Reports from Josh Smith's Philadelphia visit seem very positive. The Sixers rolled out the red carpet for the restricted free agent. His visit included a tour of the Wachovia Center, a No. 5 Sixers jersey of his placed next to Iguodala's, a meeting with the mayor, dinner, and an overnight stay.
Smith was said to be impressed with the buzz in the city over his presence: he was getting cheers and people calling out his name as soon as he was off the airplane.
Smith's agent said he and Smith were very impressed with the level of detail the Sixers put into their presentation and were very impressed with the organization. No numbers were discussed, but that will come soon. The Sixers are able to offer Smith a 5-year $67 deal. If that is done, the Hawks have 7 days to match the Sixers offer.
With $11.5 million to spend, the Sixers have the ability be quite active in free agency in an attempt to turn this team into a legitimate contender. I've been singing the praises of Josh Smith all season long as THE free agent to get this offseason. The guy is only 22-years-old and is the highly coveted low-post presence that the 76ers direly need. Smith averaged 17.8 PPG and 8.2 RPG last season. With another year under his belt, he can develop into the "20 and 10 guy" that is missing from the Sixers roster.
The Hawks' GM has said that the team is willing to match any offer that Smith receives. Smith is only a restricted free agent, so the Hawks have the unconditional right to match any offer that he receives. Under the current NBA rules, the Sixers can offer Smith a 5-year $66.7 million dollar contract if they want to use all of their $11.5 million next season solely on him. Last season, Smith rejected a $45 million extension from the Hawks. The Sixers GM Ed Stefanski has stated that he would be willing to spend the team's entire cap room to get an impact player.
With the 16th pick the Sixers got a big man: Marreesee Speights. The 6'10" Florida PF/C. He's only a freshman and averaged 14.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.4 BPG.
We walked away from the first day shaking our head at what we
witnessed—a 6-10, 20-year old power forward who is about as skilled a
big man facing the basket as you will find in this draft. “He’s really
more skilled than anyone knows,“ Joe Abunassar told us. The first thing
you notice is how fundamentally sound Speights’ shooting mechanics are.
He’s got a natural, flawless stroke, showing small-forward like
elevation creating separation from his defender, a high release point,
excellent body control on his fade-aways, great technique squaring his
shoulders and his hips simultaneously in perfect unison—and not
surprisingly, getting unbelievable results in the process.
Nobody knows for sure who Ed Stefanski and the Sixers have in mind with their 16th pick in tonight's NBA draft. There are more than a half-dozen names being tossed around by Sixers columnists. These names include Darrell Arthur, DeAndre Jordan, Robin Lopez, and Anthony Randolph. Here is another article where I look at potential Sixers draft choices.
Here's what we know: the Sixers still think they can get a good "big" with the 16th pick. You're not going to get an immediate contributor at 16, but you can still get a guy that can develop into a solid low-post presence that can rebound, play defense, and score a little. If the top "bigs" are no longer around, the Sixers wouldn't rule out drafting a point guard at that point.
Stefanski says he has "about 8" guys in mind that he could draft, but he wasn't comfortable revealing anything about those players.
The 76ers have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams. Financial terms were not released.
Teams must extend qualifying offers by June 30 in order to retain
the right of first refusal on a restricted free agent. A restricted
free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but his previous team
can opt to match.
Iguodala turned down a 5-year extension worth $57 million before
last season, figuring he would use his performance last season as
leverage for a contract that would put him in the same astronomical
salary range as the game's elites.
Attention Eagles fans. If you want to get your hands on tickets for this season, you better be on your computer at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow (Thursday, June 19) for the sale. They will sell out in a matter of minutes.
Also a helpful tip: you can only buy 1 set of tickets at a time. Ticketmaster will detect if you have multiple windows open to purchase tickets for multiple games and they'll boot you to the back of the line, so only buy tickets for 1 game at a time.
-- For the last time, McNabb is fine [Bleeding Green Nation] -- What's up with the media's love affair with McNabb's injuries. This is TENDINITIS for Christ's sake. Since when is tendinitis a major news story on ESPN? This is absolutely ridiculous. If this were any other QB, this wouldn't even be a story. What's next, "McNabb stubs toe, gets paper cut on throwing finger" as ESPN.com's next story? Well, McNabb spoke out and you can read what he had to say at BGN.
-- Picture of McNabb at the OTAs [Iggles Blog] -- In the quote from the BGN article, McNabb talks about how the media criticizes his weight. This may be a bad picture, but he is looking a little chubbier than last year.
-- Video: DeSean Jackson Interview [Inside the Iggles] -- I'm on the DeSean bandwagon. The video shows some highlights from minicamp: the dude looks good -- Action Jackson! Apparently, he's Philly's new A.I. [The 700 Level]
-- So... what really happened this spring? [Dave Spadaro] -- Spads goes over the major stories coming out of the OTAs. We're really beating a dead horse with the Lito Sheppard situation. He also analyzes the state of the WRs and looks at the DL.
Spads poses the question, "Can J.R. Reed challenge Considine in camp?" It should be the other way around. Considine is a joke. He has to earn the spot from Reed, not the other way around.
