Normally, it’s not a big deal for the Philadelphia 76ers to hear that Spencer Hawes is dealing with some sort of injury. He’s been a marginal player in the past so who really cares?

But, this year has been different. Hawes has been playing very well at center for the 10-3 Sixers and because of their lack of big men, they really need him. He missed some time recently with back issues, but now, according to Sixers PR guy Mike Preston, he’s also dealing with Achilles problems.

“Coach Collins tells media that Evan Turner didn’t participate walking through plays today, Spencer Hawes now dealing w/ left Achilles strain,” Preston tweets.

Hawes is averaging 10.4 ppg and 8.8 rpg, so they can’t afford to have him out for too long. The Sixers next game is against the Nuggets on Wednesday.

One of the big reasons that I can’t stand Andre Iguodala is the fact that he plays so much. He’s being paid way too much and the Philadelphia 76ers think he’s an important part of their team. He’s not, he ruins everything.

But, there is another guy I want the hell off my basketball team and that’s Marreese Speights. The one saving grace that he has over Iguodala is that he never plays. I don’t even think they assigned him an authentic jersey. He’s soft, gutless and oft-injured. Yay.

Well, worry about Speights taking up valuable bench space no more, because he’s been shipped to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-way deal that also sends guard Xavier Henry to the New Orleans Hornets. The Sixers will get a medium-sized package of assorted Kuerig cups couple second-round picks at some point.

Speights might actually be pressed into action quickly in Memphis. The knee injury to Zach Randolph that everyone was hoping wasn’t that big of a deal? Yeah he’s going to miss up to eight weeks with a torn ligament. And Darrell Arthur is already out for the year following his Achilles injury.

Have fun with Marreese, Memphis!

Earlier this week, the 76ers’ new ownership group Apollo Global Management, headed by Joshua Harris, David Blitzer, Will Smith, and Carlton, decided enough was enough with their roided-up rabbit of a mascot.  Its a decision that has already caused massive internet waves throughout the 76ers communities.

Massive internet waves?  Yes, and the biggest question is what should the next 76ers mascot be?  Currently, the task of coming up with Hip Hop’s successor is on the shoulders of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop (the Muppets) and Raymond Entertainment Group (the Phillie Phanatic).

PHOTO CAPTION:  Hip Hop was known for his blue flip flops

But what about the fans?  The dedicated souls who can be seen at the Wells Fargo Center sitting next to all those empty seats.  Can’t they have a say?  They were the ones who had to put up with watching a bunny for nearly ten years.  And mind you, this bunny couldn’t jump unless he had assistance from a trampoline.  So, technically it was handicapped bunny.

I say, yes, the fans should have a say, so I reached out to all fifty fans and gathered some ideas for the 76ers, just in case the brilliant minds of the two hired firms couldn’t come up with anything.

Brickman:  A big foam brick who comes out during the breaks to propel himself (via cannon or trampoline) at the basketball hoop, only to either slam against the backboard and/or rim.

Turnover:  A big foam apple turnover dessert who comes out during breaks to show off his impressive dribbling/passing skills, only to either dribble off his foot or lose control of the basketball and then throw it into the crowd as a souvenir.

Side note:  Turnover will always be wearing an Andre Iguodala jersey.  Needless to say, so will Brickman.  But only because Andre’s the captain and not for any identifying reasons.

Seats:  A big, empty folding chair who comes out during breaks to give away free tickets.  One lucky fan will be able to sit on Seats during the 4th quarter if he is the only one sitting in the section that is called.

Rimmie:  A big, iron rim who comes out during breaks attempting to have a big inflatable ball, which falls from the rafters, land inside his rim head for two points.  Many inflatable balls fall, but every single one hits the side of the rim to the sound of a “clang” over the arena’s speakers.

Side note:  Brickman and Rimmie sometimes come on the court together and continuously run into each other.  This doesn’t symbolize anything, its just good fun and the kids love it.

Big Shot:  Bring back the mascot who entertained the courts before Hip Hop; however, this time Big Shot brings his wife Missy Big Shot.  Guess which one of them more accurately depicts the past few Sixers seasons?

