When the Philadelphia 76ers signed power-forward Elton Brand back in 2008, they were hoping to build a successful franchise around the two-time All-Star and eventually become a contender. Yet, Brand did not only decline drastically but also did not fit into Philly's system at all. Thus, the franchise is now stuck with an extremely unfavorable contract as Brand is owed no less than $51 million over the remaining three years.

Obviously, the Sixers are trying to find a taker for Brand but had very little success in doing so last year. More precisely, Philadelphia tried to package Brand with Andre Iguodala, yet, despite some minor interest from the Dallas Mavericks there was very little excitement around the league to be heard. After all, Brand is not only a significant financial impediment for any franchise, but has also been less effective on the court than earlier in his career. More specifically, Elton Brand put up just 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds last season compared to career averages of 19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest. That said, it should be noted that Brand is primarily a half-court player and was bound to face some problems in the Sixers up-tempo system.

However, considering that Philadelphia drafted number two overall pick Evan Turner one would imagine that the Sixers are going to push the ball even more in 2010-11. Likewise, with Dalembert out of the picture Philadelphia picked up another hustle player in Andres Nocioni and promising young center Spencer Hawes from the Sacramento Kings. Furthermore, the 76ers also signed free agent center Tony Battie to a one-year deal for the veteran minimum. Although Battie saw very little playing time for the New Jersey Nets last year, he has been a solid backup center throughout his career averaging 6.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 22 minutes per contest while appearing in a total of 418 NBA games over the past twelve years.

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