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In one of the silliest and most arbitrary things to happen to the NBA since the term "competitive balance" was instituted in the basketball lexicon, there was a 10-day period of limbo where free agency moves could be announced but not "official". So today, finally, things can be made official as the moratorium has been lifted to much balloonage and fanfare. That means all the Sixers moves (Nick Young, Elton Brand, Dorell Wright, Spencer Hawes) and non-moves (Jodie Meeks, Lou Williams) can be super-official like. Cool.
There is the chance that a few signings have slipped through the cracks, but I'd bet our nation's ace team of reporters have pretty much gotten them all. I'm excited to see who bids on Elton. He's still a very good player (especially on defense) that can really contribute to a team that needs him. Also curious to know how much he'll get. Most amnesty guys were pretty untouched, but I'd bet Chevy gets a few decent bids out of it.
The July 11th moratorium also means that owners/coaches/GMs/etceteras can comment on player movement now that everything's out in the open. You know what that means. Adam Aron tweets and player intros all day. We've got some after the jump.
For all you wondering if @Sixers would actively reshape our roster, or sleep through draft and free agency, answer is clearly a reshaping.
— Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam) July 11, 2012
Our deliberate moves known to us for a while now, but hit the press only recently. Why? We respected NBA no comment rules before July 11.
— Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam) July 11, 2012
Your @sixers getting bigger, younger, more athletic, better shooting AND importantly shorter contracts giving great near term flexibility.
— Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam) July 11, 2012
Most importantly, we are smartly getting ourselves on a path which over time rebuilds us into a serious contending team.
— Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam) July 11, 2012
New ownership just delivered @Sixers best season in 9 years. The '12-'13 76ers will show real progress, in which confetti will fly at WFC.
— Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam) July 11, 2012
29 years since '83 win, fan base is impatient, but know that our goal is your goal... lift the @Sixers from middle to top of the NBA pack.
— Adam Aron (@SixersCEOAdam) July 11, 2012
Note that neither the words "young and exciting" are nowhere to be found ("younger" doesn't count) The best thing I can take out of this is the short-term contracts resulting in financial flexibility. Regardless of the guys they currently have on the team, there's no question they have made themselves more flexible (stretching is important) with the moves and non-moves that they've made this summer so far.
His other words do jive with what Jordan wrote about last night. They aren't going to full-on rebuild, but they're signing guys to shorter contracts so they can make a bigger splash when the time is right. Clearly, Aron is either still hoping or pretending to be confident that these Sixers will be at least decent next year. He can't say anything different, so I wouldn't take too much out of that.
What these means for an Andre Iguodala trade? No clue. I'll be keeping both eyes on the press conference later to be sure. Tom Moore tells us via email from Rod Thorn that he's "probably not" trading for a power forward. But as I've said, I don't know how they can keep Andre, so there's always the chance he's being intentionally cryptic.
Food for thought as we can finally see some contracts signed.
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