What The NBA Lockout Means For The Sixers

Since the NBA lockout is still going on and the two sides do not seem very close at all we have to expect the worse, which is, no 2011 NBA season. This is not good news for the Sixers because they are such a young team and ready to be somewhat of a contender in the East. While the Heat, Celtics, and Bulls still are the top 3 in the Eastern Conference, I believe the Sixers could be good enough to possibly get that 4th seed if everything was to go right this season. That's if there is one. In this article I am going to look at 5 Sixers players and what a locked out season would mean for each of them.

Elton Brand- Having no NBA season would be devastating for Elton because he is getting up there in age and only has so many years left in the NBA. He was terrific last year and was probably the Sixers best player during the season averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds per game. After a couple of underperforming and injury riddled seasons for the Sixers he finally produced at a high rate last season and played every single game but one. Elton Brand is currently 32 years old and I think can probably produce those same kind of numbers as last year for the next 3-4 years. No NBA season would be bad for Elton because I think he is hungry to have another great season and be the veteran leader for this Sixers team as they look to take the next step and compete for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Jrue Holiday- Simply put this kid is ready to become a star. His magnificent season last year has everyone wondering what Jrue Holiday can do in the future. Last season he averaged 14 points and 7 assists per game at the age of 20. He was the starting point guard for a playoff team at the age of 20. He was arguably the Sixers best player along with Elton at the age of 20. You probably get it by now, but Jrue Holiday is doing all this while being 20 years old. All young guards have problems with turnovers in their first couple of years in the league, so Jrue has some time to work on his turnovers and learn how to protect the ball better. The NBA lockout would kill a whole season for Jrue as he ready to become one of the best point guards in the league. Part of me wants an NBA season this year just to see what he can for this team. If a season is played this year I would expect him to average at least 16 points and 8 assists per game which is not bad for a guy in his third year.

Evan Turner- This is the only player on this Sixers team that I can think of who isn't totally hurt by a season that gets locked out. In his rookie season Evan looked uncomfortable at times and really didn't show the agressiveness that he displayed at Ohio State. If no season is played I think the time off would give Evan more time to develop confidence in his game in the NBA and really work on his new jump shot which he has been working on during the offseason. As long as he is continuing to put in the work with his new shot, he can only become a better player as he would now be able to make shots from the wing and top of the key more consistenly. This would go well with his already established ability to score by driving to the basket. Obviously no NBA season would hurt Turner somewhat because he is not getting a chance to improve on his rookie season, but the time off to work on his jump shot and game all around might be better for him in the long run.

Andre Iguodala- I am still somewhat surprised that Andre is still on this team after all of the trade rumors that were going around in the month of June. It seemed like he was fine with getting dealt to another team. He spoke on the idea of being traded and he didn't really mind it. Now that it looks like he is committed to being on the Sixers at least for the near future, I'm going to talk about why the lockout hurts him. Andre is in his prime and probably at this point in his career is as good as he is going to ever be. Whether you like him or not he is a pretty efficient player and arguably the best on ball perimeter defender in the league. So simply put a locked out NBA season would be taking away one season during the prime of his career.

Thaddeus Young- His energy and effectiveness off the bench is not something that every sixth man brings to the table. In fact he is pretty much better than any other sixth man in the league. A missed season would not only hurt him because he is missing out on his 5th season in the league after coming off of a great season and playofs, but the lockout also hurts him because he does not know where he will be playing the next time there is a season. Currently he is a restricted free agent so this lockout does not give the Sixers an opportunity to sign Young. If I were Thad i would want to know where I am playing next year and not have to worry about signing a new deal. Eventhough a locked out season would be bad for Thad because he is starting to really play some good basketball, it would be worse to have the locked out season because he does not know what team he will be playing for during the next actual season.