The Sixers were at the 20-man preseason roster limit when they reached an agreement Gani Lawal today, meaning someone had to go. The unlucky Sixer is Solomon Alabi, whom Philadelphia has waived, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Alabi's tenure with the Sixers lasted less than a week, as the team announced his signing this past Saturday. He was presumed to be on a non-guaranteed camp deal, so Philly won't have to pay his salary now that he's off the roster.
Alabi was attempting a return to the NBA after a two-year stint with the Raptors ended in 2012. He spent last season with Ikaros in Greece, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. The 7'1" center went to Greece after spending camp last fall with the Pelicans (then the Hornets), so perhaps he'll once more head overseas.
Just like the Rockets and Jordan Henriquez, who was also waived today, the Sixers used cap space to sign Alabi to a three-year deal. As I explained this summer, doing so gives a team subtle advantages if it wants to re-sign the player when his contract ends. In this case, Alabi won't be sticking around, but the cap space he occupied goes back on Philly's books, and the Sixers will presumably use it for Lawal's contract.
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