After acquiring him in a trade with the Jazz last week, the Sixers intend to waive Tibor Pleiss, reports international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). According to Pick, Pleiss’ agent has informed teams that Philadelphia will soon part ways with his client.
The Sixers sent Kendall Marshall and his non-guaranteed contract to Utah last week in a deal for Pleiss, whose $3MM salary is fully guaranteed. Philadelphia picked up a pair of 2017 second-round picks for its troubles, and is still well below the minimum salary floor, so paying Pleiss not to play for the team won’t affect the Sixers’ cap outlook.
Pleiss, a former second-round pick who signed with the Jazz last summer, barely saw any action in his first NBA season, playing just 82 total minutes for Utah. The German big man was assigned to the D-League for a good chunk of the season, and he played well there, averaging 12.3 PPG and 10.4 RPG in 28 contests. If and when he becomes a free agent, we’ll see whether he attempts to find another NBA job or heads back overseas.
As for the Sixers, they’ve been at the 20-man offseason roster limit for more than a month, but would create an opening by waiving Pleiss. The club reportedly reached an agreement with Cat Barber in July, but has yet to finalize that deal — perhaps once a roster spot opens up, Barber will officially sign with Philadelphia.
In the wake of last week’s trade, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported (via Twitter) that the Sixers were still evaluating whether Pleiss would be a part of the team’s roster this season. Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com indicated at the time (via Twitter) that Philadelphia would likely waive him.