Liberty Links: A daily post with links to all things pertaining to the Philadelphia Sixers
Kate Fagan says the sale of the Sixers is getting closer.
The deal, which has many obstacles because of the magnitude of the transaction, is creeping closer toward completion and is expected to be completed in the near future.
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Rich Hofmann of the Daily News says the Sixers haven't found a dominant center since Moses Malone.
The team not only sank as a result, but in the quarter-century since, the Sixers have never been able to find a center who could consistently dominate.
Instead, there has been this endless searching.
Call it the Curse of Moses.
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Kate Fagan of Deep Sixer thinks Donatas Motiejunas may be creeping up the Sixers draft board.
The cons: his rebounding in Italy's Serie A was suspect (4.4 per game over 25.7 minutes), his footwork and jumper are inconsistent, especially from NBA range, and he's a power forward not a traditional center. Witte said the Sixers addressed the lack of rebounding and that Motiejunas' answers made sense. Witte also said that the system in which he was playing in Italy did not "lend itself" to rebounding and that Motiejunas' role as a creator in that system has probably had a negative impact on his draft projection.
A big man who doesn't rebound. Sign me up!
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Pete Newman and Dean Oliver of TrueHoop examine whether Kenneth Faried should be a lottery pick.
If advanced metrics tell us anything about using collegiate statistics to help project future NBA success, it is that the single statistic most likely to translate to the next level is rebounding. And in Faried's four seasons at Morehead State, he averaged a rebound every 2.37 minutes, the third-highest rebound rate in the past 30 years.
Granted, Faried did this at tiny Morehead State, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, but he had success on the glass against stiff competition, too, grabbing a rebound every 2.8 minutes vs. teams in major conferences. (Current NBA starting power forwards typically got a rebound every 3.4 minutes when they were in college.)
Faried also got a steal or block every 8.5 minutes at Morehead State. Against major opponents, he was only slightly worse, recording one every 10.0 minutes.
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Newman and Oliver also examine who's the better shooting guard prospect, Klay Thompson or Alec Burks.
Overall, Burks shows more to his game that will get him through down shooting days. This is not to say Thompson won't be a good player. He deserves to be in the league, but he won't be the kind of player who will shoot efficiently enough to help a good team, except off the bench.
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According to Tom Moore Rod Thorn is unsure if assistant Quin Snyder will leave for the Lakers.
Rod Thorn: 'Don't know yet' if Quin Snyder is leaving as #Sixers assistant for spot on Mike Brown's coaching staff with #Lakers
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Despite a previous report Tom Moore says Kenneth Faried WILL NOT work out for the Sixers.
Kenneth Faried isn't working out for #Sixers Tuesday after team had thought he would -- it's Purdue's JaJuan Johnson and France's Michel
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Chad Ford of ESPN tweets the latest on Jonas Valanciunas.
If Valanciunas can't play in NBA next year, he'll drop. Cavs won't take him at 4. Still I doubt he slips past the Rockets at 14.
That would be sweet if he fell to the Sixers at 16, and they selected him. Had to throw that in there.
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Sam Amick of NBA Confidential has the latest on Andre Iguodala to the Warriors discussions.
A source with knowledge of GS & Philly talks says the two sides haven't discussed the Monta-Iguodala deal since early June.
Apparently the trade offer has been "on the table" all month for the Sixers to accept, which they smartly haven't ... yet.
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