The Philadelphia 76ers selected 19-year old point guard Jrue Holliday with the 17th pick in the NBA Draft last night. Holliday played in 35 games in his only season at UCLA and he averaged 8.5 points, 3,8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Holliday has a lot of learning to do before he’s ready for prime time. The hope here is that the Sixers re-sign Andre Miller and let Holliday learn behind him.

The 76ers have four unrestricted free agents but starting point guard Andre Miller is the player the Sixers must re-sign. Miller played in 82 games (all starts) for the Sixers last season and he averaged 36.3 minutes, 16.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Miller is a true point guard who likes to pass more than shoot and that’s rare these days. He was one of the biggest reason the Sixers made the playoffs last season. Theo Ratliff and Donyell Marshall could each be brought back if the price is right. Ratliff played in 46 games (0 starts) with the Sixers last season and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and and 0.2 assists per game. Marshall played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Sixers last season and he averaged 7.6 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. He shot an amazing 45.5% from three point range which proves he still has some game left. The Sixers probably will make little or no attempt to bring back backup shooting guard Kareem Rush. Rush played in 25 games (1 starts) for the 76ers last season and he averaged 8.0 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

Backup guard Royal Ivey has declined his player option for the 2009-2010 seasons with the Sixers becoming a unrestricted free agent. Ivey played in 71 games (0 starts) for the 76ers last season and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 3.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The 76ers won’t miss Ivey one bit as they should be able to find another backup guard who is more productive than him.

The 76ers have acquired 28-year old SF/SG Jason Kapono from the Raptors for 29-year old power forward Reggie Evans. Kapono is a stone cold three point shooter as he has nailed 45.4% of those shots in his NBA career. Kapono played in 80 games (12 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 22.9 minutes, 8.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Kapono has now played in 401 games (73 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 19.2 minutes, 7.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Having Kapono in the 2009-2010 NBA season should really help the 76ers stretch the floor on offense.

Reggie Evans played in 79 games (7 starts) for the 76ers last season and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 3.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. In two years with the Sixers Evans played in 160 games (68 starts) in which he averaged 18.9 minutes, 4.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Evans is a excellent rebounder but the Sixers felt they needed shooting help more which is the reason for this trade which should help both teams.