Shooting guard Brandon Paul, whom the Sixers signed to a partially guaranteed deal in July, led the team with 15 points in their preseason victory over Boston and has a legitimate shot to make the regular season roster, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“He was instant offense,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Paul’s performance. “You know, he got a bounce, and he had a mentality to come in and make plays. And didn’t have much second-guesses going on … I thought his energy and his bounce stood out. I think defensively, too.”
The 25-year-old played for the Sixers’ Summer League team this offseason, where he averaged 10.7 points and 1.7 steals in 19.6 minutes per game. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- After writing about Guerschon Yabusele earlier this week, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe shifts his focus to the Celtics‘ other draft-and-stash prospect from the first round of the 2016 draft. As Himmelsbach writes, 23rd overall pick Ante Zizic was initially frustrated with Boston’s decision, since he wanted to join the team immediately, but he has adjusted to continuing his career in Croatia, and texts with director of player personnel Austin Ainge nearly every day. “Just to make sure that he knows that he’s in our plans and is a big part of our future,” Ainge said, “and that we’re monitoring his development.”
- The Knicks may be without two of their high-profile additions from the summer for the immediate future, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes. Point guard Derrick Rose heads to Los Angeles to join the $21.5MM civil trial for an alleged sexual assault – which began with jury selection Tuesday – and has indicated he’s unsure when he’ll return to the team, acknowledging that he likely will miss practices on Thursday and Friday, per Berman. Meanwhile, center Joakim Noah is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury that he suffered on Saturday during the team’s final practice of training camp, Berman adds.
- Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo is taking an “organic” approach to building Philadelphia’s roster, according to Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Daily News, who suggests the team will let its frontcourt rotation develop based on which players are healthy and which players produce.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
He was a baller in HS, very solid player who can put the ball in the basket and create. Sixers need a combo guard like him on the roster, for depth and in case Rodriguez or Bayless dont work out (Bayless may be better suited playing a little less than starter minutes)