Any other ideas?

Most fans of the Philadelphia 76ers are done with Andre Iguodala and his exorbitant contract. They are tired of him taking ridiculous shots on the final possession or launching three-pointers that have no chance or lowering his shoulder and getting called for blatant charges. Nope, not with him set to make $13.5 million next season.

We’ve heard Iggie’s name come up in trades before, but according to Kate Fagan of Philly.com, his name came up before the trade deadline and it was attached to the Los Angeles Clippers and Chris Kaman. She writes:

Another trade that was discussed last season involved trading Iguodala to the Los Angeles Clippers for big man Chris Kaman.

Kaman has only one year remaining on his contract – $12.2 million for the 2011-12 season. He also would provide talent and experience in the low post, while relieving the franchise of a good chunk of the remaining millions on Iguodala’s contract.

Interesting. And for what it’s worth, Iggie seems to know that he isn’t coming back to the Sixers next year. They have a nice, deep nucleus of young talent and Iguodala comes off as a wrench in the machine night after night.

“I expect to be back in the NBA,” Iguodala said following the team’s loss to the Heat. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play ball. This has been a great ride so far, not just with the Sixers, just playing basketball in general. I’m really looking forward to getting some rest this summer, just letting my body recuperate and get back to 100 percent, and I’m really looking forward to next year being my best year in the league.”

Ummm…what? You’re under contract with the Sixers, why are you talking about playing in the league in general?

“I think it’s something I’ve always dreamed about, playing in the league,” Iguodala said. “Once I got here, I think I’ve always wanted to be in one place, not having to move around a lot, being comfortable in one spot.”

Whatever, he’s gone.

The NBA has suspended Memphis Grizzlies guard O. J. Mayo for 10 games for violating the league and union’s anti-drug program.  The 10-game suspension comes without pay and will result in Mayo forfeiting $405,109 of his salary.

The drug of choice?  Dehydroepiandrosterone.  The only drug in the English language to contain every letter in the alphabet and the longest word known to man.

PHOTO CAPTION:  It’s been proven DHEA has zero side effects

Despite DHEA being a banned substance in the NBA, a randomized placebo-controlled trial found that the supplementation had no effect on lean body mass, strength, or testosterone levels.  Furthermore, DHEA has an under .500 success rate in performance, proving that the 22-24 Mayo-led Grizzlies are innocent of any charges.

Memphis’ next game is against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Philadelphia 76ers lost Andre Iguodala to an Achilles injury in Friday night’s loss to the Lebron-less Cleveland Cavaliers. It doesn’t seem like a big issue, but according to Adam Levitan of Rotoworld.com, he’ll miss Sunday’s battle for the Eastern Conference lead with the New York Knicks.

“Sixers announce Andre Iguodala (achilles) will NOT play Sunday vs. Knicks. Listed as day-to-day. Nocioni (ankle) expected to play,” Levitan tweets.

Photo Caption: Dwyane Wade watches in amazement as Iguodala drives to the wrong hoop.

If Iguodala is shelved for any significant length of time, it could be a crushing blow to the 76ers title hopes this season. They would have to search the free agent market to find someone who could come in immediately and be maddeningly inconsistent while launching three-pointers they have no business taking. Said free agent would also have to be a tweener who keeps other players either on the bench or playing out of position, limiting their effectiveness.

Allen Iverson is famous for a lot of things. His killer crossover. His ability to score in buckets. His ability to snatch a pass on one end and turn it into a quick two on the other. His ability to not perform even the most basic of human functions.

Things like making it to a charity softball game as though you had no clue there would be traffic on the Walt Whitman Bridge.

So, when we saw that he missed his flight to Turkey for his introductory press conference with Besiktas Cola Turka, we weren’t shocked. And Besiktas Cola Turka shouldn’t be either. Welcome, gentlemen…this is what you signed up for.

I’ve defended Iverson vociferously in the past. I ignored his short comings and made excuses for him. At this point, only a fool would do that. This guy can’t even be on time to catch a damn plane? Seriously?

