Brand To Philly?

Reports are the Sixers are in talks with Elton Brand to bring him back East



According to ESPN.com there's a new player in the Elton Brand sweepstakes and that team is your Philadelphia 76ers.

What they'll need to do and have to happen won't be easy though and might not be possible, so be forewarned.

First, they'll need to clear more cap space and according to ESPN.com they'll need to move Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to the T'Wolves for a trade exception of $3.5 million. They'll then be about $15 million under and they can then offer him a contract with $15 million in the first year.

There's one problem though; the Clips and Warriors are in a bidding war to offer him in excess of $80-$90 million over 5 years so the Sixers are going to have to offer a 5-year $100 million deal most likely and the cap numbers will be enormous if they offer him just $15 million in the first year.

Looks like they won't get Josh Smith after all because that will be just too much of a task to either outbid the Hawks or get them to agree to some sort of deal.

Originally I was against the Sixers going after Brand for one reason; the achilles injury he had over the summer last year. Sure, he came back last year, but only played in 8 games at the end of the year. This is a move that could backfire on them and have Chris Webber written all over it. Then again, the Sixers have to do something and you can't get anywhere without taking risks. Otherwise, if they miss out on Brand or Smith they're looking at taking on a 34 year-old Rasheed Wallace who maybe has a few more good years left in the tank.

Things are heating up so it's going to be interesting.

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And, in other news the Phillies lost again in heartbreaking fashion. Who do you blame for this? Charlie Manuel? Adam Eaton? Eric Bruntlett? The Baseball Gods?

Well a pitcher should never give up 5 runs in the first inning. And, he sure as hell shouldn't be in there after surrendering a 6th run in less than 3 innings. And, the Phillies were getting blown out 8-2 and looked as dead as a piece of chicken laying in the hot sun so I can't fault Manuel too much for yanking Utley. Utley has been overused this season and was burned out before we got halfway through June.

You could argue this either way, but I'll give Manuel the benefit of the doubt on this one. The Mets had some serious momentum and beat the Phils two straight and appeared on their way to beating them like the Phils did to the Cardinals a month ago in that 20-run game. Remember that game? It seemed like eons ago.

It was nearly a comeback for the ages though and they ripped out the hearts of us all.

Let's hope they bounce back tonight against the Cards. Cole Hamels is on the hill against Joel Pineiro.