Philadelphia 76ers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Role Players, Mays, JTA, Dekker, Breakout Candidates

October 18th, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers point guard T.J. McConnell is an example of a solid role player on a reasonable contract who has risen in prominence due to the roster building restrictions of the new CBA, as Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic details. McConnell signed a four-year, $45MM extension this offseason, though only the first two years are fully guaranteed.

“I’ve played the same way, I feel like, since I’ve gotten into the league,” he said. “The people that are best at adapting and changing, especially as role players, are the ones that last. And that’s what I’ve tried to do, play my game, but also adapt and change to what my team needs me to do.”

With stars frequently earning anywhere from 25-35% of the salary cap, and the league’s top spenders dealing with the ramifications of the tax aprons, finding role players who outperform their contracts has become even more important than it was previously, Thompson writes.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA guard Skylar Mays has officially signed a one-year deal with Turkish EuroLeague club Fenerbahce, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops relays. The move was expected, with reports out of Europe stating Mays was expected to be an injury replacement for veteran guard Scottie Wilbekin, who sustained a torn ACL. Mays, 27, split last season with the Trail Blazers and Lakers. Minnesota released him from his Exhibit 10 deal to give him the opportunity to sign with Fenerbahce.
Free agent forward Juan Toscano-Anderson has re-signed with the NBA G League’s Mexico City Capitanes, the team announced (via Twitter). A five-year veteran, Toscano-Anderson spent a little over a month with the Kings last season, appearing in 11 games for 53 total minutes. He spent the rest of the 2023/24 season with the Capitanes.
In an interesting interview with Marc Stein (Substack link), veteran forward Sam Dekker discussed how he’s reinvented his game playing for the London Lions and why the implementation of a new salary cap system has complicated his situation in the British Basketball League. A former first-round pick (18th overall in 2015), the 30-year-old last played in the NBA in 2021 but he hasn’t given up on making it back — he worked out for the Warriors, Sixers and Bucks in June, though none of those sessions led to a contract offer.
Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports lists five breakout candidates for the 2024/25 season, including Hornets wing Brandon Miller, who was the No. 2 overall pick of last year’s draft.

Atlantic Notes: McCain, Yabusele, Raptors Injuries, Shead, Walker

October 17th, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Promising Sixers rookie guard Jared McCain took a hard fall late in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s Wednesday preseason game against the Nets. He was down for a while, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link), but he was able to get up under his own power.

Head coach Nick Nurse said McCain went to the hospital to be evaluated and the Sixers announced he’d be checked for a concussion, according to Bontemps.

McCain was reevaluated on Thursday afternoon and was diagnosed with a pulmonary contusion, but has not displayed symptoms consistent with a concussion (Twitter link via NBA insider Chris B. Haynes). McCain is out for Friday’s preseason finale against the Magic and will continue to be evaluated daily.

Missing McCain for any time is a blow for the Sixers, but avoiding a concussion is good news for the young guard. He’s been a preseason revelation for the team, averaging 12.8 points and shooting 37.9% on 5.8 three-point attempts per game.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers forward Guerschon Yabusele made headlines in the Olympics after playing well for the French national team, then parlayed that performance into a contract with Philadelphia, his first since the 2018/19 season. Andscape’s Marc J. Spears details Yabusele’s return to the league in a recent feature. “My advice is just work hard, never give up and make your dream come true. If you want it, you’re going to have to go get it,” Yabusele said.
Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley went through a full practice on Thursday for the first time since the start of training camp, Josh Lewenerg of TSN reports (Twitter link). Quickly is questionable for the team’s Friday preseason finale against Brooklyn. According to Sportsnet.ca’s Michael Grange (Twitter link), the guard is still sporting a brace on his thumb. Meanwhile, RJ Barrett is still recovering from shoulder surgery and will not travel for the preseason finale. The hope for Barrett is that he’s ready for the start of the regular season, but there are no guarantees. Ja’Kobe Walter is dealing with the same shoulder injury as Barrett but he’s about 10 days ahead in the recovery process, according to Lewenberg (Twitter links). Walter has yet to be cleared for contact.
With Quickley soon to return and Davion Mitchell and Jamal Shead both playing well in the preseason, it’s possible the Raptors could roll with three point guards in their regular season rotation. However, according to Lewenberg (Twitter link), Darko Rajakovic‘s comments suggest Shead may start the season as the third-stringer, not part of the regular rotation. “I think it’s amazing that we have three point guards, and in practice you could see that everybody is pushing each other,” the Raptors’ head coach said. “Davion is making Quickley better. Jamal is making Davion better. They’re really, really competing and every team wishes for that. When you have more players competing for the same spot, it makes everybody better.”
With the Celtics cutting all their non-guaranteed camp invitees except for Lonnie Walker, it puts the seventh-year guard in the spotlight ahead of final cuts. Souichi Terada of MassLive believes Boston will ultimately waive Walker, since keeping him for the season would cost upward of $10MM in additional tax penalties due to the team’s position against the second apron. The Celtics have also opted to keep that 15th roster spot open to start the season in recent years.
Earlier this offseason, former Knicks manager of coaching analytics Nick Restifo left for the Hawks to be their director of basketball research. According to Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Knicks hired CB Garrett, previously with the Bucks, to replace him.

