The Sixers lead the Atlantic Division with a surprising 20-9 record. Is this a time that the organization should go "all-in" (sorry, Eagles) and try to get as far as it can in the playoffs, or stand pat and let this team evolve? Team president Rod Thorn will ultimately answer that question.
"As you have heard me say a lot, I don't ever feel a pressing need to do something, because I feel we have a good team. Plus you can only do something if you can do something," he said. "There is a lot of conjecture of, why don't you get this guy, why don't you get that guy. But you might not be able to get a guy unless you get rid of most of your team. You work the phones, talk to people and try to identify exactly what you would like to have and see how it works out."
Much of the conversation probably will take place during the All-Star weekend, a little more than 2 weeks before the March 15 trading deadline.
"Normally, around the All-Star break and trade deadline is when talks sort of heat up among teams in the league," Thorn said. "I don't think this year will be any different along those lines. There are a lot of injuries around the league. Certainly, we've been hurt, but some teams have been devastated. The tough thing is it's so hard to recover [from injuries] when you never get to practice. With us, from the time we played New Orleans [Jan. 4] until, I think, March 11, we never have more than 1 day between games. We're playing virtually every day, so bodies are tired. I think teams that can stay relatively healthy have a huge advantage."
Reading into Thorn's point, bringing in someone new is risky, because limited practice time inhibits the ability to learn a new system or scheme. Though teams are getting swamped with injuries, it is unclear whether that will force them into making a move or two before the deadline.
