I'll call you Lou

Its not the regular season...its much closer to summer league actually, but someone is playing for a job right now and they cannot stop Lou Williams.

Plus a few other important notes from last night (IMO):

• "There are always teams that nobody addresses during this time that are right there come playoff time, and I think Philadelphia will be one of those teams," Nets Coach Lawrence Frank said.
• Dalembert took himself out of practice Thursday when he felt pain in his left foot. He has been recovering from a stress fracture in the foot.The big question is whether it is time to worry, especially since the feet of an NBA player take considerable pounding. "If it keeps going into the preseason and something becomes more serious, yes, but right now I am not overly concerned," coach Maurice Cheeks said.

First Dalembert Headline

It hurts to be right...especially for Sammy D.

I think I was a little off; "Ailing Dalembert likely to sit out" is just off my thought process, but not far.

The thing I worry about is him not ever coming back. I think about 98% of 76er fans hope they stink this year - I'm in the 2%. Dalembert's cap number is bad for the 98% of you - so if I were you I'd hope he'd sit out all year.

How could they let him play 7 games in 8 nights for a team that didn't have "SIXERS" on the front? Rodney Carney is one thing...Dalembert makes $10m a year!



Dalembert with his Chiropracter

Camp...We Talkin' Bout Camp

I'm back...I never really left. I'm just laying low, taking in the overall themes, quotes and culture of camp in Durham. I just have one question before we go forward...what did you want Pat Gillick to do?

Onto SIXER Basketball!

What did we learn this week?

1. While there is no reason to worry about Iguodala's contract, I'd like it to get done. Ladies and Gentlemen...he's the face of the Sixers for the next 10 years. I'd like it to be a happy place for him to be. I'd like to see him get paid too.

I like what the guy brings in terms of tempo and temperament. He plays hard. He's known for his defense. His teammates like him. Oh, and he's a pretty damn good ballplayer. Even if they bring in a better player in terms of talent (and they may have in Thad Young), AI sets the tempo.

2. Andre Miller will not be a PG on a team that loses 60 games.

Phil Jasner's famed "Number" is 30 - that's 30-52. I don't discount that number, but I can't see it being a lot worse if Miller plays all year. Teams that are solid inside will have an advantage on us every night BUT...Miller is the equalizer against marginal teams

3. Let's not get too excited about Reggie Evans yet. If he was THAT good Denver would figure out a way to keep him (would you trust Kenyon Martin if you were a 60 win team? Me neither).

4. I'm very worried about Dalembert. Very.

5. I'm real pumped to watch the kids come along. I'm excited to see how they're playing in February - that's when we'll know what we got. I just want to see them get better.

6. I think the biggest thing that's come out of camp is the Willie Green is back to the level he was at before his injury according to Coach Cheeks - that's REAL good news. He was tough.

Apparently Bill King wasn't on vacation

Well shiver me timbers....the Sixers made not a minor trade when they essentially traded Steven Hunter for Reggie Evans. They also signed Calvin Booth.

You've heard of Reggie Evans but don't know much about him? Basically, he rebounds. A lot. More than anyone the Sixers have in their frontcourt now. Offense you ask? Not his forte. About a 1.5 turnovers in 17 minutes a night last year.

Calvin Booth blocks shots and that's it.

"He is an accomplished rebounder that we feel will make an immediate impact and will exemplify our commitment to hard work, rebounding and defense," 76ers general manager Billy King told AP. Sanchez's rights were acquired by the Nuggets along with the draft rights to Linas Kleiza in exchange for the draft rights to Jarrett Jack in a draft-day deal in 2005. "At 6-11, Ricky Sanchez is a young prospect that has potential and we will continue to monitor his development as he plays overseas," King told AP. The Sixers weren't finished, agreeing to terms with free agent Calvin Booth. The 6-foot-11 center played in 44 games with Washington last season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds. Booth has a career average of 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in eight seasons.

Uh Oh

Sorry its been a while - with Michigan losing and absolutely nothing going on in the Association while the players and execs are on vacation, there's not much to say. So I'm not saying it.

Training camp starts in 3 weeks (Oct. 2)...and this was not a good report this morning by Phil J. in the people paper about Sam Dalembert's left foot having a stress fracture.


Here are some other headlines we might see in the coming weeks and months:

• "Dalembert struggling with conditioning"
• "Dalembert continues to have left foot trouble"
• "Dalembert suffers hamstring injury"
• "'I'm shutting it down': Dalmebert"
• "Dalembert has microfracture surgury on ailing left foot, status for 2008 uncertain"

I hope Sammy stays well and doesn't push himself until he's ready (and the staff doesn't let him play...a note to Billy and Mo - guys...please don't hurt Sammy to the point where his contract strangles the cap and the team - if he has to sit out all year to be healthy, so be it!!!!).

I'm not going to lie to you either - I'm excited to see what Young and Williams are going to look like in training camp...to quote Ken Hitchcock, it'd be great if they took a "bigger bite" out of the team than we expect.

What Channel are they on again?

Just in case you didn't see our post pointing out that the Sixers didn't make national television this year, the owners of the team have decided to televise the games. Almost all of them as a matter of fact.

The biggest question I have is what will happen to the "Ask Marc and Steve" segment of the broadcast?

You think we've got it bad?

Imagine plunking cash down for this? I thought they brought in a power forward this summer?