Darius Songaila, Craig Brackens To 76ers For Jason Smith, Willie Green

The Philadelphia 76ers have announced they have made a trade with the New Orleans Hornets that will send center Jason Smith and guard Willie Green in exchange for forward Darius Songaila and rookie Craig Brackins.

The deal was rumored this morning and general manager Rod Thorn made the official announcement just moments ago.

“We made the move for these two players to add additional depth to our front court and to add out-court shooting, which was an area that we felt needed improving,” stated Thorn. "[Darius] Songaila is a hard-working, veteran forward who will give us another option up front and Brackins is a rookie that we feel has a chance to develop into a very productive player at this level."

A.I. Cronicales Part 1: Is China a Legitimate Option For Iverson?

This article is part one of a two-part piece chronicling the Philadelphia 76ers and their history with the A.I. Part one will chronicle former guard Allen Iverson and his future in the NBA and abroad.

By now most NBA fans have heard the news that Allen Iverson has expressed an interest to play in China next season. The move comes on the eve of NBA training camps and the lack of interest teams within the league have expressed in the 35-year-old guard.

Iverson's agent, Gary Moore, spoke with the media about the possibility of the Sixers all-time leading scorer heading to China and the fact that there is a lack of interest in the NBA for the guard.

"We're very astonished, to say the least, that not one team has contacted us with any interest," Moore said. "I just don't understand it."

Really Gary...

If recent history has taught us anything about the careers of aging athletes, heading to a foreign land seems like the next logical step for A.I.

We saw Stephon Marbury wear out his welcome within the league and make a quick exit to China. The former all-star Tracy McGrady may be right behind him too.

When a player in the league reaches the end of their career they only have a few options and most of those are non-options for Iverson.

NBA Youth Movement May Help The Philadelphia 76ers Into The Playoffs

Most of this year's offseason has been centered around the growth of super teams in Miami and the potential for others in Chicago and New York. The focus of all of these talks are the big names of the NBA and their potential for long-term success with their new teams.

Players like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and A'mare Stoudemire have been discussed as shaping the future of the NBA, yet in some circles the real future of the league is shaping elsewhere.
With the success of the U.S. National team at this summer's FIBA World Championship, a team who has three players under the age of 23 and seven of 12 players under the age of 25, the growth of the next generation of NBA starts has begun.

Young players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love have pushed the spotlight of the league towards balanced teams of young players and away from one-superstar spotlight rosters that have fueled the league since the Jordan Era.