The 76ers have acquired 22-year old shooting guard Jodie Meeks and 33-year old center Francisco Elson from the Bucks for 28-year old guard Royal Ivey, 30-year old center Primoz Brezec and a 2nd round pick. Meeks has played in 41 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 4.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Despite only shooting 36.2% from the floor in his rookie year Meeks does have by far the largest upside of the players involved in this trade. Elson has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bucks this season and he is averaging 5.6 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Elson has now played in 404 games (148 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 16.3 minutes, 3.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

Royal Ivey played in 26 games (0 starts) for the 76ers this season and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists per game. Brezec played in only 7 games (0 starts) for the Sixers this season and he was averaging 5.1 minutes, 0.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

The Sixers didn’t give up much and they got the best player in the trade (Meeks) and a expiring contract (Elson) so I give them a small win here.

The 6’11″, 250 lbs. Samuel Dalembert may not ever be an offensive force, but he really does a great job rebounding and anchoring the 76er’s defense.  Dalembert is only averaging 7.5 points, but he plays just 26 minutes per game and averages 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.  His 2.2 blocks per game is 3rd best in the league, behind only Dwight Howard (2.7 bpg) of the Orlando Magic and Josh Smith (2.22 bpg) of the Atlanta Hawks.  He has also been playing with a very heavy heart lately, as Dalembert is a native of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti which was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake on January 12th.  The 76ers give up 100 points per game, and without Dalembert it would be a lot more.  So, I don’t think the 76ers should trade Dalembert, as he is one of the few players on the Sixers’ roster that plays good defense.  They do need some more scoring from the low post though, so I understand why they would put him on the trading block.

Allen Iverson is no doubt a future Hall-of-Famer and the 34-year-old still has a lot of game left, but he is past his All-Star days and definitely does not deserve to be a starting guard on this year’s Eastern Conference All-Stars.  Iverson was voted in by the fans because of his popularity, but his numbers are not worthy of his selection.  Iverson has only played in 21 games this season, averaging 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 31.2 minutes.  There are plenty of guards in the East that are more deserving, like Joe Johnson, Stephen Jackson, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Mo Williams, and more.  This has been Iverson’s worst season and he has barely played half of it, but the fans are still showing the 11-time All-Star love.  Still, I think the classy thing for Iverson to do is to not accept and let a more deserving player take his spot.

The Philadelphia 76ers (5-14) fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder (10-8) last night for their 8th consecutive loss.  The Sixers shot the ball well and had five players score 13 or more points.  They went 50% from the field and were red hot from three, hitting 61% of their threes.  Andre Iguodala played great, finishing with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocks.  The Sixers did not play well defensively and did not rebound well.  The Thunder shot 51% from the field and had 14 more rebounds than the Sixers.  Kevin Durant lit them up for 33 points and Russell Westbrook dropped 15 dimes on them.  The only good news for the 76ers is that Allen Iverson signed with them this week and will be in the line-up Monday against Denver.

Allen Iverson signed a one-year non-guaranteed contract with the Philadelphia 76ers this week, and head coach Eddie Jordan says the 34-year-old guard will start.  Iverson may not be the player he once was, but the guy can still score and the Sixers could use the extra offense.  Iverson is also bringing some much needed positive attention to the 76ers, who have lost 8 games in a row and have been losing faith with the Philly fans.  I’m not so sure Iverson will make the Sixers that much better, but he is still too good to retire and it is nice to see The Answer back home in Philly where he belongs.  He is expected to start at home for the Sixers on Monday against his former team the Denver Nuggets.

The Philadelphia 76ers (5-13) dropped their 7th straight game, losing a heart-breaker last night to the Dallas Mavericks (13-5).  Mavericks’ guard Jason Terry hit a fade-away baseline jumper with 1.4 seconds left.  The Sixers still had a chance though, but Andre Iguodala’s last second three was off and the Sixers lost.  Iggy finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals.  Iggy is a stud, but he hasn’t really been the best go-to-guy down the stretch, something the Sixers are lacking (hint to Allen Iverson).  The Sixers out-rebounded the Mavs 60-37, but that’s about the only thing they did well.  They had 17 turnovers, shot 40% from the field and only hit 4-16 (25%) from the charity stripe.  You’re not going to win too many games when you turn the ball over that much and shoot that poorly from the free throw line.  Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavs, dropping 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

With starting point guard Louis Williams out the next 8 weeks after surgery to repair a fractured jaw the Sixers have turned to 19-year old rookie first round pick Jrue Holliday to run the offense. He has looked a little overwhelmed so far which has the Sixers’ management considering bringing back Allen Iverson. The Sixers really have nothing to lose by bringing in the Answer as they are 5-11 right now and they are having problems scoring points. Iverson played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Grizzlies earlier this season and he averaged 22.3 minutes, 12.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Iverson has now played in 889 games (877 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 41.4 minutes, 27.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. This is a match made in heaven so the Sixers have to sign up the Answer so he can come home where he played the best basketball of his NBA career.

UPDATE: Iverson has signed a 1-year deal with the Sixers.

The Sixers have lost starting point guard Lou Williams for at least tonight with a fractured jaw that he injured last night. He has played in 14 games (all starts) for the Sixers this season and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 17.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. His loss will be huge especially if rookie Jrue Holliday doesn’t step up. Holliday has played in 8 games (0 starts) so far this season and he is averaging 7.6 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Royal Ivey will also likely see a bump in playing time for the Sixers as long as Williams is out of action. Ivey has played in 9 games (0 starts) this season for the Sixers and he is averaging 8.8 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. The Sixers better hope that Williams is ready to return soon because he has been playing very well for them this year.

UPDATE: Williams will miss the next 8 weeks after he underwent jaw surgery to repair the fracture in it. This will really hurt the 76ers.

The Sixers have lost PF/C Marreese Speights for the next 6-8 weeks due to a partial tear of the MCL in his left knee. This is a huge blow to the 76ers as Speights was playing the best of any of the big men on the team. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Sixers this season and he was averaging 23.4 minutes, 13.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. With Speights out of action the Sixers will need Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert to pick up their games. Brand has played in 10 games (all starts) this season for the Sixers and he is averaging 27.1 minutes, 9.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Everyone knows that Brand is a better player than he is showing right now so he needs to pick up his game. Dalembert has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Sixers so far this year and he is averaging 23.5 minutes, 6.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game. The 76ers know that Dalembert is better than he is playing right now too. Dalembert and Brand have been complaining about getting their minutes cut so they have no excuses to not produce right now.

The Sixers have invited 24-year old SG Sean Singletary and 27-year old center Jared Reiner to training camp. Singletary played in 37 games (2 starts) for the Suns and Bobcats as a rookie last season. He averaged 8.2 minutes, 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. But, he didn’t shoot too well hitting only 36.5% of his shots from the floor. Reiner last played in the NBA during the 2006-07 season with the Bucks. He has played in 46 games (4 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 8.2 minutes, 1.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Reiner has not shot the ball well at all in the NBA hitting only 34.2% from the floor and 28.6% from the free throw line. Singletary might be able to help the Sixers off the bench but if Reiner makes the team and gets to play the Sixers will be in trouble.

UPDATE: Singletary as well as Stromile Swift have been released by the 76ers.