Sixers Newsroom
Ed Stefanski Conference Call
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
On whether talks of an extension for Maurice Cheeks have started:
No, they have not. Mo and I will sit down, I don’t know if it’s going to be in the near future, but let’s say the next few weeks, and see where his head is and go from there.
How things have changed since Stefanski took over:
It changes, but I don’t think it changes a ton. I don’t think you can get too high or too low on a game, or a season. The nice thing was, that we didn’t know, was how good the young kids are and, so from a change in that standpoint, you have to project that a kid like Thaddeus Young, 19-years-old, has a very good upside and how fast will that come. This summer is a huge summer for all these young guys and for [Thaddeus]. Will he get his ball-handling skills better, as he becomes more of a three than he is a four, but obviously he can be effective at the four spot, he showed that, so that was a real plus.
Jason Smith, to me, had a little bit of an up-and-down season. At the beginning of the year, he was probably more effective than he was at the middle of the season, he had a very bad ankle sprain, so that held him back. I thought he came back well in the playoffs. Again, any young kid, it’s a huge summer for him, especially getting his body better.
And then Rodney Carney. When I got here, I said the jury’s out on Rodney Carney. I was very happy with how Rodney Carney played through the latter part of the season and I thought he stepped up very nicely in the playoffs.
With Lou Williams getting a lot of playing time this year, I thought Lou did a nice job. The question will still be ‘Is Lou more two than one?’ ‘Can you give him the ball to run a basketball team?’ I still think that is something you are going to see more as he gets older and next year will be a big year in trying to answer that question. I don’t think that question has been answered. I think he is a very good basketball player, I don’t know if people can say he’s a one right now. I still believe we need to add pieces to this to get to the level we want to get to.
On the pieces Stefanski would like to add:
If it was a perfect world, I would like a power forward to fall from the skies who could play with his back to the basket, but it’s not a perfect world, so we’ll see what’s out there in the free agent market, both from an unrestricted and a restricted situation. There’s guys that would have to find out after July 1 if there’s player options out there. Do players opt into their teams, or are they going to be on the open market, we won’t know until July 1. Then on July 1, we can bring people in and show them the great city of Philadelphia.
There’s no question, we’re a team that is moving in the right direction so, from that standpoint, I would think we would be attracted to free agents. The bottom line is the dollar, so the people will want to know ‘Do we have the money there to pay guys?’ We’re sitting in a nice cap situation right now, about 11 million dollars under it, so there are things we’ll look at.
On the half-court problems in the playoffs:
I don’t think that should come to a surprise to anyone in Philadelphia that we struggled in the halfcourt. We struggled from day one in the half-court and that is one of the reasons we tried to up tempo the game so we didn’t have to stay in the half-court. I will say this, I thought Mo [Cheeks] and the staff and the players got better in the half-court. Through the year, we did get better, we executed better. Do we still need to get better? Yes. If you can get a guy with his back to the basket down low, that would help.
I’m not going to say that guy is definitely out there and we’re going to secure him. But there’s other ways to play basketball besides the perfect situation. The perfect situation is to get a power forward but I’m not going to be distraught if we don’t get one because we will add some pieces to do it a different way.
Will Andre Iguodala’s playoff performance affect any contract negotiations and what does the future hold for Andre Miller?
Andre Iguodala, as I have said to anyone who wanted to ask me, I think he’s a very good basketball player. I know he’s a guy we would like to keep going forward here. Now negotiations are negotiations, so we can’t sit down with him and his agent until after July 1. We’ll sit down and talk everything through. But he’s a guy I would like to keep here. What I have said numerous times to people is we are trying to get a team here where we can get good players. We played a team like Detroit, and Detroit and Joe Dumars did a terrific job of getting a very good basketball team. I emphasize team together with good players. We’re not built to run their style, but if we can get a team like that and then have the style we like to play, which is up tempo style, that would be our goal.
Andre Miller, he is under contract for another year next year. That will be something that I’m sure his agent and I will sit down, but that will be later. Everything is a priority in life, but with the situation with the free agents and the draft, I would say with Andre [Miller] under contract, that’s something we will discuss before the season starts. Andre [Miller] has to be on board and the team, so there are two sides to this thing. I don’t know where Andre [Miller] is totally thinking right now and I don’t think [the media] knows either because Andre [Miller] is a man of few words.
Considering where the Sixers pick, is this year’s NBA Draft deep enough to acquire an essential need?
