Sixers Sign Justin Harper To 10-Day Deal

MARCH 3, 9:11am: The signing is official, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

MARCH 2, 12:30pm: The Sixers intend to sign D-League forward Justin Harper to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). Philadelphia had an opening on its roster after reaching a buyout agreement with Andrew Bogut earlier this week, so the club won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to sign Harper.

Harper, the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 draft, made his NBA debut way back in 2011 for the Magic, but was out of the league for a few years following his rookie season and has only appeared in 19 total regular season games in his career. The Richmond alum has played well in the D-League for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in recent years, however.

Harper earned an NBADL All-Star nod a year ago, and has been arguably even better this season, averaging 16.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and a .401 3PT% in 37 games. His call-up will represent a tough loss for the D-Fenders, who have a 28-10 record and hold the top seed in the D-League’s Western Conference.

For the Sixers, Harper could get a chance at some playing time during his initial 10-day stint in Philadelphia, given the team’s current lack of depth at the four. With Ersan Ilyasova having been sent to the Hawks prior to the trade deadline, Dario Saric has been handling an expanded role at power forward.