The Sixers have to hope he gets ready as their young talent matures, if, in fact, their young talent is good enough. And they really have to hope that none of the group of point guards - Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague, Eric Maynor and Collison selected with picks 18, 19, 20 and 21 - doesn't turn out to be a star or, at the very least, better than Holiday.
Where does all this leave the Sixers in the East? Still not as good as the Magic, the Cavaliers or Celtics. Can they move past the Hawks and the Heat? Will they get caught from behind?
Given that there are still moves to be made, it is a bit early to make any predictions. However, if the goal is a championship, the Sixers still are not close. They simply don't have that transcendent player (LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade) that gives you a chance to win the last game.
Sadly, those players generally arrive in the draft with the No. 1 pick in the year when one of those franchise-changing players is available. The Sixers are too good for that, but not good enough to beat teams with that.
Only one 'Pistol Pete'
If I heard one more Ricky Rubio/Pete Maravich comparison, I was going to scream. There is nobody, living or dead, anything like Pete Maravich. Please consult readily available videos on YouTube. And, if you are too young to know, please understand that Maravich is the greatest ballhandler who ever lived.
Rubio, 18, looks like a fun player. The Spaniard definitely has some flair. But Pistol Pete? No.
Not pleased at Garden
The Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden must not have remembered what Don Nelson values. The Warriors coach loves shooters. And, with Golden State selecting just ahead of New York, there was no way Stephen Curry was ever getting to the Knicks.
