More Brand Thoughts

I will admit that my first thought when hearing of the Sixers signing of Elton Brand was, “FUCK!!!” I was a little concerned, to say the least, of bringing in a man who is entering his 10th NBA season and coming off a ruptured Achilles tendon.



Especially, with the slight chance of possibly Josh Smith being available to fly around the Wachovia Center for the next 5 years. But after taking some time to let the signing sink in, I have to say that I’m pretty happy with this. Elton has been a 20 and 10 guy for his entire career. He has only had the one injury, so it is not like he has a history of problems. He also fills the Sixers' biggest need, power forward and rebounding.

Assuming the Sixers match any offers for Andre Iguodala and Louis Williams, this team is starting to give the impression that they might actually have a shot to win a title within the next two or three years. With a starting five of Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert, they have the potential to win a few playoff series this season already.

With Brand taking over the power forward spot, it allows Thaddeus to play his more natural small forward position and for Iguodala to move to the shooting guard. That gives the Sixers a great mixture of athleticism and veteran leadership in their starting five. This move also makes their bench much more improved. The Sixers have somewhat solid depth at the front court, with rebounder extraordinaire Reggie Evans, Jason Smith and hopefully 6’10” rookie Marreese Speights. They also are able to move Willie Green to the bench, who has the capability to give you 20 points when needed.

Lou Williams proved last year that he is a more than decent point guard and is able to give valuable minutes backing up Andre Miller. While they certainly are not any kind of favorites to win this year, in two or three years this team looks like it has a chance to be something special. Even if Andre Miller bolts after his contract expires next year, Louis Williams is looking more and more like he is up to the challenge of running the point for 40 minutes a game.

So for the first time since A.I., (Side Note-There is only one A.I. and he is Allen Iverson, a.k.a. THE ANSWER, a.k.a. Absolutely Incredible, a.k.a. The Greatest Sixer I have ever seen play. I was too young to witness the Doctor.) left Philadelphia, I am excited about this team's future. This one move gives them a better starting frontcourt, backcourt and bench. So I for one am thankful that Elton Brand has come to Philadelphia and welcome him with open arms.

Now if Ed Stefanski could just find a three point shooter, I’ll be ecstatic.