No wonder Kenny "Jenny" Thomas was all smiles on July 16, 2003: he had just signed a contract with the Sixers for a reported 7-year/$ 50 M.

While I'm not sure why Sixers' GM Billly King (right) was laughing. Maybe he was thinking about making it twice to The Jon Koncak Commemorative Awards series (see also Greg Buckner, below this).

Or maybe he already knew he would have shipped the bum to Sacramento only a couple of seasonss later, leaving the Kings the questionable "honour" of paying Thomas around 38 of those 50 millions. Sacto finished to waste those $ only in the summer of... 2010, yes.

The signing of then-restricted-free-agent Kenny Thomas would easily crack the Top 10 in a "Worst GM decisions of all time" in terms of money/production ratio, as this post will demonstrate.

Per team policy, Sixers don't reveal terms of their deals: we can say it's a pretty smart decision, given the stunning amount of retarded moves the franchise made in the last decade (for a quick recap see the final part of the Buckner post). That's why you can find some sites reporting the Thomas deal at 7-year/ $ 40 M. For the purposes of this article, it really makes no difference. Here is why.

Today I had the opportunity to join a group of bloggers in a conference call with Evan Turner set up by Sixers' PR department (thanks to Michael Preston for this).

It was an enjoyable chat of around 25 minutes, the full trascript will be published soon on Sixers.com (EDIT: here it is), but here are some things that were said.

My questions to Turner, in an awfully guidoesque english, were:

Speaking of your game, in what areas do you think you are "NBA ready" and what are those that do you think you have to improve the most

Turner said he thinks he is NBA ready as for mid range game, rebounding and he added that he possesses a good bball IQ. While he believes he has to work on his shooting range and defense.

I think this team will struggle in rebounding the ball, do you think you can help in this even if  it's not the primary part of your game.

Honestly didn't get everything he said, but the point was that he thinks he can do that and believes that rebounding needs a team effort.

Do you see yourself as a member of USA national team one day and do you think you would fit well in int'l competitions, with different rules

He said that Team USA is loaded with talent at his position but he thinks he can play well in those competitions but the priority is "today" (= NBA).

Did you watch many Sixers games from last season and what do you think the team was missing.

He said he didn't watch many (good for you, Evan...) but injuries & youth played a big role.

Do you think Lakers are still the team to beat or do you see Miami as favorite for the title.

He said Lakers because they won last year. 

Last question I put was if he reads NBA blogs and his answer was "No". Evan, you suck (LOL).

Other points that were covered:

- if he had to compare himself to an NBA player, he'd pick Brandon Roy (now this is interesting)

- he signed with the chinese shoes company because he sees this as "an opportunity" and he plans to build his own brand (cool ! Marbury part II?)

- he thinks his Summer Leagues struggles came because he wasn't confortable playing so much off, w/o the ball

Waiting for the full text to be released soon, to have a clearer picture, but the impression I had is that of a good guy, willing to work hard and with very clear ideas about his future.

I'm proud to break a pretty long silence (work, holidays bla bla bla) to write about one of my favorite Sixers moves of all time: the signing of Greg Buckner.

Wait, wasn't that ten years ago or something? Yeah, exactly, but the geniuses at The Real Shaq decided to gather the Bloguin NBA community during this offseason to compile a series of articles that want to 'honour' the worst contracts in the recent history of the NBA. And God knows if Sixers have something to say in that regard...

Last articles include Knicks Fanatics coverage of the immortal (contract of) Allan Houston, and TWolves Blog remarkable tribute to Troy Hudson and his crazy deal. While here is the complete list of posts.

Given the impressive amount of money and the level of players that made the team (Brian Grant, Raef La Frentz, Vin Baker etc, some of them reaching even triple figure in $), the 6-year/$ 18 M deal that Billy King gave Buckner in the summer of 2002 might seem even modest and not worth mentioning.

After all, the contract started at "just" 2.4 mill for the first year. That's less than ...Jon Koncak was making !!

But I'll try to explain why the move definitely deserves a place in the list and a dedicated post. It's surely "a niche" contract but there are many reasons to analyze it. Follow me.

This came unexpected, at least to me. The two gus in the pic will swap uniforms next year.

Yes, Sixers traded Dalembert to Sacramento for Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes.

