The Bynum Post

By now, you have surely had your fill of trade analysis and heard every egregious opinion about Andrew Bynum and Andre Iguodala. If you're reading this post and don't know who Andrew Bynum is, you're probably my mom. (Hi mom!) For many weeks, this trade will be evaluated and debated up and down. I won't bore you with stats and presumptions about a player I've only seen play maybe 20 times. My analysis will be brief and succinct.

I dig the move.

I've had a sneaking suspicion for some time that Bynum will become a superstar center. He's not quite there yet, but I'd be hard pressed to find three or four centers I'd rather have on my team. He's young, experienced, and big as hell. His knees are about as stable as a third world government, so too is his psyche, but the Sixers just happen to have a cache of backup centers. Doug Collins, widely regarded as a spectacular teaching coach, should be able to hone Bynum's physical and mental attributes to be a fantastic keystone for the Sixers push to postseason success.

With the addition of Bynum, a mainstay of the most recent era of Sixers basketball had to be shipped out to Denver. Andre Iguodala had a tumultuous tenure with the team, though not for reasons common to an NBA player. He had no off the court issues, he practiced with the team, and as far as I know he's not required to pay child support. In fact, Andre is about as vanilla a professional athlete comes. His middle name is Tyler and wikipedia has this blurb about him: "Iguodala enjoys eating vegetables, saying that he used to eat raw broccoli and cauliflower as a kid and always enjoyed eating salads". He was expected to carry the team, and compensated to do so, and because of that he couldn't live up to expectations. It wasn't until his all-star season last year that many fans finally warmed to his position on the team, but it was a couple years and a couple million dollars too late. So, Andre, as you move on to more elevated pastures in Denver, a Charles Hart lyric comes to mind:

"Think of me, think of me fondly

When we've said goodbye

Remember me once in a while

Please promise me, that you'll try"

I'll try, Andre. I'll try.

The key factor of this move, the one that excites me more than any others, was the set of onions the ownership group showed off in finally moving in a different direction. For so long, the team was mired in the muck caused by jumping on the first free agent that would sign a max contract and not valuing one of the most important positions in basketball. You have to look back to an aging Dikembe Motumbo to find a Sixers center that wasn't cringe-worthy. Adam Aron and Josh Harris decided to take advantage of the Dwight Howard stalemate with Orlando, and almost every other team in the Association, by offering their services as a conduit to move Howard to LA. The move paid off.

The philosophical shift of the franchise towards winning is aggressive and genuine. Since the purchase of the team from the neglectful Ed Snider, the current ownership has made small, positive steps towards becoming respectable as a franchise. The logo, the coach, the mascot; all changes that needed to be made and have positively affected the perception of the team. To get Bynum... what a sundae cherry that was. I've been warned that I set Bynum's ceiling too high, but I truly believe he has a chance to become the best center in the league. In his current state, the team has filled a role so drastically needed to be the least bit competitive. Andre is a great player, but it was obvious that the team could not improve any more with his salary on the books. They could have taken the easy way out and replaced him with a Rudy Gay type player, a swingman who can score, but success requires risk and their risk was venturing out of their comfort zone. Their risk, and subplot of this trade, was their commitment to let Jrue Holliday and Evan Turner control the offense (at least until the free agent class of 2013).

I love this move. I love it on so many levels. I want Turner to grow up and show the world that he can play. I want to see a defensive rebound once in a while. I definitely would like to see a 7 foot center dunk once in a while (Sorry Spence!). Mainly, I want a change, and Bynum is franchise-altering. Will he win a championship here? Who knows. The better question is will he even play more than one year, but either way his stay will solidify in the minds of the owners, general manager, and coach how important a real center is, and how important it is to step in to the wide unknown if what you have isn't working.

I Hope This Kwame Brown Post Isn't a Bust

I hope that this post does not come off as yet another contrarian idea. I hope that my enthusiasm is understood as genuine. I hope that Kwame Brown still knows what a rebound is.

This Kwame Brown signing is not a set-your-franchise-back kind of signing. If the Sixers had drafted him, well then, yeah it would have been. No, this is a high reward-low risk, preparing for free-agency kind of signing. The front office found a gem slightly buffed stone with Brown. Despite the facts of the deal, nearly all of Philadelphia's sports media and most of the fan base are reacting negatively based solely on two words: "kwame" and "brown".

