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Friday, March 17
Updated: February 1, 6:36 PM ET
 
Sixers not just Iverson's team

By Dr. Jack Ramsay
Special to ESPN.com

Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson has gone from the top pick in the draft to leading Philly to the playoffs.
Danny Biasone bought the Syracuse franchise in the National Basketball League in 1946 (for $1,000), and that team (the Nationals) joined the NBA three years later. After winning an NBA title in 1955, Biasone, struggling to meet rising salary costs in a small market city, sold the Nats in 1963 to Ike Richman and Irv Kosloff, a pair of close friends who were rabid Philadelphia basketball fans. The team was named the 76ers and filled the void in pro basketball left in Philadelphia when the Warriors moved to San Francisco at the end of the 1962 season.

The Sixers have won two championships -- in 1967 with a great team featuring four Hall of Famers-to-be (Coach Alex Hannum, Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham), a team of which I was general manager; and again in 1983 under coach Cunningham (team featured Moses Malone, Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney), an excellent team that went 12-1 in the playoffs.

The Sixers have had their ups and downs over the years. In addition to their championships, they also recorded a league record for fewest wins (9) in 1973; and underwent several changes in ownership, coaches and general managers before arriving at the present group in 1996 -- owned by Comcast Corp. and directed by president Pat Croce. Coach Larry Brown and GM Billy King arrived on the scene a year later.

Trades, Free Agents and Draft Picks

  • 1995: Drafted Jerry Stackhouse (North Carolina), 3rd pick. Traded Shawn Bradley, Tim Perry and Greg Graham to New Jersey for Derrick Coleman, Sean Higgins and Rex Walters.

    THROUGH THE YEARS
    Year Record Playoffs
    1994-95 24-58 --
    1995-96 18-64 --
    1996-97 22-60 --
    1997-98 31-51 --
    1998-99 28-22 3-5
    Totals 123-255 3-5

  • 1996: Drafted Allen Iverson (Georgetown), 1st pick; Ryan Minor (Oklahoma), 31st pick; Mark Hendrickson (Wash. St.), 36th pick; Jamie Feick (Michigan St.), 48th pick. Traded Sharone Wright to Toronto for Ed Pinckney, Tony Massenburg and two second-round picks.

  • 1997: Drafted Keith Van Horn (Utah), 2nd pick; Marko Milic (Slovenia), 34th pick; Kebu Stewart (Cal. Bakersfield), 36th pick; and James Collins (Florida St.), 37th pick. Traded Van Horn to New Jersey for 7th pick (Tim Thomas), 21st pick (Anthony Parker), Jim Jackson and Eric Montross; traded Stackhouse, Montross and a second-round pick to Detroit for Theo Ratliff, Aaron McKie and a first-round pick.

  • 1998: Drafted Larry Hughes (St. Louis), 8th pick; and Casey Shaw (Toledo), 37th pick. Acquired Eric Snow from Seattle for a second-round pick; traded Jackson and Clarence Weatherspoon to Golden State for Joe Smith and Brian Shaw; traded Terry Cummings to New York for Herb Williams and Ronnie Grandison; traded future first-round pick to Utah for Nazr Mohammed.

  • 1999: Drafted Todd MacCulloch (Washington), 47th pick. Traded Thomas and Scott Williams to Milwaukee for Tyrone Hill and Jerald Honeycutt; acquired Jumaine Jones from Atlanta for a future first-round pick. Re-signed free agents George Lynch and Matt Geiger.

  • 2000: Traded Hughes (to Golden State) and Bruce Bowen (to Chicago) for Toni Kukoc; signed free agent Kevin Ollie.

    The Present
    The Sixers are comprised of only two drafted players (Iverson and MacCulloch) -- the rest of the squad was acquired by trades and free agent signings. They have put together a good team -- not yet a title contender -- that is with Charlotte for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference (34-28). The Sixers have come a long way from the team that finished 18-64 in 1996.

    The Sixers are well-coached by Brown -- they are aggressive, ball-hawking defenders (second in the league in forced turnovers), and run the break effectively with their steals. In the half-court, they use an offense built around the one-on-one forays of Iverson, who has tons of talent. Brown demands a total team game from Iverson, as there isn't enough talent among the other players for the Sixers to be a playoff team with just him. He has to find the perfect balance between the individuality of Iverson and Kukoc, and yet get significant offensive production from the rest of his players. The team defense is very good. While Brown is self-deprecating about his work, I think he does an excellent coaching job.

    Brown also has to battle with Iverson's personal shortcomings -- whether it's an absence or late for practice -- and his attention to training and conditioning practices. Brown suspended his star player for the March 16 game at Miami for missing the team shoot-around that day. Brown told me that it was the just the latest in a series of events in which Iverson's conduct was well short of expectations.

    All those problems aside, the Sixers are pesky enough to have upset potential in the playoffs. Last season, they dusted Orlando, which finished in a tie with Miami for the best record in the Atlantic Division (33-17), in the opening round of the playoffs, in four games. They then were swept 4-0 by the talented and experienced Indiana Pacers.

    The current Sixers will be no less of an upset threat. Ratliff has improved his post-up skills dramatically, and along with Hill and Geiger, gives Brown a tough-defending, strong rebounding presence in the basket area. Lynch is a strong defender of post players, a capable rebounder, and scores enough inside and out to keep opposing defenses honest.

    Snow is quietly efficient as the ball-handler (7-2 assist-turnover ratio), and Ollie keeps feisty defensive pressure on opposing point guards for short stints as Snow's backup. Shooting guard McKie is steady at both ends of the floor. Iverson also has excellent instincts for stealing passes in addition to his prolific scoring skills ... and he is fiercely competitive.

    If Brown can keep Iverson on course, and find the right rhythm of offense for Kukoc by playoff time, the Sixers will be a tough out for anyone in the Eastern Conference.

    Future of the team
    There are a lot of questions to be answered about Philly's future. Will Brown stay on as coach? He's always had wanderlust. Suppose his alma mater, North Carolina, beckoned? And if he stayed, would he want to constantly contend with Iverson's game and his off-the-court problems?

    And what about Iverson? Here is an enormously talented individual with so much energy that he rarely tires -- no matter how little sleep or attention to proper food intake -- a tough competitor who may want to win so much that he tries to do it all by himself. That's never a formula for success. I see improvement in his game, but will he continue to mature and progress or will his questionable habits suddenly catch up with him?

    And will Kukoc stay in Philly or will he opt to play in Europe where he is a legendary hero? He's a free agent at the end of the season.

    To become a title contender, the Sixers realistically need to upgrade at the point guard -- I rate Snow as the perfect backup point-shooting guard -- and need another quality front-court player. And they need Brown to stay at the job in Philadelphia. He's one of the NBA's best coaches and is fully capable of coaching his team to a championship in the white-hot heat of playoff competition.

    The Sixers have made giant strides in the last five years. Will they make the next big jump to the top of the NBA heap? Only time will tell.






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