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Tag: Philadelphia 76ers

  • Danny Granger Traded From Pacers To 76ers, Pacers Get Evan Turner

    As the trade deadline for NBA approaches, several teams have made decisions to shake up their rosters, and add new players. In a trade that could end up hurting at least one team in the trade, Danny Granger was traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Philadelphia 76ers.

    Granger has struggled with injuries for the past couple of seasons, and as someone who has not been able to play much, the Pacers are likely to see the trade as a favorable one for them. The Pacers got away with a big one when trading away an aging forward in exchange for two other forwards.

    The Pacers were able to acquire Lavoy Allen and Evan Turner in exchange for Danny Granger. Evan Tuner can easily be looked at as one of the best, if not the best, of the players for the 76ers.

    In other trading news, there have been plenty of rumors surrounding the Lakers, and whether Pau Gasol would finally leave after his continued problems with their coach. However, Steve Blake is the one who has been traded so far.

    Rajon Rondo has also been mentioned along with Luol Deng, who was just acquired by the Cavaliers earlier this season. Several other high profile candidates are in the market for a possible trade, meanwhile star players like Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony will also become free agents in the upcoming season.

    The ex-Pacers forward has only played in 29 games this season, and only five games in the 2012-2013 season, after continually battling with a knee injury. Despite his recent injury problems, when he is healthy, Danny Granger can be a franchise player.

    At one point in his career, he had averaged over 20 points per game in three consecutive seasons, which included a career high of 25.8 points per game during the 2008-2009 season.

    Meanwhile, Evan Turner is averaging 17.4 points, six rebounds, and 3.7 assists for the 76ers this season. Turner was the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft by the 76ers, and has been one of their best players since, even though the team has been having one of the worst records in the conference, even after joined the franchise.

    The Indiana Pacers are already the best team in the Eastern Conference, and after their recent trade involving Danny Granger, many people would argue that they just got even better. Meanwhile, the 76ers made a decision that turned them from bad to worse, as they simply try to not be in last place in the conference.

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  • J.R. Smith Helps Lead Knicks To Victory After Suspension

    Throughout his career, J.R. Smith has been known as one of the most problematic players in the league. His on and off-the-court incidents are catching up to him again, and most recently, he was fined $50,000 for attempting to untie the shoelaces of multiple opponents.

    After returning from his suspension, J.R. Smith had an excellent performance against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks were down when Smith entered the game, and he eventually led them to a 102-92 victory. He is constantly criticized for what he does wrong, but Smith is a great scorer too.

    Punishing him may have worked this time as he returned to the court with authority, embarrassing the 76ers and outscoring them by 20 points when he was on the floor.

    Things were certainly not going to his way coming into this game since he averaged only 11.3 points per game while shooting 34.8 percent from the field.

    After the game concluded, J.R. Smith had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists during 27 minutes of action. He shot 5 of 8 from the field, and made 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

    Before the game, there were talks of trading the scoring guard, and whether this performance is enough to silence those rumors is a mystery, but Smith is doing what he can to stick with his team.

    Speaking about the game, he said “I’m still trying to find myself, trying to find the right way to be a professional. It’s a short span we get to play this game and I can’t be selfish with it, got to think team first.”

    J.R. Smith also came out with a serious tone in this game and played as if he truly cared about basketball, leaving behind his goofy lightheartedness, and perhaps showing that he cares about being a member of the New York Knicks.

    The Knicks have been struggling all year, but after two wins in a row, their season may begin to turn around along with J.R. Smith’s attitude as a player. Next up, they play the Phoenix Suns at home.

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  • Allen Iverson Is Retiring From The NBA

    Allen Iverson Is Retiring From The NBA

    Allen Iverson announced his retirement on Wednesday, October 30. He made the announcement during a press conference in Philadelphia, and it was also publiczied during the first game for the 76ers, when highlights of his career were shown on the screen.

    It has been a while since anyone has seen him playing on the court, but Iverson has officially declared his retirement now, as a member of the 76ers were he spent much of his career. He played on the all-star team a total of 11 times, and was selected on the All-NBA team seven times. He was highly popularized throughout his career, being given multiple nicknames including “A.I.” and “The Answer.”

    For Allen Iverson’s official retirement, he gave a speech that ran more than 10 minutes, thanking his family, coaches, teammates, and he also gave reflections as to how he had an impact on the game, and its culture.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2STsAPK87Iw#t=1

    Essentially, the NBA had already given up on him, since it had been four years after his last game. Allen Iverson played in the league for 14 years, after graduating from Georgetown. He most recently played with the Nuggets, and a season with the Pistons, before returning to the 76ers to finish out his outstanding career.

    Speaking on his decision to finally retire, Iverson said “I never imagined the day coming, but I knew it would come. I feel proud and happy to say that I’m happy with my decision and I feel great.” Iverson was a shooting guard for the 76ers, and was one of the best players in the NBA throughout the mid-90’s and early 00’s.

    Every player has to retire at some point, and some people probably think that it would have been wise for Allen Iverson to retire years ago, when he still seemed relevant. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft by 76ers.

    Allen Iverson, at 38-years-old, is ranked 19th on the career scoring list with 24,368 points. He singled out Michael Jordan as his inspiration, and also thanked both his Georgetown coach John Thompson, and Larry Brown, who coached him in Philadelphia.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edpcotikrbc

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  • Erick Thohir, Indonesian Billionaire, Buys Inter Milan

    In a move that makes Inter Milan only the second foreign-owned Serie A team, Erick Thohir has bought Massimo Moratti’s, the current owner, shares of the team. With this $475 million deal, Thohir and his International Sports Capital company now own 70% of Inter Milan.

    Moratti has owned the club since 1995, following previous ownership by his father during the 1960’s heyday of the team. Under Moratti, Inter Milan won five consecutive Serie A titles, from 2006-2010. In 2010, Inter Milan completed a treble by also winning the Champions League and the Italian Cup.

    Since 2010, however, Inter Milan has not been able to achieve much success. Since obtaining the treble in 2010, Inter Milan has finished second, sixth, and ninth in Serie A play, respectively. During the past 4 years, Inter Milan has lost such players as Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o, Goran Pandev and Mario Balotelli.

    Many fans hope that Thohir uses his fortune to purchase more talent. However, that decision may still be left in Moratti’s hands. When asked if he will remain president through his contract in 2014, Moratti stated, “I don’t know yet,” he said, “but I think it depends on me.”

    As for Thohir himself, the Indonesian billionaire sees himself as a sports fan first, businessman second: “I am an entrepreneur, but first of all I am a supporter and a sports lover. I cannot wait to put our passion and international experience at the service of this fantastic Club and its supporters.”

    Thohir is currently a part-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and the MLS club DC United. Thohir gained the money to purchase these teams through the media industry, owning television, radio, and print and internet newspapers.

    Thohir’s reaction to finalizing the deal was one of pure excitement: “I find it hard to find the right words to describe how I feel. I just pretend that everything is still normal. Things went fast all of a sudden, but Inter are in good hands.”

    If DC United’s record is any indication of the hands that Inter Milan is going to find itself in, fans may have cause to be worried. DC United currently stands last in the Eastern Conference standings, with a record of 3-22.

    However, Thohir does not plan to make changes to Inter Milan overnight: “Things will possibly change over time, but the important thing is that respect is the base of everything.”

    With Moratti potentially remaining president of Inter Milan, and Thohir’s checkbook, Inter Milan fans may have cause for celebration soon. Either that, or Italian Ultras will have extra cause for wanton destruction.

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