<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"If you were a season ticket holder, why would you renew your tickets for next year if you?re tired of seeing a bad team?"-Dorothy MannBilly King?Well Dorothy, I think that if you look at this team since we made the buyout of Chris and traded Allen, and probably since Sammy and Steven (Hunter) have started, this team has shown drastic improvement. Our field goal defense has gotten better, our young guy Andre has gotten is becoming a blossoming star, and Andre Miller is a true point guard like I stated earlier. I think this team will add some draft picks, and we?re not going to rush it, but I think it?s a team that you?re going to be proud of. I would hate for you not to be here Dorothy next year. The team is playing a lot better finishing the year out, and as we move forward next year with a lot of cap room.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?Why do you think you can get any value for the two first round picks that will apparently be in the 20?s, and if you were to package them realistically, what do you think you could get for them given their limited value?"-Louis E. BricklinBilly King?Well, I look at right now and two of them aren?t in the 20?s. I think where Denver is right now, they?re hanging onto the eighth playoff spot by half a game, so we could potentially have a lottery pick there or a pick around 16, 17, or 18. And the Dallas pick, it?s interesting that I?ve already had three teams that have told me to keep them in mind because they want that pick. But also, I think of what players have been drafted down there. Tony Parker, if I remember correctly, was drafted at 29, Gilbert Arenas was drafted 31 or 32, Josh Howard was drafted with the last pick of the first round, and Micheal Redd was drafted late in the second round. So, it?s easy to say you don?t get anything there, but I think that our guys will do a great job of working, and I?m confident that we will get players because I feel this draft is going to be very deep.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?What has been the single biggest disappointment to you this season, and what has been the single most encouraging development as well?"-Michael PietrangeloBilly King?Well, I think the disappointment was after we started out 3-0 and we didn?t continue with that plan of basketball and winning ball games, so then we made the tough decisions. Like I stated before, I thought we had a team that could win the Atlantic Division and compete in the playoffs. We didn?t, and we made the decisions to make the moves that we did. And now I?m looking at it and watching our guys blossom. I?m watching Andre Iguodala do the things that we thought he could do come draft time. And I?m seeing Kyle, Andre, and Rodney play hard and play with a passion. And probably more than anything off the court, I?m more proud of these guys for what they?re doing in the community. They?re giving back. Yesterday we had some guys tour seventh and eighth graders to some black history museums around town. We?ve had guys come to Dave and Busters, and some guys see a movie with season ticket holders. So I think we have a team that you?re not only going to be proud of on the court, but also off the court.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?Most of the other teams in the league have European players. We have only had one player on the team and he was very marginal. Why, and do we scout over seas?"-Reginald StevensonBilly King?We definitely scout over seas. We have a full time scout that lives in Croatia, we have a consultant in South America, we have a consultant in Africa, and we have a consultant in Asia. Unfortunately, a lot of times when we have been drafting over the past couple of years and actually earlier in my career, we were not able to get those players because a lot of those players went in the lottery. One year, we wanted (Hedo) Turkoglu in the draft, and Sacramento drafted him right before us so we missed out on him. The year that we took Andre, if Toronto would have taken Andre Iguodala, we would have taken (Andris) Biedrins who is now starting for Golden State. So we do scout over seas, and like I said I?m planning a trip to China because they have a player that could potentially be in the draft. So we do scout, and we will try to get some European players. Unfortunately, this year in the draft, I don?t know how deep the European Market will be.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?In your evaluation of the team, what areas does the team need to improve, and what positions do you feel you need to fill next year in order to make those improvements and be a playoff caliber team?"-Rob and Allison MoskovitzBilly King?Thanks Rob and Allison. I look at it, and the beginning of the year I said that we needed to be a better defensive team. We didn?t start out that great, which was obvious to everybody watching. But since, with Sammy and Steven starting at the power forward, our field goal defense has now gone down to 43 percent. That?s a good indication that we?re playing defense. But the key area where we have to improve is rebounding the basketball, because that helps your defense. You can make a great initial stop, but if you don?t get the rebound then they get a second shot. So that?s one area. And if I could fill one spot on the roster of our team, I think we need a post-up player, somebody down low that we can throw the ball into and can score down low on a consistent basis. I don?t know if we?ll be able to get that in the draft or in free agency, but that?s our goal going into it.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?Looking at the draft over the last three years, wouldn?t it be more important at this draft to get a good big man rather than continuously going small and maybe also trying outside the USA?"-Eather PickensBilly King?Well Eather, you probably heard me to answer that before, and I think we will look to get a big man in the draft if he?s available, but I don?t want to exclude just getting the best player. Portland did it that year when they took Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan because they already had Clyde Drexler and they didn?t need another player of that caliber. So I think we?ve always been under the impression to try and take the best player, because if you take the best player then he has value if you have to move him on to get something else that you need. You don?t want to pass up on that. But obviously, if we can get a big guy we will do that, and we will always definitely look outside the US.