Despite the best efforts of the Philly faithful to pray for a happy beginning to the Chris Webber Era, the Sixers could not hold on to an early double digit lead and wound up losing to the visiting Sacramento Kings, 101-99.

With only a few seconds remaining, Allen Iverson found himself on the foul line for one last shot and the Sixers trailing by two. The only option was the old ?miss it on purpose and hope my teammates can come up with the rebound? play. Iverson couldn?t have missed it any better. The ball rolled off the rim and landed comfortably in Webber?s outstretched hands. But the buzzer sounded after his rushed putback attempt landed just inches short of sending the game into overtime.

Webber?s first game as a member of the Sixers had its fair share of highlights. Unfortunately, for Sixers fans, the biggest one of them all came courtesy of Cuttino Mobley and his go-ahead trey in the fourth. On the night when Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner made their strange homecoming to Philadelphia - the city that they never really got to leave yet - after being traded for Chris Webber, it was the homegrown Philly product Mobley who stole the show with a special homecoming of his own. Mobley finished as one of six Kings to score in double figures with 17 points.

What a difference a day makes. One day the Sixers are stuck in relative mediocrity. The next, they?re a force in the Eastern Conference.

What a difference a player makes. Especially when that player is Chris Webber.

Webber follows in the foot steps of players like Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff, Tyrone Hill, Derrick Coleman, Matt Geiger, Keith Van Horn, Toni Kukoc, and most recently Kenny Thomas. All were at one time or another the best big man in Philadelphia. (In the cases of Van Horn and Kukoc, the words ?big man? should be applied loosely.) Now the best big man in Philadelphia also happens to be the best big man in Philadelphia since Charles Barkley last wore a Sixers uniform 13 seasons ago

The Trade

Who would have thought Sixers General Manager Billy King could swap Chris Webber for Kenny Thomas, and then replace Corliss Williamson with Rodney Rogers? It took two separate deals for that scenario to become reality, but King pulled it off. The Sixers have two new power forwards, and they got a steal of a deal

The Aftermath

Take a look at the Sixers roster after the trades and suddenly you realize that all the pieces seem to fit together nicely.

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced today that the Sixers have waived guard Kedrick Brown and placed forward Josh Davis (low back strain) and guard Willie Green (left heel pain) on the injured list.

Brown, a 6-foot-7, 222-pounder, has seen action in eight games this season, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Brown was acquired by the 76ers on July 20, 2004, along with guard Kevin Ollie in a trade that sent guard Eric Snow to the Cleveland Cavaliers. A two-year player at Okaloosa-Walton Junior College, Brown was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (11th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft. The Celtics dealt him to Cleveland on Dec. 15, 2003. Brown has career averages of 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 13.5 minutes per game over 143 games (36 starts).

Davis is placed on the injured list with a low back strain. The 6-foot-8 forward has played in 23 games for the Sixers this season, including five starts and is averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. Davis had previously been on the injured list for 18 games from Dec. 17 to Jan. 24 with left elbow bursitis and has missed a total of 19 games due to injury.

Green, who is averaging 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season in 44 games (20 starts), is being placed on the injured list with left heel pain. The 6-foot-4 Detroit Mercy product has not missed any games this season due to injury but has been a DNP-CD nine times. The second-year player enjoyed one of his best games as a professional on Jan. 26, 2005, when he scored a career-high 32 points at Washington.

The NBA?s toughest little man sat out yesterday?s practice with the Sixers with a swollen left hip.

Iverson had an MRI exam performed on the hip, and Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said doctors were discussing whether to drain fluid from it. But he added that Iverson "should be available" for tonight's game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have acquired forward Glenn Robinson from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for forwards Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rogers.

"This trade will help us reach our goal of returning the Hornets to their winning traditions," said Hornets General Manager Allan Bristow.  "It will allow us to develop and evaluate our core of young and exciting players over the remainder of this season."

Robinson was placed on Philadelphia's Injured List on Nov. 1 and had not appeared in a game for the team this season (he averaged 16.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 42 games for the Sixers last season).

