Philadelphia 76ers Blog – Page 74 – NBA Blog

NBA approves sales of Philadelphia 76ers to Joshua Harris and partners

The NBA Board of Governors has approved Comcast-Spectacor’s sale of the 76ers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire Joshua Harris, an NBA source confirmed.

The sale is expected to officially close early next week; the new ownership group is expected to hold a news conference, possibly as early as Tuesday.

Terms of the sale were agreed upon in July: $280 million for 100 percent of the franchise. Completion of the sale has been pending league approval for more than two months while the league is mired in a labor dispute with the NBA Players Association.

— Reported by Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The sale of the 76ers to a group headed by Joshua Harris was approved yesterday by the NBA Board of Governors, according to an NBA source.

The organization is expected to hold a press conference in Philadelphia sometime next week to formally announce the sale.

Though the NBA is currently in the midst of a lockout, Harris will now be able to fill in fans as to what his plans are with the future of the team, at least somewhat. Because of the lockout, Harris will not be alowed to discuss players or team personnel issues.

One of the bigger questions surrounding the team is if current general manager Ed Stefanski will hold on to that job title. Stefanski has interviewed with the Toronto Raptors and is said to be a leading candidate for their GM position. Stefanski is held in very high regard by coach Doug Collins, who came in last season and improved the team from 27 wins to 44 in his initial season.

— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News

Sale of Philadelphia 76ers expected to conclude next week

Comcast-Spectacor’s sale of the 76ers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire Joshua Harris is expected to close early next week, according to a source close to the situation.

Terms of the sale were agreed upon in July, but the deal has been pending approval of the NBA’s board of governors for more than two months. The NBA has been mired in a lockout since July 1. On Monday, the league canceled the first two weeks of the 2011-12 regular season…

The deal is for 100 percent of the Sixers for approximately $280 million.

— Reported by Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Ed Stefanski in talks to become Raptors GM

Philadelphia 76ers executive Ed Stefanski is engaged in advanced talks with the Toronto Raptors to take over as general manager, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Stefanski would move into the franchise’s No. 2 basketball executive job under president Bryan Colangelo. Stefanski, who is in the final year of his deal in Philadelphia and has the GM title, knows he probably won’t be retained after his contract expires, sources said. Stefanski lost his spot as the Sixers’ top decision maker a year ago to Rod Thorn, and now the franchise is waiting for the NBA to approve the team’s sale to a New York investment group.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports

76ers will hire Jeff Capel Sr. as an assistant coach

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News reports (via blog):

An NBA source has told the Daily News that the 76ers have hired Jeff Capel Sr. as an assistant coach. Capel, who will turn 58 in January, was the head coach at Old Dominion from 1994 to 2001 and at North Carolina A&T (1993-94) and Fayetteville State (1989-1993).

Capel is the father of Jeff Capel Jr., who starred for Duke from 1993-97. The younger Capel was a teammate of Chris Collins, son of Sixers coach Doug Collins.

Team Philly beats LeBron, CP3 and Team Melo in Battle of I-95 game

The AP reports:

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul couldn’t lead their team back from a dreadful start, as Team Philly beat Melo’s stars of Baltimore 131-122 on Sunday night at the Palestra…

A sold-out crowd that greeted James with thunderous boos when he came onto the floor roared in the final minute when former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans used a series of fakes to drive into the lane for a basket that put it away at 131-119.

James had 43 points and 23 rebounds, and Anthony had 31 and 17, but Paul wasn’t in top shape in rare action during this NBA summer of inactivity. All three played all 48 minutes.

Former Villanova guard Kyle Lowry of the Rockets scored 34 points and Lou Williams of the hometown 76ers had 31 for Team Philly in what was called the “Battle of I-95.” Evans finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds…

The Melo team is based in Baltimore, but Anthony went outside his city to find James (Ohio) and Paul (North Carolina)…

Paul shot only 3 of 12 for six points and struggled to keep up with Philly’s speedsters.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News reports:

The atmosphere was one usually more conducive to a rock concert. Though slated to start at 6 p.m. at the Palestra, the sellout crowd patiently waited the near 45-minute delay of the “Battle of I-95.” And when it did finally get under way, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house; nor was there a dry shirt, brow or face. The old Palestra was a virtual sauna, and that was before any of the players took to the floor…

James led Team Melo with 43 points, while Anthony chipped in 31. . .Kyle Lowry had 34 and Williams 31 for Philly. . .Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson made a brief appearance and was cheered loudly by fans. . .Former Sixer guard Willie Green was sitting courtside. . .Markieff and Marcus Morris both were no-shows. They had a commitment Saturday night at Kansas. . .Super agent Leon Rose was seated at midcourt. . .The letters BBNS were on the back of both team’s shirts, standing for Basketball Never Stops.

