<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>WHY, WHY, why . . . Do so many e-mailers seem obsessed with the 76ers trading Andre Miller as soon as possible? The trade deadline doesn't arrive until Feb. 21. That means the best offers might not come until that day. And even the ones that come at that point might not be good enough. Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy probably was stretching a point when he referred to Miller as one of the five best point guards in the league, but you certainly could make a case for him being in the top 10. To become an All-Star, he'd probably have to play on a team projected to go deep into the playoffs, but he has played at an impressively high level for most of this season. He is not, by nature, a primary scorer, but there have been lots of nights when he has filled that role, too. And he has a nice array of shoulder feints and head bobs that has allowed him to get up and under big men without being mercilessly pummeled. Until someone can offer a starting quality replacement at the position, I'm not so sure that keeping Miller isn't the best option. I see no reason why he couldn't play at this level through 2008-09, when he also will represent a $10 million expiring contract. Also, when it comes time to wheel and deal this summer, he will represent an enticing asset to a suitor likely to win big much sooner than the Sixers. * Does trade speculation resonate through the NBA? Because, sadly, that's what some of us do. In recent days, I have asked people in a position to know about speculation of interest from Phoenix and Toronto in Andre Iguodala and interest from Cleveland in Gordan Giricek. In each case, I have been told there is nothing there. Chicago Tribune colleague Sam Smith suggested speculation about Sixers interest in Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, then seemed to shoot down his own speculation by saying the Bulls probably wouldn't be interested in Miller, who turns 32 in March. And for those who think the Sixers could solve their problem at power forward by somehow acquiring the Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand, please think about this: Brand, coming back from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles' tendon, has a $16.44 million option to return to the Clippers next season. Is some other team giving him more than that? * Are some e-mailers continuing to agonize about the Sixers trading Kyle Korver to Utah, complaining that the Sixers now have no consistent three-point threat? First, the trade wasn't at all about Korver. It was about acquiring Gordan Giricek's expiring contract from the only team willing to also include a future first-round draft choice. Korver has a special skill to contribute - for 20 minutes a night - to a good team, and the Jazz is a good team. On a team like the Sixers, he was a nice piece but more a luxury than anything else. Second, I have no doubt that Giricek is a competent player who will get another contract, either within the league or with a top team in Europe, but - in truth - the Sixers have no significant interest in him as a player. I think he has known that all along, and, at least outwardly, has been good about it. I think . . . Boston's Kevin Garnett has to be the MVP leader, but since the official ballot includes spots for five names in descending order, put him in a group with - in no particular order - Orlando's Dwight Howard, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, New Orleans' Chris Paul and the LA Lakers' Kobe Bryant. No argument if you want to include Chauncey Billups, representing the annually balanced Detroit Pistons. He meant it then "Our best chance to win a championship is with the core we have," Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver recently told the Arizona Republic. "Whether we are going to trade Shawn [Marion] or Amare [Stoudemire] and whether we have the right coach [Mike D'Antoni] and whether our GM [Steve Kerr] is making the right decisions is just a bunch of nonsense." And now? "Going into the playoffs, would we have been comfortable with what we had?" Suns general manager Steve Kerr said after acquiring Shaquille O'Neal from Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. "Maybe not." Local success story Orlando backup center Adonal Foyle, born in the Caribbean, grew up in Canouan. He was exulting about casting a ballot for the first time in the Florida primary. Foyle, who came to the United States at 15, began his high school career at Cardinal O'Hara and became a citizen less than a year ago, grew up with no running water or electricity. He told the Orlando Sentinel his only mode of transportation as a youngster was a donkey named "Country." "When you grow up with 'Country,' "he said, "why do you need six cars?" Words to live by Toronto coach Sam Mitchell, on shootarounds, in the Toronto Star: "It's like everything else; if you haven't won any championships you've got to do it, because if you don't they think you don't work. It's all perception." *</div> Source: Philly.com
:drool: a Bosh/Iguodala combo is a pipe dream. The problem with Andre is that realistically he should be a second option. He is a TOP shelf second option, but he isn't a franchise player. He will, however, be paid as a franchise player for the majority of his career. This makes him unattainable in my view.
If Brian can get Iguodala, it makes up for the Haffa pick. However, I doubt he can get Iggy. The Raptors would have to give up a draft pick, Graham, Dixon, and possibly Moon, Delfino or Kapono. Now, I'm not against trading for Iggy, but like Flush said, he is going to cost franchise player money.
Other than Miller and Sammy, the Sixers don't have anyone who makes too much money. But if a deal like Delfino, Moon and a first got it done, I'd pull the trigger in a second. Of course Philly wouldn't touch a deal like that.