Iverson signed a two-year deal with this club that’s worth a total of $4 million. It’s all dependent on how much playing time he gets. Based on the start that he’s off to, you might be able to book his return flight to the United States before Christmas.

The Philadelphia 76ers already have quite the tall task on Wednesday night. As it is, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are coming to town for the Sixers season opener.

And, as it is, the Sixers are woefully ill equipped to be taking on The Big Three. So, losing one of their best players for this game is not good. And, according to the Philadelphia Daily News, “it’s looking more and more like [Andre Iguodala] won’t be able to go.”

Even with Iggy, their lineup looks like this: Jrue Holiday, Andre Iguodala, Jason Kapono, Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes.

LeBron who? Bring on the Heat!

But seriously….you serious? Really? You are really going to trot those guys out there and tell me you have a good chance to win?

But, I digress. Iguodala has a bum wrist and he hasn’t been able to shoot a basketball for four days. As much as he wants to play, it’s not looking good.

So, if Iggy misses the game, the 76ers will have to figure out who will take wildly inappropriate three-pointers and fail to knock down open jumpers. His inconsistency will be missed, and it will be up to Doug Collins to fill the void.

Allen Iverson clearly wants to play basketball. It just seems that he won’t be playing for any NBA teams. Yahoo! Sports talked to Iverson’s business manager, who told them that Iverson could be close to a deal with a Turkish team.

“We are in very serious negotiations with [Besiktas],” Gary Moore told Yahoo! Sports. “Istanbul is beautiful from everything we’ve learned. It’s not that far from the U.S., and the competition is good which makes it all attractive.

“Allen wants to play basketball.”

Photo Caption: Iverson led the NBA last year in jokes cracked from the bench.

Istanbul isn’t far from the United States? I’m not so sure I’d want this guy managing my business affairs. Turkey is just a hop, skip and a nine-hour and 40-minute flight away! It’s like playing in your own back yard!

But, I digress. Apparently, Besiktas is offering Iverson a one-year, $2 million deal with incentives. But, a source tells Yahoo that this deal could take another 10 days to hammer out.

It seems like Iverson doesn’t want them to have the ability to fine him more than 1% of his $1.5 million base salary. That’s probably a good idea for Iverson, considering he does things constantly that could trigger fines. He should be careful with that clause.

Well, this is awesome for Philadelphia 76ers fans. Head coach Doug Collins met with the media on Thursday to discuss the blockbuster trade that sent fan favorite Willie Green and hometown hero (we have no idea where he’s from) Jason Smith to the New Orlenas Hornets for Chris Paul and Mugsy Bogues. Ok, truth be told, the got 6′ 9″ Darius Songaila and 6′ 10″ Craig Brackins in return.

For what it’s worth, OTR’s 2010 NBA Mock Draft correctly targeted Brackins for selection by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 21st pick. OTR did not correctly predict that he’d be traded twice before ever setting foot on an NBA court.

But anyway, according to Adam Levitan of Rotoworld.com (one of our very favorite sites), Collins said that he wanted Andre Iguadala to score less this season. We kind of think that would imply taking less stupid shots, including those from beyond the arc that he likes so damn much.

Photo Caption: Dmitry Medvedev also wants less scoring from Iguodala.

“Collins doesn’t seem high on Evan Turner, also said wants iguodala to be less of a scorer — play role he played on national team,” Levitan tweets.

A less-scoring Iggie makes sense, but what a remark about Evan Turner. Turner was the No. 2-overall pick in the draft this year and so far, a lot of people aren’t thrilled. If the new coach doesn’t seem that thrilled about him….just what can the fans expect?

“Evan got knocked back this summer,” Collins said. “I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to him because it gave him an idea of how hard it is and how tough it is in this game. And how, nightly, he’s going to have a bulls eye … right now, he’s much more comfortable having the ball in his hands. When the guys are playing pickup, and he and Lou are playing together, he’s doing a lot of the playmaking and Lou is off the ball scoring. It’s interesting to me to see how I’ll put it all together. Right now, he’s much more comfortable as a facilitator than as a guy who has a scoring mentality. One of the things I’ve talked to him about is he has to have a terrific mid-range game, teaching him to play with contact and use his body.”

