The Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings officially opened the offseason extravaganza when the Sixers traded their long-time centre Samuel Dalembert to the Sacramento Kings for Andres Nocioni and Stephen Hawes.
The early move by the Sixers is a sign that they are dead serious in their rebuilding process after a disappointing performance in the previous season. They hired Doug Collins as their new coach to have a new system, and with Philadelphia owning the second overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft on June 24, how will these moves affect their choice?
For Philadelphia, the move was about filling the big hole in their team. They need to pick up someone who can bolster their inside offence after missing Elton Brand in most of their games during the past two seasons due to injuries.
Hawes can put up the numbers in the post and Andres Nocioni will be their scoring threat from the perimeter. The six-year veteran from Argentina has been shooting well from downtown since he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. And though Spencer Hawes cannot replace the defensive tenacity and rebounding prowess of Dalembert, he can spread the floor and can make that extra pass in the lane.
"Now every one of our big guys is skilled offensively," said recently hired Sixers Coach Doug Collins. "They can all shoot, and I think that's a great thing. ... Obviously when you lose Sam, you lose defence and rebounding. But we got a couple of other pieces, and we feel good about that."
For Sacramento, having a big guy like Dalembert in the middle will be a great complement to their wingmen like 2010 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans and Travis Outlaw. The 6-foot-11 Dalembert averaged 8.1 points and 8.3 rebounds in over eight seasons in Philadelphia.
As the 2010 NBA Draft approaches, the teams are now making their decisions about their plans. The Washington Wizards owns the Number One Overall pick this year and they are expected to select consensus top pick John Wall of University of Kentucky. The Sixers Organization is still undecided but they are considering choosing Evan Turner of Ohio State, who is the College Basketball Player of the Year.
Even Ed Stefanski, the Sixers general manager, is a Turner fan. But the team might want to have a big man that can replace Dalembert. Hawes can be that big man, but they still need another big guy in the post. If they drafted a big man, bypassing Turner, he could be drafted by the New Jersey Nets as the 3rd pick.
After the trade, the Sixers worked out with Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech and DeMarcus Cousins of Kentucky. Both players are expected to be drafted in the top five and are capable of playing the Power Forward and Centre position.
Coach Doug Collins was impressed with the skills shown by Favors and if he'll be the one to decide, he said that he will definitely go for the Georgia Tech standout.
"I think I do have a shot to be selected next to John Wall," Favors said. "But if I don't, whatever team I get picked by, I'm going to go in and work hard."
DeMarcus Cousins also believes that he'll be selected by the Sixers and he can fit well with the team.
"They need a big man. When I saw the Dalembert trade, it really opened my eyes." Cousins said.
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