Evan Turner curses at the camera, and other things that may or may not have happened at Sixers Media Day 2013

At Media Day yesterday, the Sixers announced their new slogan for the 2013-14 campaign:

Passionate – Intense – Lottery Bound.

The media members in attendance agreed that the slogan was fitting for the current state of the franchise. 

Shortly after the event started, Royce White took to the podium. White informed the team that he would not only be willing to fly with them to games, but that he would also pilot the plane!

“I had a lot of time to myself last season,” White stated, “so I figured becoming comfortable not only being in a plane, but actually flying one would be beneficial at some point*."

Maybe this is what he meant when he said he hopes to ‘contribute’ this season.

This revelation nearly started a riot with Rocket fans, who were seen throughout Friday night huddled around a life-size statue of Dwight Hoaward, burning any remaining Royce memorabilia.

Sam Hinkie just smiled to himself. 

Lottery lock Andrew Wiggins still has work to do before he can be a Sixer savior

This article ran on Philly.com's Pattison Ave earlier this afternoon, check out the original article here. 

The Sixers are going to struggle this season. Many of the Sixers’ struggles will be self-imposed as they look towards the 2014 lottery and the potential of adding a franchise-caliber player, or two. 

Among the most appealing players that will be making the leap to the league next summer is Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins is portrayed in media reports as the next LeBron, or Jordan, or Scottie Pippen, or someone else depending on who you talk to, but definitely the next somebody. 

The narrative on Wiggins is that he is a franchise-changer, and several teams, including the Sixers, have put themselves in position to compete for his services next summer. Tales of his talent and pro potential have been told and re-told to such an extent that some may forget that he is still a teenager that has yet to play the game past the high school level, and not a pre-packaged superstar. 

Luckily, Bill Self is here to bring us all back to earth. 

My intramural basketball horror story

Yesterday Deadspin encouraged readers to send in their own intramural sports 'horror stories' for one reason or another. Reading a couple of the submissions caused me to recall my own intramural-related injury.

So here is my intramural sports horror story, as I recall it:

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?"

"Trying to get this fly out of here," I responded, agitated, as I thrust my left arm into the air towards what appeared to be a fly directly in my left line of vision.

"What fly?"

"This fucking fly right here," I growled back, almost incredulous that he was asking for specifics.

"There's no fly there man," my friend Conor replied, looking over my left shoulder.

Nerlens Noel is working with Roy Hibbert on his offensive game, would like to play by Christmas

This article ran on Philly.com this morning, check out the original article in its entirety here. 

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'Andrew Bynum set a lot of comeback dates that never quite came to fruition; the Sixers franchise is hoping that it won’t be the same with Nerlens Noel. 

Noel, the piece the team traded all-star Jrue Holiday to acquire, has the potential to be an explosive and dominant defensive player, but there was certainly some gamble involved in acquiring a kid who had a serious knee surgery before his 19^th birthday. 

Sixer fans are obviously eager to see the former Kentucky Wildcat out on the court, but as of now a debut date has not been discussed, although Noel still hopes to return by Christmas, according to NBA.com. 

“I feel great. I’m really starting to feel like my old self, being able to have my explosiveness. But I’m definitely being careful with it,” Noel stated. 

Around the Arc exclusive: A brief conversation with Shawn Kemp

Shawn Kemp was one of the most explosive athletes in the league during his days of NBA dominance. He attacked the glass with ferocity and threw down some of the most thunderous dunks the league has ever seen. Kemp would be a Sportscenter staple in today’s media-centric society, and he is commonly credited as one of the best dunkers of all time, and an inspiration to upcoming players. 

For a guy who was so loud, explosive, and eye-catching on a basketball court, Kemp has been pretty successful at staying out of the spotlight since he was last seen on an NBA court in 2003. There were a couple comeback attempts, a short stint overseas, and some legal troubles, but overall Kemp has kept pretty quiet. 

While covering the AND 1 Summer Remix Tournament, in which Kemp had his own team, late last month at Temple University, I had an opportunity to catch up with the ‘Reign Man,’ and ask him a couple questions about what he’s been up to and the current state of the game.