It’s a new season and it seems like yet another year of crappy Sixers basketball.

The new owner of the New Jersey Nets, Mikhail Prokhorov, obviously watches a lot of NBA basketball. The latest evidence that this guy knows exactly what he’s doing? He hired former Philadelphia 76ers GM Billy King to be his new general manager.

He has all of the qualities we’ve been looking for in a candidate: professionalism, good relations with the league, players and agents, and strong communications skills,” Prokhorov said, while seemingly under the influence of heavy narcotics. “He will be an excellent fit with head coach Avery Johnson. Most importantly, Billy is ambitious. He wants to win. This is what I felt when I met with him and why he will be a strong addition to the Nets organization.”

Photo Caption: “With the 13th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select Thabo Sefolosha, guard, Switzerland.”

Mikhail, you do realize that this is the same guy that gave Samuel Dalembert some $12 million a year, right? You might want to look at the moves the Sixers made during his tenure. Just be careful not to get his moves mixed up with the crap that Ed Stefanski has done. It’s easy to get the stupid moves confused.

The Philadelphia 76ers have hired a new head coach to fire within two years, agreeing to terms with Doug Collins.  An official announcement will be made on Friday, and Collins will be introduced on Monday.

The 76ers currently have 16 head coaches on their 2010 payroll from the past five seasons, not including Doug Collins.  Samuel Dalembert is also still on the Sixers’ roster, because NBA contracts are guaranteed.

PHOTO CAPTION: Collins tries to hold back his laughter when asked the question, “Do you think Tim Tebow can play quarterback at the NFL level?”

Collins was a four-time All-Star for the 76ers during his eight-year career with the team.  He’s coached the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards, and holds a career-coaching record of 332-287.

Collins will now have the luxury of helping the team decide on whether or not Evan Turner is the consensus number two pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.  After John Wall, it’s just a guess.

An old lady, a Russian, and a Jru walk into a bar with three sealed envelopes.  One of the envelopes contains the rights to the number one pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.  Who has the winning envelope?  If you think it’s the Jru, you’re wrong.  And it’s not the Russian.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jru Holiday sat at the Sixers seat tonight at the Draft Lottery

Irene Pollin, the widowed wife of longtime Wizard’s owner Abe Pollin, represented Washington tonight at the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery and her luck helped the franchise win the number one pick, moving up from the 5th spot.  The Wizards will now have the decision of selecting either John Wall or a mistake.

Also moving up were the Philadelphia 76ers from the 6th spot to number two overall.  The New Jersey Nets and fresh new owner Mikhail Prokhorov had the best odds at winning the first pick, but dropped two slots to number three.

The complete draft order is as follows:

1. Washington Wizards
2. Philadelphia 76ers
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
5. Sacramento Kings
6. Golden State Warriors
7. Detroit Pistons
8. Los Angeles Clippers
9. Utah Jazz
10. Indiana Pacers
11. New Orleans Hornets
12. Memphis Grizzlies
13. Toronto Raptors
14. Houston Rockets

Please stay tuned for the first ever, 3rd Annual NBA Mock Draft…

We guess this is pretty funny. Actually, it is. Not sure exactly how we came across this, but this is supposed to be the back of every ticket that is purchased at a Philadelphia sporting event. It could be the Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Phillies or Philadelphia Flyers. It doesn’t really matter.

Of course it plays on the fans booing Santa Claus (of course no one has the story straight) and the Philly fans throwing batteries on players (that’s probably true). Still, it’s relatively clever.

Philly fans hate being known as ruthless thugs, yet so many embrace it and continue to act like ruthless thugs. So guess what happens? That’s right, you are known as ruthless thugs. This year, it’s the tased fan and the guy vomiting on the little girl. But it always seems to be something.