Not that we didn't try to ship Sam before, not that he was always happy to stay in Philly, as he stated in numerous occasions.

But the timing, and the package we got in return, is surprising.

My first reaction was: "Uhm...".

While we wait for more details, and some statements - other than the usual PR quotes of generic "excitement"... - let's try to break down the trade, staying ready to revisit/update the following thoughts.

FROM A BASKETBALL POINT OF VIEW

1) I don't see how this makes us better. Hawes is basically a more efficient/skilled Jason Smith, surely not a superstar or a difference maker. While Nocioni is a veteran that could indeed bring toughness and occasionally hit a three pointer but will be currently the FOURTH small forward of the roster, besides Iguodala, Young and Kapono, with the first two usually logging a lot of minutes.

I used to like Nocioni as a Bull, he was a nice spark off the bench. I stopped when he was signed to one of those fat multiyear contracts that GMs of this league love to throw around (see Turkoglu etc) - more after the jump.

So I'm breaking a pretty long silence to finally update the blog and tell my quick thoughts about two HUGE facts that will change the future of the franchise for the upcoming years.

A boatload of work and several 'real life issues' have been keeping me away from blogging as of late, unfortunately (?).

In case you are interested in getting more frequent updates, you better follow Twitter4guidos (=Sixers4guidos on Twitter...), where it's easier for me to be more active.

My tweets about the Sixers come on a daily basis there.

FACT #1

Sixers made their 6.03% of chances work well as they landed the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. That basically means getting Evan Turner, if all reports are correct.

I followed the lottery live, tweeted about that, and it was extremely exciting - not to mention fun. Well worth going to bed at 3 AM, for once.

Negadelphians hopefully STFU as our chances were very slim there. I must say all the tanking didn't pay off, ping pong balls didn't help much Nets, Kings and other teams.

FACT #2

I officially give up on Sixers' GM Ed Stefanski as I absolutely HATE the signing of Doug Collins as our new coach for the next four (?) years.

Bullet points to follow and explain why.

Sixers ended the season in style losing 125-111 in Orlando for a final 27-55 (.329) record, tied with Pistons for the sixth worst in the League and sixteen wins below my 43-39 prediction. Awesome.

But the news (?) of the day is that Ed Stefanski fired Eddie Jordan.

It's pretty safe to say that you won't find a Sixers fan disagreeing with this move. I won't, for example. No need to address for the 82nd time Jordan's shortcomings and all the things he failed at.

At the same time, we have to be fair and call it like it is.

THREE ANSWERS

1) No doubt Jodan did an extremely poor job and the record is there to show it. He had basically the same team that last year finished 41-41, with Holiday for Andre Miller and Kapono for Reggie Evans, PLUS a healthy Brand AND 25 games with Iverson (that now apparently everyone is forgetting) AND a healthy Jason Smith as "bonus" (?). All of this, in a still very weak conference. Final outcome = -14 wins.

2) Yes, Stefanski should be made accountable as well. I was a fan of Stefanski - well, coming after Billy King everyone would have been welcome... - and I liked his very first move: trading Korver (my boy !) to clear cap space.

I started to have a problem with him when he gave Cheeks TWO extentions before firing him (?). I was ok with the Evans/Kapono trade, even if I was a pretty big fan of Reghanistan.

Then Stefanski signed Elton Brand and, the year after, Eddie Jordan. While I was happy when we got Brand - therefore I admit I made a mistake, dude is close to being done, EVEN WHEN HEALTHY as we saw this year, and often behaved like an asshole - I wasn't sure about the signing of Jordan. I absolutely hated the signing of Iverson, also, another evidence that the GM had no idea about the direction to give to the team. 

Stefanksi's seat is just as hot as Natalie Portman now and the next move he'll made could easily be his last (more after the jump)

Ok I received this and thought it would be nice to pass the info along, after all it's for a good goal.

The news is basically this:

Marreese Speights will be guest bartending for charity from 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 15 at the CopaBanana bar/restaurant located at 344 South Street.

Fifty percent of the bar proceeds from 8-9 p.m. will benefit the charity: Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.

The Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House - a press release says - provides critically ill children and their families with a home‐away‐from‐home environment while being treated at local hospitals.

This is a nice initiative and well, if you have a chance to help, it would be good to take it.

More info are available also on Speights' official site.

