<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">While the Sixers clearly would like to sign 7-0 Mark Blount, and coach Jim O?Brien made overtures to his former Celtics player early July 1, the last thing the Sixers can afford to do is overspend. "Really, right now, I?m just trying to figure out the market place, what really is the market place, for all these guys," King said Saturday after the Sixers? free agents and young veterans went through their second day of workouts in preparation for this week?s summer league in Minneapolis. King has been making the calls, or trying. He spoke to Mark Bartelstein, Blount?s agent, Friday. He also spoke to Lon Babby, the agent for Adonal Foyle, an All-Delco who played at Cardinal O?Hara. And he tried to call Keon Clark, who doesn?t have an agent, but the cell-phone number he was given didn?t belong to Clark. The Sixers have also reached out to Brian Skinner, who played for them two seasons ago. Skinner has increased his value after starting for Milwaukee last season. So King is trying. What he?ll be able to do, however, will depend on the players, their agents and to an extent other teams. What he can?t do is panic, even though the Sixers expect to have just two big men back from last year?s team -- Samuel Dalembert and Marc Jackson. "I still think you?ve got to look at it and do what?s right," King said. "You can?t just use it and figure, ?OK, we?ve got to have that guy,? and overpay because then it hurts you down the road."</div> Full Article Article courtesy of DelcoTimes.com So everything I had said in this thread, in my last post could very well go down the drain. I agree that we should be cautious and that getting 2-3 players who we will give up maybe after a season is dangerous. Why not get a guy that we will be able to keep for at least 3-4 years? Seems as if Billy is learning from his mistakes in the past. Another part of the article points out the expiring of Glenn Robinson's contract next summer, and the expiring of Todd MuCulloch's contract in early February, which will only be beneficial if he doesn't step foot on a basketball court this year. The odd's are in our favor in terms of McCulloch's money, and his well being, sad as it may seem. This is the only way right now, that we can clear some cap space, to plan for a more in-depth rebuidling process next year. Thoughts...
Well they should be cautious with their money. They're over the salary cap, and buying into the hype of signing Mark Blunt might get to them, and they may over pay him. Billy King has already given big contracts to players such as Snow and Mckie for their assistance in the 76ers NBA Finals run in 00-01. And I'm pretty sure he regrets for giving them such big contracts, hopefully he learned his lesson. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Todd MuCulloch's contract in early February, which will only be beneficial if he doesn't step foot on a basketball court this year. The odd's are in our favor in terms of McCulloch's money, and his well being, sad as it may seem.</div> Yeah your right, this is our best chance for clearing cap space.
Billy had to do that though, it's a given when you win a championship or get close to winning one, you want to reward your core players, and Eric, and Aaron were the core of that team along with Allen, but he was getting payed good. Then the issue with Blount is that he want's more money, more than 5.1 million that is. I believe he was receving close or a bit over a million last years, so for him to make a jump of 4-5 more millions is asking too much. He needs to play his cards right, and stop being selfish or no team may sign him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Then the issue with Blount is that he want's more money, more than 5.1 million that is. I believe he was receving close or a bit over a million last years, so for him to make a jump of 4-5 more millions is asking too much. He needs to play his cards right, and stop being selfish or no team may sign him.</div> If those are his demands, Billy King should forget about signing him. Jim O'Brien should try sweet-talking him first to bring the offer down to 2 million. If that's not the case, we should forget about signing him. Blount is not the only guy out there. There are other quality (big men) FA's out there as well such as... Keon Clark (Another player Billy King should look into), Rodney Rogers (Not your everyday big man, but should be considered) and Brian Skinner etc... So King should look at his other options.
Keon Clark is injury prone, he sat out the season last year, and was going to be a part of the team last year, but personal issues got in the way. He has serious trouble getting along with his teammates, and staff. When bringing in a player, you want to make sure you have all fields covered, even the personal and emotional ones. Rodney Rogers is a bust, he has always been, I do not want to see this guy in a Philadelphia uniform. As for Brian Skinner, yes maybe. He has matured a lot, since we had him two years ago, we should offer him the million dollar exception and see how he reacts, then if he doesn't like it , maybe three million at the most. With that saving three million to sign someone else. We'll dream, and dream...