This is great and it should be noted that this language is not safe for work. This is from FunnyorDie.com and it tells the story of a rant writer.

Basically, great athletes such as Mike Tyson, Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson, Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green and Stephon Marbury have used this writer’s monologues in interviews.

He says he’s also worked with Shaquille O’Neal, Terrell Owens and Rasheed Wallace. Great stuff.

The Philadelphia 76ers have done what everyone hoped they would do months ago. They have fired their head coach Eddie Jordan. OTR thinks that GM Ed Stefanski should be hitting the bricks soon too. After all, he’s the one that thought Jordan and his Princeton offense (which is predicated on passing and jump shooting) would be a fit for this current roster.

“What I thought would happen, did not occur,” Stefanski said. “The decision was not the right one.”

What did you think would happen, Ed? It was a mismatch from the beginning. What jump shooters do the Sixers even have on the roster? Andre Iguodala is an elite athlete who just doesn’t have a natural talent for the game of basketball. The only reason he’s been able to play at the NBA level somewhat functionally is because of his athleticism. He certainly can’t knock down jumpers with consistency.

Lou Williams? Allen Iverson? Elton Brand? These guys don’t have games that fit with one another at all. Throw in a coach in Jordan who has a system that doesn’t fit and you get 27 wins in a season.

Oh, and Jordan constantly called out his team after losses for playing with no heart or intensity. OTR spoke with one Sixers player this season that was befuddled at what was going on. He didn’t like Jordan or his system and said that no one had a clue what the hell was happening.

The best move for the Sixers right now is to let someone else besides Stefanski pick the next coach. He gets an F- for his selection of Jordan, who they will now be paying for several more years.

Former first-round pick Marreese Speights didn’t have a very good year for the Philadelphia 76ers, but it’s tough to single him out because the whole team was garbage. But beat writer Kate Fagan really lambastes him in her review of the team on Philly.com.

“Consider Speights the anti-Holiday of the team,” Fagan writes. “No player on this roster has gone from promising to a liability faster than Speights. Coming out of college, Speights carried the knock that he was lazy. Last year, the coaching staff kept him in check. This season, he’s gained weight and lolled through workouts. And you can see the results – or lack thereof – during his minutes.”

Ouch.

It’s tough to know how much was Speights’ doing and how much was a result of playing on a terrible team of mismatched players and a coach whose system makes zero sense. The team as a whole has been terrible and guys who were thought to be talented, have just turned to dust.

Photo Caption: Speights’ upside has dwindled ever since this photo was taken.

Remember when everyone was high on Thaddeus Young? Remember when Lou Williams looked like he could have a promising future with adjustments to his game? Remember when people thought Iguodala would develop into something more than just an insane athlete who could dunk?

We’ll have to see on Speights, just like everyone else. But Fagan knows that team as well as anyone and it tends to be tough to fix a work ethic issue and that’s what it sounds like his problem is.

Sources tell Philly.com’s Kate Fagan that Comcast-Spectacor, the company that owns the Philadelphia 76ers, is planning on firing head coach Eddie Jordan. This is a complete shocker. Why would they just fire a coach who has a system that doesn’t work, with players that can’t run that system even if it did work? How can you let go of a guy who can’t come up with a half-way decent starting lineup and who makes awful in-game decisions? Is it Jordan’s fault that he routinely blasts his team’s heart after every game? Sheesh. We are baffled.

What could more telling, is that sources tell Fagan that the company is also going to “seriously evaluate” the job of General Manager Ed Stefanski. Another head scratcher. OTR is going to wonder aloud how you can get rid of a guy for signing players to huge, untradeable contracts when they aren’t worth it. How can you just dump someone who brought in yet another head coach who doesn’t know what he’s doing and then give him players that aren’t remotely a fit for his “system?”

Photo Caption: One of Jordan’s patented coaching techniques is to yell “Stop playing like women!!” during random intervals throughout games.

Is it Stefanski’s fault that Elton Brand got way too much money? Is it Stefanski’s fault that the team hasn’t made any significant moves to get better? Talk about heaping blame on a guy just for making 98% of the team’s decisions.

