Sixers Off Season Update 7/24/09

This is the time of year where teams continue to pursue players to improve their team – either via trades or free agency – by adding additional depth and rounding out their roster and the Philadelphia 76ers are currently in that mode. The team made an early splash with the acquisition of three-point sharpshooter Jason Kapono from Toronto – the first trade of the NBA off-season – and they continued to make moves with the hiring of Head Coach Eddie Jordan and the acquisition of the one of the top point guards in the NBA Draft, Jrue Holiday.

Led by President and General Manager Ed Stefanski, the Sixers front office has been scouring team rosters looking for the right players to compliment the team’s current core group – led by Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand and Lou Williams.

During a recent event for season ticket holders, Coach Jordan indicated that the roster is currently two quality players deep at every position, with Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala likely be the starting guards going into Training Camp, with Willie Green and Jrue Holiday providing depth. The Sixers, who earlier this off-season made one-year offers to C.J. Watson, Mike Bibby and Andre Miller and are only internally discussing the recently waived Jamaal Tinsley, will still look to make an addition at the guard position, possibly coming from the following group of players (in no particular order):

Juan Dixon (6’3”, 185 lbs) – A seven-year veteran, Dixon has career averages of 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals per game in 436 games; in 50 games last year, he averaged 5.2 points and 2.4 assists per game.

Luther Head (6’3”, 185 lbs) – Appeared in 32 games last season, making four starts, and posted averages of 4.7 points, 1.8 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

Royal Ivey (6’4”, 215 lbs) – Played in 71 games for the Sixers last season and averaged 3.0 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists on 33% FG shooting in 12.1 minutes per game.

Brevin Knight (5’10”, 166 lbs) – A 12-year veteran, Knight averaged 12.7 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.6 assists, 1.2 rebounds, 0.9 steals and only 0.8 turnovers per game in 74 appearances last season.

Jason Hart (6’3”, 180 lbs) – Made two starts and appeared in 39 games last season, posting averages of 2.0 points, 1.2 assists and 1.2 rebounds with only 0.6 turnovers in 8.9 minutes per game last year.

Bobby Jackson (6’1”, 185 lbs) – The ’02-03 Sixth Man of the Year winner played in 71 games last year, making 10 starts, and averaging 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 0.9 steals in 20.9 minutes per game.

Tyronn Lue (6’0”, 175 lbs) – Has appeared in 554 career games, with averages of 8.5 points, 3.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game, while shooting 39% from three-point range.

Carlos Arroyo (6’2”, 220 lbs) – Spent last season with Maccabi Tel Aviv

Meanwhile, the return of Elton Brand and Jason Smith will offset the loss of Reggie Evans – who was sent to Toronto in exchange for Jason Kapono – and Theo Ratliff. Among the “bigs” the Sixers are researching as they continue to rill out the roster for the upcoming season are as follows (in no particular order):

Ryan Hollins (7’0”, 230 lbs) – The RFA posted averages of 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 9.9 minutes in 45 games last season with Charlotte and Dallas.

Primoz Brezec (7’1”, 255 lbs) – Has career averages of 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds on 50% FG shooting in 321 career games, which includes 214 games started, and 19.0 minutes per game.

Adonal Foyle (6’10”, 270 lbs) – A 12-year veteran, he has appeared in 733 career games with averages of 4.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Jake Voskuhl (6’11”, 255 lbs) – Has made 93 starts in 450 career games, has averaged 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds on 48% shooting in 14.3 minutes per game.

Jared Reiner (6’11”, 255 lbs) – Averages of 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in 46 career NBA games, including four starts; was invited to Sixers Training Camp last season.

Stefanski has also indicated that the team will also pursue a “swing” player at some point during this off-season and will likely carry either 13 or 14 players on the roster for the 2009-10 season.