The Philly Sports Blog

Sixers and Flyers made some trades this week, both being good for each team. One was a swap of mid-talent players, and the other was a huge blockbuster. Let's start with the blockbuster.

The Sixer/Iverson ordeal is finally over. The Sixers traded Iverson and Ivan McFarlin to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two First Round draft picks this June. The Nuggets are getting arguably the best player in the NBA, while the Sixers are getting some salary cap relief and two more chances to build for the future. I think this is a great deal for both teams. Iverson will bring even more electricity to an already offensively impressive lineup. If he and Anthony can gel, this team has to be considered a top pick for the title.

What does this mean for the Sixers? Miller will bring a steady playmaker in the back court and Smith's contract is up at season's end, so they will be closer to the cap. Also, they get two more draft picks for this very deep draft coming up. Sixers might not look good for a year or two, but give them 3-5 years, you might be seeing a top team again in Philadelphia...as long as King doesn't screw up this draft.

Flyers also made a trade. They traded Randy Robitaille and a 3rd Round pick to the Islanders for Mike York. York is a bit younger, a bit more versatile and a bit faster. Also, his contract is up at years end so there is more money off the cap. I don't see this move doing much for the Win/Loss column, but that's ok. This season is over, and the Flyers are playing for the highest draft pick they can, as well as giving the youngsters some valuable experience.

Flyers Trade Freddy Meyer and 3rd Round 2007 pick to Islanders for Zhitnik. Also, they put Rathje on long term IR to make this happen. I understand why they did this. Zhitnik is a veteran defenseman and will only improve the Flyers, but I though Snyder said they are done giving up the future for now? Meyers is going to be a very good 3-6 d-man and has showed some true grit and a third round pick, you never know what could happen at that point in the draft, but too many steals are found then, but not this year. I just don't feel comfortable with this trade. Really disappointed in Homer.

I take two weeks off and WOW. Iverson is done as a Sixer, Garcia is filling in better than expected, Phillies pull off a huge trade, and the Flyers are looking more like the Phantoms…literally. Let’s get to the big news.

Sixers

Allen Iverson’s time as a Sixer is over. Yes, as of right now, as I write this, he is still technically sill a Sixer, but that’s just in name only. We all know what happened last week, so I’m not going to reiterate, but my goodness, did that ever start a chain of events that should have taken place a while ago. For the past few years, it’s been no secret that Iverson would not end his career, let alone this current contract as a Sixer. From his attitude on the court, to his unwillingness to share the ball, even Billy King wreaking the team trying to put together an ensemble cast, and Billy King is the subject of another article another day. Both player and team need a fresh start. And this is sad, seeing that Iverson is one of the best players in the game. There are rumors abound and I’ll list a few below:

-Iverson to Charlotte for a package of players was rumored to be done yesterday, but when Allen voiced his displeasure going to a team that is still starting out, that got nixed.

-It seems like three teams are seriously bidding on Iverson. They are Indiana, Boston and Minnesota with Denver and Sacramento also in the mix. ESPN Insider reports that Sacramento and Philly have discussed a package including Mike Bibby and Kenny Thomas.

-ESPN Insider also reports that the Clippers might try to put together something including Corey Maggett, Sam, Cassell and Zeljko Rebraca along with a First Round Draft choice. They also report that Denver is talking about sending J.R. Smith, Eduardo Najera and Nene for Iverson.

Anyway you look at it, Iverson is going. So sit back and enjoy the trade talk!

Eagles

Garcia has started two weeks and has put together two wins, and has looked very solid in both. Stallworth is proving to be a wonderful #1 receiver. The Eagles Brass should lock both these players up ASAP!

As pleasantly good the Eagles Offense has looked, their Defense has looked the opposite. Their Defensive Line can’t stop the run and have looked terrible against it. This past week the Secondary looked better, but let’s face it, they faced Washington.

This team, with its better than average offense and below par defense might just squeak out a Wild Card spot, and if the dice are rolled just right, they might pull out the NFC East spot, but don’t look for them to go far in the playoffs. The Bears and Seahawks are the teams to beat, but are very beatable. Just imagine if the Bears had a good Quarterback? They would be even more scary good then they are already.

Phillies

Freddy Garcia is a Philly, can you image that? They had to give up good pitching prospect Gio Gonzales and one time #1 prospect Gavin Floyd, to get this stud of a pitcher. I think this was a wonderful deal. And if the Phils can put together an knockout season, they might be able to resign him. Would that be great?!

With six starting pitchers, the are loaded and could and will make a deal to sure up their bullpen. The most likely odd man out is John Leiber. Rumors have him going to either Milwaukee or Texas for a relief pitcher or two, but Milwaukee seems to be out.

Some say surprise, but not me, but it looks like Pat “the Bat” Burrell is here to stay. And that isn’t as bad as many fans make it out to be. Even though Pat didn’t come through like they wanted in the clutch last season, this year, all the pressure is on MVP Ryan Howard. Hopefully that will take some weight of Burrell’s shoulders.

Flyers

Is this the Flyers or the Phantoms? The Flyers were finally starting to look ok, when the injury bug came and not just bit them, but took out a huge bite! Fourteen of the Flyers Twenty players played for the Phantoms at some point this past season. FOURTEEN! Again, is this the Flyers or the Phantoms?

But this could be a good thing. First, the season is over for the Flyers. The aren’t going to make any trade or shake any thing up just to make the playoffs and be sent home in the first round. Second, this is going to give a lot of the “Kids” some valuable NHL Playing time. They can go out, make their mistakes and learn from them and make them better players in the future. Third, the Flyers are going to get a pretty high draft pick and if they are smart, any trades they do make will bring them back some more draft picks. The Flyers hopefully this summer, will sure up their future for a long time.

In this new NHL with the Salary Cap, a team can go from bad one year, to stellar the next. Will the Flyers contend for the Stanley Cup next season? Probably not, but they might have the pieces to contend for a long, long time.