I think this draft is strong enough that at 16, we will get a player to fit into what we are trying to do. Will that player be able to jump on the court right away next year? I would say unlikely. I would think that probably most people thought Jason Smith and Thad [Young] wouldn’t jump on the court this year. I do believe we will get a guy at 16 that we will be happy with who can help us going forward. In this draft, the eighth, tenth pick could be the same as the 15th, 16th pick in the draft. I think it’s a deep draft, but I think after the first few picks, which are franchise guys, I don’t know if there’s a lot of franchise guys in there after the first two or three top picks.
Aside from a power forward, is a shooter a necessity?
If we looked at all 30 teams, the writers and the fans would say [about a specific shooter], ‘Wow, what a great shooter.’ He didn’t come in the league as a great shooter. My term is some of these guys couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and now they’re very good shooters because they worked hard at it and their shot wasn’t broken. I think the same thing is going to happen with the Philadelphia 76ers. I think Thaddeus Young, I think Lou Williams, I see that Andre Iguodala has gotten better and will keep getting better, and a guy like Rodney Carney. I think all four of those guys will improve their outside shot just because it’s not broken, and then just through a lot of repetitions and hard work.
Sure, we would love to get another shooter in here and that’s something we will have to look at. It’s all going to depend on how much money we have and, if that 11 million we have has to go to one player in order to secure that guy, then we’re going to have to work internally for that shooter.
Is Andre Miller’s long-term future a first priority?
We will have time for that. We’ll have to sit down and see. I don’t see it as a priority. They are all priorities, they are all important to us, but I don’t think it is something we have to do immediately.
On acquiring players during the offseason that will enhance the team’s chemistry:
It’s always something you have to think about in the back of your head. You never know when you’re making change, what’s going to happen with the chemistry. The chemistry this year was terrific. We had the perfect storm on how this all came together from where we thought we were going to be to where we ended up. That is a testimonial to the guys in that locker room and the coaching staff. I don’t think you can completely get yourself so concerned about chemistry not to make changes. There’s no question, you have to make some changes. People shy away from changes, I don’t. The early changes we made in this team might have been good to shake things up. We have to make changes going forward and we have to keep in mind to try to this chemistry as good as possible. That will be a factor when we make changes.
On spending all 11 million dollars on a specific player:
That is a possibility.
Is ownership willing to pay a luxury tax in order to re-sign current Sixers players if it becomes necessary?
It won’t become necessary, most likely, when you do the budget and the numbers. I think you should stay under the luxury tax at almost all costs. I don’t think you want to put a team on there and just throw away all budgetary and business situations. Now if a guy who is a star, who could turn us totally around which has happened in some cities, Ed Snider would pay the luxury tax.
Since this young team has a playoff appearance under their belt, would it be a step back if the team does not make the postseason next year?
Our expectations are up, which is just typical of any fan base and they should be. Getting in the playoffs was a great feat for these guys. I know there are some people out there who wanted us not make the playoffs and get a higher draft pick, but the experience that these guys got, we couldn’t have gotten it a better way. [The postseason] was great for them, it was great for the growth of this franchise.
I’m hoping we’re going to get better, and I know we’re going to get better. We’re going to get better because the younger guys are going to get older and they are hard workers. That’s what happens in the NBA – the younger guys work hard, they do become better basketball players. Even a guy like Andre Iguodala, we act like he’s a big-time veteran, he’s 24-years-old. He’s only going to get better if he works at his game, too. So, our expectations are higher and they should be and we have to go out and get a couple pieces. I guess I can answer that question better in the beginning of next season to know what and whom we’ve added to this team.
On Samuel Dalembert’s performance during the post-season:
The one thing we have to say in these playoffs is that we played a very, very good basketball team – a team that could win this whole [NBA] Championship. We also could talk about them being the best starting five of any team in basketball. We probably got the worse matchup we could get with the Philadelphia 76ers and how we’re made up right now.
I thought Sammy [Dalembert] had a phenomenal year from the standpoint when the day I got here to the end of the season. I couldn’t ask the guy to get any better. Sammy is an integral part of our team because when he goes out of the lineup, we have problems covering the basket and protecting it. Sammy did an unbelievable job with that. I think he averaged a double-double in rebounds and points. I thought Sam had a great regular season. In the playoffs, did he struggle a little bit? Yeah. I’ll tell you why he struggled: Because of the way [the Pistons] are made up. They have a power forward on the Pistons that is unique to basketball that I don’t believe I have ever seen in the NBA. A guy like Rasheed Wallace who can block shots, as a big man, and go that far out to make three-point shots. I don’t think there’s ever been a person in the NBA who has that makeup. That is a tough matchup for us because Sammy has to go that far away from the basket.
Now you’ll say, ‘Why didn’t you put him on the other guy?’ Well, the other guy is [Antonio] McDyess. He takes you far from the basket and [Jason] Maxiell had a very nice playoff for them when the other guy got hurt. I think it was more of the makeup of that team that gave us a lot of issues as opposed to these guys just having bad playoffs.
