Sixers Bring In Locals Ellington and Christmas

Yesterday, the 76ers brought locals Wayne Ellington from UNC and Dionte Christmas from Temple to workout at the Philadelphia College of Orthopedic Medicine. How would these two guys fit in the Sixers' system? The 76ers are adament about getting a guard and needing a shooter, and both these young men are big guards who can shoot. Both Christmas and Ellington are proficient shooting and handling the ball, making them capable of filling in at the 2-guard spot or even the 3.

Despite the promising workouts, I don't think Wayne Ellington will be around by the time the Sixers draft at Madison Square Garden less than two weeks from now. With Ellington's deadly 3-point shot and outside versatility, I believe some team will take a shot at him before the Sixers get to pick. Christmas, although a great prospect, is probably not mid-first round material and the Sixers only have their one first round pick (17th) and no second round picks. Will the Sixers make a bold move and pick up a second round pick or another first round pick? Haha. What am I thinking? This is the Sixers I'm talking about...

Sixers Still Lack Superstar Talent Needed for Title

As another off-season begins to take shape in Philly once again, the 76ers are out looking for promising draft prospects and making trades to get solid role players. That's well and good if you have a team that is on the verge of an NBA Championship, needing a certain shooter or bench support to push your team over the edge. The Sixers are not such a team. They are a team that crawls to the playoffs every year, and then are mercifully defeated. The Sixers need a superstar.

Yes, Philadelphia 76ers' fans will argue that Andre Iguodala is the Sixers' superstar, and Elton Brand is a superstar too. Sadly, they are not. The Sixers are TRYING to make Iguodala their superstar. Iguodala is a great talent and perennial NBA All-Star, but he's more of a Scottie Pippen than a Michael Jordan. Same thing with Elton Brand: he's Pau Gasol-esque, not your team's Kobe Bryant. If the Sixers hope to make a run to the NBA Finals, they need an NBA superstar. Look at the top teams in the NBA. Lakers: they have Kobe. Orlando: 3 headed attack in Howard, Turkoglu, and Lewis. Cavaliers: Lebron James. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand just do not fall in the same category. Here's to hoping the Sixers actually think outside the box this year, and draft/bring in another talent like Allen Iverson (without the drama).

Is Eddie Jordan The Answer? I Think Not

Well it's a new off-season in Philadelphia for the Sixers which means one thing: a new head coach. Over the past six seasons, the 76ers have had a startling six head coaches and three since the beginning of last season. Clearly, none have worked so far. Maurice Cheeks seemed OK until he flubbed the start of last season. Tony DiLeo was a front office guy trying to coach an NBA team. Not good. So after a season of coaching misery and a quick exit from the NBA playoffs at the hand of the Orlando Magic, the Sixers went out to search for a knight in shining armor to guide their team. They needed a coach with a great reputation, one that would restore a team that reached the 2001 NBA Finals to greatness. That coach would be....Eddie Jordan. With a career NBA coaching record of 230-288 (.444 winning percentage), Jordan does not seem to be that knight in shining armor. Rather, he seems like that pageboy wearing the rusty chestplate. The Sixers have been notoriously bad in the playoffs, not winning a playoff series since 2003. With a playoff record of 8-18 and having won only one playoff series in his career (2005), Jordan doesn't seem to have a solution for this directionless Sixers team. A Sixers fan can only hope for a miracle...