkie, the Houston Rockets’ executive vice president of basketball operations.

Hinkie, who has an MBA from Stanford, is considered a leader in the league’s analytics movement and has been the Rockets’ second-in-command behind general manager Daryl Morey for 5 years.

— Reported by Mark Perner of the Philadelphia Daily News

Sixers have plenty of expiring contracts over next two years

There will be a grand total of nine Sixers whose contracts will expire within the next two years.

Five of those contracts — Bynum, Jrue Holiday, Nick Young, Dorell Wright and Royal Ivey — are up at the end of next season. Four more — Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, Kwame Brown and Lavoy Allen — expire at the end of the 2013-14 season. For reference, Brown’s is technically for one season with a player option for a second, though his agent has called it a two-year deal.

Starting with the five due to end next summer, the Sixers could very well walk into free agency with roughly $30 million off their books. Of course, should they re-sign Bynum, his max-deal will take up about two-thirds of that space. Then there’s Holiday, to whom the team can extend a qualifying offer for one more year, but Holiday is reportedly seeking a max-contract instead. Go figure.

— Reported by Nick Menta of CSN Philly

Sixers may want Mike Zarren for GM job

The Sixers may have just swung a deal for Andrew Bynum, but they’re still looking for a new general manager.

Boston Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren has emerged as a candidate for the job, a source confirms to CSNPhilly.com’s John Finger.

Zarren’s involvement was first reported by Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick, who described Zarren as “an intriguing addition to the field of prospects; a widely-respected purveyor of advanced player statistics in the NBA who is one of the least-known yet most-influential members of the Celtics’ front office group,” and the “right-hand man of [Celtics GM] Danny Ainge.”

— Reported by CSN Philly

Info on upcoming Andrew Bynum knee treatment

Info on knee treatment Andrew Bynum will have

While 76ers center Andrew Bynum has chosen to have the creator of the noninvasive, nonsurgical procedure administer the injections to his knees that he hopes will extend his career next month in Dusseldorf, Germany, the procedure – known as regenokine treatment – has been administered in the United States for almost a decade.

“Regenokine is the most effective treatment for joint problems caused by osteoarthritis,” said Chris Renna, a specialist in preventative medicine. “It is corroborated by independent studies published in 2003 in the Journal of Osteoarthritis and Orthopedics.”

The treatment was first cleared for widespread use in Germany in 2003. More recently, medical boards in the United States have cleared the procedure in states such as California, Texas, and New York, among others.

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

76ers attendance increased last season

The season prior, the Sixers finished 25th out of the NBA’s 30 teams in average home attendance, drawing 14,751 a night. That figure was good enough for dead last in percentage of arena capacity filled. Believe it or not, those numbers were an improvement from the season before that, when the team drew just 14,224 per game and finished not last, but second to last in percentage of capacity.

After the league settled a frustrating lockout and began a condensed season last December, the Sixers jumped out to a most unexpected and welcome 16-6 start to lead the Atlantic Division. Granted, the team lulled badly shortly thereafter, coming back to the pack — and Earth, for that matter — as the season wore on, but its performance was good enough to make a difference in ticket sales. The Sixers jumped from 25th to 14th in the warm body count last season, accounting for 17,502 a night.

— Reported by Nick Menta of CSN Philly

Dwight Howard traded to Lakers in 4-team deal; Bynum to 76ers, Iguodala to Nuggets

The Orlando Magic have acquired six players and five future draft picks in a four-team, 12-player trade, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Orlando acquired guard Aaron Afflalo (ah-FLAH-low) and forward Al Harrington from Denver, forward Maurice Harkless and center Nikola Vucevic (KNEE-coal-uh VOOCH-uh-vitch) from Philadelphia, as well as forward Josh McRoberts and guard/forward Christian Eyenga (eye-EN-gah) from the Los Angeles Lakers.

In addition, the Magic have also acquired five additional draft picks over the next five years. Orlando receives: a second round pick from Denver in 2013, a first round pick from either Denver or New York in 2014, a conditional first round pick from Philadelphia and a conditional second round pick from the L.A. Lakers in 2015, and a conditional first round pick from the L.A. Lakers in 2017.

The Magic have traded center Dwight Howard, guard Chris Duhon and forward Earl Clark to the L.A. Lakers, while sending guard Jason Richardson to Philadelphia. As part of the deal, Philadelphia has acquired center Andrew Bynum, while Denver has acquired guard/forward Andre Iguodala.

