The Seventy Sixers is your classic case of the problem with the NBA.  The Sixers currently are stuck, in an impossible situation, where everyone knows they can't win, yet are handcuffed to really do anything.  The Sixers big problem is essentially there own fault, signing average playerrs to huge deals. Case in point, the Sixers owe Andre Igudala and Elton Brand around 130 million dollars over the next 4 years, essentially handcuffing them from signing anyone else. They also owe big bucks to center Samuel Dalembert for the next two years too. 

First Igudala.  Iggy is fine player. He is athletic, with good speed to run the court, and strength to attack the hoop. He is solid at rebounding and is good enough on defense to force turnovers. But Iggy's big weakness is he can't shoot a lick.  This wouldn't be a problem if Iggy was 6'10 or the Sixers had a sharp shooting 2 guard, but they don't. Which begs the question, why sign an above average player to a 5 year 80 plus million dollar deal?

Next we got Brand. Brand was a tier two player (He wasn't a superstar like James, Kobe or Duncan) who's career average's were 20 pts and 10 boards a night. Although Brand is undersized to play the 4 spot, he still was an effective low post pressence who could score. Problem though, the Sixers were a high tempo team, run the floor and get lay ups. This was Igudala's strength (since he can't shoot a lick), running the court and simply showing off his athleticsim. Thus, why sign a guy who plays a style of play totally different from your best player (Igudala)? Essentially by signing Brand you weakened your best players strengths.

Now again, this was just poor managing by the Sixers, and there front office should be held accountable for this stupidity. The Sixers are stuck now for atleast the next 4 years with a team that has ZERO shot at a title. Thus showing the problem with the NBA. Many teams find themselves in the same situation as the Sixers, essentially no shot at winning a title in the next 5-10 years. Think about it, do any of these teams have a legit shot in the future?  Knicks, Nets, Toronto, Sixers, Memphis, Sacremento, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Clippers, Minnesota, Golden State, and probably more I can't think of. In fact, if I told you anyone of these teams was going to win a title in the next 10 years, would you beleive me? What other sport is there (besides college) where you can guarentee a team won't win a title in ten years.  Baseball we had the Rays last year, football the Dolphins, Hockey the Blackhawks and Bruins.

The problem with the NBA is there are too many teams. To win in the NBA you essentially need a dominate superstar. Not an above average tier two player, but a legit mega star. Think back since 1998 at the teams that won and see the common trend:

Bulls 98: Jordan

Spurs 99: Duncan/Robinson

Lakers 00: Shaq

Lakers 01: Shaq/Kobe

Lakers 02: Shaq/Kobe

Spurs 03: Duncan

Pistons 04: Billups (probably the exception to the superstar rule)

Spurs 05: Duncan

Heat 06: Wade/Shaq

Spurs 07: Duncan

Celtics 08: Garnett

Lakers/Cavs 09: Kobe/Lebron (just my guess!)

Without a superstar, you can't win. The Pistons were the exception, except they were loaded with great talent. Think about it too, how many superstar type players are there right now in the leauge? We have Kobe, Lebron, Wade, and then there is a drop off. Duncan, Nowitzki, Howard, Garnett, and Anthony are nice players, but not Lebron types. Each one would need another great player with them to win.

Essentially my point is it is time to one strap the salary cap to help pathetic teams like the Sixers. Then we need to get rid of teams, increase the talent pool on teams. Honestly, watch a Sixer game and tell me if Willie Green is not the worst starting 2 guard in the league. We need less teams, and hopefully it would increase the excitement in an other wise boring sport.