NBA TV Preview

The Sixers 2006-07 season will test the old adage that the best trades are the ones you don't make.

Philadelphia made no secret that Allen Iverson was being shopped this summer, not long after General Manager Billy King pronounced that the team was in need of "a culture change."

In late July, King announced that the 31-year-old guard would return for an 11th season as the face of the Sixers franchise. Iverson's petulant reputation, though in check last season, undoubtedly made it impossible for King to get the necessary value. Iverson has a lot of mileage on his lightning-quick legs (career average of 41.7 minutes per game) and his relentless style often results in injuries, further hindering trade efforts.

Nevertheless, Iverson is still an elite talent who probably gives the Sixers their best chance to win. His spectacular 2005-06 season flew under the radar because the Sixers struggled, but Iverson averaged a career-best 33.0 points and shot at an astounding – for him – .447 clip.

The Sixers will go as far as Iverson can take them, but they don't look like a good bet to exceed their 38 wins of a year ago. Guard Willie Green returns after missing all but 10 games with an injury to his right knee, but guard John Salmons left via free agency.

The biggest culture change might be the acquisition of free agent good-guy Alan Henderson, unfortunately he's nearly a decade removed from his best NBA season. Draft-day trades netted Rodney Carney and Bobby Jones, a pair of 6-7 forwards who know how to play both ends of the floor. Carney has three-point range, but speed and explosiveness is his forte. Like Iverson, he'll be fun to watch.

Undoubtedly, Chris Webber-to-New York trade rumors will run rampant. Webber, 33, seems a poor fit around the speed of Iverson and the athleticism of Carney, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert and Steven Hunter. Nevertheless, C-Webb is still a 20-10 player, and could be used to obtain some backcourt acumen on a team that relied too heavily on the likes of Kyle Korver, Salmons and Kevin Ollie last season.

With Iverson's talent, a postseason berth isn't out of the question, but other playoff contenders had better offseasons.
-- Bill Evans

2006-07 Sixers Partial Plans

Iverson

Billy King's postseason proclamation of a culture change wasn't specifically directed to Allen Iverson, but it might as well have been.

"I want to change the culture in how we approach everything we do on and off the court," King said in May. "There's been a culture that's been permeating probably for the last three years and we've got to change it. So that's probably the biggest challenge for me: Changing the culture in how we approach things, how we deal with people, deal with the media, deal with our fans, deal with the players on the court."

For a decade, Iverson has challenged authority in Philadelphia. For the most part, he's been treated with kid gloves. Changing the culture will require holding players accountable for their misdeeds. Will Iverson force their hand? His response to King, and to a summer of trade rumors bears watching. Will he have a chip on his shoulder, particularly after gutting out the best season of his 10-year career? Or will he soldier on, and continue to carry the Sixers on his back as he has for a decade?
-- Bill Evans

X&O STRENGTH

Cheeks

I think they're going to play an open offense. You have to play that way with Allen Iverson ... The one thing Mo Cheeks has going is he has a good relationship with Iverson and that's extremely important.

X&O WEAKNESS
Outside of Korver, I don't see anybody that can shoot from the perimeter and you need that kind of play with Iverson ... They're going to have to improve defensively.

HEAD COACH PHILOSOPHY
Mo Cheeks was a great, great defensive player and he'd like to have that as a coach, as well as being more sound fundamentally than they were last year.
-- Kevin Loughery (courtesy of the National Basketball Coaches Association)

Obviously, Iverson's gonna have the ball most of the time and he's so quick, so you've got to focus on him. The key is not letting him get to the basket easily.
They're most effective when he's able to draw two or three defenders and get it to one of his teammates.
They've dropped off on the defensive end (rotations, ball pressure) a lot from where Larry Brown had them. And they're not as tenacious on the boards either.
Iverson can be a decent defender at times, but he wants to stay in the game, so he won't be aggressive.
-- Eastern Conference Scout

Andre Iguodala: A tremendous athlete with a ton of tools, which look to be shown all season long.

Kevin Ollie: Although he'll start at PG, he won't produce the numbers you'll want - and need - to see.

More fantasy news

The Sixers will need somebody to step up this year because Allen Iverson and Chris Webber have already played their best and won’t improve upon last year’s numbers. If it’s Andre Iguodala, all will benefit, including those who live for the highlight reel. Steven Hunter has the most potential off the bench, and Rodney Carney’s performance will be worth noting as he has long-term fantasy potential written all over him.
-- Josh Whitling
Sixers Fantasy Preview

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