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Sixers Guarantee Paul Reed’s Contract For 2022/23

October 14th, 2022 at 4:08pm CST by Rory Maher

Paul Reed has had his $1,782,621 salary for the 2022/23 season fully guaranteed by the Sixers, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski observes (via Twitter), Philadelphia technically didn’t have to make a decision on Reed’s deal until January, but the team opted to guarantee it a few months early. Reed will be a restricted free agent in 2023 if he’s extended a $2,228,276 qualifying offer.

The 23-year-old was the 58th overall pick of the 2020 draft after three college seasons with DePaul. He has had a minor role at the NBA level to this point, averaging 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per contest in 64 games over the past two seasons.

However, Reed has been a star for the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers’ G League affiliate. He has averaged 22.3 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks on .582/.436/.725 shooting in 24 NBA GL games (31.6 minutes) since he was drafted two years ago.

The 6’9″ big man has served as the primary backup center to Joel Embiid during preseason over veteran Montrezl Harrell, though head coach Doc Rivers said on Wednesday that the two will split time behind Embiid, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).

Reed was in a training camp battle with Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey for the 14th spot on the 15-man standard roster. The Sixers ended up waiving both Joe and Bassey yesterday, and it appears as though they’ll keep the 15th spot open for now to maintain roster and financial flexibility.

Daryl Morey Didn't Set Out To Rebuild His Former Rockets Team

October 14th, 2022 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Simmons addressed several topics in the discussion, including the negative public perception of him, his future in Brooklyn and everything that went wrong with the Sixers. He said he’s looking forward to his first game in front of Philadelphia fans on November 22.

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey acquired four former Rockets players during the offseason, but the one-time Houston general manager says he didn’t deliberately try to put the team back together, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Morey signed P.J. Tucker, Danuel House and Montrezl Harrell and traded for De’Anthony Melton, reuniting them with ex-Rockets star James Harden. “If you have had a player, whether it be with [coach Doc Rivers] or myself, it can lower the risk,” Morey said. “Because you don’t really know a player until you’ve worked directly with them on your team. So I do think there’s an information advantage when you’ve worked with them before. … It all sort of fell, and it’s created a pretty interesting and, I think, positive dynamic because there is a lot of familiarity, both with the players together and also the coaching staff.”
After playing for three teams last season, House knows what he needs to do to earn consistent minutes with the Sixers. “My role is just to be energy,” he said (video link). “Be the guy to make stuff happen. Make plays happen, make a shot, knock down a shot, get a rebound, pass the ball, set the play up, run the play, set the screen, whatever the team needs pretty much. I’m just here to give away myself. Like I said earlier, I’m not really worried about accolades. As long as we win, I feel like that’s my biggest accolade.”

Sixers Sign Aminu Mohammed To Exhibit 10 Contract

October 13th, 2022 at 8:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted Georgetown guard Aminu Mohammed, who reached an agreement with the Sixers in June, has officially signed his Exhibit 10 contract with the team, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

Mohammed spent just one year in college, but made an impact for the Hoyas, averaging 13.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 1.6 SPG in 31 games (32.2 MPG). He struggled to score efficiently, however, shooting just 37.9% from the floor, including 31.0% on three-pointers.

The Sixers will likely waive Mohammed within the next couple days and have him join the Delaware Blue Coats, their G League team, as an affiliate player. If he spends at least 60 days in Delaware, Mohammed would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K.

Having waived Charles Bassey, Isaiah Joe, and Skylar Mays within the last two days, Philadelphia has more than enough room on its preseason roster to accommodate the addition of Mohammed. The club currently has 18 players under contract.

Sixers Waive Charles Bassey, Isaiah Joe

October 13th, 2022 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

5:37pm: The Sixers have officially announced in a press release that they’ve waived Bassey and Joe.

8:32am: The Sixers are also waiving Joe, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). With Joe’s non-guaranteed $1.78MM salary no longer on the books, the team will have more than $5.5MM in breathing room below its hard cap, tweets Bodner.

Joe appeared in 55 games for the 76ers last season, averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .350/.333/.935 shooting in 11.1 MPG.

The two cuts will give the Sixers the option of opening the season with just 14 players on their standard roster or of adding a 15th man (including perhaps Joe) on a new non-guaranteed contract.

