Liberty Ballers

Hey Francisco,

Been a while, hasn't it? What've you been up -- me? Oh, I've been... you know just watching the Sixers. They've been um, they've been doing okay since you left. I mean it's been hard, don't get me wrong. The whole city practically mourned for a month when you went to Utah. The stats don't tell the tale of just how massively important you were to the 2009-10 Sixers team. But I remember. Ohhhhh boy do I remember. *shimmery dissolve*

It was a particularly warm April evening in Philadelphia when the Milwaukee Bucks, the team we couped you from, came to town. Eddie Jordan decided that, in the throes of battle between the 44-34 Bucks and 26-52 Sixers, you were ready to make your first appearance as a Sixer. The game thread managed a whopping 83 comments, including this gem from now-lost commenter "el" who famously wrote: "titanic matchup: brezec vs. elson" upon your checking in.

And titanic it was, Francisco. You scored two HUGE points in your glorious 4 minutes and 7 seconds of basketball as a Sixer, the only time you would ever see the court in a Philadelphia uniform. And you know what? That was all you needed. Because you flat out dominated in those 4:07. Those 2 points were on only 2 shots and you went to the foul line 3 times yourself, opting not to make any because you knew the Sixers needed a loss. That kind of dedication is something lost in the NBA these days. You're a treasure. You would go on to finish the game with a +/- of +2 in a five-point loss to Milwaukee. The only two people with a higher plus-minus were Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala. I would argue that you were, at the time, as much of a cornerstone of this franchise as they were.

After 62 beautiful games with the Jazz, you're somehow back on the market and ready for the Sixers to pick you up. And the prospect of you and Tony Battie sharing a frontcourt together, my, that has my heart a-fluttering. Rod Thorn and Doug Collins know better than to sign a young kid with "potential" and "upside". All of that is just scouting mumbo-jumbo. I can see with my eyes that you are seven feet of pure basketball sense waiting to be splooged out all over this Sixers team.

Hopefully Spencer Hawes and Nikola Vucevic are out for the rest of the season because they frankly can't hold your jockstrap. So lace up your boots, go find your super suit, and get ready to ride the Sixers to championship glory. Just sign on that dotted line Francisco, we've been waiting for this moment our whole lives.

With all our love,

Liberty Ballers