Ed Stefanski teleconference transcript - 12/2/2009

Ed Stefanski:
Hi everyone and thank you for taking time out of your schedule. Obviously, you know now that the 76ers and Allen Iverson have come to an agreement for Allen to return to the Sixers. We made a basketball decision here when we found out Friday that Lou Williams, (with his injury of a broken jaw and being wired), that he will be out close to 8 weeks which is 30 plus games. So the basketball department looked at names to discuss and consider. When Lou got hurt, Allen’s name came into play. Allen’s people in the past have tried to get him back to Philadelphia, but we were very satisfied and happy with Lou. However, now with Lou’s injury, we considered Allen and he by far with the opinion of our group and myself is the best person available for what we need right now. A group of us including, Leon Rose, Allen, Gary Moore, Coach Jordan, Assistant Coach Aaron McKie, Tony Dileo, and myself did meet in Dallas on Monday. We had a 2 hour discussion about various issues and went into an array of items necessary for us to have a comfort level on both ends. Yesterday, Leon Rose and I spoke numerous times and first thing this morning Leon and I came to an agreement. So that is what happened and a little bit of a timeline. I will now open it up for questions.

From a basketball standpoint, how do you see Allen fitting in with this group?
We have really picked up the tempo of our game; we are running on not only misses and turnovers, but getting into offense quickly. We are running Eddie Jordan’s offense, but only a small part of it. We are picking roles to get enough tempo we need. If you have watched our past games, especially in the 4th quarter, we have been in the games with people, but we are missing that fire power of Lou Williams and Marreese Speights. Getting a player of Allen’s caliber to get the ball in the basket and take big shots; we felt he was the best choice.

Allen considered starting to be the most important thing, did you talk to him about starting and how much of an issue was that for him?
That was addressed, (about starting and minutes played), but there was no guarantee from the organization or from Eddie Jordan. We are not bringing Allen Iverson in as a guy to add to the depth or a practice player; we are bringing him in to play basketball. To answer your question, we do not guarantee him either.

Did you address what happens when Lou Williams comes back?
No, that was never addressed in the meeting with Allen. That will be a bridge we will have to cross when he gets back, but we are very high on Lou and them playing together.

What questions did Allen ask you?
There really were not a lot from a basketball standpoint. He just really wanted to come back to Philadelphia and not just in that meeting, his group has called numerous times about him coming back to Philadelphia. He wants to come back here to play and to show people he can still play. He said he knows he has to play well to get the minutes. He did not really have a lot of questions for us as opposed to he just really wanted to come back to Philadelphia.

What assurances did you have to hear from Allen regarding about what happened in Memphis and Detroit before you agreed this would work out for you?
In the Detroit situation, his contract was up and who knows if Joe brought Allen in for a trade from a basketball standpoint or a cap situation at the end of a year. From a Memphis standpoint, we did talk to numerous people in Memphis. I won’t make their names public, but Mr. Heisley did come out publicly and said he talked to me for an hour, which is true. He also said he would bring Allen back today if he could. He said his biggest mistake was not bringing the coach in early and did not have the coach on board from the beginning. Assurances, I will say we talked about many things and we came away from the meeting with an understanding and Allen knows where the organization stands and where I stand.

When this team was successful with Allen, it was a time when the team was built around him. He has tried to be inserted into already stable situations and it hasn’t worked or improved these teams. Have you addressed that and brought it to his attention?
I think the one thing we agree on is this is not 2001. We did address how this team is built and how we want him to fit in and how we play with an up-tempo pace to fast break on misses and turnovers. This open court style fits right into his game and he is that type of player. He knows what we like and he is aware of the young players. The one thing I’ll say about Allen is when he steps on the court, he gives you every ounce that he has and when the work warrior comes out about a player that is not a bad trait for our young team and the level of play that you have to have to win in the NBA. That is one thing I want him to show our young guys on the court. I also mentioned to him about things I want him to talk to the young guys about and how to become better basketball players.

Was it tough to get Ed Snider on board because he was here a few years ago when they got rid of him?
Like any decision while looking at a free agent list when there’s an injury, it was difficult. It was an easy basketball decision because he was the best player available to us, but this isn’t your normal free agent, this is Allen Iverson. I sat down with Mr. Snider and Peter Luukko and reviewed our thoughts. We went through a lot of scenarios. In the end, Mr. Snider said, “Ed you’re the basketball guy, you make the basketball decisions.”

Did you get a sense of why Allen put out that retirement statement if he was going to play a week later?
I didn’t hear it from him, but I heard from someone else that he was tired of having to answer everyone’s questions.

How much did you consider your stadium and attendance when making this decision?
Again, our first thought was about basketball. At the beginning, we said that Lou Williams was our guy and we didn’t need Allen. Lou went down and is out for a substantial number of games so we had to bring someone in. Allen can play right away. If it means we start playing better basketball and win and can bring fans in, that’s great but to get attendance you have to win basketball games and we’re aware of that. That’s why we brought Allen in, to win basketball games.

Typically in these types of meetings assistant coaches wouldn’t be present. What is Aaron McKie’s role in making this happen?
That was my decision. Obviously, I wanted the head coach in there. I also wanted Tony DiLeo in there. I work very closely with him and he was with Allen for all of those years. I know Aaron played with Allen and was very good friends with him and still is. I felt like they might have been aware of questions that needed to be asked that I might not be aware of and then give me feedback.

What is the plan now? When will Allen arrive in town and join the team?
We’ll have a press conference hopefully in the next couple of days. He’s down in Atlanta, (I believe), taking some shots and getting in some cardio. We want to get him in here by Sunday to get a practice in before we play Monday night.

What are you anticipating on Monday against Denver with Allen back?
Hopefully, wild and crazy. He’s almost like, for lack of a better word, a rock-star. He’s a lightning rod and he wants to play basketball. The kid wants to play basketball; despite all of the other issues. He steps on the court, and he’s all about basketball and that’s what I’m asking him to do. This is a chance for him to do that and make it work. There’s no doubt in my mind that Philadelphia is the best place for him to try and do it.

Does this signing set the team back in learning the Princeton Offense?
That’s a good question. I think it’s a question you could ask Coach Jordan. We are running on makes and misses and are trying to bring the tempo of the game up. We’ve been successful in the sense that we’re still in the game in the fourth quarter; we just haven’t gotten over the hump. But just like Coach Jordan and many others have said, there are no moral victories, we need W’s. That’s why we’re bringing him in. So to answer your question, I think this probably delays it.

If you think your biggest problem is defense, particularly on the perimeter, how does Iverson help that?
He told me he’s going to be like a glove and no one is going to get by him. But, Allen Iverson is aggressive defensively. He’s excellent at getting into passing lanes - one of the best that’s ever played in the NBA. He does take chances but he manages to get into passing lanes. Everyone needs to buckle down and play defense, it isn’t just about scoring. Watching our games, (especially in that fourth quarter), if we didn’t have a healthy Lou Williams out there, Iverson would have been a great guy to have out there

How does the slow start, the injuries and now bringing in Allen Iverson differ from how you originally anticipated the season would go?
hasn’t changed our plan of what we want to do long term. Because of the injuries and the slow start, we had to make an adjustment, mainly the injury to Lou. Lou was really getting it going there for a stretch and we were really excited about him and now he’s out for a substantial amount of games. That setback required a change in the plan, but not the entire plan. We have to adjust and that’s what we think we’re doing.