NBA Trade Rumors: Sixers Won't Trade Andre Iguodala

The NBA trade deadline is just a little less than three hours away, but it appears as though Philadelphia 76ers fans can rest easy now, as Philadelphia has no plans to trade franchise swingman Andre Iguodala, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Instead, the “next order of 76ers business” will be to buy out the contract of Jason Kapono.

Iguodala, who turned 27 last month, ranks second on Philadelphia in scoring (14.1), second in rebounding (5.8), first in assists (6.1), and first in steals (1.6). Perhaps the 76ers would have been inclined to trade him were they not enjoying such success this season. At 28-29, Philadelphia owns the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, just two games behind the New York Knicks.

Kapono is a different matter. Though he’s fourth on the NBA’s all-time three-point percentage list, the seven-year veteran has made just 18 appearances this season, shooting 6-of-22 from the field and averaging 0.8 points per game. If the Sixers succeed in buying him out, he will likely sign with a playoff team in need of outside shooting, says Wojnarowski.

NBA Trade Rumors: Sixers Not Likely To Deal

There has been a lot of speculation leading up to the NBA trade deadline as to whether the Sixers would be buyers or sellers. It appears that all along the answer was neither. With the NBA trade deadline just three hours away and the rumor mill churning for other teams, the the Sixers, it seems, will stand pat.

Some Sixers fans have been clamoring for a move after seeing Atlantic division rivals New York and New Jersey acquiring superstars Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams. However, the Sixers aren’t in the same position as those teams. As we’ve seen lately, Doug Collins has the team playing well. They have winning records in each of the last three months, the first time they’ve pulled that off since 2000-2001. The team is 25-16 since starting the season 3-13. There’s really no reason to make a roster shaking move, especially considering how unlikely it is that there’s one out there that would actually help the team this year.

If the Sixers do anything, it will likely be a minor deal involving one of their expiring contracts like Jason Kapono or Darius Sonaglia. In fact, there seems to be a strong feeling that if they can’t deal Kapono, they may just buy him out.

So it looks like Sixers fan are stuck with the roster they’ve got… which really isn’t so bad.

NBA Trade Deadline: Deron Williams Traded To New Jersey Nets

Just a day after being beaten to Carmelo Anthony by the Knicks, the New Jersey Nets might have pulled of the coup of the trade deadline. Almost out of no where the Nets traded for one of the NBA’s top players, Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz. The Nets will reportedly send two first round picks, their first rounder from last year Derrick Favors & Devin Harris in exchange for the all star point guard.

So as the Nets prepare to move to Brooklyn and compete head on with the Knicks for New York’s attention, they got the superstar they were after. In fact, in the opinion of many, Williams is an even better player than Anthony. Perhaps even more important for the Nets, this move may very well keep Williams away from the Knicks next season if they can sign him long term.

What does it mean for our Sixers? Just like the Knicks trade, one more superstar in the East means an even more competitive conference. What could be concerning is that New Jersey is a team the Sixers were better than, so not only are teams on their level getting better (Knicks), so are teams below them.

As Michael Vick tweeted today, "Deron Williams on the Nets now ...... The east is like a fantasy league !"

NBA Trade Deadline: Carl Landry and Marcus Thornton Swapped

After losing playing time to rookie DeMarcus Cousins, it was common knowledge that Carl Landry was on his way out in Sacramento. The tough, undersized forward from Purdue made a short career in the NBA by boxing out bigger guys and hitting mid-range jump shots in Sac-town and Houston, but hasn’t been producing the same way this season.

Marcus Thornton is in the same boat. The 6’3 shooting guard from LSU is averaging half the points he put up last season, having suffered from injuries, 41% shooting, and the addition of who else but Willie Green. The Hornets are tied with the Blazers and Nuggets for the 5th spot in the East, but could feasibly catch the Thunder at 4 to win home-court in round one.

