Elton Brand’s new Converse shoe, the EB2, was recently released.  Converse has paired up with JC Penny to offer the shoe at affordable prices: $65 for adults, $50 for kids.  Here’s a picture of the EB2:

As a Sixers fan, you can’t help but love the way the 76ers roster looks on paper: (1) Andre Miller, (2) Andre Iguodala, (3) Thaddeus Young, (4) Elton Brand, (5) Samuel Dalembert.  That has the look of a truly complete team.  And don’t forget the talented young reserves such as Louis Williams and Jason Smith who are both developing well.

It seems that the Sixers are only a sharpshooter away from being considered a top 3 team in the East and one that can seriously challenge Boston and Detroit.  Hopefully, the Brand acquisition will attract one of those Eastern European dudes who are just so good at shooting the 3.

Here are some interesting quotes from NBA journalists.  These come via the Philadelphia Inquirer:
ESPN.com’s John Hollinger says the Sixers are instant challengers in the East, and uses his mathematical formula to project 52 wins for them next season:

Are the Philadelphia 76ers, as presently constituted, good enough to win the East in the 2008-09 season? Doubtful.

But are the Sixers good enough to win a playoff series or two and scare the bejeezus out of Detroit and Boston? You bet. And if they add a shooter and get another year of growth from all their young studs, will they be in position to win the conference in 2010? Absolutely.

SI.com’s Ian Thomsen says Brand is a better fit for the Sixers than Josh Smith:

One alternative to signing Brand was for the Sixers to make an offer big and front-loaded enough to pry restricted free agent Josh Smith away from Atlanta. But imagine starting a new era with Smith and Iguodala as your max players. Smith, 22, hasn’t established the self-discipline to manage the responsibility of being the highest-paid player in a market like Philadelphia. And whatever salary Smith might have received from the 76ers would have served as a new threshold for Iguodala, who would have demanded even more as a restricted free agent.
Henry Abbott of ESPN.com blog TrueHoop praises Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski and says his next move could be to add an outside shooter:

What’s more, the team clearly needs to add some reliable outside shooting, and Brand could be a free-agent magnet. (Remember last month when he did that for the Clippers?) Some free agents really want to win. With Brand, Philadelphia might be in the running for people who have other options.

That would be the icing on the “Welcome Back to Relevancy” cake they should be serving this morning at Sixers headquarters.

Charley Rosen of FoxSports.com gives the Sixers an A+ for the addition of Brand:

Coupled with his ever-improving mid-range shooting, Brand is simply one of the most dynamic scorers in the league. If he’s neither a superb passer nor (despite his penchant for blocking shots) a defensive ace, Brand figures to transform the Sixers into a legitimate challenger to Boston’s supremacy.

Here is the full article.