2011-2012 Finish: 38-28

Season Highlight
This is a tough one. The 76ers are already a perennial playoff team and tend to go deep into postseason play. A .576 record (38-28) was far below expectations, but we are going to go with the additions of Aldridge, Thornton, and Ariza and the moving of Manu and Gasol. Management had grown weary of Manu and Gasol, so moving them and getting such great replacements had to make VT smile at the end of the day.


Season Lowlight
No one wants to get knocked out of the playoffs, especially to the “Evil Empire”. Granted, they were the lower seed, but Philly really wanted to get out of the 1st round. Philly always has high expectations and they fell flat this year.


Best Trade
76ers trade Delonte West, Marc Gasol, Omer Asik, and Chase Budinger to Bobcats for Trevor Ariza, LaMarcus Aldridge and Mychel Thompson. Aldridge was the best player in the trade and the 76ers got him. West was out most of the season and was expendable for Philly. Asik and Budinger were bench players. Ariza is better than Budinger anyway. In the scheme of things, the 76ers gave up 1 starter and 3 role players for 2 starters.


Worst Trade
Trading Darius Morris for a 2nd rounder seems to fit the bill. Normally, this trade wouldn’t bother me at all, but Morris had a phenomenal season filling in for the injured Rose in ATL. If Philly knew Morris had that much ability, I’ll bet it would have cost much more to get him.


Other Notable Trades
Philly trades Manu and two 2nd rounders for Bayless and Thornton. – Manu was inconsistent in Philly, so VT moved him and got younger in Thornton. It don’t hurt that he got a young up and coming PG in Bayless as a throw in.
Barea and 2nd rounder traded for Ridnour. – Barea just hasn’t been the same since Bynum clotheslined him. Ridnour has been an excellent backup
1st rounder and GM points for Vince Carter. Vince was one of Philly’s most reliable players last season, so this seemed like a pretty good deal.
Gerald Wallace and Harper traded for Landry Fields, Chase Budinger, GM points and a 1st rounder. GWall is awesome on D and has a decent 3, also rebounds well and plays 3 positions. Fields was a dud last year and Budinger really didn’t produce beyond being in the slam dunk competition. However, GWall is getting old. Philly sacrificed current ability for youth and future.


Best FA Signing
Delonte West - Philly picked him up in FA as a backup PG/SG, then flipped him in the trade that got them Aldridge and Ariza. Not bad for someone that anyone could have won in a bid just months earlier.


Worst FA Signing
Ben Wallace –He was obviously just roster filler. Claimed off waivers and trying to fill the void Philly had for big men, Big Ben was anything but Big for Philly. In 8 games, he took 8 shots TOTAL, had less than 5 blocks total, and under 18 total rebounds. Not very promising for a big that made his niche on defense and the boards.


Star
LaMarcus Aldridge – when he wasn’t hurt, he put up all-star numbers, led the team in scoring and was 2nd in rebounds. Aldridge was and is one of the best weapons at PF in the NLL.


Surprise
Trevor Ariza - Led the team in =/-, scored 11.8 a game, 3rd on the team in rebounding. He has definitely exceeded team expectations and had fans saying Chase who?


Goat
Landry Fields – when trading away GWall, Philly thought that Fields would be a viable replacement. Landry was supposed to be an offensive force and Philly had scoring problems at the SF, so it made sense. Only scoring 6.2 per game was not the expected outcome. Philly was so irritated that Landry was put on trade block.


Draft Report Card
The 76ers had 1 pick in the draft and took the best rated PG in the draft with it. Damian Lillard should be a great addition to the team. He gets the opportunity to learn behind Rondo and come in off the bench. Early ratings on 2k show him as a 70 overall, so we expect big things from the rookie in the NLL! Grade A-


Looking to the Future
The future looks bright for the 76ers. The oldest starter on the team is 27. Ariza and Jones come off the bench with athleticism. Rookie Lillard could be a great true PG. If Fields comes back and plays like VT expected him to last year, we could see the 76ers playing for a chance at the trophy next year.

Upcoming Free Agents
Ben Wallace – Old and no longer effective, if he’s brought back it is to fill a cheap roster spot
Landry Fields – Philly will likely bring Landry back. Why not? If Fields can get his shot back, he’s instant offense off the bench.
Ian Mahinmi – Getting better in the NLL, I would think the 76ers would bring him back to round out the roster. He’s an inexpensive big that can be productive in spots.
Dominic McGuire – Was roster filler last year, we don’t see him returning.
Jannero Pargo - Pargo is extremely expendable, as he’s the 4th best PG on a team that is already looking to move the 3rd best PG.