On the clock malfunction in the Detroit-Orlando series:
Getting the call right is the bottom line. The only problem with getting the call right is how many stoppages in play do you have. I don’t want the game to go any longer than it is going right now. The competition committee will come up with some recommendations and then all 30 teams will sit down and see what makes sense. Getting the call right is the most important because there is so much at stake in these games.
On a big summer for Stefanski:
I think about hoops everyday, I’m not going to say I think about hoops every minute, because I do have diversity in my life. I think about [basketball] all the time and how we can get better. I don’t put any pressure on that it’s only going to be on me to get this team better. This team got better because of Mo Cheeks and his staff and his players. I think we have opportunities this summer that we can sit back and see if something comes our way that we really like. I think we positioned ourselves at least to make a move.
On the ideal speed for this team:
When you see this summer and you see how these young kids come back, they’re going to come back as more seasoned, NBA basketball players. Our speed of the game will stay because our style is, ‘We’re going to push it down your throats.’ What the Sixers have done this year, which I’m very proud of the players and the staff, we have finally created an identity here. We’re a team that will fast break and you better be ready to play 48 minutes against the 76ers. That’s who we are now because when we started this, I think we were 16th or 17th in fast break points. We finished basically tied for second place with Phoenix. We were tenths of a point off of them on fast break points. We want to continue that; we will have a preseason, which we can work at.
Mo [Cheeks] did this in the middle of the season and did a terrific job with it, so now with the preseason, I think we will only get better and we have to get better executing in the half-court. What we did is we pushed the ball, but we also played defense and that’s what our identity is. The Sixers will fast break, but they’re young, they’re long, they’re athletic and they’ll defend. That’s who we have to be going forward and I think we now have an identity.
What did you learn about Maurice Cheeks that you did not know?
I didn’t know what kind of coach he was. I found out right away what kind of person he is. I have high regard for Mo as a person. He is very genuine which I like. He will communicate with you and listen. When I talk to him as the President or GM of the team, he doesn’t get flustered or just ‘yes’me. We have good discussions, good talks. He allows me, as a basketball junkie, to talk basketball with him. He doesn’t get offended when I ask him questions about it. His handling of the players was good when I got here, so it just solidified my thoughts. I think his staff has done a great job with his guys.
On keeping this team together versus an offseason trade:
We can do this in free agency or we can do this also with this cap money, which people have to remember, you just don’t have to do through free agency. We can use this cap money in a trade and not have to really disrupt this team. There’s teams out there that may want to get rid of players because they’re not happy with them or the player is disgruntled and may fit into what we want to do. They don’t have to take money back or a player back, contract wise, because we’re under the cap. That’s the flexibility that this 11 million will get us, not only in free agency, but it can get us a trade.
On the first-round matchup with the Pistons:
I was proud of these guys, not only getting there, but to take two games away from them. If people want to say you stole them, I don’t care. We beat the Detroit Pistons twice. I have the utmost respect for that franchise. I think they’re really, really good. We had a tough matchup to start, we stole two games from them. I would have liked us to play a little bit better in Game 6, but I think the wind was out of our sails. It definitely gave us a barometer of where we have to go. We know the young kids are going to get better. We have to bring a couple more pieces in to play those kinds of teams and they’re the kind of teams that we want to be like.
On Andre Iguodala being a number one option:
With the Pistons, if they want to take someone out of the offense of the other team, they can do that. They loaded up on both Andre’s of our team. I don’t think you can say that Andre Iguodala is a one yet either way because he is 24-years-old. He will have to shoot the ball better, which he knows, he’s going to work on it. I think he has worked on it, he is getting better and I think he will get better. I think Andre Iguodala is a good fit for our team. I’ll take a lot of Andre Iguodala’s on our team, just like the Detroit Pistons have. They have a lot of good players on their team.
On a free agency list for this offseason:
We have a whole list; we have all different plans. We’ve met a lot. I think we really know right now where we like to go, but that may change. We meet regularly, we go over it, so we don’t miss anything. We have numerous plans in place because you don’t know if Plan A is going to work. So we have numerous plans in our works that we have to try to see if we can implement when it comes time on July 1.
On Tony DiLeo and Courtney Witte:
I am very comfortable with both Tony and Courtney. I would like them to be with the organization as we build this. We’re still building. When we started this thing, we said we were building it, we’re continuing to build it. The things that we saw in the Detroit series didn’t shock Tony, Courtney and I. We were very happy getting into the playoffs and stealing two, but we weren’t shocked. We competed against the Pistons.
