5:04pm: The Sixers have officially re-signed Thomas, the team announced in a press release.
2:02pm: The Sixers will re-sign Malcolm Thomas, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier this week that the team was thinking about bringing back the power forward, who began the regular season with the Sixers. Philadelphia has a full 15-man roster, but the team reportedly intends to waive Ronny Turiaf, whom the Sixers acquired via trade from the Timberwolves last week, as Turiaf is expected to miss the rest of the season as he recovers from right hip surgery. It’s unclear what sort of contract Thomas will receive, though he inked a four-year deal for the minimum salary with a partial guarantee of $474K when he signed with Philadelphia in October.
Thomas found himself on waivers on November 10th, two days after his 26th birthday, when the Sixers elected to reunite with Drew Gordon, whom they had carried during the preseason. Philly released Gordon less than a month later as GM Sam Hinkie continues to churn the roster, much as he did last season. Thomas, who’s played with four other NBA teams since going undrafted out of San Diego State in 2011, averaged 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per contest during his five-game stint with the Sixers this season.
Philadelphia has been shorthanded of late, carrying Turiaf for the past few days as well as Andrei Kirilenko, who hasn’t played since the Sixers traded for him December 11th, even as Philly attempts to press him into action. The Sixers have also been without 2014 No. 3 overall pick Joel Embiid all season as he recovers from a broken foot, and Jason Richardson, who hasn’t played since January 2013 because of multiple injuries.