By: Chris
A few days ago, Andre Miller signed a 3 year, $21 million offer from the Portland Trailblazers, ending the continuing contract, sign & trade, and other negotiations that were ongoing over the past few weeks. Miller's departure leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of Sixer fans. Last season after losing in the first round of the playoffs against the Orlando Magic, Miller didn't even show up for the season-ending team meeting. Furthermore, the 76ers were actually interest in retaining the aging point guard, yet his ridiculous demands of having a contract north of 30 million over 3 years (minimum) were too much. Not only is Miller almost 34 now, but he also has no 3 point shot nor seems to be that great of a locker room guy. Last season there were many plays in which I doubted whether Miller put in any effort on defense, or maybe he just loved getting burned by opposing guards on a nightly basis.
The thing that Philly basketball fans are most disappointed in is GM Ed Stefanski's inability to somehow get any type of return for losing Miller. Many had predicted a sign and trade in which the Sixers would land above-solid point guards such as Chris Duhon from the Knicks or Kirk Hinrich from the Bulls. Neither worked out, and the Sixers were left with nothing but the hard realization that Lou Williams is the current starting point guard of the 76ers. Still, I have been advocating all along for the Sixers either to get a great point guard (Hinrich for example, who can dish, shoot the 3, and be a field general) or just forget about it and throw the young gun platoon of 2009 NBA Draft pick Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams. There is no point in signing a guy like Jamal Tinsley either who is aging like Miller and would just eat the minutes of the young guys that are developing and in need of minutes on the court.
In retrospect regarding the Miller situation, many believe that Stefanski made a grave mistake by not trading him at the deadline this year. This presents an argument that can get pretty heated at times. One side is that the Sixers were playing very well at that point (the deadline) and Miller was one of the key reasons for this great play. The Sixers were poised to make the playoffs, around the 5th seed or so, which meant that in a way they were "contending". So, it would make sense to keep your best player, and go to the playoffs and see what happens. Others clearly see that there was no chance against the Eastern Conference powerhouses like the Celtics, Cavs, etc. and at that point it would have been better to dump Miller and get something formidable in return. Stefanski didn't do this. I just never think, regardless of the situation, a team should just give up and shed one of their key players when clearly they are a playoff team. If in sports if you are mediocre and can't necessarily compete with the powerhouses that you just dump talent, then the league would only have around 5 top teams with the rest not even needing any hope or aspiration to make noise in the playoffs. As I repeatedly say, "you never know". The Sixers last season were up 2-1 on the Orlando Magic. Yes, the Orlando Magic which ended up going to the NBA Finals.
Overall, good riddance to Miller. His tenure here in Philly was solid, but I was just a bit disappointed in the way he left the city. I doubt he'll get a warm reception when he returns. As for Stefanski, he hasn't done anything (aside from the Kapono deal) in terms of signing free agents. Get on it, Ed!
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