Robinson, a 10-year veteran, spent one-and-a-half seasons in Philadelphia
(2003-04 and 2004-05), one season in Atlanta (2002-03) and eight seasons in Milwaukee (1994-2002).  He holds career averages of 20.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 679 games and averaged 20 or more points per game in eight of his first nine seasons.  The two-time All-Star (2000 and
2001) ranked 108th among the all-time top NBA career scorers with 14,144 career points coming into this season.  Robinson was originally selected by the Bucks with the first overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft, making him just the second number one overall pick in Hornets history (along with Larry Johnson).

Mashburn averaged 21.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 217 games during his four-and-a-half seasons with the Hornets.  He played in all 82 games for the Hornets in 2002-03 (the first time in his career that he had done so) and averaged 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists to earn All-NBA Third Team honors and his first All-Star nomination.  Mashburn was originally acquired from Miami along with PJ Brown, Otis Thorpe, Rodney Buford and Tim James in exchange for Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis on Aug. 1, 2000.

Mashburn had not appeared in a game for the team this season after being placed on the Injured List Nov. 1 with a patella femoral irritation of the right knee (he missed the final 19 games of last season and all of the playoffs with the same injury).  He began the 2003-04 campaign on the Injured List following arthroscopic surgery to remove loose particles in his right knee and missed the first 44 games of the season.  In 2001-02, Mashburn missed 42 regular season games with a lower abdominal strain and missed all but one game of the playoffs due to positional vertigo.

Rogers, who was signed as a free agent on Aug. 3, had averaged 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 30 games for the Hornets this season.  He missed 24 games (including 23 on the Injured List) with a sprained left knee.

The Philadelphia Sixers have acquired forwards Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rogers from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Glenn Robinson, Comcast Sportsnet is reporting.  The deal is the second within 12 hours by GM Billy King and the Sixers after Philadelphia was able to pry Chris Webber from Sacramento in a major coup.

Neither Robinson or Masburn have played this season due to injury.

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced tonight that the Sixers have acquired five-time NBA All-Star forward Chris Webber, along with forwards Matt Barnes and Michael Bradley, in exchange for forwards Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas and Corliss Williamson.

Drafted with the No. 1 overall selection of the 1993 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, Webber's draft rights were traded to the Golden State Warriors for Anfernee Hardaway and draft picks.  Webber won Rookie-of-the-Year honors in 1994 and has since been selected to the All-NBA team five times.  He was a first-team selection in 2001; earned second-team honors in 2003, 2002 and 1999; and was a third-team winner in 2000.  This season, Webber is averaging 21.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.48 steals, and 0.74 blocks in 36.3 minutes over 46 games (46 starts).  He has registered single-game highs of 36 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, four steals and three blocks in 2004-05 and was named the NBA's Western Conference Player of the Month for January 2005.  The University of Michigan product has career averages of 22.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.61 blocks, and 1.5 steals in 38.1 minutes per game over 665 contests in his 12-year career with Golden State (1993-94), Washington (1994-98), and Sacramento (1998-2005).  The 6-foot-10, 245 pound native of Detroit has played in 59 career playoff games, averaging 21.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.39 blocks, and 1.2 steals in 39.2 minutes. He has played in four All-Star games (1997, 2000, 2001 and 2002), missing the 2003 game due to injury.

Barnes, a 6-foot-7, 226-pound second-year player, has career averages of 4.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 81 games.  Drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round (46th overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft, the UCLA product's draft rights were traded along with Nick Anderson to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Wesley Person.  He was waived by the Cavaliers on Oct. 18, 2002, and spent the 2002-03 season with the NBDL's Fayetteville Patriots.  Barnes landed in Los Angeles last season where he played 38 games for the Clippers.  This season in Sacramento, he's played in 43 games with averages of 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds.

The 6-foot-10, 225-pound  Bradley was selected after his junior season at Villanova University by the Toronto Raptors with the 17th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft. He has played 125 career games with Toronto (2001-04), Atlanta (2003-04), Orlando (2004-05) and Sacramento (2004-05). Signed by Orlando as a free agent on July 29, 2004, he was included in the trade that sent Kings forward Doug Christie to the Magic in exchange for Bradley and Cuttino Mobley on January 10, 2005. Bradley has averaged 1.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game over 16 contests, eight games each with the Magic and Kings, this season. In his four-year NBA career, the Worcester, Mass., native has compiled averages of 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game.