Numerous league sources tell the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Stephen A. Smith that if Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson doesn’t get help soon, he “will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.” Look, we’ve taken our shots at Iverson before, but this sounds extremely serious.

It doesn’t help matters that Iverson’s wife Tawanna has already filed for divorce, hired a high-powered attorney and taken off with the kids. That could make someone want to grab the Jack Daniels.

Now all of those stories make a little more sense. The stories about Iverson being banned from casinos in Atlantic City and Detroit. We heard the stories about him being abusive to dealers and other patrons.

Smith spoke to famed Temple Owls head basketball coach John Chaney about what kind of help Iverson might need.

“I think there’s one guy, and his name is John Thompson,” said Chaney. “John is the one guy who’ll have a chance of slowing this train wreck down, who could wrap his arms around Iverson and have an impact, because clearly it has not been done. But there’s still this one question: Will [Iverson] listen?

“See, too many of our athletes give lip service when someone is trying to help them. And as soon as you leave them, they find themselves dealing with self-preservation and denial. It’s an athlete’s biggest problem to overcome.

“When you were young and vital, there were a lot of hit songs on that side of the record,” Chaney said. “With Iverson, there are no more hit songs on that side of the record. You’ve got to accept the fact that you’ve danced and boogied. Now that they’ve flipped it over and ain’t nobody dancing anymore, it’s over!

“The ball is deflated. So now you have to find another life for yourself.”

Hopefully, Iverson gets someone in his ear soon that can help. He needs it. Tawanna wants alimony. She wants child support. And rightfully so. But remember, the gravy train is over. The $20 million contracts are no more. If he doesn’t get his personal life straight, he’s going to find himself broke on top of everything else.

A source close to the situation told Kate Fagan last night that Allen Iverson will not play again for the rest of the season. An official announcement is expected to come in the next few days.

Iverson left the team for the second time to be with his sick daughter who has an undisclosed illness. He last played with the team on February 20th. One could reasonably assume that Iverson won’t play in the NBA again since the 76ers were the only team that wanted him after he retired from the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this year.

Basketball wise, the Sixers don’t need him. They got lambasted last night by the Orlando Magic and look like a bunch of dogs out there. Their head coach is awful and the talent the team does have, fits awkwardly together like a broken jigsaw puzzle.

The Sixers should try to move everyone except for about two players this offseason. This includes GM Ed Stefanski. Time to go.

According to Phil Jasner of the Daily News, Allen Iverson is again leaving the Philadelphia 76ers to take care of his sick daughter and the team says that he will be out “indefinitely.”

The Sixers learned of the situation on Sunday, and Allen will begin missing time immediately, starting with Tuesday night’s game against Golden State.

A source familiar with the situation tells Jasner that in this case, “indefinitely” could mean the rest of the year. The source also said that “the team is concerned about the distraction this could bring, but everyone understands it’s most important for Allen to take care of his family.”

We were critical of Allen the last time he left the team to be with his sick daughter, but that’s before we realized they didn’t know what was wrong with her. That’s kinda bad. We’re sure the fact that the team stinks makes it easier for both parties to agree to let him be home with his family.

We still don’t completely understand this situation from a basketball standpoint and at this point really don’t care. Hopefully his daughter gets better, that’s most important. As for the Sixers, they are horrific with or without Allen.

But, if he really does miss the rest of the season, that would mean that we’ve seen the last of Iverson in a Sixers uniform (or most likely any NBA uniform).

Allen Iverson, who has been out since January 31st tending to his ill daughter, rejoined the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday and was back practicing.

PHOTO CAPTION: “You thought I was going to retire?”

Iverson should be suited up to play against the Miami Heat Tuesday night, but expect him to come off the bench.

The dealings between Cleveland and Phoenix seem to be a last resort for the Suns.  They aren’t impressed with Ilgauskas and J. J. Hickson, but realize they need to get something for Amare Stoudemire before he walks away.