Sixers Waive Four Players

October 16th, 2024 at 10:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers made four roster cuts after Wednesday’s preseason game, waiving Jordan Tucker, Isaiah Mobley, Judah Mintz and Max Fiedler, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

All four players were on Exhibit 10 contracts and are likely to wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Delaware, where they can earn bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they remain there for at least 60 days.

Tucker and Mobley signed in late September, just before the start of training camp. Tucker was in the LNB Pro A League in France last season and has played in the G League and internationally since going undrafted out of Butler in 2020. Mobley, the brother of Cavaliers star Evan Mobley, had been with Cleveland on two-way deals the past two seasons.

Mintz, a former standout guard at Syracuse, inked an Exhibit 10 contract in early September, while Fielder, a rookie big man out of Rice, signed in late August.

The moves bring Philadelphia’s roster down to 17 players ahead of the upcoming cutdown date. The team has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, along with Ricky Council, whose $1.9MM salary for this season and $2.2MM for 2025/26 are both non-guaranteed.

Although there’s still a few days for the Sixers to make last-minute moves, it’s possible that the roster is set heading into the October 23 opener against Milwaukee.

Paul George To Be Reevaluated Tuesday

October 16th, 2024 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Paul George will be reevaluated next Tuesday to determine if he can play in Wednesday’s season opener against Milwaukee, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on NBA Today (video link). Sixers officials confirmed to Charania that there was no structural damage from the injury George suffered on Monday, but there’s a “level of uncertainty” about his availability for opening night.

Atlantic Notes: George, Nets, Walsh, Raptors

October 15th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Discussing Paul George‘s hyperextended knee on Tuesday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that “everything checks out OK” so far. Nurse added the team will do imaging later in the day and confirmed that George won’t be active for Wednesday’s preseason contest vs. Brooklyn, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.

After completing an MRI on George’s injured knee, the 76ers announced that he has been diagnosed with a bone bruise, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, who tweets that the imaging showed no structural damage. The team intends to reevaluate the star forward in approximately one week.

It’s good news for the Sixers and for George, who avoided a more serious injury. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Philadelphia’s top offseason addition will be ready to go when the club’s regular season tips off in eight days vs. the Bucks.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Veteran Nets players have said this month’s training camp is the toughest they’ve ever experienced, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. While first-time head coach Jordi Fernandez has focused on conditioning work and demanded high intensity in team scrimmages, he credits the players for fostering that environment. “The ones that are making it competitive, hard, physical and challenging are the players,” Fernandez said on Monday. “Obviously, my demands are to work extremely hard, to be a good teammate, to build relationships, to compete, to get one percent better, so on and so forth. … But the guys are buying into it, and they’re fighting for their opportunities, their spots, their roles.”
Second-year forward Jordan Walsh continued a strong preseason on Sunday with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action in the Celtics‘ win over Toronto. Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s “really proud of (the) growth” he’s seen from Walsh this fall and spoke about the specific areas where the 20-year-old has made strides. “Just having an understanding of what his job is,” Mazzulla said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “Defend at a high level, defend multiple positions, rebound, and then make reads on the offensive end.”
The Raptors lost games over to the weekend to Washington and to a Boston team resting its stars, but there were a few bright spots, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Big man Chris Boucher is having a strong preseason, as is third-year wing Ochai Agbaji, who figures to start on opening night due to RJ Barrett‘s shoulder injury. Newcomer Davion Mitchell, starting in place of Immanuel Quickley, has also made a case for a regular season role, Koreen notes — while defense is his calling card, Mitchell has done a very good job taking care of the ball on offense this preseason, with 14 assists and no turnovers in three games.
In case you missed it, we rounded up several Knicks-related notes earlier this afternoon.

Paul George Suffers Hyperextended Left Knee

October 14th, 2024 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paul George left the Sixers’ preseason game against Atlanta on Monday with a hyperextended left knee, according to the team.

George, the biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason, suffered the non-contact injury during the first half. The injury puts George’s availability for the start of the regular season in jeopardy. Philadelphia opens at home against Minnesota on Oct. 23 and has three more regular season games before the end of the month.