Skinner, a 6-foot-9 forward, has played in 24 games for the Sixers this season while averaging 2.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. He has missed 13 games due to injury with left knee synovitis. A first round draft pick (22nd overall) by the Clippers in the 1998 NBA Draft, the former Baylor product has seen action with the L.A. Clippers (1998-01), Cleveland (2001-02), Philadelphia (2002-03 and 2004-05) and Milwaukee (2003-04). Skinner enjoyed his best season in 2003-04 by averaging 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.09 blocks per game with the Bucks. He has appeared in the playoffs with two teams: Philadelphia (2002-03) and Milwaukee (2003-04). In his seventh NBA season, he has career averages of 5.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 18.8 minutes per game in 315 games (103 starts).
 
Thomas, a 6-foot-7 forward, is averaging 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 47 contests (43 starts) this season. Thomas has scored 20 or more points eight times and has seven double-doubles. Versus Milwaukee on Dec. 14, he grabbed 17 rebounds, the most by a Sixers player this season. Currently in the midst of his sixth NBA season, Thomas has career averages of 10.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 29.9 minutes in 405 games (278 starts). He was acquired by Philadelphia on Dec. 18, 2002, from Houston. In 2003-04, the University of New Mexico product was one of 11 players in the NBA to average a double-double (13.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg) and ranked among the NBA leaders in rebounds per game (9th, 10.1), offensive rebounds per game (4th, 3.5), double-doubles (13th, 34) and field goal percentage (33rd, .469). He scored a career-high 31 points at Golden State on March 24, 2002, and had a 20-point, 20-rebound game at Orlando (3/31/03) with 24 points and 20 rebounds, the first by a 76ers player since Jan. 2, 1997. During his career with Houston, who drafted him 22nd overall in the 1999 NBA Draft, he averaged 9.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 28.1 minutes in 238 games (135 starts) and led the Rockets in total rebounds as a rookie (437), standing with Elton Brand as the only rookies to lead their team in total rebounds.

Williamson has played in 48 games (5 starts) for the 76ers this season. The 6-foot-7 forward has scored 10 or more points 28 times and has had two games with 20 or more points, both in games that Allen Iverson did not dress. He has averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 22.0 minutes per game this season. He missed four games this season due to a left knee MCL sprain suffered at San Antonio (12/1). Currently in his 10th NBA season, he was named the 2002 NBA Sixth Man after averaging 13.6 points per game with 51.0 percent shooting with Detroit. Williamson has also played with Sacramento (1995-00), Toronto (2000-01) and Detroit (2001-04). Last season, he helped the Pistons to an NBA championship and can also count an NCAA championship with Arkansas in 1994. Selected by the Kings in the first round (13th overall pick), he has career averages of 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 23.9 minutes in 693 games (288 starts).

Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News could not help but follow up on a report published in yesterday's New York Post about the Sixers possibly sending forward Glenn Robinson to the New Orleans Hornets for Rodney Rogers and the injured Jamal Mashburn, but he had trouble getting confirmation from GM Billy King on a potential deal.

"There's a lot of speculation," said Sixers president/general manager Billy King, who confirmed he has had discussions with New Orleans, as well as many other teams. "Nothing's changed from when I talked to [reporters] last week."

The Sixers have made clear to other teams what they're offering.

"A lot of people call, but it's still the same conversation were talking about 6 weeks ago," King said. "Nothing's really changed. We've got a great young core, and they're going to be here. We're not going to move any of our young players; we'll go from there."

Asked what kind of player he would want in a trade, King smiled and replied, "A good one."

Peter Vecsey is reporting that the Toronto Raptors are interested in executing a trade for Hornets' point guard Baron Davis.  The Hornets would likely receive Rafer Alston, Donyell Marshall and Lamond Murray.  

The 76ers are also in the mix for Davis, who would love to insert him beside Allen Iverson in what would become one of the league's best backcourts.

Many rumors so far this trading season have involved the Philadelphia 76ers, but GM Billy King is keeping his hand close to his chest.

"We are talking to a lot of people, but you don't want to make a trade just for the sake of making a trade," King said before last night's NBA All-Star Game. "We will do it if we feel it can improve our team."

The 76ers most desirable player is perhaps Glenn Robinson, whose expiring contract might of interest to a team trying to clear cap room.