The something the Suns want still remains to be Philadelphia Sixers guard/forward Andre Iguodala.  Phoenix has even upped the ante to include Leandro Barbosa in the deal along with Stoudemire, according to ESPN.com’s Chad Ford.  Furthermore, a three-way deal is also possible that would send Hickson, Barbosa, and Ilgauskas to Philadelphia, Stoudemire to Cleveland and Iguodala and Dalembert to Phoenix.

PHOTO CAPTION: Can Leandro Barbosa’s name finally get a deal done?

Either trade scenario makes sense for Philadelphia.  Iguodala and Dalembert are well overpaid.  Iguodala just entered a monstrous contract and Dalembert is scheduled to make over $12 million next season.  Sixer’s GM Ed Stefanski should be concentrating on getting those salaries off the books for a team that is going nowhere with their current roster.

Phoenix does not seem to be in any rush to get a deal done with just Cleveland.  They have till February 18th to unload Stoudemire.  Expect them to wait it out as Philadelphia makes the decision on whether or not to move Iguodala.

It’s clear that the ball is still in Philadelphia’s court.

There seems to be a snag in the trade that would send Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J J. Hickson to Phoenix in exchange for five-time All-Star Amare Stoudemire.  And that snags name is Andre Iguodala.

PHOTO CAPTION: “I once caught a fish this big”

The Philadelphia 76ers forward/guard is Phoenix’s top choice, according to numerous sources.  However, the Sixers are very hesitant on trading Iguodala, who they consider their best player.

The Phoenix Suns are not jumping the gun on any deal.  There’s more than one buyer for Stoudemire and Suns general manager Steve Kerr is going to wait for the best offer.

The ball now seems to be in Philadelphia’s court.  If at any time from now until the trade deadline Sixers GM Ed Stefanski decides to pull the trigger on Iguodala, Stoudemire could be in a 76ers uniform come February 19th.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson will miss tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and then tomorrow night in Toronto against the Raptors as he tends to his ill daughter.

We have no clue what his plans are for the All-Star game in Dallas, where he was voted a starter (100% correctly I might add. Very deserving). Iverson has missed the last three games – all Sixers wins – and is scheduled to return to the lineup on Tuesday at home against the Heat.

Here is something that is puzzling to OTR, and we are not claiming that I know the severity of her sickness. We really do hope the poor girl isn’t seriously sick. But, if her illness is so bad that Iverson needs to be with her, how can they possibly know that she’ll be ok in time for Tuesday night’s game against the Heat? And if they know she is going to be ok, why does he need to be there with her now? If she’s going to be fine, let the home front take care of her and you get out and play.

We aren’t saying that parents don’t want to be with their children when they are sick, we completely understand that. But, tons of professional athletes have children and they all get sick to varying degrees from time to time. Why is Allen the only one who continues to miss time because of it?

Our problem is that this isn’t the first time he’s used this excuse. And it’s not the first time he’s had some kind of excuse for why he was or wasn’t somewhere or whatever (like, say, one of his own charity events that he was late too because of traffic on the Walt Whitman Bridge?). It’s shame, his daughter could be truly sick and we hope that isn’t the case. But with Allen, he’s just lost the benefit of the doubt on this stuff.

Let us repeat the headline: Why does anyone read BleacherReport.com? We understand why it was started, to give fans all over a chance to write about their favorite sports and sports teams. That’s great. Voice away.

But why would anyone actually read it? Sure, there are some decent people on there, but how long would it take to sift through all the nonsense? Nonsense like this article we just found on Allen Iverson. We are thinking about making this a regular item on OTR where we comb through a fine piece of literature from BleacherReport.com.

It’s not that the opinion of defending Iverson is so off base, but is there even an editor on the site? As a writer, you should hold yourself to higher standards grammatically. Errors happen, we understand that. We make plenty on this site. But, this writer should be embarrassed for how this came out. Let’s take a look:

Headline: Why Is Their So Much Hate On Allen Iverson?

He’s off to a great start. I’m wondering if he read that sentence five times if he would notice the mistake.

