After the Sixers' housecleaning, the 6-10 center/forward is ready to get the season under way. In 16 minutes per game last year, his second in the NBA, the 2008 first-round draft pick averaged 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. This fall, plenty of new faces will surround Speights, including coach Doug Collins, center Spencer Hawes, swingman Andres Nocioni and No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner. "It's going to look pretty good," Speights said. "It's the NBA. You never know what's going to happen. Evan Turner is a good draft pick for us and coach Doug has been around for a long time so he's a really good coach. "It's going to be a good, long season." His arms elongated over his knees as he sat on a bench, it's easy to see Speights' potential. Already this offseason he was in Las Vegas for a month to train at the renowned "Impact Basketball," the same all-star factory that produced Kevin Garnett, Chauncey Billups, Dwight Howard, Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh. The program fuses training, basketball and nutrition into one cohesive program. All workouts are basketball-specific. "I was in Vegas and came back here [to Philadelphia] to work with the coaches," he said, "so I'm in pretty good shape. I just need to get better and better." Speights is expected to join the Sixers' entry in the Orlando Summer League, which begins next Monday, although the roster has not been finalized. Joining Speights at Saturday's clinic were Houston Rockets guard Kyle Lowry, a Villanova and Cardinal Dougherty product, and several other Philadelphia-area college players. With nearly 50 kids packed into the dim gym, rotating through a flurry of floor-slapping, high-energy drills, his inaugural clinic was a success. "[We] just want to get kids in the community out in camp and be able to hang around NBA players to get their game better," Speights said. "Just to have something to do on the weekends." As for Speights, his practices are under way. The raw, long-limbed big man finished last season strong, with two 20-point outbursts in his final three games. In an unsettled frontcourt, where Brand is aging and Hawes replaces Samuel Dalembert, playing time could up for grabs. At the very least, Dalembert's exit made Speights do a double-take. "I've been around for 2 years, so it was kind of weird to see him get traded," Speights said. "He was with this team a long time. But it's the NBA. Things happen. Sometimes things open up and you have the opportunity to play more." However roles are divvied up in the paint, Speights' goals for Year 3 are simple. "Just get better and mature more," he said. "Just go out there, focus on winning and learning how to win." Source: Philly.com
