ORLANDO -- Elton Brand sure seems like a nice enough guy -- respectful, courteous, thoughtful, engaging. He works hard, too.Yet he also is beginning to look like an albatross hanging around the neck of the Philadelphia 76ers, the guy with the contract that will prevent them from building a serious contender in the coming years.
Brand, 30, is starting his 10th season in the league, but just the second year of that five-year, $80 million contract he signed as a free agent two summers ago. Although the Sixers were convinced that signing him was wise back then, they are having serious reservations now about the move.
It's one painful decision they would like to have back.
In Philadelphia's opening night game Wednesday in Orlando, Brand looked like a car with too many miles on the tires. Injuries have robbed him of the power and athleticism that once made him so attractive.
Brand played only nine games in 2007-08, his last with the Clippers, after tearing his Achilles tendon. He played only 29 last season, his first in Philly, before leaving with a serious shoulder injury that required surgery.
"Sure, I feel like I have something to prove, to our organization, our fans, to my teammates, to myself,'' Brand told FanHouse on Wednesday. "Every night I have something to prove. I feel good, but after 10 years, not everything comes back.''
Before he joined the Sixers, he was averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds during his career, which is why he looked so appealing in the free agent market. The way he looked on opening night, though, he couldn't average 20 points and 10 rebounds this season in his dreams.
With new coach Eddie Jordan, the Sixers are not running the post-up type of offense that Brand once thrived in when he played with the Clippers. Trying to fit Brand into Jordan's Princeton offense didn't look like much of a fit at all.
It's a system that will be great for players like Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Lou Williams, but not for Brand, who must try to adapt his game to fit alongside the others.
He looked awkward and out of place. He also didn't look as physically strong or as quick as he once was. Always a little undersized around the basket, he looked completely overmatched with Orlando's Dwight Howard in the vicinity. The erosion of his skills now makes him look very average.
He had eight points and six rebounds in 31 minutes, which wouldn't be bad if he were a role player making $3 million this season. But he's not. He is a $15 million player. He is a two-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year (2000). His drain on the salary cap wouldn't be bad if he were a dominating player again. But now his long-term contract makes him virtually untradeable, and he will prevent the Sixers from adding other key pieces in the coming years.
"I'm going to be disappointed if I have to look back and say 'man, I didn't accomplish what I set out to do in Philadelphia,''' he said. "That would be a huge disappointment. I still think we can build a contender. I want to be a big part of that.''
After talking to Brand, you want to root for him to succeed. It just doesn't look realistic anymore.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Unfortunately, everyone saw this coming except the Sixers. Another bad move, along with Dalembert, Willie Green and Iguodala. Can we say lottery?
It is early in the season and Elton is coming off serious injuries. He was a great player. Antonio McDyess was cast off by the Knicks but fit in nicely with Detroit. Even was a starter in Motown. Give Elton time, he still has major talent and some rust to shake off and adjust his game. I hope he makes it, he seems like a good dude.
Another bust in sports that was a big waste of money, he's not the only one that has legally stole money on potential, there is a long list of losers, that won the lottery without playing it.
trade him to chicago, they have heaps of talent and they need a true post presence, they've needed one for years
You seriously are trying to judge a guy coming off two major surgeries in consecutive years against DWIGHT HOWARD, a 24-year-old athletic SPECIMEN with NO MAJOR INJURIES?? Please. Brand will round into shape and may be a 10 and 10 guy in Philly's Princeton, but so what? If you want him to succeed, you have to call his number; he's never been in a situation where he's been just a garbage collector for points and rebounds since '97 @ the McDonald's All-American Game. In High School, he's The Man, at Duke, in Chicago, L.A. Try running a play for him before calling him a bust; you need the ball to be effective offensively, and Brand doesn't get it enough. Bad fit, Bad Contract, Bad Luck, Philly.
Football has it right with their non-guaranteed contracts. The way it is in Basketball half or more of the good players in the league are thought of as "bad contracts" and the teams are looking to dump them
am a philly fan and the 76er f--- up?
Speights looks like the steal of the draft from the year before last. If Speights keeps scoring 25 plus per game, Brand will be coming off the bench for years to come. Perhaps the losers of the Lebron, Wade, Bosh, ... free agent period will trade for a Brand???
An allegedly 6`8 small forward/power forward swing man, Brand, looks smaller the an allegedly 6`1 power forward/center swing man, Howard? Duh! Does that mean Brand should be traded for the center, Mo Williams, normally a 6 foot small guard, whom the east complied with the Nba rule to pick as a power center, when Chris Bosh, normally a small forward last season, back to power forward this season, was injured, and unavailable to play center for the east? East must have had a rousing victory with such an enormous power center as Mo Williams (they lost? Nah, couldn`t possibly).
And Sacramento has been such a powerhouse, winning championship after championship (what do you mean the had the worst record in the association?), under Mr. Princeton, Pete Carril, so I`m sure it is terribly import Mo Williams might fit the offense better than Elton Brand. After all, athletes don`t win games, publicity wins games, right (no?)?
that's what he fricken gets for what he did to the clippers...fricken selfish what goes around comes around...now his body is breaking down and he's not half the player he was in LA. SUCK IT BRAND!!
76ers have a history of bad front court trades, e.g. Jeff Ruland, Roy Hinson, Glen Robinson and now the Elton Brand signing. They need to fire the GM Stephanski, he overpaid Iguodala & signs a guy for huge bucks coming off season ending major surgery. You can judge a team by the caliber of its front office. Good GM's make good player decisons.
@Dan!el You must not know the facts of what happened with the Clippers.... Elton wanted to stay.... The Clippers didn't want him. They didn't care if he was staying or going. A player wants to be wanted. Especially one who put a franchise on his back and did his very best on the court to make them a contender (almost). Sixers wanted him and so he went and gave him more money. Now not for nothing but he averages 20 and 10 and if your watching the game he's finding his rhythm. He's not a bust but its gonna take more than 1 game of a 82 game season to see how he really looks. Looking at him tonight, he looks good on the floor.
A front line trade Philadelphia could consider would be Hayes, who is starting for them, out of position, at center, and McGrady from Houston for Brand and Young.
I hope they are stuck with him. You pay somebody a rediculous amount of money like that you ought to be able to eat it when you arent winning.