So at least for one night Marreese will pass. Drinks.

Unfortunately (?) the 105-107 home loss to Miami was blackouted on Int'l League Pass broadband, so I couldn't "enjoy" it.

So it was just about watching highilights, reading recaps bla bla bla.. same old story, like always in these cases. Unfortunately, this time for real, I think it's only the 3rd or 4th game that I couldn't catch this year.

Yes, I watched nearly all the crap that Sixers (27-54, .333) provided their sorry ass fans worldwide all season, including nearly each of the 29 home losses - vs 12 wins, 3rd worst record in the League.

Fan 'appreciation' night was perhaps only slightly different, as they at least showed up to play and surrendered only in the final seconds. That's also unusual, uh? 

THREE ANSWERS

1) Yes, another last second shot bricked by Iguodala. But I have to be fair, that was a pretty tough situation and he had tied the game with a huge three with 20 seconds left to play. so I'll try to dedicate a post-seaon article to this subject, that to me is very interesting.

2) No, not smart defense on that last play. Leaving Haslem all alone in the corner for a (pretty) confortable baseline jumper? Rotations were slow after Wade drove past Iguodala and Sammy came late. Not sure if was Sammy to have contest that, though...

3) No, PLEASE NO LARRY BROWN... how about moving FORWARD ??? This franchise really loves to look (& go) back.. I've read something about Billy King as well, WTF.... no Roy Hinson ???? (more after the jump)

I hope in few weeks we won't have to regret the 101-120 W in Memphis.

That gave Sixers (27-53, .338) a small edge over "competitors" Detroit, GS etc etc.

Every ping pong ball counts...

It was a weird game, with plenty of highlight plays and interesting numbers.

THREE ANSWERS

1) No, I wasn't happy at all with the W, despite the enjoyable plays, and I found myself cursing our guys for every basket, three, steal... pretty sad

2) Yes, Memphis unfortunately gave us a great help, by forgetting to play any defense in the second half.

With Gasol out and Thabeet having foul troubles (his 4th came after only one minute in the third), they didn't have any interiore presence.

Also, we were hitting outside shots at a crazy rate, the 14 threes (on 24 attempts) are a season high...

3) No, Sixers simply couldn't miss. 29/47 from the floor in the second half (61%), 6/12 from behind the arc.

THREE QUESTIONS

1) You know what's the problem with the extra small lineups? That once in a while they work, so stupid coaches think they are ok and use them for extended minutes, while they should now.

You can play Williams-Green-Meeks-Carney-Speights to start the fourth against the Grizzlies in a meaningless game, win it and think you are a genius, though (more after the jump)

No, I'm not talking about Lou's dunk (in the pic).

The fact is that the 90-95 loss to Milwaukee, combined with Detroit's third straight win (!), gives Sixers a tie for the sixth worst record in the NBA.

We are only one game ahead of Sacramento and Washington, that both won their last game.... ehehehe... (** evil laugh **).

So with only three games left, we still have a serious chance to get more ping pong balls.

Take a look at the standings & schedule:

Knicks (28-51, .354): Miami, Washington, @Toronto.

LA Clippers (27-52, .342) : Golden State, Dallas, LA Lakers.

Sixers (26-53, .329): @ Memphis, Miami, @Orlando. 

Pistons (26-53, .329): @ Charlotte, Toronto, @ Minnesota

Kings (25-54, .316)): Dallas, Houston, @ LA Lakers

Wizards (25-54, .316): Atlanta, @ New York, Indiana

Warriors (24-54, .308): @LA Clippers, Oklahoma City, Utah, @ Portland.

I think we can win only one of those three games, at home vs Miami (hopefully we won't...). 

I don't see how Pistons, with Gordon back, can lose at Minnesota, honestly. Sacramento has by far the toughest schedule and it will probably lose all three, while Washington will likely get one more, vs Indiana, maybe two, at NY: hey, after all they just won in Boston !!

So it's still an open (sad) race. Realistically, the best case scenario is Detroit AND Washington geting past us, to let us finish with the fifth worst record. Worst case scenario: we win one/two and regain the seventh worst record.

The nice thing is that there are some games that will help us anyway: Golden State-Clippers, New York-Washington. So we just have to continue losing - I'm talking as if it takes such an effort, LOL.. (more after the jump)