“A primary goal for our basketball team is to achieve sustainability while maintaining a long-term vision. We feel this deal puts us in a position to begin building in that direction,” said Hennigan. “In addition to the six players joining our team, we will be in a position to maximize our salary cap flexibility in the near future, as well as utilize the multiple draft picks we have acquired going forward.”

“Dwight Howard accomplished tremendous success on and off the court during his eight years in Orlando,” said Hennigan. “We wish him, Chris (Duhon), Earl (Clark) and Jason (Richardson) all the best in the future.”

Afflalo (6’5”, 215, 10/15/85) played and started in 62 games last season with Denver, averaging a career-high 15.2 ppg., 3.2 rpg. and 2.4 apg. in 33.6 minpg. He shot .471 (329-699) from the field, .398 (88-221) from three-point range and .798 (197-247) from the free throw line. Afflalo ranked 24th in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage and 39th in scoring. He led (or tied) the team in scoring 11 times, in rebounding twice and in assists once. Afflalo scored a career-high 32 points on Mar. 5 vs. Sacramento. He also played and started in seven playoff games, averaging 10.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg. and 2.7 apg. in 32.7 minpg.

Harrington (6’9”, 245, 2/17/80) played in 64 games last season (one start) with Denver, averaging 14.2 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.4 apg. in 27.5 minpg. He scored in double figures 53 times, and had 10 games with 20-or-more points, including a season-high 31 points on Feb. 20 vs. Minnesota. Harrington also appeared in seven playoff outings, averaging 9.7 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. in 23.3 minpg.

Harkless (6’8”, 210, 5/11/93) was selected in the first round (15th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Philadelphia. He played and started all 32 games as a freshman last season with St. John’s University, averaging 15.5 ppg., 8.6 rpg., 1.5 apg., 1.59 stlpg. and 1.41 blkpg. Harkless ranked second in the nation in rebounding among freshmen and sixth in scoring. He was named the 2011-12 Big East Conference Rookie of the Year.

Vucevic (7’0”, 240, 10/24/90) played in 51 games (15 starts) during his rookie campaign last season with Philadelphia, averaging 5.5 ppg. and 4.8 rpg. in 15.9 minpg. He ranked among all NBA rookies in rebounding (t-sixth), blocked shots (t-sixth) and field goal percentage (.450, eighth). Vucevic led (or tied) the Sixers in scoring four times and in rebounding nine times. He also played in one playoff outing.

McRoberts (6’10”, 240, 2/28/87) played in 50 games last season (six starts) with the Lakers, averaging 2.8 ppg., 3.4 rpg. and 1.0 apg. in 14.4 minpg. He scored a season-high 16 points on Apr. 26 @ Sacramento. McRoberts also played in six playoff contests.

Eyenga (6’5”, 210, 6/22/89) played in seven combined games last season with both Cleveland and the Lakers, averaging 2.4 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 14.7 minpg. He was acquired by Los Angeles along with Ramon Sessions in exchange for Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, a future first round pick and other considerations on Mar. 15. Eyenga also played in three playoff contests.

Howard appeared in 621 career regular season games with Orlando from 2004-12, averaging 18.4 ppg., 13.0 rpg., 1.5 apg., 2.16 blkpg. and 1.01 stlpg. in 36.2 minpg. He was named to the All-NBA First Team five times (2007-12), was a six-time NBA All-Star (2007-12) and was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons (2009-11).

Clark played in 78 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 3.3 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. in 12.2 minpg.

Duhon played in 114 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 3.2 ppg., 2.4 apg. and 1.4 rpg. in 17.5 minpg.

Richardson played and started in 109 regular season games during his two seasons with Orlando (2010-12), averaging 12.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.09 stlpg. in 32.2 minpg. He also shot .377 (229-608) from three-point range.

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Lakers have deal to get Dwight Howard; Bynum to 76ers, Iguodala to Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers have a deal in place to acquire Dwight Howard from Orlando in a four-team, eight-player trade also involving Denver and Philadelphia, and the NBA has scheduled a conference call Friday with the four general managers to finish the deal, according to multiple reports…

Philadelphia would get Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles and Jason Richardson from Orlando, while Denver would get Andre Iguodala from the 76ers.

Orlando would receive Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington from Denver, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless from Philadelphia, and lottery protected first-round picks from each of the three teams.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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