Doug Collins likes his team. He likes talking about them, too. This year, Collins has spent a lot of time praising the Sixers as a selfless bunch that bought into his team-oriented system.
As Ive said over and over, I wouldnt want to be in any other locker room in the NBA, Collins said. Ill go with those guys any day.
The question is whether the Sixers' front office and president Rod Thorn will continue to go with those guys. The Sixers fell to the Spurs on Wednesday, but they remain atop the Atlantic Division with an 18-8 record. To date, it has been a wildly impressive season. But thats the thing about success: When you start to have some, it leaves you wanting more.
Before the season, the mere idea of getting out of the first round of the playoffs would have made Sixers fans giddy. Now, with the Sixers playing as well as any team in the Eastern Conference, it seems reasonable to think they might be capable of greater things.
And so you wonder: Should the Sixers mess with the teams chemistry by moving pieces around? And, if so, which pieces?
Theres a sentiment among some fans and media members that the Sixers could use a reliable shooter from distance. The Sixers are 20th in the league in three-pointers attempted per game. But while they dont take that many threes, they have been successful making the shots they attempt from beyond the arc; the Sixers are second in the NBA in three-point percentage.
If theyre going to make a trade -- and Im not sure they should, for reasons I'll outline below -- it might make more sense to get front-court help. Elton Brand leads the team in blocks and is second in rebounds, but hell also turn 33 next month. And while Spencer Hawes has been terrific when hes played -- the Sixers outscore their opponents by 15 points per game when hes in the lineup -- hes a 23-year-old with nagging injuries. Because of issues with his back and Achilles tendon, Hawes has already missed 12 games this season. Because of that, adding depth down low might not be a bad idea -- but it could prove surprisingly difficult to make happen.
NBA
As a purely academic exercise, we spent the day looking for trade possibilities, some of which are listed below to illustrate what the Sixers are up against if they want to make a deal. Youll notice that certain players -- like Hawes and Thaddeus Young -- arent included in any of the hypothetical deals because league restrictions wont allow them to be moved until March 1. Neither is Brand, who would be next to impossible to unload because of his contract. Also, keep in mind that the salaries being swapped have to match up to a certain degree under NBA rules. What we learned is that, while some trades are more feasible than others, it doesnt necessarily mean the teams involved would or should make the move.
In fact, and this is important, the more we shopped around the league, the more we like the idea of leaving the current roster alone for now. Certain guys who rebound and block shots and are probably available because they play on substandard teams -- like, say, Chris Kaman (7.1 rpg, 1.4 bpg) or even Samuel Dalembert (7.7 rpg, 2.0 bpg) -- are hard to work into trade scenarios once you look at their salaries. Kaman will make an absurd 14 million this season, while Dalembert will be paid an only slightly-less ridiculous sum of 7 million.
In any event, here are four potential trades listed in order of easiest to hardest to pull off. Again, the more we looked around, the more we realized that the Sixers are probably better off as is -- because while these trades are possible, I wouldn't make any of them.
Trade Scenario No. 1
Player(s) Acquired: Ben Wallace (Detroit Pistons)
Player(s) Traded: Lavoy Allen and Craig Brackins
Evaluation: Breaking: The Pistons are a bad basketball team. Detroit is 30th in the NBA in points and rebounds per game, and theyve won just seven games all season. The guy youd want from Detroit is Greg Monroe, who averages a double-double (16.3 ppg, 10 rpg), but I cant imagine the Pistons would part with him. They would almost certainly unload Wallace, however. But I doubt the Sixers would want to swap a 23-year-old kid in Allen for a 37-year-old man who cant be far from retiring.
Trade Scenario No. 2
Player(s) Acquired: Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns)
Player(s) Traded: Lou Williams and Nick Vucevic
Evaluation: The Phoenix Suns are 11-14 and rank 20th in the NBA in scoring. Its a team that could certainly benefit from switching things up. Adding Williams would give their offense a boost, and theyd get younger in the front court with Vucevic. The Sixers, meanwhile, would get two front court players to fold into Collins rotation. Frye averages 5.5 rebounds per game, which would be fifth best if added to the Sixers roster. Warrick averages 7.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg -- the worst numbers since his rookie season.It'sa muchbetter deal for the Suns than the Sixers, soforget this one too.
Trade Scenario No. 3
Player(s) Acquired: Anderson Varejao and Luke Harangody (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Player(s) Traded: Lou Williams and Nick Vucevic
Evaluation: Varejao is fourth in the NBA in rebounds per game and hes a high-energy player who would hustle and fit in well with Collins' selfless system. He would also fill the teams giant Sideshow Bob-hair void. (Think of the marketing opportunity for wig sales). Varejao does not, however, alter many shots. Hes a big body -- 6-11, 260 pounds -- but he averages only 0.7 blocks per game.
Harangody would be a throw-in, someone for the Cavs to unload. The Cavs are rebuilding and probably willing to move someone like Varejao, but Im not sure the Sixers have the right players to offer in exchange. This deal works in theory, but the Cavs already have a crowded backcourt that includes guards Daniel Gibson and last years first overall pick, Kyrie Irving. Even though the salary exchange works, taking Williams on probably wouldnt be as attractive to them as some other teams. And while Vucevic is a promising young post player, I cant imagine the Cavs would want to move Varejao to acquire him. This deal wouldn'tmake much sensefor either side. We're 0-for-3 so far.
Trade Scenario No. 4
Player(s) Acquired: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
Player(s) Traded: Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, Andres Nocionior Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner and Jodie Meeks
Evaluation: The Sixers would land a true superstar, a guy who is one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the NBA. In the first scenario, theyd keep Andre Iguodala and pair him with Howard to form one of the most formidable defensive duos in the league.
In the second scenario, theyd keep Williams, their best pure scorer, and Holiday, their talented young point guard. In both scenarios, theyd have to give up an awful lot to get Howard. Im not sure the Sixers would be willing to sacrifice so much depth, even if it meant getting someone of Howards uncanny ability in return.
From the Magics perspective, in the first deal theyd get a top-tier point guard (Holiday) and the second-pick in the 2010 NBA draft (Turner). But theyd also have to take on Nocionis bloated salary, and theyd get a guy in Williams whos probably more valuable to the Sixers as a keeper than he would be to the Magic as trade bait since Orlando already has a few guys with similar scoring skill sets (J.J. Redick and Chris Duhon among them).
In the second deal, the Magic would get the Sixers best overall player (Iguodala), as well as Turner and Meeks -- but that still probably wouldnt be enough for Orlando to make the move. Its nice to imagine Howard in a Sixers uniform, but the actual chance it could happen? Same as the name of the late-80s drug movie starring Robert Downey Jr: Less than zero. Again, the point to all this isn't to suggest that these trades are likely to happen. Nor is it to suggest that they should happen. On the contrary, as I wrote above, I don't think any of them are likely to happen, and Idon't think they should happen, either.The point here is to illustrate that, with the way certain players and salaries line up around the league, it won't be easy for the Sixers to find a dealthat makes sense for them. There just aren't that many available post players out there who could be acquired for a reasonable price. For a team that's done well this season, it's probably bestfor them to stick with what they have for now.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com