10:30am: The Sixers have officially waived Bolden and signed Pelle to his new contract, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
10:23am: The Sixers are making a change to the back of their roster, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive Jonah Bolden in order to sign two-way player Norvel Pelle to a standard contract.
Bodner adds (via Twitter) that Pelle’s new contract will be a multiyear deal. This season will be fully guaranteed, and next year’s salary will become guaranteed if he remains on the roster through July 6, a source tells Bodner.
Pelle, who turned 27 on Monday, has averaged 2.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 14 appearances (11.1 MPG) for the 76ers this season. The big man, a member of the NBAGL All-Defensive Team in 2019, has put up flashier numbers for the Delaware Blue Coats, recording 14.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in seven G League games (22.6 MPG) this season. He had reached his 45-day NBA limit and will now be permitted to rejoin the Sixers once his new deal is official.
As for Bolden, the 36th overall pick in the 2017 draft fell out of Philadelphia’s rotation entirely this season, logging just 14 minutes in four games for the club. He was under contract through 2022, but his salaries for the next two years are non-guaranteed, so the Sixers won’t be on the hook for any dead money beyond this season. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers on Sunday.
The 76ers won’t be able to sign a two-way player to replace Pelle, since the deadline to do so was January 15.
Okay… why didn’t they try to include him in a trade and use his salary even for a trade exception? Same with Burke.
They probably tried but were unable to find a team who would accommodate them. Teams most likely were willing to bet that they would be waived and could be signed without giving up anything (even if it’s a heavily protected pick).
Teams figured correctly if they really wanted them they could get them on waivers.
Or it could just be nobody wanted them
I like his game. He’s pretty skilled. He’ll end up somewhere
Love to see Riley pick him up for Miami. Think Spo could do wonders with him.
Reminds me of the Jones pick up and that worked out well.
Alas, Riley is looking for a much bigger fish right now.