Sixers Ink Theo Ratliff to One-Year Deal
Think back to 2005. You’ve seen Theo Ratliff all over the League - rocking a Blazers, then a Celtics jersey (wearing No. 50 instead of No. 42), a Timberwolves, and finally a Pistons jersey - it seems like he’s been everyone’s favorite hired help. But even if he’s been racking up frequent flier miles, Ratliff has played in a whopping total of 83 games over the course of that three-year span.
But instead of joining his new squad in March, Ratliff is in for the long haul in ‘08-09, as he will sign a one-year sheet worth $1.4 million with Philadelphia as early as today.
Let’s say Theo’s knees are at least in slightly better shape than Jason Smith’s. But who knows whether his body can take the abuse of an 82-game season? Smith logged just short of 15-minutes per night last year. Is a 35-year old Ratliff capable of putting in that kind of work?
Granted the Sixers will have a host of frontcourt help this season, headlined by that Elton Brand guy, but they still needed to replace Smith. Now, with Sam Dalembert, Ratliff, Brand, Rick Ross, er, I mean Reggie Evans, and Marreese Speights, Philly could have one of the deepest front lines in the League.
Source: Philly.com
August 19th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Dime Magazine says:
Good move by my Sixers. With Jason Smith out, they needed another guy along that frontline. There’s really no downside to signing Ratliff. If he stays healthy, he could actually contribute. And if he doesn’t, we barely spent anything on him and he’s gone after the year.
- PC
August 19th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Dennis Castro says:
Not a bad move. Relatively cheap and he’ll provide some solid leadership and veteran experience.
Pat, do you think Smith can be a player? He looked good in flashes last year, but I don’t see him more than a 7th or 8th guy off the bench.
Sometimes he looked good enough to start, but then again, we were starting Evans for an extended period of time. But other times he looked lost out there.
One thing I do like about his game is that he doesn’t back down, he’ll challenge a dunk or hustle for a rebound.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Dime Magazine says:
Dennis -
The guys in the office make fun of me because I love Jason Smith. I really think he could be a great piece to the Sixers’ puzzle. The guy is 7 feet tall, and can run, jump and shoot. Did you see him at all in summer league? He looked great, knocking down jumpers and flying all over the court. I know summer league isn’t the best way to measure a player, but after a rookie season where he was just trying to figure it all out, he showed tons of promise. I think losing him this season hurts more than anyone realizes.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Celts Fan says:
absolutely Pat. I remember hating ont he guy, then watching Summer League and realizing he had more tools than I thought. Just remember though Pat, people said the same thing about Raef LaFrenz…
August 19th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Sith Lord 24 says:
it must be good to be Theo Ratliff. he get multi-millions for doing basically nothing for the last, what 4 years.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Celts Fan says:
Thankfully Billy King’s gone, so he shouldn’t be getting the $14M per deal that turned Raef from a solid piece to a cap killing waste of life (along with the injury problems deteriorating even more.) God those were dark days for the C’s…
August 19th, 2008 at 10:04 am
doc says:
@Dime-If they getting on you in the office come back with David Lee. I havent seen him do nothing major yet but New York fans talk about him like he a all star.Good signing by us though.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Brown says:
Ratliff won’t have to play too many minutes during the regular season. They have enough bodies up front to shoulder most of the load. I really like Marresse Speights and I wish the Warriors would have drafted him instead of Randolph, especially with the Maggette signing.
Ratliff will be an excellent veteran presence. They’ll use him sparingly and conserve his energy until the playoffs. The Sixers are a lock to make the playoffs this year, and if they stay healthy, could make some serious noise. They still need to add a shooter or two though. They’ve got athleticism to spare, but need someone who can knock down some threes.
Just pray that Elton Brand’s knee holds up.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Dime Magazine says:
Doc -
You played with Jason this summer. What do you think of him? What did you see in practice and games that we should know about?
August 19th, 2008 at 11:10 am
doc says:
@Dime-He look good to me on the court.His ceiling is NBA starter for sure.He got a stroke,speed,and heart.All he need to do now basically is learn the game and he will be ready.
August 19th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Dennis Castro says:
Brown, we picked up Kareem Rush so at least we have a half decent shooter.
And it wasn’t Brands knee that was the problem, it was his achilles.
Doc/Dime, you guys think he could take Sammy starting spot when his contract is up? Is he capable of being a starting C in the league. I always thought his natural position was PF.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
doc says:
In the future he could be a starting center easy.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Dennis Castro says:
We need a “THE-OOOO, THEO THEO THEO, THE-OOOOO, THE-OOOOO” chant going at Sixer games…
August 19th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
shake&bake says:
They have a solid defensive front line, plus Brand can score it.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
GEE...I'm da pappy! says:
They still don’t see the finals to me.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:10 am
Dave says:
Excellent signing for the Sixers. Great insurance signing.
They can limit his minutes nicely with Brand, Dalembert and Reggie Evans all ahead of him. I’d like to see Speights play ahead of him in the regular season too, with his contributions deciding whether he keeps that spot in the latter stages of the season.
Theo was excellent under Mo Cheeks back in Portland. Very good fit.