Brown takes chance to get 76ers back on track

The trade made sense for both teams.

The New Jersey Nets wanted Dikembe Mutombo to be the anchor of their defense and rebounding, a weakness that certainly will be eliminated from the defending Eastern Conference champs.

The Philadelphia 76ers needed offense and wanted to get rid of the last three years of the aging Mutombo's $65 million contract, so they got offense with Keith Van Horn and Todd MacCulloch.

Larry Brown wants to bring back the continuity the Sixers had two seasons ago.(AP)

The Nets had seen enough of Van Horn. What had been building all season erupted in the last game of the NBA Finals when New Jersey was swept by the Los Angeles Lakers. Blossoming power forward Kenyon Martin ripped into him for figuratively not showing up, with the most damning aspect of Martin's tirade being he never mentioned Van Horn's name, and yet everybody still knew whom he was talking about. As for MacCulloch, yes, he has good hands and basketball skills, but he has yet to prove he is a dependable 35-minute center, something the Sixers most definitely will find out.

Meanwhile, Mutombo's presence certainly adds to the rugged defense of the Nets, led by point guard Jason Kidd and the intense Martin. It also opens the door for impressive rookie Richard Jefferson to step into Van Horn's vacated small forward slot. But what about shooting? Other than starter Kerry Kittles and sixth man Lucious Harris, the Nets are horribly lacking in perimeter shooting, adding fuel to the concept that they are nudging to the head of the six-team line that is attempting to woo free agent Rodney Rogers.

Looking at the Nets is one thing. They won their first division title and conference title last season with second-year coach Byron Scott. President Rod Thorn has done a special job of putting that team together in rapid fashion, and he has a sense that they now are better equipped to play the Lakers should they get to the Finals again, and even more so if the Sacramento Kings happen to nudge past the Lakers this time around.

The Sixers are an entirely different story, coming off a 43-victory season and a first-round knockout after winning the Eastern Conference title in 2001. A lot of it had to do with a continuous run of injuries, with Allen Iverson and Aaron McKie having surgery just before training camp, Eric Snow getting hurt right away and Matt Geiger retiring after they had already let MacCulloch go as a free agent to New Jersey.

"I think just getting healthy is going to help us," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "I think we have added a number of players that certainly will make us better. Our bench last year was put under a lot of pressure with the injuries we had. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think our bench was nearly as good as it needed to be."

So Brown changed things, just as he did last season. When they went to the Finals, George Lynch and Tyrone Hill were his defensive-oriented forwards next to Mutombo. Both were moved last season, and they brought in Derrick Coleman and Matt Harpring. Coleman played extremely well, but needed knee surgery by midseason, so he hobbled the rest of the way and wasn't as effective as he needed to be. Harpring blew hot and cold, so the Sixers renounced him and he's gone.

Coleman presumably will be fine, but if not the Sixers' transition is startling. On draft night they dealt Speedy Claxton to San Antonio for the rights to first-round pick John Salmons (a swing guard and small forward), bruiser Mark Bryant and then scooped up Sam Clancy, Randy Holcomb and Efthimios Rentzias. Since then, they signed free agents Greg Buckner and Monty Williams. In case you've lost count, that's eight new players to go along with all that's left of the rotation ... Iverson, Snow, McKie and Coleman.

If last season's demise was primarily predicated by injuries, why the liquidation sale?

It isn't easy for Brown to be happy with his players. With all six NBA teams he has coached, every year has been about transition. He is a brilliant tactician, one of the top three at any level of basketball over the past 25 years. But he's also not happy unless he's unhappy. Soon to be 62, this is his fifth season with the Sixers, which if he makes it through the entire season will equal his previous record of five seasons at the University of Kansas.

He is filled with adoration and frustration with the extraordinary abilities of the diminutive Iverson, who shoots Philadelphia into and out of games. Some of it is due to him not having help. Other aspects are because his inclination is to take a team on his back and win the game by himself.

The personality and skill blend of Iverson and Van Horn should be a real treat to watch unfold, with Coleman's health perhaps being the key to the Sixers actually having a legitimate shot at pushing the Nets for the division title. MacCulloch's lack of mobility is a given, as is Van Horn's limitations defensively. How this will play out with Brown and Iverson will make for plenty of great stories, if not wins.

"It's a matter of us accepting the things those guys can do and a matter of some of our players sacrificing a little bit to make our team better," Brown said. "You read what Allen Iverson said in the paper ... we needed two guys to score with him. Now is he going to be willing to take 20 shots instead of 30 shots? If he does that, there are going to be a lot of shots around for other people that have the potential to score the ball.

"And I think he'll be willing to do that."

Ah, the rhetorical splendor of it all. Soon enough we'll find if this will fulfill their needs or prove to be just another forced deal that is merely folly.

Shots from the perimeter

• Now that the Knicks have signed center Michael Doleac, their attention turns back to Dallas and point guard Nick Van Exel. Sources say another team might have to get involved for this to work, and it could end up being the Seattle SuperSonics if they find that Rashard Lewis is serious about wanting $90 million. If that's the case, then they could sign and trade him to the Mavericks, who want him, and that would create some opportunity for both the Mavs and Knicks to move more players. Lewis and the Sonics will be in Hawaii this week for Desmond Mason's wedding, but next week could turn into quite an extravaganza of player movement if Lewis doesn't accept the Sonics' seven-year, $60 million deal (plus $15 million incentives). Otherwise, the Knicks could always deal Dallas native Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward for Van Exel, but they don't want to move Thomas.

• On the heels of his second marijuana arrest, free-agent forward Keon Clark has lost a lot of leverage, and the word on the street is the Sacramento Kings may just steal him away with the $1.4 million exception. That would be a huge move for the Kings getting another interior defender, particularly a shot-blocker of Clark's ability.

• The Wizards are concerned about the left knee of center Jahidi White, but not as concerned as he is. White is seeking his third opinion on whether or not to have surgery and what kind if he does go to the operating table.

• With the signing of Chauncey Billups, the Pistons lost interest in backup point guard Damon Jones, and now it looks like he may end up as the heir apparent to Andre Miller in Cleveland. Although the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Jones is entering his seventh NBA season, he has never averaged 20 minutes a game, has started only 11 games, and has never quite proven to be steady enough to run a team on a regular basis. On the flip side, his teammates love him.

• In a very quiet, but interesting move by the NBA, the league has dropped Lorillard Tobacco Company as the sponsor of its popular 3-on-3 Hoop-It-Up Tournament that plays out from coast-to-coast. Pressure from groups like the American Legacy Foundation with regard to tobacco's effects on children caused the NBA to re-evaluate its sponsorship.