Dalembert's contract is about as desired, and easy to ship, as a boat anchor.

"The frustration came down to, [in] the beginning, we were losing and I wasn't playing much," Dalembert said.

"Sammy did tell you that he asked to be traded at the trade deadline," Stefanski said. "We tried to accommodate him and were unsuccessful."

Yesterday, Dalembert did not say, outright, that he wished to leave the Sixers , but indicated that both sides needed to do what was best, needed to decide if it was time for a fresh start.

One source close to the team said Dalembert wants out of the franchise.

"Right now, he's a member of the Sixers , and we hope he gets better over the summer and works on the things we asked him to work on," Stefanski said.

When asked if Dalembert was dedicated to Basketball year-round, teammate Andre Iguodala said, "Year-round? I think Sammy enjoys his summers."

Dalembert, though, talked about each player's need to "stop fooling" himself.

"Everybody needs to sit down and decide what needs to be improved," Dalembert said.

"Myself, I look at it this year, work on different things offensively . . . not a factor offensively, but make myself a factor."

Dalembert said he and his teammates need to look at themselves and discipline themselves.

"Our 'identity' is supposed to be running, but we don't do the things defensively," Dalembert said, then pointed to a lack of consistency. "This year, for whatever reason, so many things were going on . . . I was out of the picture, I end up playing the lowest since my rookie year."

Contact staff writer Kate Fagan at 856-779-3844 or kfagan@phillynews.com.