Sure, he was a bust as the first overall pick in 2001. Hell, he'd be a bust if he was picked 30th. This isn't 2001 though, and the Sixers are not investing the future of the franchise in him. They are investing $3 million in him. That amount of money is chump change for an NBA team. What they expect from him in return, something that he can do, is to be a good post defender against anyone Spencer Hawes can't guard (which is everyone). He'll split his minutes between the 4 and 5 positions (depending on the strength of the other team's bigs) though Lavoy Allen will get a large share as he develops. Kwame is an above average defender, though his blocks don't reflect that, because he is big and strong. He may not score a lot, but his RPG average should go up with more minutes a game.

The reaction to the signing from the public was as if he were the replacement for Dwight Howard. That's not why he was added to the team. Through the multiple one year contracts that the Sixers are adding, it would be naive to not think they are preparing for the 2013 free agency class. Doug Collins has his players meshing well, but they still need time to be a truly cohesive unit. This is not a D12-will-get-us-there team. The only thing the ownership group is looking to do is to move up to maybe the 7th or 6th seed next year, when they'll have one more year of experience together, and a Liberty Bell filled with money for a free agent.

Kwame signed a two year deal, with the second being a player option. You might ask why they would give him the option, rather than keep it as a team option, and the answer is simple: if he outplays the contract, he walks. Imagine Kwame contributes 9 pts, and 6 boards a game. That would far exceed the money he earns, and would be a similar season to what a 49 year old, $16 million Elton Brand could offer. If he does that, he may get an offer from another team and opt out. And if he doesn't, well then it'll be just a tiny portion of next year's cap with multiple contracts falling off, and he'll stay firmly planted on the bench.

Kwame won't have to contribute much for this to be a solid signing. This isn't the Sixers' all-in year, and he's not the savior center. If we can just see past his history and his name, and look forward to what $3 million bought, we can be a happier fan base. And then...Chris Paul!

I'm Right! But It Doesn't Matter...

It was not until my 5am drive to the airport this morning that I truly made up my mind about Tim Tebow. I had certain, firm opinions in my head about him, but the full concept of Tebow had not materialized until I looked out at large industrial wastelands looming over street after street of row homes in disrepair. In the deep black morning, the street lights lit still streets that would no doubt soon see their residents trudging off to work in those steel monstrosities that define the area. The neighborhood and type of industry in this narrative are at the same time negligible and crucial.

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As my close friends, family members…co-workers…..random strangers (really anyone) can attest, I have no soft spot in my heart for Tim Tebow. My stance is firm: He is a BAD quarterback. Not bad in the sense that he has potential and doesn’t meet expectations (Michael Vick), or in the sense that he has been over-hyped and is really mediocre (Mark Sanchez). No, neither of those can explain Tebow. He has no hope of becoming a good quarterback. Oft compared to a fullback due the endless mounds of muscle wrapped around his frame, there is no doubt he is strong. It is a strength with which the football will never become acquaintanted. The argument can be made that plenty of trajectory impaired quarterback have succeeded in the NFL; namely Chad Pennington. Pennington is the most accurate quarterback of all time and still has naught to show for it. Tebow is not Pennington accurate. To cherry this inadequacy sundae, Tebow’s throwing motion is awful. The ball travels 270 degrees from set to release; a distance that translates into an extra step or two for the defender to close on the pass.

“But he is a winner.”

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As I sat in the heated seats of the car taking me to the airport at 5am, I struggled to keep my groggy eyes open. What kept them open were the neighborhoods of the refinery workers, dark and quiet, preparing for the coming work week. A week that for most will have no special meaning or impact. It’s just another in a lifetime of cold, dreary work weeks. For others it may mean another week of something far more desperate.  Final dreams of being elsewhere come and pass before people wake to Monday morning at their likely far too low-paying jobs. Perhaps the chatter at the worksite will be of the football weekend that passed. The neighborhoods I saw this morning were of Chester, PA. Chester is an Eagles town. The Eagles missed the NFL playoffs. The people of this town will not recounting a dramatic Eagles win right now, as folks in Denver are sure to be doing.