Their biggest issue is their light frontcourt save for David West. Aaron Grey, Jason Smith, and David Andersen have been getting significant minutes due to the absence of Emeka Okafor and cannot be counted on regularly to produce at a playoff level.

So the swap, according to Marc Stein’s report, makes sense for both teams. New Orleans threw in Andersen as well to make the salaries match, but they get to wave goodbye to a floundering young guy on the bench and pick up a tough interior rebounder in the process. The Kings, who have no use for Landry with Cousins and Jason Thompson around, add another young guy to their rebuilding process who is, at worst, a terrific 6th man in the league. Cousins and Tyreke Evans will need all the off-the-ball scorers they can get to build the team into a contender.

Stay tuned to more deadline deals in the next 48 hours.

NBA Trade Deadline: Mareese Speights An "Under The Radar" Trade Target

We’ve already heard rumors of teams’ interest in Sixers forward Mareese Speights as the NBA trade deadline this year, most notably the Portland Trailblazers. The Blazers reportedly made an offer for Speights, which the Sixers rejected. The Portland executives aren’t the only ones out there who some value is Speights, in a recent ESPN.com column, John Hollinger named Speights as one of his 11 “under the radar” players teams could target at the trade deadline.

“He’s in his third season and the Sixers still don’t play him much, but he’s another player teams in need of frontcourt help should be pursuing. Like Wright, Speights isn’t much of a defender, although he at least injects humor with his spirited but slapstick-quality flop attempts.

Speights’ gift is the midrange J — he can flat-out fill it up from midrange, helping him average just under a point ever two minutes for his NBA career. There just aren’t a ton of players who can make that claim, especially ones who are 23 and spend most of the game near the end of the bench."

The issue that the Sixers may be facing here is that if they deal Thaddeus Young, they’ll likely need Speights to take at least a portion of those minutes.

Sixers Trade Rumors: Philly Rejects Offer Of Dante Cunningham For Marreese Speights

The Portland Trail Blazers offered forward Dante Cunningham and a future draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for forward Marreese Speights, according to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Inquirer, but “the Sixers do not appear to be interested in such a move.”

Cunningham, a Villanova product now in his second season, owns career averages of 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Portland made him the 33rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Speights, who is four months younger than Cunningham, has an additional year of NBA experience. However, he has averaged a career-low 11.4 minutes this season as first-year Sixers coach Doug Collins has preferred to use Thaddeus Young at backup power forward in small lineups, or the veteran Tony Battie against bigger opponents.

Speights’ career averages stand at 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, but those numbers have fallen to 5.4 and 3.4, respectively, this season. He’s certainly a better player than Cunningham with far more upside, but his lack of playing time this season has reduced his value.

Derek Bodner of Liberty Ballers, SB Nation’s Sixers blog, says, “I’m happy the Sixers aren’t interested in the swap, as I think Speights has more value than Cunningham.”

The NBA trade deadline is 3 PM on Feb. 24. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for all Sixers trade rumors, and check out Liberty Ballers for all things Sixers.

NBA Trade Rumors: Sixers Shopping Thaddeus Young?

Fox Sports' Sam Amico is reporting that the 76ers are "testing the market" for fourth year forward Thaddeus Young. He says the Sixers think they can get a mid first round pick or a center in return. Young has had a nice bounceback year after it appeared that he regressed under Eddie Jordan, but he is entering the final year of his contract. With Elton Brand and his giant contract not moveable for anything of value, plus the fact that he's the team's leading scorer and finally looking like they player they hoped... The team isn't likely to spend big money to keep Thad in the offseason. So either they deal him now or let him walk? It makes sense to get something of value while they can.

Plus, according to Liberty Ballers, Thad's value is at its high point.

...trading Thaddeus Young would benefit the Sixers on several levels. They'd be selling him when his stock's as high as it's ever been, alleviating themselves of a difficult decision this summer when Thad becomes a restricted free agent, and hopefully filling a need.