phrustrated philly phan

Sixers GM said yesterday that Allen Iverson will be with the team next year. Obviously King could not get comparable talent for AI. The Nuggets wanted to trade Andre Miller and Kenyon Martin for AI but that would only have made the team worse and it would have been hard to sell a trade to Boston to the fans. I, for one, is happy that AI will be around next year, but wish Chris Webber would disappear into the Delaware River and float out to the Atlantic. Read Phil Jasner's article on AI at http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/. Debuting for the first time is the Threatdown (in tribute to the Colbert Report). He are the 5 biggest threats to the Sixers chances off making the playoffs next year.

#5) Billy King- So far he has not proved himself as a GM. He has made many ill-advised moves including the trade for CWebb. Hopefully King adds a quality vetern with the midlevel exception so that the only addition isn't just the rookies. I think it goes without saying that he should try to trade Webber but I think that is impossible

#4) Chris Webber- Is he still upset about "Fan Appreciation Night?" He has also said he does not want to help with the development of younger players. Sure sounds like a "team player" and good teammate.

#3) The Bench- The Sixers got no production from the bench last year and without increased performance from them there will be no improvement. A healthy Willie Green and rookie Rodney Carney should help but there is still not much depth there.

#2) Development- The Sixers desperately need their younger players to develop quickly around AI. Kyle Korver needs to improve defensively to justify his playing time, Andre Igoudala needs to develop a midrange game that has been nonexistent thus far. Lastly Sam Dalenbert needs to take another step in his development. A few short years ago he looked like he would be an elite center in the Eastern Conferance and now he looks lost. The Sixers need these players to step up big time next year.

#1) The Competition- The Eastern Conferance is improving. The Miami Heat won the championship and the Detroit Pistons had the best record. In the offseason, the Chicago Bulls signed the best free agent, Ben Wallace. The East is still not up to par with the West but is catching up. The Celtics look like they have improved also. That could be trouble for the Sixers.