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?It appears that we have a lot of money on the sideline after letting go of AI and C-Webb. How come we could not have put that money to good use and picked up Pau Gasol? I know that he wants out of Memphis"-Garry M. KeelBilly King?Garry, I wish it were that easy. The unfortunate thing is that when you trade a player such as Allen, you have to take players back and the salaries have to come within 25 percent, that?s one of the cap rules. So when you do that, you don?t free up the money. And in buying Chris out, it freed up a little bit of money, but it didn?t free up enough to get Pau Gasol. If we were going to trade for Pau Gasol, we would have to trade players and come within 25 percent, so that?s why we didn?t do it. We will have cap room after next season, that?s the year we?ll have the cap room and the ability to add players via signing, or then you can trade players once you?re under the cap.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------?I don?t understand the Alan Henderson trade. Why would you want the right to swap second round picks with Utah when their pick will be behind the 76ers? With the current roster, and three first round picks, it seems unlikely that a second round pick next year would make the 15-man roster anyway.?-Allen GorskiBilly King?Well, Allen, mainly that was a managing the cap situation. There was a miscalculation on the tax number when we bought Chris Webber out, so we had to get under the tax. In doing so, Utah took Alan in and we got somebody to pay his salary, which got us under the tax. Swapping the picks is our right to swap, because anytime you make a trade, Utah had to give us something back. To do that, Utah gave us the right to swap picks, even though we?re not going to swap with them. Also, we owed them a pick in 2008, so we reduced the protection on that pick in the second round. So it was more getting under the tax and clearing up some miscalculation, cleaning it up a little bit. I do agree that next year the second round pick may not be somebody that we need to add to the roster with the three first round picks, but that could be a situation where we draft a guy over seas and leave him over seas, or it could be a situation where we could use it to make a trade. But I think any time you have those picks, you want them for an asset value in order to be able to maneuver.?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Do you feel Samuel Dalembert will develop into a consistent championship quality center, or will he always tend to make mistakes and play erratically?"-Lon GibsonBilly King"I think Sammy has gotten more consistent. I think Sammy gets a bad wrap. A lot of people get upset with Sammy and goaltending. I like the fact of him goaltending and being a threat down there because it intimidates guys. There are times that he should let some shots go but Id rather him be more aggressive than under aggressive. Like I said before, Sammy has rebounded the ball one every 3.3 min that to me is a very consistent stat. Sammy has 10 double-doubles over the past 21 games and that is something that he is getting consistent at. I think his offensive has gotten better, his jump shot, now, I think if we can get his shot flex a little better. You don?t find a guy as athletic as Sammy with the shot block and the rebounding ability just anywhere, I mean, a lot of teams would love to have a guy like that. I think that we just need to have patience and understand that he?s only 26 yr old and I think he?s gotten better from the time we drafted him."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"How does playing Willaims and Carney let you know what kind of players they are and allow them to learn how to play in the NBA? Next year we will have to experiment with them again because you don't know what they can do. Playing Miller all these minutes does nothing for our rebuilding three years from now. His minutes do not help the Sixers."-Steve KramerBilly King"Well I think that anytime you have young players you want be very careful not to just throw them out there because this whole league is about confidence. If you were to throw Rodney and Louis out there, to go play 35 min and they have bad games, or you?re putting them in bad situations, their confidence level could go down that they may never recover. Watching them play and watching them practice and seeing their development. I think Louis has made great strides since the beginning of the season. At times, he didn?t play well against Milwaukee, but came back against Sacramento and had a productive night. I thought Rodney was aggressive against Sacramento, his shots just didn?t fall. I?m seeing some progression there and I think we just want to make sure we?re careful with them and have them develop on a natural progress and not rush things because they will be ready when the time comes."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"When you have a game and there are so many empty seats, the building doesn't have the excitement it could have if you were winning. How come you don't make more of an effort to donate tickets to non-profit organizations?"-Demetrius A. TilleyBilly King"We do donate. We have a great program our players Kyle Korver and Sammy Dalembert they?re in the Community Assists program and some of the other Season Ticket Holders have donated tickets as well and we reach out to the community whether it be PAL or different groups and donate tickets. We?ve come up with programs were we come up with school children for getting good grades and getting them in the building. So we are in the effort of reaching out and giving them out to the community, and different groups. I appreciate your concern and I think we?re reaching out and if any of you out there have groups that have interest contact our Community Relations department and well try to accommodate them. We can?t promise that we can do that, but we can try."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Since Iverson is gone, attendance and general fan excitement have seemed to decline. Is there a plan to turn this situation around?"-Gary GoldbergBilly King"Well Gary, I think as I addressed it my opening statement, there is a plan in place when we made the with Allen we decided that we wanted to get some flexibility with the cap, we wanted to get some draft picks that we were able to obtain. That?s the best way to build in this league to try to get that flexibility. Having these draft picks will allow us to draft big players or make trades and add some new quality young players and the following year after next season we?ll have the cap room to add the right pieces. Like I said, Miami and Chicago, I have studied how some of these teams have done it they?ve rebuilt themselves over a short period time or a long period of time and we?re going to try to do it right. We?re not going to do a quick fix were going to do something that can sustain over a long time."