OPINION

By Sean Deveney

updated 11:49 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2008

Sean Deveney

Over a period of 10 days in early July, three major free agents swapped spots, signing contracts worth a total of nearly $200 million. Days before that spasm of movement, another player with $45 million still on his contract was shipped out in a trade.

These were the big moves of the offseason. Point guard Baron Davis signed with the Clippers. Power forward Elton Brand signed with the Sixers. Small forward Corey Maggette signed with the Warriors. Center Jermaine O'Neal was dealt to the Raptors. All are big-time players who were expected to make their teams significantly better — or, even, championship contenders — this year.

They haven't. O'Neal's coach, Sam Mitchell, has already been fired and Toronto is sitting at 10-12. Maggette's Warriors have been brutal (7-16), one of the worst defensive teams in recent memory, and his coach, Don Nelson, might have been fired by now if he wasn't tight with team brass. Davis and the Clippers are 5-17, and coach Mike Dunleavy has been able to stick around through that misery mostly because he is also the general manager.

Today, Brand's Sixers join the Legion of Shame, riding a string of four losses in five games that put the team at 9-14 and, finally, got coach Maurice Cheeks fired.

Let's tally that. Four major moves. A total of 28 games below .500. Two coaches fired.

In all four cases, the players involved have been awful. Maggette seems to have forgone defense altogether with the Warriors, and is shooting 41.3 percent from the field — including 9-for-50 (18 percent) from the 3-point line. O'Neal has struggled, too, averaging 12.2 points and 7.6 rebounds, while shooting a career-low 42.3 percent from the field, which seems impossibly bad for a center. The freewheeling Davis clashed with control-freak Dunleavy almost immediately, and the Clippers offense has struggled as Davis has shot 38.9 percent from the field.

And Brand may be the most disappointing of the lot, because much was expected of this year's Sixers. A strong finish last year got the team into the playoffs with a 40-42 record, and upgrading from Thaddeus Young/Reggie Evans to an All-Star like Brand at power forward seemed to put the Sixers just below the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

But Brand is in the midst of his worst season. He is averaging a career-low 15.9 points and seems to have no clue as to his place in the offense — he is shooting 43.6 percent, especially bad for a guy who has been over 50 percent for his career.

The Sixers have not been playing the kind of ball-hawking defense that leads to the transition offense, which was so key to their success last year. Their offense is third-worst, only ahead of Oklahoma City and Charlotte. For a team with Brand, Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller and youngsters Young and Lou Williams, that inability to score is inexplicable, and Cheeks' assurances that the offense would come were getting tiresome. It appears to be a team that can't decide whether it wants to set up Brand in the half-court offense or get back to last year's running ways. It's become an uncomfortable mix of both.

Cheeks paid for that, which was the right call because he was running a confused team. Iguodala and Miller have struggled, and Samuel Dalembert seems to have gone backward in his development. But Brand should accept some responsibility for Philly's slow start. An $82 million contract does require leadership, even for a new guy, and the Sixers are not getting much on-the-floor leadership. Brand's signing raised expectations, but those expectations have remained a long way from being met.

At least, in O'Neal, Maggette and Davis, Brand has some company.

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