Joe’s previous deal called for his full 2022/23 salary to become guaranteed if he made the opening night roster, so Philadelphia theoretically could re-sign him on a more team-friendly contract if he passes through waivers, though it’s unclear if that’s in the plans. The team also may have interest in bringing him back on a two-way deal, says Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.

8:18am: The Sixers have waived big man Charles Bassey, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).

The 53rd overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Western Kentucky, Bassey signed a three-year, minimum-salary contract with Philadelphia last September, then appeared in 23 games as a rookie, averaging 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per contest. He played a starring role when assigned to the G League, averaging 18.9 PPG and 10.3 RPG in 17 regular season games (28.6 MPG) for the Delaware Blue Coats.

Although Bassey’s contract ran through 2024, it wasn’t fully guaranteed beyond his rookie season, making his grip on a roster spot tenuous this fall. Isaiah Joe‘s strong Summer League showing and the Sixers’ decision to sign Montrezl Harrell a month ago to fill out their frontcourt also didn’t work in his favor, making Bassey the odd man out.

Assuming Bassey clears waivers without being claimed, the 76ers will be on the hook for his partial guarantee of $74,742. Because that guarantee exceeds $50K, he’s ineligible to play for the Delaware Blue Coats – Philadelphia’s G League team – as an affiliate player or two-way player.

A team with interest in claiming Bassey off waivers would need a trade exception, disabled player exception, or cap room to absorb his $1,563,518 salary. Even though he’s earning the minimum, the fact that Bassey was on a three-year contract means he can’t be claimed using the minimum salary exception.

With Bassey and Trevelin Queen out of the picture, Philadelphia looks poised to carry a 15-man roster that features 13 players on fully guaranteed salaries, plus Paul Reed and possibly Joe on non-guaranteed deals. The Sixers’ team salary is now approximately $3.76MM below the hard cap, tweets Derek Bodner of The Daily Six.

Sixers Sign, Waive Skylar Mays

October 12th, 2022 at 5:19pm CST by Luke Adams

5:19pm: Mays has been placed on waivers, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

2:10pm: The Sixers have signed guard Skylar Mays to a training camp contract, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

Mays, 25, was the 50th overall pick in the 2020 draft and spent his first two professional seasons with the Hawks. He was on two-way contracts until being promoted to Atlanta’s standard 15-man roster during the final week of the 2021/22 regular season.

In 61 total games for the Hawks, Mays averaged 3.3 PPG and 1.0 RPG on .469/.338/.882 shooting in 8.0 MPG. He became an unrestricted free agent this summer when Atlanta opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.

The 76ers are likely signing Mays to secure his G League rights. Assuming he received an Exhibit 10 contract, he’d be eligible for a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s NBAGL affiliate.

Mays will likely be waived soon, but remains on the Sixers’ roster for the time being, as the team’s official website shows. He’s occupying the 20th and final slot, which was open after Philadelphia signed and waived Patrick McCaw.

Sixers Sign-And-Waive Justin Smith, Patrick McCaw

October 11th, 2022 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

10:28am: The Sixers have formally confirmed that they signed and then waived both Smith and McCaw.

8:51am: The Sixers are rotating players in and out of the 20th spot on their preseason roster. After signing and waiving guard Mac McClung, the team also signed and waived forward Justin Smith, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Philadelphia subsequently signed veteran swingman Patrick McCaw to fill that 20th slot, per RealGM and the team’s official website.

Smith spent his rookie season with the Raptors 905 after going undrafted out of Arkansas in 2021. He averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 29 games (21.7 MPG) for Toronto’s G League affiliate.

The Delaware Blue Coats acquired Smith’s NBAGL returning rights in a trade with the 905 last week, per Matt Murphy (Twitter link). He likely signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Philadelphia that will assure he receives a bonus worth up to $50K if he spends at least 60 days with the Blue Coats this season.

As for McCaw, the former Warriors and Raptors guard – a three-time NBA champion – has appeared in 199 total NBA games, but finished last season with the Blue Coats, playing a key rotation role for the team as it made a run to the G League Finals. Like Smith, McCaw appears likely to be waived and then head to Delaware as a returning-rights player.

