RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I'm probably being charitable with my three stars. King has made some big errors over the years, including getting rid of a good coach in Jim O'Brien, just because O'Brien is a jerk, and bringing in a bad coach in Mo Cheeks just because Cheeks is a great guy. He also gave big money to Sam Dalembert, who has not progressed one iota over the last five years. I don't know if Dalembert is lazy or dumb, or lazy and dumb, but you just can't put him on the floor and expect to win on a regular basis. I blame King because the warning signs were there from the get go with Dalembert - he didn't listen to coaches and refused to play summer ball. Now we're stuck with him. King's other big move prior to this year was bringing in Chris Webber. While it didn't work out, I think it was a good gamble and didn't cripple the franchise - after all, they gave up three bad contracts for one horrendous contract. I don't think anybody really knew how far gone CWebb's legs were at the time of the trade. But anyway, back to Billy King. The reason he gets three stars and not two is because of his performance in blowing up the sixers this year. He's given them hope. The Iverson deal was a very solid move - the Sixers now have a rock solid point guard in Andre Miller, and three first round picks in next year's stacked draft. With Philly's own pick assured to be a lottery pick, and Denver free falling towards mediocrity with their suspensions and injuries, this draft could shape the sixers for years to come. Buying out Webber's contract was the final piece of this rebuilding work. The fact that King didn't wait is a plus, as it will give the Sixers young players all year to develop, and will hopefully force Iguodala to be more aggressive on offense. King hasn't delivered yet, but he's still working very, very hard to make the Sixers better. I think he's made some solid moves this year, that with a little luck, could really pay off for the franchise.

King is a pretty good GM. He's smart and makes sensible moves. He traded a of different players to finally end up with Chris Webber to go with AI. He drafted Kyle Korver, Samuel Dalembert, Willie Green and has brought in useful free agents and spare players thru trades. Getting Mo Cheeks and gettign rid of Jim O'Brien was a good move as well.