George was signed away from the Clippers on a four-year, maximum-salary contract as Philadelphia’s top target. George appeared in 74 regular season games last season, the most he played since the 2018/19 season with Oklahoma City. He averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. He also played in all six postseason games against Dallas.

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse sounded somewhat optimistic about George’s injury after the game, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

“Certainly trying to work him into things, and he wants to work into things, too. So this doesn’t give him a chance to do that,” Nurse said about George getting acclimated with his new teammates. “Hopefully, it’ll be OK so he’s back with us right away.”

George told Mizell he was “not too concerned” about his knee (Twitter link).

Sixers superstar Joel Embiid has already been ruled out for the rest of the preseason due to left knee management.

Sixers Notes: Reserves, Embiid, George, Drummond, Maxey

October 14th, 2024 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

With the Sixers resting several veterans Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back set, the team’s youngsters and reserves were on the wrong end of a 50-point shellacking at the hands of the defending champion Celtics. As Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, many of the players who logged big minutes on Saturday are unlikely to play major roles during the season, but they’ll likely be needed at times, so the lopsided loss to Boston was an important learning experience.

“Teaching them how hard they have to play is something you have to do,” head coach Nick Nurse said after the game. “They’re young, and we’ve got to show them what it’s like. But it gives them some good experience out there against some really good players.”

There were some positives to take away from the blowout, including 20 points from rookie Jared McCain, another solid outing from big man Guerschon Yabusele, and promising on-ball defense from two-way player Justin Edwards, Mizell notes. But Nurse acknowledged that his team frequently got caught ball-watching and didn’t match the Celtics’ speed or intensity.

“It (stinks), obviously, (that) I’m on the opposing side of it,” McCain said of the 50-point loss. “But it’s great for me to learn from.”

Here’s more on the 76ers:

How should Sixers fans react to the news that Joel Embiid‘s preseason is over? Tony Jones of The Athletic explores that topic, suggesting that it looks like a case of the team just being cautious, but could lead to some additional growing pains for the new-look roster early in the regular season due to minimal preseason reps with the superstar center on the floor. It’s also likely a preview of the careful way in which the 76ers will handle Embiid’s playing time during the regular season, Jones adds.
Both Embiid and newcomer Paul George are unlikely to play both ends of “many back-to-backs, if any” this season, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
The Sixers had tried multiple times to reacquire Andre Drummond after having to give him up in the James Harden trade with Brooklyn in 2022, Bontemps reports within the same ESPN story. Embiid, aware that he’d need a high-quality backup center in order for Philadelphia to properly manage his minutes, was part of the recruiting effort when Drummond reached free agency over the summer. “Getting a phone call from the best center in the NBA saying, ‘I need you here’ … it’s hard to tell him no,” Drummond told Bontemps. “I spoke to a lot of teams this summer, and he was probably the third or fourth person to call me. I wasn’t even expecting to hear from him. … He just gave me an idea of what he was looking for and he needed me to come back to really help him out to win something bigger than him.”
While he may not have been thrilled on draft night in 2020 to fall to 21st overall, Tyrese Maxey realizes in retrospect that it was the best thing that could have happened to him, based on the situation he ended up in and how his career has progressed since then, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “As a young kid, 19 years old, you are looking at the draft. You are like, ‘Man, I want to go as high as I possibly can,'” Maxey said. “But then when you fall to a contending team and you are able to be on a team and soak up all the knowledge that they give you, man, you are blessed.”

Joel Embiid Ruled Out For Remainder Of Preseason

October 13th, 2024 at 9:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Load management for Sixers superstar center Joel Embiid includes the preseason. The team announced on Sunday that Embiid will not play in any remaining preseason games this month, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps relays.

The decision is due to left knee management. Embiid met with doctors on Thursday and it apparently went well, according to Bontemps. The goal is to get the seven-time All-Star through the regular season in good shape and to have his knee as close to 100% as possible for the postseason.

According to Embiid, he lost 25-to-30 pounds during the offseason and is aiming to lose more in accordance with his conditioning. The 2023 winner of the Most Valuable Player award appeared in just 39 games last season due to torn lateral meniscus in the knee. He was still limited by the injury when he returned late in the season, as well as during the Sixers’ playoff series against New York.

It’s up in the air whether Embiid will suit up when Philadelphia opens the regular season at home against the Bucks on Oct. 23.

Atlantic Notes: George, McCain, Shead, VanVleet, Horford

October 12th, 2024 at 9:24am CST by Rory Maher

Nine-time All-Star Paul George was the most accomplished player to switch teams in free agency over the summer, inking a four-year, $212MM contract with the Sixers. He made his preseason debut with Philadelphia on Friday night vs. Minnesota, recording 23 points (on 8-of-15 shooting), six rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes, per The Associated Press.