I honestly think Iverson is someone people should look up too. He isn’t afraid to share his own opinions, and he is 100% genuine and honest.

Ok, now we have a problem with the content. Is this kid in high school or something? Iverson is 100% genuine and honest? Does this writer have the internet?

He’ll stand up for what he believes in and that reminds me of a person who we celebrated fighting for people’s rights only a weekend ago.

Oh. My. God. He just compared Allen Iverson to Dr. Martin Luther King. ***head explodes***

In Phily, Iverson is averaging 10 shots per game.

Close.

Since his return to Phily he’s averaging a career low 10 shots per game.

Twice isn’t a typo. He really doesn’t know how to spell Philly.

When he was in Memphis, ready to play he played better than Conley in all three games that he played (coming off the bench / statistically)

The fact that there is no period at the end of this sentence is the least of his worries. Try to make sense of the rest of it.

Now the recent beef on Allen Iverson is that he doesn’t deserve to play in the “All-Star Game” and that he should’ve gave up his spot and declined to play.

Some of these don’t require comments. Who says “should’ve gave?” We aren’t nitpicking about semi-colons here. This is basic English.

Allen Iverson is a “star” in the NBA as his jersey is still selling in the NBA.

Sigh. At first, our big problem was with the English and grammar. But now it seems that it’s a combination of awful opinions and terrible writing. Dude, it’s admirable that you want to write, but take some pride in it and try to get good at it. I’m sure you are in high school or something, but this isn’t high-school level writing.

The Bleacher Report was never really on our radar, but now it is. We’ll be looking for some other fine works of journalism, so if you see something that we should pick apart, by all means send it along.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson has averaged 14.4 points per game this season over the course of 20 games. Thus, he was rewarded for his high output with a trip to the All Star game. Some think he didn’t deserve it, but what about him? Does he feel like he should be there?

“The way I look at it is, what should I do?” Iverson said Friday night. “Should I worry about what those people say or concentrate on the million-plus people that voted for me? To me, it’s a no-brainer. My fans want to see me play and they have the right to put in who they want to put in the game.

“They voted me in, and it’s an honor. I don’t want to disrespect them by not participating in the game,” he said.

We think that many of the people who don’t think that he should be in the All Star game are forgetting something. He played in 20 games this year. Not 19, not 18. 20. So….

Kate Fagan tweets that, in addition to a multitude of other injuries on the Philadelphia 76ers, that Allen Iverson is battling a stress fracture in his right fibula and was limited in practice on Saturday.

“76ers update: Green did not practice. day-2-day w/ sprained rt. MCL. Iverson limited w/ stress reaction in rt. fibula. Speights practiced,” Fagan tweets.

She’s definitely got the hang of this Twitter thing. She conveyed quite a bit of information within her 140-character limit.

But anyway, as Iverson gets up there in age, these things are really going to take their toll on him. He used to play with broken legs and severed arms all the time and it wasn’t that big of a deal. But now, it’s going to really slow him as he tries to get his conditioning back. Rotoworld says that there’s no guarantee that he plays Monday night.

As for the rest of the injuries….I’m not sure what to say. This is a bad team right now. Yes, there is some talent out there, but between the injuries, the guys not knowing the new system yet, and the guys not being a fit for the system to begin with, well, you get a huge skid like the one they are in right now.

The Philadelphia 76ers may not have won last night, but Andre Iguodala did hit this nasty full-court shot. Didn’t count, but still…

At 7pm tonight, Allen Iverson returns to the city that drafted him. That’s right, Iverson takes the court again at the Wachovia Center as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. He’ll be facing the team that they traded him to, the Denver Nuggets.

According to head coach Eddie Jordan, Iverson will start.

“I told him for 14 years I heard how you hate coming out of the game. Now they’re telling me you’ve got to get him out if he’s tired,” Jordan said at Monday’s shootaround, laughing. “He’s going to tell me. The first time I’m coaching Allen Iverson, I am not taking him out until he tells me.”

Iverson hasn’t played basketball in like a month. We can’t see anyway he plays 40+ minutes.