Power forward Malcolm Thomas is one of the candidates the Sixers are considering to replace the injured Ronny Turiaf on the roster, a team source tells Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia acquired Turiaf in Friday’s three-team trade with the Wolves and Rockets, and, as Pompey reported earlier, the Sixers intend to waive the 10th-year big man who’s expected to miss the rest of the season as he recovers from right hip surgery. The Inquirer scribe’s latest dispatch indicates that the Sixers have already released Turiaf, though the team has yet to make such a move official.
Thomas was with the Sixers for a couple of weeks at the beginning of the season after signing shortly before opening night. He was proficient on the boards, averaging 4.6 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game over five appearances, but Philadelphia waived him November 10th, eating a relatively sizable partial guarantee of $474K, to ink Drew Gordon at his position instead. The 26-year-old who went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2011 has appeared in the NBA with the Spurs, Bulls, Warriors and Jazz in addition to the Sixers over the past four seasons.
Philadelphia has made a habit this season of re-signing players who were previously on the roster, as Gordon, Malcolm Lee and Ronald Roberts Jr. have all had multiple stints with the team. The Sixers continue to have undoubtedly the league’s most flexible roster, with only 10 players in possession of fully guaranteed contracts, as our roster counts show, and a team salary of about $42.5MM, far beneath the league’s $63.065MM salary cap.