Well, while the rest of the NBA's GMs are off improving their golf handicaps and getting to know their grandkids for the first time in eight months, our own Ed Stefanski is working tirelessly to make sure that the six-game first-round exits that have embarrassed the 76ers the last two seasons do not haunt the boys to the tune of a threepeat. To that end, the first big move of the off-season has been made: lunchpailin' power forward Reggie Evans to the Toronto Raptors in return for sharp-shootin' swingman Jason Kapono--pending physicals, of course, which can no longer be taken as a given. "We are very excited to add one of the league's most prolific three-point shooters in Jason Kapono," sez Stefanski. "I want to thank Reggie Evans for his contributions to the team and we wish him only the best."
Indeed, Jason Kapono seems something close to an ideal quick fix for the Sixers. Everyone and their conditioning coach knows that the Sixers' three-point shooting last year was an untenable situation, and rather then break the bank for a high-end solution like free-agent Ben Gordon, or a low-rent option like last year's Kareem Rush signing, they only went out and got a two-time NBA three-point shootout champ and one of the all-time most accurate snipers in league history. Kapono ain't exactly a playmaker, but he gives them something no one on the team has been able to offer since Kyle Korver left two seasons ago--a realiable knockdown long-range shooter for late-game situations.
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And the asking price? Well, we'll miss Reggie, no doubt--he provided energy and hustle that carried the Sixers through many a rough patch the last two seasons, and gave us countless priceless memories with his clowning, flopping and general rabble-rousing. But fact of the matter is, he was an overpaid offensive liability that was probably going to have to be dropped in the rotation in the future anyway to make room for the growth of Marreese Speights. That we didn't have to waste cap space or a draft pick to fill our need for a downtown bomber--it's about as good a deal as we could ask for.
Good start, Eddie. Now, about that point guard and big man...