In a somewhat surprising move as this year’s finals were being played and remain very much TBD, the Sixers announced a trade for Toronto forward Jason Kapono.
Their pawn in this deal? Reggie Evans.
Kapono, a two-time winner of the NBA three-point shooting contest, is currently tied for the highest three-point shooting percentage in NBA history. In short, he’s not a bad guy to have on your side if you’re struggling on the perimeter — something the Sixers are fairly familiar with.
The loss of Evans after two seasons will be a blow for the Sixers, though on paper it appears they got the better end of the deal. Unfortunately, basketball is probably the least individualistic game out there (see: the Magic’s rise to this year’s finals with hardly a superstar player) and whether or not Kapono can keep up with the fast-paced tempo played at the Wachovia Center will determine his fit for the team.
As far as Evans is concerned, his banishment to the land of Maple leaves has so far gone unannounced as a search of the out-of-proportion and out-of-date Web site of the Raptors contained no trace of the (pending the passing of a physical) addition of the newest member of their team, donchaknow.
5 responses so far ↓
Morning Coffee – June 11 - Raptors Republic // June 11, 2009 at 11:25 am |
[...] South Philly Pro Sports The loss of Evans after two seasons will be a blow for the Sixers, though on paper it appears they got the better end of the deal. Unfortunately, basketball is probably the least individualistic game out there (see: the Magic’s rise to this year’s finals with hardly a superstar player) and whether or not Kapono can keep up with the fast-paced tempo played at the Wachovia Center will determine his fit for the team. [...]
Satten // June 11, 2009 at 3:57 pm |
I don’t know if I agree with you here, Jess. For starters, Kapono will be making about $3 million more than Evans over the next two years, at about $6.5 million a year. That’s way too much for a bench player. With the Sixers against the cap already, this squeezes them tighter. I agree we have an excess of big men and a need for a deep threat, but a three-point shooter who will struggle to crack 20 mpg isn’t what the team needs (this wreaks of the Kareem Rush “3-point specialist” signing last year and he barely ever played and the Sixers finished dead last in threes). We need a starting SG who can hit threes for that much money. I’d love a sign and trade of Iguodala for Ben Gordon.
And the Magic without a superstar?!? I recommend googling Dwight Howard. Rashard Lewis has been to All-Star games and Hedo Turkoglu is the most underrated player in the game…
Nice work here with the site though
jessf33 // June 11, 2009 at 6:40 pm |
Dwight Howard WILL BE a superstar; He is not, yet. If I were pushing the 7-foot mark, I’d hope I could put on a Superman cape and win a few dunk contests, while being able to get up and block a few balls on their way into my basket. He is nowhere near the caliber of a true NBA standout. He has yet to see his team fall short, put them on his (oversized) shoulders and carry them to victory. Nor does he single-handily improve the play of his teammates.
As far as Lewis, I don’t think anyone would contest that everyone who’s made it to an All Star game is undeniably a standout, lest a super star. Brad Miller was an All Star selection, also. Nuff said.
Turkoglu, I’ll give you. I think he improves his team in more ways than scoring points.
And after all that, aren’t you just proving my point? Orlando is in the finals cause it is a team of talented players, despite the fact Kobe could run circles around any one of them.
The questions is: Can he run circles around all of them at the same time?
Satten // June 11, 2009 at 6:49 pm |
Oh Jess, I politely disagree about Howard. He is the reigning Defensive MVP, lead the league in blocks and rebounds and was pretty close in FG%. He was the starting center for the gold medal-winning Team USA this past summer and started the All-star game. He has his team in the Finals because he is dominant on D and selfless in the post (and he helped beat LeBron’s Cavs). The true mark of a superstar is that he makes his teammates better — you argue he doesn’t, but he sure does on defense, no question, and he definitely does on offense too. How do you think Orlando was the top three-point shooting team in the league? They throw the ball into Howard in the post and when he gets doubled (all the time), he finds the open man for a wide open 3.
There is no “will be” — he’s a superstar right now. And all without mentioning meaningless dunk contests…
jessf33 // June 11, 2009 at 7:05 pm |
Haha, no need to be polite here. You know the title of this blog, right?
I’ll let you have the last word since we obviously do not agree here. I’ll only say I don’t think drawing the double team and being able to find an open player on the perimeter is the mark of making your teammates better.
I see your point, I just think Howard has a lot of weapons he has yet to learn how to use at the NBA level.