Atlantic Notes: Harden, Melton, Raptors, G. Williams

October 11th, 2022 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Asked by Joe Vardon of The Athletic if he believes he’s gotten the proper credit for taking a pay cut this season in order to allow the Sixers to sign other players, including P.J. Tucker and Danuel House, James Harden shook his head.

“Nope, but guess what? I don’t care,” Harden said. “There’s like a stereotype (of Harden) where people always want to talk. People don’t really know me, so they feel like they can just say anything. One thing I won’t do is give them any attention. I won’t say anything, media-wise, publicly. I don’t care, because I’m comfortable and I’m confident in the things I do on and off the court.”

Harden turned down a player option worth more than $47MM and accepted a $33MM salary for 2022/23, with a player option worth $35.64MM for ’23/24. Having sacrificed some short-term money for the good of the team, the former MVP told Vardon he intends to take the same approach with his on-court statistics this season.

“At this point, (big) numbers are great, but whether I’m averaging 22 or 28 (points per game), I think it’s more that I’m making an impact on the game each and every night,” Harden said. “I don’t really think about numbers. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about numbers, honestly. … Ultimately, it’s winning a championship. The numbers don’t really mean anything, individually.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

De’Anthony Melton is looking forward to showing what he can bring this season to the Sixers and is grateful that Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman traded him to a favorable landing spot, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Zach and I have a good relationship to where I know he wouldn’t send me to a bad situation,” Melton said. “He wouldn’t do anything that he doesn’t feel like is a good situation for his organization and for me. You don’t get that in a lot of GMs. So that’s why the care factor was there. I could be wrong. I could be right, but that’s what I felt, given the situation.”
Dalano Banton‘s place on the Raptors‘ regular season roster looks increasingly secure after another solid performance vs. Chicago on Sunday, but the team’s 15th spot remains very much up in the air, says Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange notes, Justin Champagnie got a late start to the preseason, but hasn’t fallen far behind in the battle for the No. 15 spot, since none of D.J. Wilson, Josh Jackson, and Gabe Brown have run away with it.
In a mailbag for NBC Sports Boston, Chris Forsberg makes a case for why the Celtics and Grant Williams should be able to get a rookie scale extension done before next Monday’s deadline, arguing that a deal in the range of $12-13MM per year would allow Williams to earn more than the mid-level and let the team lock up another member of its core.

Mac McClung Waived By Sixers

October 10th, 2022 at 6:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have waived guard Mac McClung, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

McClung joined the organization last week on an Exhibit 10 contract. It’s anticipated he’ll join the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League team, once he clears waivers. The Blue Coats acquired his G League rights in a trade with the South Bay Lakers.

McClung has already passed through waivers since training camps opened. McClung was previously waived by the Warriors.

McClung was an undrafted rookie in 2021. He signed a couple of 10-day hardship contracts with the Bulls in December and January, but only appeared in one NBA game for just three minutes. He also played one game for the Lakers at the end of his rookie season on a two-way deal, but wasn’t extended a qualifying offer.

The 23-year-old guard spent the majority of last season in the G League with the Lakers’ affiliate, South Bay, where he was named NBAGL Rookie of the Year.

Neubeck: Isaiah Joe Clear Frontrunner For Final Roster Spot

October 9th, 2022 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Following the Sixers‘ release of Trevelin Queen, Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice believes Isaiah Joe looks like the “clear frontrunner” for the team’s final regular season roster spot, ahead of Charles Bassey.

Sixers Waive Trevelin Queen

October 9th, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Arthur Hill

10:19am: Queen has officially been waived, the Sixers announced in a press release.

9:59am: The Sixers are waiving Trevelin Queen, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The 25-year-old shooting guard had a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season. He was named G League MVP with Rio Grande Valley last season and appeared in 10 games with the Rockets after signing a two-way contract in December.

By waiving Queen before the season begins, Philadelphia was able to avoid a $198K tax variance charge, according to Sixers reporter Derek Bodner (Twitter link).

Queen’s departure leaves the team with 19 players and it means the battle for the final roster spot will likely be between shooting guard Isaiah Joe and center Charles Bassey, Bodner adds (via Twitter). Joe has a $1.78MM non-guaranteed contract that will become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on opening night, while Bassey has a $75K guarantee on his $1.563MM deal.

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