http://0rz.tw/a32NK King still pursuing top big men from draft 76ers president plans to 'do everything' to trade for Yi, Noah By MARTIN FRANK, The News Journal Posted Saturday, June 30, 2007 PHILADELPHIA -- The 76ers had a plan going into the NBA draft Thursday night, and they stuck to it. It's a plan that will continue after the Sixers perplexed many fans by taking Georgia Tech freshman Thaddeus Young at No. 12. They also made three trades that brought them Colorado State 7-footer Jason Smith, the No. 20 pick; Vanderbilt swingman Derrick Byars, the 42nd pick; and Providence center Herbert Hill, the 55th pick. But part of the plan included moving up in the first round to get Chinese forward Yi Jianlian, who went No. 6 to Milwaukee. Yi's representatives made it clear that he doesn't want to play for the Bucks. Sixers president and general manager Billy King said he will continue to pursue big men who went earlier in the draft. That means Yi and Joakim Noah, who went ninth to Chicago. "Now, the next step involves teams that drafted guys that I have a high interest in," King said. "I will do everything I can to acquire them. There are also some people we've talked to about some other veterans. We've still got more work to do." King said the draft was phase two of his plan to rebuild the 76ers. He said Young, a 6-7 forward who can play on the inside and outside, was the best player available. He also is nearly five years younger than Florida State's Al Thornton, whom most prognosticators had going to the Sixers at No. 12. Phase one began last season when the Sixers traded Allen Iverson and released Chris Webber. Phase three begins Sunday, which is the first day that teams can start negotiating with free agents, while continuing to explore trades. When asked if his trade offers on draft night were unreasonable, King replied: "There wasn't anything they asked for that we weren't willing to do." To get Yi, the 76ers would have to give up more than just their two first-round picks. Any deal probably would include a player on their roster other than Andre Iguodala. If a trade for Yi or Noah falls through, King said he would be willing to explore trades for veterans. The 76ers can't do much with free agents because they are over the salary cap. They can offer a free agent the mid-level exception, which will be about $5.2 million this season. But King has said he wants to re-sign Joe Smith, who would use up a decent chunk of that exception. The 76ers will get well under the cap next summer, when Webber's salary expires. "We're going to evaluate everything this summer," King said. "We're not going to just stop. We're not just sitting here saying our job is done this offseason." Young said he wants to become part of the Sixers' future. Team vice president Tony DiLeo said Young exceeded expectations more than the other 40 or so players they brought in for workouts. "Just my drive, how hard I worked and my ability to guard the big guys inside and ability to guard on the outside," Young said. "I showed them a lot of different things." So did Smith, an active 7-footer who King said will play more at power forward. King said Smith was another player he considered with the 12th pick. Instead, he swung a trade with Miami, which picked Smith 20th. The 76ers chose Daequan Cook for the Heat at No. 21 and threw in a 2009 second-round pick. The Sixers swapped picks with Portland, choosing Petteri Koponen for the Blazers at No. 30 in exchange for Byars and some cash. Hill came in a trade with Utah. The Sixers picked Kyrylo Fesenko for the Jazz at No. 38. None of these deals compared with the trade-night blockbusters that saw Ray Allen go from Seattle to Boston, Zach Randolph from Portland to New York, and Jason Richardson from Golden State to Charlotte. King still is trying to change that. -- 晚點再翻 Contact Martin Frank at 324-2805 or [email protected]. --

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