This was the summer of 2008, and Rodney Carney - through no fault of his own - became a pawn in the 76ers' chase to sign Elton Brand. The Sixers had cap space, but not quite enough to fulfill a package for Brand, an unrestricted free agent from the Los Angeles Clippers. That led Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski to a complicated deal in which he sent Carney, Calvin Booth and a future first-round draft choice to the Minnesota Timberwolves. That gave the Sixers the final chunk of space they needed to acquire Brand.
One season later, the Sixers have brought Carney back, not as a pawn, but as an intriguing piece in new coach Eddie Jordan's pass-and-cut Princeton offense. At 6-7, with terrific athletic skills, a streaky perimeter game and supposedly improved defensive skills, he seems to have at least some of what the Sixers need.
"It's a little weird to be traded away and then to come back," Carney said after agreeing to the terms of a 1-year contract. "They seem to be pretty full at the wing positions, but they want to run and that's my game."
Carney spent the first two seasons of his career with the Sixers . He was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, taken by the Chicago Bulls and traded to the Sixers for the rights to Thabo Sefolosha. He appeared in 137 games, including 41 starts, before landing with the Timberwolves.
He averaged 6.6 and 5.8 points in his Sixers seasons, then 7.2 with the Wolves.
The Wolves declined picking up his $2,539,936 option, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent. They were still considering re-signing him, but told him about a week ago that they were going in another direction.
By all accounts, he will sign with the Sixers for $855,189, the minimum salary for players credited with 3 years of experience.
"Different people from the Sixers called a lot, showed me a lot of love," Carney said. "It's very different now; they have a different staff, new philosophies on offense and defense. It's like going to a new team."
Carney gives the Sixers 13 players under contract, with Stefanski willing to add a 14th - one under the league maximum - should someone win a job through camp and the preseason.
"Rodney brings experience, a high-level athlete who is a fit for the way we want to play," Stefanski said. "He shot 35 percent from three-point distance last season, he's improved defensively and, because of his athleticism, can play three positions."
Six shotsThe Sixers staff, preparing for training camp, toured the new facilities at Saint Joseph's University earlier this week. "To see what they have from when I was a little kid to now, this is impressive," Ed Stefanski said . . . Stefanski has extended a camp invitation to Dionte Christmas , the former Temple star who was not selected in the June draft. Christmas played with the Sixers' entry in the Orlando summer league . . . As it turns out, former Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks made a good decision not accepting a job as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies. With Allen Iverson signing there, that would not have been a comfortable situation for Cheeks, who has since joined the staff of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
