The Sixers have come to an agreement with Shawn Long, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The deal is partially guaranteed and will cover two seasons, Pompey adds.
Long impressed the team during a workout last month. “I call him a stretch five, stretch four,” said VP of player personnel Marc Eversley after the May 16th workout. “He has the ability to go out make a shot.The other thing that he does well is that he can take you off the dribble. He utilizes a pump fake well.”
Long is an athletic center, who spent four seasons at Louisiana Lafayette. The big man tested out his jumpshot while in college, taking 2.4 shots from behind the arc per game and making 34.1% of them. He averaged 18.8 points and 12.2 rebounds last season and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranked him as the 29th best senior in his class.
Philadelphia was shopping both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor leading up to Thursday’s draft, but didn’t come away with a deal for either of them. Long will have a better chance at making the regular season roster should the Sixers ship out one of their centers.