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Why the fall with the Kevin Ollie? Should we expect to see him next year or do you see drafting a point guard?"-Kevin RuaneBilly King"I think we made the decision when we traded Allen w wanted to see about Louis Williams and went that dir. And we wanted to give l the minutes between Andre. Kevin is a constant pro and understood that and he works his butt off everyday in practice and he?s ready if we call on him. Going into the draft, our guys we?re going to rate them and rank them and as we go through it we?ll see where we fall. Regarding Kevin next year, there is always a need for a Kevin Ollie on your roster because he is the ultimate professional. But we will sit down and talk with Kevin as we go forward because he is getting older and we?ll make the decisions accordingly."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Why don?t season ticket holders get a rebate this year? It has not been worth the professional price of admission."-Dan McNicholBilly King"Dan, I?m sorry that you feel that way. I know that the beginning of the season, probably in December, the product that you were seeing was not up to par. But, I think the product that you see now is a bunch of guys that are playing hard, playing together, the ball is being shared, and they?re playing better defense. I think our record has gotten better since Steven Hunter has started were 9-9 and we?ve improve in that area our fg percentage has gotten better. And I think too that?s what you want from your team they give you a chance to win and I don?t think any of you thought that when we made the trade for Allen that we?d be in this position where you proud of watching this team so I?m sorry you feel that Dan but I think if you continue with us you?ll be proud as we go forward."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Do you care so little about the fans that you could bring back your friend Larry brown in spite of the overwhelming sentiment against him in this town?"-Bob FoxBilly King"Bob, you know that I always care about the fans but also in caring about the fans I want to make sure that I have all the resources to make the best decisions for you. I look at Larry brown as someone that?s a great basketball mind and mainly he?s more a consultant. He comes in and gives advice and talks at me but at the end of the day I?m making the decisions with everything that we do here as well on the basketball court Maurice is making those decisions but I think that it would be foolish not to use those resources. I talk to Billy Cunningham, Gene Shue working for us in California. What I always try to do is I always try to reach out to anybody that I feel is a great (basketball mind) that won a lot of games that?s been involved in the city. And I think you?re foolish if you don?t do this. I look at politics I think as a pres or as a government they may talk to their opponent on the other side of the aisle because they want to be able to make the best possible decision. So that?s why I?m using Larry brown not to slap the fans or throw it back in their face its to try to help me make the best decisions for you."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Where are we headed for the next three seasons? Not just next season as a quick fix. When will you restore professional basketball to Philadelphia?"-Joseph TerryBilly King"Well I don?t think it?s been that long that professional basketball has not been in Philadelphia. I think we have a team and that we?re headed in the right direction. I think as we are playing on the court we?re competing and as I said we?re sharing the eball and Andre Iguodala is shown a lot of things we drafted him for. And as we go forward we?re not going to make a quick fix were not just go do something were going to try to draft right and make the right decisions to add pieces and the following year were going to have cap room and the following year were going to potentially have more cap room. S we?re going to build this team us to get something that all of our fans can be proud of where the basketball is shared and they play great defense."--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Why the buyout of Chris Webber? He was 'hurt' and whining here, but yet he takes the floor immediately in Detroit. Something isn't right with this picture."-Kevin RuaneBilly King"Well you know, Kevin unfortunately Chris thought he wasn?t healthy enough to play here and he wasn?t able to play for us and he?s playing for them and that?s unfortunately but what we?ve been able to do puts us in the best situation for you the fan and for this organization going forward. And I think just hang with us and we?ll turn it around very quickly for you.</div>Hmm.. He seems to now what he's doing now. Mabee something has hit him, and made a better GM out of him. He seems to be getting smarter.
My dad is a season ticket holder, but he splits half the games with a friend, and ends up selling half of his, so I go to about 10 games a year. I am a die hard sixers fan, so I will buy season tickets after my dad gets old
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheAnalyst @ Mar 1 2007, 03:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Hmm.. He seems to now what he's doing now. Mabee something has hit him, and made a better GM out of him. He seems to be getting smarter.</div>Don't get your hopes up... King will find a way to screw up, as he always does. :happy0144:
I guess Billy wants Greg Oden then..I'm not complainin'. Sounds like he actually has a true gameplan now, hope he actually carries it out.Good to see Lou Will is starting to get some love.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Big Smitty @ Mar 2 2007, 12:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I guess Billy wants Greg Oden then..I'm not complainin'. Sounds like he actually has a true gameplan now, hope he actually carries it out.Good to see Lou Will is starting to get some love.</div>Hmm were did he say he want Oden?Anyway does not look like we will ge tOden or Durant. We have the 6th worse record now, and those idiots keep on winning. WOW what was the point of trading AI if your not going to rebuild.
