Sam's not happy; Miller will play

We all know professional sports is a business and players are in essence commodities. But, unlike gold, silver or crude oil, they are animate objects so if you make overtures to deal someone, you better get it done.

By all accounts Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski tried to peddle Samuel Dalembert to the Los Angeles Clippers (for Chris Kaman) and New Orleans Hornets (for Tyson Chandler) but no deal was reached.

"I don't know what to think anymore," Dalembert said. "It's part of the business. Everybody has to look out for themselves. The organization has to do what's best for them, and I have to do what's best for Sam. Thinking if I was going to get traded or not, I don't know. A lot of things happen."

Of course, Stefanski isn't solely to blame. Dalembert also broached the subject of moving on when things were going poorly earlier in the season.

"I just asked them - if they don't want to utilize me, then try to get the best deals for the teams, if they think I cannot get the job done," Dalembert said. "It was a brief conversation."

Things certainly got better for the team and Dalembert when Tony DiLeo took over but Sam, never known for a consistent effort level even in the best of times, is clearly still unhappy.

"It got better when Tony came in, but it's nothing personal against any coaches," Dalembert said. "When there's an agenda, there's nothing you can do about it - and I felt like when that was happening, the only thing that kind of hurt me a little bit was when things were said in the papers when the team was losing and my name was mentioned.

"The fact that I was doing my job and I felt like suddenly, gosh, 'Sam was inconsistent.' I was like, 'At what point was I inconsistent, because times were inconsistent.' I didn't know how long I was going to play compared to last year. I was in for 15 minutes, 12 minutes, 20 minutes, sometimes 18 minutes.

"Of course the numbers are going to be inconsistent, but that didn't bother me from going out there and busting my butt."

MILLER TO KEEP STREAK ALIVE

Point guard Andre Miller, who missed the final 19 minutes of Wednesday's loss to Denver with a strained right calf, intends to play in his 502nd consecutive game today.