JULY 9, 7:23pm: The signing is official, the team announced in a press release.
JULY 5, 10:27am: The Sixers have reached an agreement with another free agent guard, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will sign Gerald Henderson. The 76ers and Henderson have agreed to a two-year, $18MM deal, per Haynes.
Henderson, 28, spent the first six years of his NBA career in Charlotte before joining the Blazers last season. After averaging more than 31 minutes per game and serving primarily as a starter during his final four years with the Hornets, Henderson came off the bench and played less than 20 minutes a game for Portland in 2015/16, averaging a modest 8.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG to go along with a .439/.353/.767 shooting line.
Henderson is the third veteran guard the Sixers have agreed to sign within the last few days, and each player has come in at around the same per-year price. Jerryd Bayless struck a three-year, $27MM deal with Philadelphia, while Sergio Rodriguez agreed to a one-year, $8MM pact.
Last month, Henderson talked about prioritizing contending teams in free agency this offseason, as opposed to a starting job, but his decision may ultimately be more about the latter than the former. Philadelphia isn’t expect to contend immediately, but the number of young players and the lack of veteran backcourt talent on the roster suggests Henderson could begin the season in the starting lineup.
[RELATED: Sixers’ depth chart at RosterResource.com]
A Monday report indicated that “seven to eight” teams had expressed some interest in Henderson, including the Trail Blazers, but perhaps none of those teams were offering the sort of playing time – and money – that the Sixers were. The move will represent a homecoming for Henderson, who attended high school just outside of Philadelphia.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Still trying to figure out why they didnt pursue Brandon Jennings younger and better coming off injuries and cheaper than both these bozos.
Misses a lot of games
Maybe cause hes a ball dominant low percentage high usage rate non defensive playing small pg with a low bball IQ. That could be it.
Bayless vs Jennings per 36
FG% .415 – .390
3P% .365 – .350
AST 4.9 – 6.6
STL 1.1 – 1.5
TOV 2.5 – 2.6
PTS 14.5 – 17.4
Bayless = 9M/year/3 years
Jennings = 5M/year/1 year
I’d take Jennings still. A starter, versus a career backup.
Who says Jennings is a starter and not a career backup. Sixers wanted s veterans to stabilize all the young bucks. So if stats are identical and Jennings is ball dominant I’ll take Henderson who can play without ball and put up sane stats
didnt know u were involved in a henderson vs jennings comment thread. bayless vs jennings joker
Agree
Henderson can start at SG for awhile for Philly and help mentor the younger players whereas Jennings is PG only and isn’t known as a mentor type … Also honestly … if you’re Jennings would you rather be a backup in Philly or a backup in New York playing with Melo Rose Porzingas etc
Could get more out of Jennings than Bayless who is a career backup.
More production yes, but Bayless is probably the better locker room presence. Plus, do you really want Jennings ball-hogging it up next to Simmons/Noel/Okafor?
Bayless is also a really good spot up shooter, which is a good fit next to Simmons
Their back court just graduated high school. They’ll be here next year, barring Westbrook.
Would have been interesting if Portland could have kept him. I liked him in that Shaun Livingston type of role last year for them, and his 3 point shooting improved with those guys around him. I dont think that will be the case with Philly, with their lack of spacing
If you were looking for a shooter at PG you only have Ty Lawson & Jarrett Jack as your best shooting PGs that would have been available… each has issues on top of decline. Bringing in a Chase Budinger would improve the depth for shooters. Slim pickings.