With the obvious caveat that it was only a preseason game, it was still an encouraging sign of what the 76ers could look like if their “big three” of Joel Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey are healthy, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic.

“He’s pretty good at basketball,” Maxey said of George. “I can see the vision. I really do. My goal coming into tonight is to see how comfortable he can get and to try and make him as comfortable as possible. It’s amazing to see what things he can do on the floor. I wanted to try and sit back and watch and see how he fits in and see how I can help him fit in. It was good to see him on the floor.”

President of basketball operations Daryl Morey admits the Sixers’ pursuit of George was “risky,” but he believes Philadelphia is now firmly on the short list of title contenders, he tells Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

“I feel like we’re one of the top few teams,” Morey said. “I think Boston’s pretty clearly the team that deserves to be called the favorite. They played great last year. They played really historically well, but I think we have a shot to get right in there, in the mix with them, and beat them this year.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Rookie guard Jared McCain, the 16th pick of the 2024 draft, says he’s focused on improving defensively during the Sixers‘ preseason slate, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “I’m really not trying to set expectations for myself,” McCain said. “I feel I played well [in the exhibition opener against the New Zealand Breakers], [but I] definitely have things to work on defensively. But what I’ve always tried to do, especially in college, is focus on my defense, focus on playing hard, and my offense will come.”
Second-round pick Jamal Shead has quickly endeared himself to the Raptors with his defense, hustle, and willingness to accept his role, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Former Raptor Fred VanVleet, another small guard, sees similarities between his game and Shead’s, and the rookie says he’s hoping to emulate VanVleet’s NBA success. “He’s somebody that you look at as a role model,” Shead said of VanVleet. “Being in [college at] Houston, I got to see him [last season], just going up to [the Rockets] facility, watching him workout, watching him play. He’s somebody that’s my size, does what I do and shoots the ball a lot better than me. So, he’s just a role model and somebody that I can look at and try to be like in this league. Toronto’s known for doing smaller guards justice, so he set the pathway for me and I’m just trying to figure out how I can do what he did.”
Celtics big man Al Horford sat out Boston’s preseason games vs. Denver in Abu Dhabi, but he’ll make his 2024/25 debut this weekend, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. The Celtics have back-to-back home games this weekend vs. Philadelphia and Toronto. “Just ramping him up,” Mazzulla said of Horford. “We’re still talking about that. He’ll definitely play in one of them, maybe two, just kind of ramping him up and making sure he stays sharp. That’s all.” The 38-year-old veteran will make $9.5MM this season in the final year of his contract.

Knicks Notes: Robinson, Payne, Defense, Brunson

October 10th, 2024 at 8:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Oft-injured Knicks reserve center Mitchell Robinson is on track to return to the hardwood in January, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

The seven-footer is still recuperating from a pair of ankle procedures he has undergone in the past year. He had a December ankle surgery, then incurred another foot/ankle ailment during the playoffs that required surgery in May. According to Charania, the Knicks plan to have Karl-Anthony Towns and Jericho Sims play the majority of the minutes at center while Robinson is unavailable.

Robinson, 26, suited up for just 31 contests last year, averaging 5.6 points per game on 57.5% from the field and 40.9% shooting from the foul line. He also registered averages of 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per night.

There’s more out of New York:

New Knicks backup point guard Cameron Payne, whose Sixers were vanquished in a chippy first round series by New York last spring, is acclimating to his new environs, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. As Bondy notes, Payne and Jalen Brunson had a brief run-in in Game 5 of that series after Payne committed a hard foul on the Knicks star. “First thing I did was talk to JB when I got here,” Payne said, “and he’s like, ‘It’s all love.’ So it’s all love.”
The Knicks’ defensive ferocity was already well on display during the club’s Wednesday win over the Wizards, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “I think we’re just learning each other some more,” new All-Defensive Team addition Mikal Bridges said. “Defensively, I think we can be really good. Just need time and being around each other more, and having practices and playing these preseason games is gonna help a lot.”
Brunson believes he should have earned a spot on the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball team this summer, per Sam Schube of GQ. The 6’2″ All-Star broke his hand during New York’s Game 7 semifinal defeat to the Pacers and would have been unable to play as he recuperated, but he noted that he didn’t make the cut even before that happened. “The team was chosen before I broke my hand,” Brunson said. “The way I played last year, I thought I was deserving. I thought I could have fit in. I’ve played many roles throughout my career; I could play another. But obviously, it just wasn’t in the cards at that time.”

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