Sixers Get Bigger

Bigger and deeper, in fact, is what appears to be the case.

As reported by Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News:

Theo Ratliff, 35, a veteran of 13 NBA seasons, has sifted through four offers and settled on rejoining the Sixers on a 1-year contract, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The source said the 6-10 Ratliff could visit with the Sixers [Tuesday] and accept a 1-year contract for the veterans' minimum of $1.4 million. By the rules of the collective bargaining agreement, a portion of the salary would be paid out of a leaguewide pool.

When asked yesterday about the search for an additional big man, Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski said he hoped to have a resolution "within 48 hours," but would not elaborate.

Well done, Sixers.

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As was discussed in this space over the weekend, this is one more good decision in a very productive summer for Ed Stefanski and his club.  A healthy Ratliff can give this team 10-20 minutes per game of solid interior defense and help on the boards, and he could be of even greater value in terms of possible benefits for Sam Dalembert.  If Ratliff can work with the young center to improve his positioning and harness his leaping ability, the Sixers could see a huge improvement in their defense across the board.

The team will get Ratliff at a bargain price and apparently fully intact from a physical standpoint.  Hard to argue with this one.