Curtis had a good camp, Brown is catching balls with more consistency, and DeSean Jackson has the mental part down.
The defensive line looks sick -- I agree. The Eagles have stockpiled talent on the line. They should be able to let them loose this year. I'll be paying close attention to Abiamiri this camp. If he steps up, with the outside rushers the Eagles have, and Trent Cole, they can be dangerous.
Jason Davis looks like a lock to be the starting FB.
The Eagles' nickel package has me excited: Asante and Lito on the outside. Sheldon playing the slot. Gaither and Bradley in the middle. Dawkins and Q roaming in the back. I like it.
The Lito story leads me to the next story...
-- An article Lito Sheppard should read... [Bleeding Green Nation] -- The consensus amongst a few GMs is that Lito is nothing more than 3rd CB. I.e., Lito should stop bitching about his contract, stay healthy, hit harder, make more plays, and then we can talk.
So I promised an Eagles link up and there you have it. These days in Eagles news are slow. We'll really get into full gear when the Eagles kick off training camp in late July at Lehigh University. Until then, we can keep hoping that the Phillies continue to put up 20 on the scoreboard.
Here's what "they" (the NBA draft "experts") are saying about the Sixers potential selections. This comes via the Philadelphia Inquirer. It gives you the down and dirty on the players that could be called with the Sixers 16th pick:
Center Kosta Koufos, 7-foot-1, 245 pounds, age 19, Ohio State
freshman. "Unless a better option emerges, why not go for a scorer with
shooting range to complement Samuel Dalembert?" writes Ian Thompson for
Sports Illustrated's Web site, SI.com. (Picks made June 11.) --
"Extremely high skill level ... fairly mobile, not a stiff ... can
create shots for himself ... outstanding shooting touch," says DraftExpress.com (June 3)/ --
"Put up solid numbers that would've been even better if he had someone
the caliber of Mike Conley getting him the ball. ... He could
potentially emerge as a lottery pick," says Tony Mejia of probasketballnews.com (May 27). -- Also the projection of mynbadraft.com (June 11). Will he be there? Yes, says almost all the mocks quoted mentioned by this article.
Center JaVale McGee, 7-0, 237, age 20, Nevada sophomore. Projected as the Sixers pick by three mock drafts: HoopsWorld.com. (June 7), NBAdraft.net (June 2), and probasketballnews.com (May 24). Will he be there? Almost all mocks say yes.
Center Marreese Speights, 6-10, 245, age 19, Florida
sophomore. The Sixers need a "low-post banger," and might go for a
veteran like Elton Brand. Speights is an alternative. "He does a lot of
the same things that Brand does; he just doesn't have the conditioning
or motivation," writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (June 2). -- Also projected to Sixers by insidehoops.com (June 6). Will he be there? Most mocks say yes, although could go as high as 10, says realgm.com.
Center DeAndre Jordan, 7-0, 255, age 19, Texas A&M
freshman. "A seven-footer with upside that the NBA will not allow to
stay in school another year, even though he really needs it," says Ray
Glier of NBCSports.com (May 20) . "... Will pay off if he gets to the level projected." Will he be there? Nobody else seems to think so. At least four mocks project Jordan to go at No. 10.
Forward/center Robin Lopez, 7-0, 255, Stanford sophomore.
"Energetic frontcourt player ... shotblocker ... exceptionally quick to
the basket for rebounds, especially on the offensive end," says realgm.com (June 3). Will he be there? Yes, say almost all the mocks.
Power forward Darrell Arthur, 6-9 , 215, age 20, Kansas
sophomore. "Smooth big man with a scoring mentality, and very nice
potential both facing and with his back to the basket, said hoopshype.com
(June 4). But he's also a "... poor rebounder. Not particularly active
- has a tendency to coast too often ... poor passer. Needs to add
strength. ... Lots of potential, but will he achieve it?" Will he be there? More mocks say he'll be gone than say he'll last to 16.
Forward Donte Green, 6-11, 226, age 20, Syracuse freshman.
"There aren't too many guys with Donte Greene's size, athleticism and
shooting range ... But his draft stock is all over the board and he
could use at least another year in college to get his body ready for
the pros and to improve his consistency," writes Jeff Fox of collegehoops.net (June 2). Will he be there? He'll last to No. 16, but not much longer, most mocks agree.
Guard/forward Chase Budinger,6-7, 190, age 20, Arizona sophomore. Projected by RidiculousUpside.com (May 22). Will he be there? He will, almost all mocks agree.
Reports from Josh Smith's Philadelphia visit seem very positive. The Sixers rolled out the red carpet for the restricted free agent. His visit included a tour of the Wachovia Center, a No. 5 Sixers jersey of his placed next to Iguodala's, a meeting with the mayor, dinner, and an overnight stay.
With the 16th pick the Sixers got a big man: 
Be sure to tune in tomorrow for coverage of the Sixers draft. 
From the 
Attention Eagles fans. If you want to get your hands on tickets for this season, you better be on your computer at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow (Thursday, June 19) for the sale. They will sell out in a matter of minutes. 
The Madden 09 player rankings for the Philadelphia Eagles are out. You can check out the full rankings following this link to 
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