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The Broncos backed into the playoffs after losing a game that would ensure their spot. They finished the season with an 8-8 record. In sports talk, that is not a “winning” season. In many sports fans’ minds, that is not a season worthy of a playoff spot. Yet, they are in the playoffs by winning just enough games against the right teams. Their season included a six game win streak that was the catalyst to further polarize the national audience. My view of Tebow is not unique, nor is it scarce. I do find myself as the lone voice on this side of the argument more often that I would have ever thought, though, which is what inspired this post.

Last night, Tebow played well. I concede that he made many good throws, and his quarterbacking was the reason that Denver ended up with more points. I want you all to read that last sentence, as I do not often admit I am wrong.

Here come the three words that always follow admitting one is wrong…

You ready?

THAT BEING SAID, Denver had home field advantage last night. They were 8-8 and the Steelers finished the season 12-4. Due to playoff seeding rules that manage to have at least one glaring reason for change every year, the Broncos “earned” home field advantage. And in Denver, it was such and advantage that due to the altitude the Steelers starting safety and leading tackler Ryan Clark was unable to play. A blood disorder that is aggravated at high altitudes had him sidelined the whole game, including the last play of the game that perhaps a starting safety would have been able to stop. Other scratches for the Steelers last night was their starting running back, and invaluable starting quarterback. Yes, Roethlisberger did play but it was more than obvious that he was on one bum wheel. If you look back to the winning streak Denver had, you’ll notice a similar theme: Denver winning in the 4^th quarter or overtime by one score against a team missing many key players.

Tebow does not call his own plays. Every play that he runs is carefully called in to him from the sidelines. Last night, the last play of the game showed why Tebow’s athleticism is dangerous. Pittsburgh jammed the box with enough men to stop any run, and running is the strong part of Tebow’s game. That run never happened. I’m sure there is a stat head out there that found that pass to be one of the longest to end an overtime playoff game, or some other meaningless history nugget. But, Tebow doesn’t decide when he runs and when he throws. His coaches do. Last night, Tebow executed in a way we have not seen out of him yet, which in a reactionary league as the NFL is will cause talking heads to exclaim that 400 yard games are in his near future. Mike Ditka says STOP IT. He only completed 10 passes last night, but they just happened to be for big yards. Back-up quarterbacks during 4^th quarter garbage time in a blowout complete more passes.

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When I think of Tebow, I think of my Uncle Tim. Tim is a good man who has seen some tough times. He is a fairly new Coloradoer…Coloradian…Coloradander. Tebow cheers him up on Sunday afternoons before another uncertain week. Chester, PA is not unique. People everywhere need something to believe in, and Tebow represents that in the rockier part of our great nation. Tim Tebow is inspirational to Christians across the country, to the sick children he visits in hospitals, to the Uncle teaching his twin baby girls how to bend down on one knee like Tebow does after a victory. He shows that there are people in the entertainment industry that truly love their trade, and can find time to be truly altruistic.

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I thought to myself last night, as I vehemently rooted against the Broncos, that I desperately want to be right about him and he’ll never succeed as a quarterback. Sure, I’d catch a few “He’s a winner!” zingers at work, or I’ll open my email to a stranger Tebowing, and I’d lose even more of my ESPN viewing hours to the topic if he wins. I can live with that though. Cynics will joke that Tebow is in God’s favor (which may be true since everyone knows God hates the Steelers), and some crazy people will actually believe it. Another win will further his superhero legacy, and I will be annoyed at work.

I thought to myself this morning about the light that glowed in the misty dark from every fourth or fifth bedroom and the person who had just switched it on, and I thought about all the lights flicking on in other cities as people start another grueling week. I thought about whether they even watched football or not, and if they stumbled upon my 1300 or so words on the topic, would even 10 of them matter?

Football is this funny American sport that turns men into legends. It's a sport so embedded into our heritage in such a short time, that the men who played only half a century ago seem as if they were superheroes. But, there is no magic or superpowers involved in winning a game. Most of the time it is preparation, sometimes better physical ability, and occasionally dumb luck that will win a game. I do not hate Tim Tebow, despite what it may sound like when I snap at yet another person who says unequivocally that he’s a winner (an argument that I find both unoriginal and lazy). I do believe he is a bad quarterback, but that is only secondary to what he is first; a very good human being. And if either one of those things makes even one person happy, or that bedroom light just a little easier to turn on, what kind of person am I to root against it?