If he ends up missing the season, and then walks, could this go down as the worst trade in the history of professional sports?
(A bit premature, of course, and a lot of contingency there, but at some point, the question needs to be asked, no?)
That's a bit of an overreaction, especially considering the circumstances. 1) He's only signed for this year 2) It clears up cap space if they don't resign him so they can go out and get other pieces 3) What they gave up to get him they knew they weren't going to get over the hump with (Iggy, Harkless, Vucevic).
There have been plenty of worse trades in sports if Bynum doesn't play. Hell, the Sixers made a trade in the 80's that's already arguably worse. They gave up Moses and 2 first round draft picks for Jeff Ruland who only played 5 games in 1 season with the Sixers, and then 13 games with them 5 years later due to injuries.
The Bynum news is disheartening. I just hope the Sixers aren't going to fail treading water this season only to have Bynum come back too late to make a difference, a la the Phillies w/ Utley & Howard this year.
That's a bit of an overreaction, especially considering the circumstances. 1) He's only signed for this year 2) It clears up cap space if they don't resign him so they can go out and get other pieces 3) What they gave up to get him they knew they weren't going to get over the hump with (Iggy, Harkless, Vucevic).
There have been plenty of worse trades in sports if Bynum doesn't play. Hell, the Sixers made a trade in the 80's that's already arguably worse. They gave up Moses and 2 first round draft picks for Jeff Ruland who only played 5 games in 1 season with the Sixers, and then 13 games with them 5 years later due to injuries.
The Bynum news is disheartening. I just hope the Sixers aren't going to fail treading water this season only to have Bynum come back too late to make a difference, a la the Phillies w/ Utley & Howard this year.
Yeah, that's about the only one I could think of off the top of my head in terms of Philadelphia sports. Thus the reason I asked.
Whether Iggy and company were going to get the Sixers "over the top" isn't really the point, though. If it had been a straight Iggy for Bynum swap, and Bynum never played, you could cast it as a salary dump, but they also gave up a considerable amount of futures.
I guess I'm just a bit thrown by the whole thing. Did someone drop the ball on a physical?
I guess it could be that they are taking their time, believing that the Sixers will be in the top-8 of the conference without him, and hoping to get him back for a late-season run, but it isn't looking good at the moment.
Yeah, that's about the only one I could think of off the top of my head in terms of Philadelphia sports. Thus the reason I asked.
Whether Iggy and company were going to get the Sixers "over the top" isn't really the point, though. If it had been a straight Iggy for Bynum swap, and Bynum never played, you could cast it as a salary dump, but they also gave up a considerable amount of futures.
I guess I'm just a bit thrown by the whole thing. Did someone drop the ball on a physical?
I guess it could be that they are taking their time, believing that the Sixers will be in the top-8 of the conference without him, and hoping to get him back for a late-season run, but it isn't looking good at the moment.
Wouldn't surprise me, nor would it be the first time this has happened in Philly.
This is a no lose trade for Philly, even if Bynum never plays a game for them.
On the assumption that they use the money on some other (unidentified) star player?
I know this is the popular argument--or at least it was at the time of the trade, but I just don't see it that way. Is moving a pair of prospects plus a 1st just to lose Iggy's contract doesn't really a win-win?
(I'm not a huge NBA fan, to be honest. I haven't followed the Sixers that closely since the 1990s, and it has always been a distant 4th in terms of the four major sports in my book.
This is mostly because I'm bored. There's not hockey to talk about. The Eagles suck. etc.)
That's a bit of an overreaction, especially considering the circumstances. 1) He's only signed for this year 2) It clears up cap space if they don't resign him so they can go out and get other pieces 3) What they gave up to get him they knew they weren't going to get over the hump with (Iggy, Harkless, Vucevic).
There have been plenty of worse trades in sports if Bynum doesn't play. Hell, the Sixers made a trade in the 80's that's already arguably worse. They gave up Moses and 2 first round draft picks for Jeff Ruland who only played 5 games in 1 season with the Sixers, and then 13 games with them 5 years later due to injuries.
The Bynum news is disheartening. I just hope the Sixers aren't going to fail treading water this season only to have Bynum come back too late to make a difference, a la the Phillies w/ Utley & Howard this year.
Making the playoffs in MLB is a completely different animal than the NBA though. As long as the Sixers are playing .500 basketball they should be fine in the East until Bynum is ready to go.
I remember reading a few weeks ago that there were rumors going around about him being out until at least Christmas. Starting to look like that is the case.
As long as the current team plays top 8 ball until christmas we'll be fine. Ill take a healthy/ready Bynum when the games actually matter than one they rush into the lineup before he's 100%.
On the assumption that they use the money on some other (unidentified) star player?
I know this is the popular argument--or at least it was at the time of the trade, but I just don't see it that way. Is moving a pair of prospects plus a 1st just to lose Iggy's contract doesn't really a win-win?
(I'm not a huge NBA fan, to be honest. I haven't followed the Sixers that closely since the 1990s, and it has always been a distant 4th in terms of the four major sports in my book.
This is mostly because I'm bored. There's not hockey to talk about. The Eagles suck. etc.)
It really has little to do with cap space, although I will admit, the cap space is nice.
The Sixers with Iggy were an 8 seed. In the NBA, an 8 seed is the worst thing you could be. You take yourself out of the lottery (even if your chances of landing the #1 pick is slim) without having a realistic chance to win a championship. The Sixers either have to get really bad for a few years so they can draft star players, or they have to allocate their salary cap space in a way that they money is going to star players.
Trading for Bynum is a no lose situation. If Bynum doesn't play a game for you, you can do a sign and trade this offseason AND your team probably doesn't make the playoffs and you have a chance at the #1 pick. On the other hand, there is a good possibility that Bynum can come in and play like he has in the past, in which case you can extend him and thus allocate money that would have been spent on Iggy, on an actual star caliber player. Either way you're better off then spinning your wheels with Iguodala for a couple more seasons.
The trade was risky at the time, but it was absolutely worth it. As, uh, Snotbubbles said, being a team that barely gets in the playoffs is the worst thing to be in the NBA.
Even with Bynum's questionable knees, the trade greatly increased the Sixers' chances of having a real superstar that you can build a franchise around. That's what every team desperately wants. Getting a guy like that is more than half the battle. So, even if it doesn't work out, taking that shot was completely worth guys like Vuc and Harkless, who have little or no chance of being stars, and the mid range draft picks they gave up which will probably become supporting cast players at best.
Opponents are only averaging 79.4 PPG against the Sixers. Thats 9 points lower than the next team. If this team was actually good on offense they'd be pretty scary.
The offense is a mess. Trying to watch them run any sort of play is painful. Forced shots, out of rhythm, no penetration, all jump shots. It's nice when guys are hitting shots, but its like teams that hit HRs in baseball, you just can't count on it every game.
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