Sixers' opportunity for Dedmon

NEW YORK - One man's struggle is another man's opportunity in the NBA. Yesterday, the Sixers announced that forward Brandon Davies will be out 4 to 6 weeks after surgery on his fractured right pinky. That meant the possibilities for Dewayne Dedmon got brighter.

Dedmon's 10-day contract with the team expires today, but the combination of Davies' injury and the 7-foot center's play seem to make it a foregone conclusion that he will be signing at least another 10-day contract.

"I like what we've seen in him," coach Brett Brown said. "There's a size, obviously, but there's an enthusiasm and an energy. When you look at him, his history really not having started to play basketball until he was 18, and at his early age now you feel that his upside could be pretty significant. We'll make the official decision [today] but I'm thrilled with what he's done so far."

Dedmon, who was making his first-ever trip to New York City (he is not a fan of the snow, preferring his native California's climate), knows the opportunity is there for him.

Asked if he had any clue whether he would be signing another contract, Dedmon pleaded ignorant, instead saying his sights are set on what's right in front of him.

"It's the same feeling since the beginning," he said. "I knew I was here for 10 days so I'm just ready to work. That's what I'm here to do. You definitely don't wish injury upon anybody, but yeah, it's another slot that's open. I've just got to keep doing what I've been doing, keep working."

Guard Tony Wroten missed his second consecutive game with a sprained right ankle, but Brett Brown said he is improving. Big man Arnett Moultrie is creeping closer to making his season debut after ankle surgery, with just a few more hurdles to clear before he gets on the court.

"Arnett continues to improve, everyday getting [closer] to his weight goal and his conditioning goals," Brown said. "He's heading in the right direction - when we think he is ready to go and when he attains a weight goal we've put to him, when he does some of the mobility tests, when he's had a significant amount of practices under his belt where we can deliver him to the court, where he feels good, where he's confident. We don't want to put him in a position where he feels it's too premature, that he doesn't feel that he's going to play extremely well. I think that could be as early as the next 2 weeks. I would expect it to be then."

The Sixers were facing the NBA's most valuable team last night, as announced by Forbes. In it's annual list of team values, Forbes named the New York Knicks as the most valuable, with a worth of $1.4 billion.

The Sixers were near the bottom, coming in at a value of $469 million. That's up 12 percent from a season ago, but it puts them at No. 23 of 30 teams.

The Knicks increased their value by 27 percent in staying the most valued for the second straight year. The Lakers were No. 2 at $1.35 billion and the Chicago Bulls were third at $1 billion. Rounding out the top five were Boston ($875 million) and Brooklyn ($780 million). The average worth of a team went up 25 percent from a year ago, with an average of $634 million.

Blog: ph.ly/Sixerville