oiatlhawksfan Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Quote: It suddenly appears that the biggest threat to the Los Angeles Clippers re-signing franchise forward Elton Brand can be found far east of Oakland. NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Monday night that the Philadelphia 76ers are again "actively involved" in the Brand hunt -- and now are a very serious threat to tempt him away from L.A. -- after initially fearing they couldn't compete financially with the Clippers and Golden State Warriors. In the face of a longstanding leaguewide consensus that Brand would return to Hollywood to form a new partnership with Clipper-to-be Baron Davis, sources say that the Sixers are growing increasingly confident in their ability to create additional salary-cap space by trading away swingman Rodney Carney and center Calvin Booth, setting them up to make a sufficiently rich offer Brand would struggle to refuse. Dealing away Carney and Booth -- with Minnesota and Memphis quickly emerging as possible destinations -- would shed nearly $3 million from the Sixers' payroll next season as long as the trade doesn't require new GM Ed Stefanski to take any salary back. Multiple front-office sources said late Monday that the Sixers are closing in on a deal with the Timberwolves in which the Wolves would absorb the contracts of both Carney and Booth by using the $2.8 million remaining from a trade exception created by Minnesota's trade of Mark Blount to Miami last October and a separate minimum player exception. It was not immediately known what financial and/or draft considerations might be included in the trade from either side. The Sixers are already expecting to have at least $11 million in salary-cap space to spend when the league announces next season's cap figure to all 30 teams Tuesday night. Depending on how closely the cap ceiling for the 2008-09 season comes to the widely projected estimate of $58-59 million -- and if the Sixers can finalize a trade to part with Carney and Booth -- it's conceivable that Philadelphia could possess the financial flexibility to start a five-year offer to Brand at a first-year salary in the $15 million range. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3477424 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packfill Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 The article doesn't say that Brand is leaning towards Philly. Rather, it says Philly is making moves such that it can be a viable suitor. In the end though, Brand can do whatever he wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmooveTheFuture Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 I believe Brand is from Upper state NY and by signing with the sixers would put him that much closer to him if thats what matters to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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