ESPN ranks Sixers' Royce White as NBA's worst

This article was originally published on Philly.com this morning, check out the article in its entirety here.
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The Sixers don’t have any of the NBA’s best players, but they do have the worst, according to ESPN.

Troubled forward Royce White has yet to play in an NBA game, but that didn’t stop the Worldwide Leader from ranking White as the 500th (out of 500) best player in the league today on their annual #NBArank.

#NBArank looks to rate the league’s players from worst to best in terms of "the overall level of play for each player for the upcoming NBA season."

Talking with Tyreke Evans about charity and playing with the Pelicans

As he was in his hometown of Chester over the past week doing charity work with VSP vision, Tyreke Evans took a couple minutes to talk to me about the importance of giving back and playing as a Pelican.

A couple questions from my talk with Tyreke are below, but be sure to check out the full interview here.

Tracy McGrady should be headed to the Hall-of-Fame

Tracy McGrady was a really, really good NBA player. 

Like with most freshly retired, really good yet not decidingly dominant players, people want to debate whether or not said player deserves to be enshrined in Springfield. 

Such speculation is a sports fan’s birth right, but when it comes to McGrady, the answer should be a resounding ‘yes.’ 

The case for McGrady is clear cut:

• 7x NBA all-star
• 2x NBA scoring champion
• 7x All-NBA selection
• 2001 NBA Most Improved Player
• 57th most total points in NBA history (18,381) 

Clearly, McGrady posted some nice, and may I say, hall-of-fame worthy numbers. All but eight eligible players ahead of him on the all-time scoring list have already been inducted, some less talented and far less multifaceted than McGrady. T-Mac did more than simply score. He had excellent court vision and awareness and finished his career with 4,161 assists. Throw in 5,276 career rebounds, a ball-on-a-string handle, and an aptitude on the defensive end, and you get the picture of a competent, well-rounded player. 

Simple stats alone don’t complete the picture however. On the court, McGrady was as smooth as they came. He is what you would want to look like on a court. He made everything seem so seamless and easy that at time you would forget he was playing against the world’s best players. Kobe Bryant even recently revealed that McGrady was his toughest opponent; quite a compliment considering all of the great players Bryant has competed against since 1996. 

Sixers' Thaddeus Young will be looked to as a leader this season

I had an opportunity to catch up with the Sixers' do-it-all forward, Thaddeus Young at rapper Meek Mill's Dreamchasers Summit at Temple University last week. I was able to (briefly) ask him about the upcoming season and being looked to as a leader by some of the team's younger guys. 

Check out the full article, posted on Philly.com, here.
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It is rare at 25 years old to be considered an elder statesman of anything. 

Many 25 year olds are just finding their way in the working world, let alone being looked to for leadership. But with six professional seasons under his belt and a roster comprised of fresh faces, that is exactly the position Thaddeus Young finds himself in heading into this season with the Sixers. 

With much of the Sixers’ roster comprised of rookies and other fringe free agents, Young stands as the team’s longest-tenured and most experienced player. He has seen a handful of coaching changes since the Sixers selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft, as Brett Brown will serve as his fifth head coach in seven seasons. Young has played under Mo Cheeks, Tony DiLeo, Eddie Jordan, and Doug Collins. His role has consistently changed under each coach as well, as he has been both a starter and a reserve, and spent ample time at both forward spots. 

After so much team turmoil, a lot of talented players in Young’s position would be looking for the first ticket out of town, looking to play with some top talent or at least for the same coach for a couple seasons. However, when I caught up with Young in the media access area of Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers Summit last Friday, he seemed genuinely excited about the opportunity to learn from Brett Brown, to serve as a leader to some of the younger guys, and about the future of the franchise in general.

Jay-Z sells half of his stake in the Brooklyn Nets to their new coach, Jason Kidd

This article was originally published on Philly.com earlier this morning. Check out the article in its entirety here.
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"Jason Kidd is already the head coach of the new-look Brooklyn Nets, and now he will be a partial owner of the team as well.

According to the New York Post, Jay-Z is selling half of his shares of the team to the freshly minted head coach.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, initially owned .1608% of his hometown team, but was forced to sell all his shares in order to become a certified sports agent. The other half of Jay’s stake has already been purchased by a minority owner of the team.