Conference Call with Eddie ...

Much as Ed Stefanski has done in the past, new Sixers head coach Eddie Jordan conducted an interview with members of the Sixers blogging circle. I'll start off by thanking Eddie Jordan, and do have to admit he's a very well spoken and affable individual who obviously knows a lot about the game of basketball. That being said, unlike when I interviewd Ed Stefanski individually immediately after he took the position, or when I took part in a conference call with Stefanski late last summer after signing Elton Brand, Eddie Jordan doesn't have the same kind of grace period Stefanski got. This is a restless Sixers fan base, coming off a disappointing season, with a lot of question marks, and Jordan wasn't necessarily the fans (or media's) top choice in the first place. He's going to have his work cut out for him.

The call included Brian from DepressedFan, Dannie from ReclinerGM, Anthony from Heard in the Cheap Seats, Jeff from Philadunkia, and Ricky from Sixers4Guidos. Everyone came prepared and had excellent questions ready.

I'll try to get a transcript of the call up today, in the meantime here are my quick thoughts:

• Jordan didn't rule out Andre Iguodala at the 2, and made it a point to say that if he felt his best players were forwards, that Iguodala could be successful at the 2, and referenced his playing Jared Jeffries at SG a few years back. However, he did say he felt that Iguodala was best suited for the SF position, that he wanted to try him at his natural position first, and mentioned Thad in a similar vein to Antawn Jamison. If I had to come up with a guess I would believe we're going to be seeing quite a bit of Young at the 4 and Brand at the 5 this year.
  
• He mentioned about competing for starting positions in training camp this year. The only ones he seemed to commit to on being starters were Iguodala and Brand, which leads me to believe that every other spot is up for grabs. Obviously PG is undetermined, but this can't bode well for Dalembert. I tend to believe we'll see Dalembert's role greatly diminished (if he even has one), and I'm not sure he's going to react all that well.
  
• Speaking of Dalembert, the general vibe I got from the call was that Eddie Jordan wasn't a huge Dalembert fan. He did mention Sammy's shotblocking and rebounding, but when asked about Sammy's role in the offense made a point about how Sammy needs to buy into it, and said Dalembert can run the floor "when he puts his mind to it". At one point he even mentioned that Sammy needs to not be selfish. As I said, above, I'm not expecting Sammy's role on the team to increase this coming year, and would expect they'll shop him (but not find many takers).
  
• He mentioned Jason Smith numerous times during the call ("he was real athletic before his injury", "I'm excited to get two guys back from injury", "if our big man depth with Jason Smith coming back improves it could for Iguodala to the 2 more"), but didn't mention Speights at all. I don't want to read too much into that, but it's something I noticed as the call went on.
  
• When asked if he sees Louis Williams as a point guard, he says in his offense you don't necessarily need a traditional point, and he wants two combo guards. Does this hurt Andre Miller's chances? Does this help Iguodala's chances at the 2? Is this philosophy a recipe for success?
  
• Believes the Sixers will be a fast paced team, but different then Washington, as the Sixers don't have the guys who can pull up and hit a spot-up jumpshot that Washington does.
  
• Wants to force a lot of turnovers to ignite the break.
  
• Wants to bring in a full-time shooting coach.
  
• Thinks the improvement in shooting is going to come from both inside and outside, mentioning Iguodala, Williams, Young and Green as guys he thinks can improve from deep.
  
• Mentioned how strong Iguodala and Young's work ethic are. When talking about whether or not the team was too young, he specifically singled out these two players work ethic.
  

I'll have more thoughts to follow.