Read fan discussion of the game in this basketball forum topic.

NBA postpones training camps, cancels October 9-15 preseason games

The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3.

In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

Read NBA fan reaction or share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Allen Iverson a no-go for Philly Battle of 1-95

CSN Philly reports:

After hearing there was a possibility that Allen Iverson might be a participant in Sunday’s “Battle of I-95” at the Palestra, I had two thoughts: logically he could play for either team given his Newport News upbringing and Georgetown attendance for college (Team Melo candidate) or because of his accolades as a Philadelphia favorite son over his 10-plus seasons as a Sixer (Team Philly candidate).

The second thought is he really going to play? The answer to that thought is no. Gary Moore, Iverson’s longtime friend and manager, confirmed that the now 36-year-old Answer will not participate.

Iverson last played in an NBA game Feb. 20, 2010. He was playing for the Sixers in his second stint that lasted a total of 25 games and it had an unceremonious ending with Eddie Jordan’s team falling by 32 points to the Bulls. Iverson scored 13 points and had three assists in that one. No one knew that night would be his swan song in the National Basketball Association.

Evan Turner wants a better jumpshot

Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

One thing is clear: Evan Turner would like the basketball.

The 76ers sophomore guard has spent this summer splitting time among three places, but has also spent a good deal of his summer working with Hall of Famer and Philadelphia University coach Herb Magee, who has been tweaking Turner’s shot.

“I knew I had a hitch in my shot,” said Turner, who was in Chicago. “I just wanted to get it together. I didn’t want to shoot any balls short. I wanted to understand the basic principle of jump-shooting, all of that, what to look for. Coach Magee has been helping me out a lot.”

During his rookie season, Turner averaged 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 23.0 minutes a game, disappointing numbers for the No. 2 overall selection in the 2010 NBA draft. Crucial in his offseason development was improvement on the perimeter, where he only occasionally looked comfortable.

“I’ve been working on my game a lot, playing a lot of basketball,” Turner said. “I’m pretty happy with the results I’ve been getting, I feel like I’m back to my old self. I feel like my new shot is smoother. I have a lot of confidence in it. It’s going well.”

Team Philly vs Team Melo game set for Philadelphia Sept. 25

Ryan Feldman of CSN Philly reports:

There may or may not be an NBA season this year, but that won’t stop the NBA from coming to Philadelphia.

Team Philly, a team made up of basketball stars from the Philly area, will take on Team Melo, a team led by Carmelo Anthony, on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. at The Palestra.

Team Philly will include Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns), Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns), Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets), Lou Williams (Sixers), Kyle Lowry (Houston Rockets), John Salmons (Sacramento Kings), Wayne Ellington (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jason Thompson (Sacramento Kings), former NBA player Flip Murray and Philly street ball legend Aaron “AO” Owens.

Team Melo, comprised of players from the Baltimore area, will include Anthony, Josh Selby (Memphis Grizzlies), Donte Greene (Sacramento Kings), Gary Neal (San Antonio Spurs), Eric Bledsoe (Los Angeles Clippers) and “more suprise (sp.) guests,” according to Rahim Thompson’s Twitter account @RTChosenleague.

Thompson, the commissioner of a basketball league in Philly called The Chosen League, organized the game and announced the details via Twitter.

New Philadelphia 76ers ownership group chooses a CEO

Though the immediate future of the NBA is being played out in a Manhattan hotel as owners and players try to iron out a new collective bargaining agreement, some business must carry on.

The 76ers’ new ownership group, headed by leveraged buyout specialist Joshua Harris, has hired noted travel industry executive Adam M. Aron as the team’s chief executive officer, the Daily News learned yesterday.

Aron, 56, and Harris have history. Aron is a senior operating partner at Apollo Global Management, which Harris co-founded. Aron was born in Philadelphia and attended Abington High (class of 1972). Harris grew up here.

Aron previously was CEO of Vail Resorts, the second-largest ski resort operator worldwide, and president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, then the fourth-largest cruise company in the world. He also was senior vice president for marketing for United Airlines and for the Hyatt Hotels Corp. After Abington, Aron attended Harvard, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in government and earned an MBA with distinction from the Business School.

— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News