Liberty Links: A daily post with links to all things pertaining to the Philadelphia Sixers
A week and change ago Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News quoted a source as saying, "Unless there is a move before the draft, such as Andre Iguodala being dealt and a good big man being acquired in exchange, a source close to the team said they will not be looking at anyone 'under 6-8. We need a big.' That is the first priority for coach Doug Collins, president Rod Thorn and general manager Ed Stefanski."
In a contradicting report our good pal Tom Moore from Philly Burbs has this quote from Rod Thorn himself:
"[We] have not determined which way we will go concerning position. It depends on who is available and what we may or may not do before the draft."
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The Sixers will work out draft prospects beginning Saturday.
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Fran Fraschilla of ESPN breaks down Jan Vesely's potential.
The comparisons to Kirilenko are logical because both are athletic European forwards who play with great energy but are under-skilled offensively. The team that drafts Vesely would certainly be satisfied with Kirilenko-type production over the course of his career.
It's unlikely Vesely falls to the Sixers at 17.
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Kate Fagan of Deep Sixer breaks down the Sixers second round draft options. Familiar names like Jeremy Tyler and Lucas Nogueira make her list.
Some mock drafts have [Jeremy] Tyler falling to the Sixers with the 50th pick, but ESPN's most recent draft prediction has the San Antonio Spurs taking Tyler with the 29th pick of the first round. It seems that Tyler's showing at the Draft Combine improved his standing. He's listed as about the 30-35 best prospect available in the entire draft, so the likelihood that he slips all the way to 50 is decreasing by the minute. Tyler is originally from San Diego. He has a 7-5 wingspan. His assets are his size and leaping ability (and his potential), but there are concerns about his maturity as he skipped his final year of high school to play in Israel and played this past season in Japan.
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Dei Lynam says nothing about Liberty Ballers lovechild Kenneth Faried.
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Howard Beck of the New York Times has the latest on a potential NBA lockout.
The league's collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the month. The owners and the players have exchanged a series of proposals that have been deemed unworkable by each side. A lockout seems likely, although Stern and Adam Silver, the deputy commissioner, tried to frame the issue in semi-optimistic terms.
"I know both sides will make their best offers before" July 1, Stern said, "because if they don't, then there's going to be a lockout that would be destructive of our business from the owners' perspective, and the players' perspective."
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