Bynum The Future In Philly?

Walking into the Wells Fargo Center game 6 of the Eastern conference semi finals, after my ticket was scanned for entry you’re immediately handed a blue t-shirt which has the 6ers logo with the words: “Passionate.Intense.Proud” and a white towel. Standing tall and proud screaming at the top of my lungs waving that towel, looking to the right and left of me, across the stadium, everyone in unison. Those three worlds symbolize us 6er fans in a nut shell. In the sea of blue I stood, it was playoff basketball , and to add a cherry on top with the return of my all time personal favorite player Allen Iverson the emotion and energy in the building was at an all time high. The 6ers ultimately delivered an impressive victory on that night but as we all know were eliminated the next game in which Boston who would advance to the Eastern conference finals. A season which had its highs and lows, one moment we thought Philly would finish amongst the top in the East, the next we barley crawled in at an 8^th seed. So what does the future hold for the 6ers? We have a great head coach in Doug Collins accompanied by youthful core group.  Great promise and expectations are expected from us 6er fans as we continue to ride the wave of potential, but that’s all it has seemed to be.  With the dark cloud of 10 + years since we last reached the finals during the Iverson era and 20 + years since we last raised the Larry O’Brien trophy in Philadelphia, which was lead by another one of the most legendary 6ers and best big men to ever play the game in Moses Malone. The 6ers have not had a center piece let alone a center that can defend rebound and score at a high rate in more then a few years now. Since the Moses Malone era its been 20 + years  without a presence in the paint impacting the game both offensively and defensively. I guess that was a recipe we have strayed away from, well that is until we recently acquired Andrew Bynum from the LA Lakers. At first thought when I saw this trade I emotionally reacted to the fact that Iguodala was apart of the trade. Iguodala a blue collared athletic wing man, recent gold medal winner was the hardest working 6er for the passed 5 plus seasons. All though "Iggy" did all if not more then he was asked for, but he just wasn’t the super star we needed to get us over the hump. As my emotions settled I realized he may have given us all the he could as a second tier star at best. In fact his worth as trade bait may have proved more beneficial then anything he has done on the court in a 6er uniform, sad to say. Even though it would have been nice to keep him, to now have a big man especially one who is considered one of the top 2 if not THE top center in today’s game is scarce and quiet frankly something the 6ers haven’t had in years. So maybe trading our AI to Denver won't sting as much this time around, sore subject for me the first time around needless to say. But getting back to the topic, now I’m not saying we will go out and win the championship next season or Bynum will be the next Moses Malone but I am saying we are now a legitimate squad that will once again make the playoffs and compete at a high level. I’d like to consider myself a basketball realist and I know there will be a couple more pieces that need to be added as well as the maturation of a few of our young players before we can start the championship aspirations, but hey we are on the right path. Also to add the summer is not over yet so who knows if more moves are to made, but I like where managements heads are at. We now have something 90% of the league is struggling to establish, a true big man. With Collins coaching him up I believe Bynum and the 6ers are prime for a great season, dare I say top 4 in the east? And yes I said Bynum and the 6ers because this is now his team and his time to prove he is worthy of being a primary option. In addition he is going to receive the "Kobe treatment" in Germany so health should continue to be on his side, at least we hope (knock on wood). I’m not going to jump the gun but as a loyal 6er fan I am impressed by this move as we now have our center piece for the future. So #Showyaluv 6er nation! We're going  to be in the upper echelon of the Eastern conference for years to come!