So Is Theo Ratliff Coming Back to Philly?

With center Jason Smith lost to injury, rumors swirled late last week that the Sixers could sign Theo Ratliff, who played with the team for parts of four seasons before being traded for Dikembe Mutombo. We haven't heard any updates one way or the other yet, but it's worth a discussion. Ratliff has been with five teams since his tenure with the Sixers, but has missed a ton of time due to injury. Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld has this to say about him:

There was a time when Ratliff was thought to be the next great dominant big man in the NBA, but injuries - both real and imagined - have prevented him from ever really finding out how good he might be. He's always been able to find a team willing to gamble that he would realize his potential with them, which is why he's had a 12-year run in the NBA, but his inability to get healthy has been his defining characteristic. More than a few coaches and scouts have intimated off the record that Ratliff is more interested in collecting his check from the sidelines than putting his skills on display, and we haven't seen anything to dispute that claim.

That's a pretty heavy criticism/accusation to throw in there.  Matt Watson of Detroit Bad Boys finds Theo dogging it a little hard to believe, but doesn't rule out the possibility:

I don’t really know what to say. It was obvious that Ratliff has struggled to stay healthy, but this is the first time I heard someone suggest he had a reputation for dogging it. For what it’s worth, Ratliff left money on the table when he was bought out by the Timberwolves to join the Pistons last season. Maybe not a lot, but it’s still worth acknowledging in the face of allegations that his primary concern is always his paycheck.

If the Sixers do sign Ratliff, the price will obviously take into account the injury/"injury" risk and the Sixers' limited cap space. After getting bought out by the T'Wolves on February 29, Theo signed with Detroit for a prorated portion of the veteran minimum, and it's unlikely the Sixers would want to go higher than that.

On Thursday, Phil Jasner mentioned an "unsubstantiated report" of the Sixers reaching out to Ratliff, quoting a source as saying Ratliff had offers from other teams for more money [than the minimum], but that he was very interested in the Sixers.

Comments

[Walklett]

Pretty heavy criticism/accusation indeed. He played his ass off in Philadelphia.

I hope Bill Ingram has really good sources of info. Otherwise, that's a really messed up thing to say. If I'm Theo Ratliff, I'm punching this dude in the face when I see him.

[Joe]

Couldn't hurt right? A few blocks in limited run behind Sammy, Brand, Evans and possibly Speights? Sounds like a good deal to me.
Oh yeah, and I love Theo.

[johndewar]

"but has missed a ton of time due to injury."

Good to say some things remain the same.

Can't hurt to go after the guy, though.

[Dave]

Theo played his rear end off when he was here...where does this slacking thing come from??? The dude has had a bad luck run of injuries. If I am the Sixers I get him for one year to fill in for Smith. He would be a good 10-15 minute guy coming off the bench and who knows, maybe its like an AJ Feeley thing. When the dude has a Birds jersey on, he looks pretty good. Maybe when Theo where a Sixers uniform, the fans in the Wachovia will have the opportunity to shout: "THEEEEO THEEEEOOOOOOOO!!!!!" when the guy blocks a shot or scores a basket.

[theKrisheim]

can matt geiger be far behind?

[Chewy Wellington]

I hear Danny Schayes is available.