The Sixer Sense
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Is There A Chance The Sixers Bring A Cut Player Back?

By Josh Wilson

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The Philadelphia 76ers were faced with a tough task on Monday. By 5 P.M., the team had to cut their roster from twenty guys down to 15, a difficult task for a team with a slew of players that all sit around the same talent level, and an even tougher task since the team was faced with a ton of injuries that came as a result of a grueling–for some at least–preseason.

One of the surprising cuts was keeping veteran forward Carl Landry instead of Furkan Aldemir on the team. Landry was acquired by the Sixers as one of the components of the trade that brought them guard Nik Stauskas. Both Stauskas and Landry are now injured, but that is actually working out somewhat well for the Sixers.

On cut day, many beat writers and reporters were speculating about cuts based on who was at practice and who wasn’t. Bob Cooney practically broke the news that Pierre Jackson was cut off of speculation that he passed him driving out of the practice facility.

Among those names not at practice was Landry, but it was later reported that Landry was actually visiting a doctor in New York, and that was the reason of his absence. So, Landry ended up making the team, alongside Stauskas, despite the two of them being injured, and despite Landry taking up a huge part of the salary cap. It would seem even more insane to fans if there wasn’t a huge “dead cap” part of the pie to pay attention to.

Fans are trying to make sense of it, but Jake Pavorsky pointed something interesting out about the situation as it was happening. The Sixers can now apply for an extra roster spot, since they have four players injured. Wesley Share of the Liberty Ballers pointed to this possibility a while back as well.

What do they do with this spot? They really have lots of possibilities, and maybe even Sam Hinkie, general manager doesn’t know exactly what the plan is yet. At first, some thought maybe bringing in Ish Smith to help out at point guard would work, but he has reportedly been claimed off of waivers by the New Orleans Pelicans, meaning the Sixers passed on the opportunity to get him.

I personally think that they will use this to bring back one of the players that they cut. They could also look at cuts other NBA teams have made, and see if any new free agents satisfy their needs, but why not focus on what they know best, first?

There’s some notable names, Pierre Jackson who was mentioned earlier is a fan (and player) favorite that many were sad to see get cut. Aldemir also was the only player that was on last year’s roster that got cut, and although his preseason was terrible, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him picked up if the Sixers have an extra roster spot to spare.

Scottie Wilbekin did great in the preseason, and was a clutch factor in their win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. I’d be all for the team re-signing him. Some have criticized him for his “shoot first” mentality, but truthfully, I like it, and think it’s what he does best. The Sixers are in desperate need of scoring, and he could help them out with just that.

Pierre and Scottie also claim the second and third most largest contracts for the Sixers in dead cap currently, accounting for $950,000.

The other two that were cut (Jordan McRae and J.P. Tokoto) don’t offer enough for me to think the Sixers would use a spare roster spot on them.

There’s no doubt that this extra roster spot benefits the Sixers, but they would probably rather be healthy than have to use it. Joel Embiid is out for the year and sets them off on the wrong foot, and injuries to Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Nik Stauskas, Pierre Jackson, and more only made things worse for them. It’s a strategic move to use that hardship clause, but at the same time, keeping Landry to do so is a bit frustrating. Why not just keep a player that is able to play, rather than having to apply for a hardship and wait three games before they can sign the extra player? It could be because Landry is the highest paid player on the team, and it would seem wasteful to release him and make the dead cap of the Sixers even higher.

Next: Robert Covington Injury Hurts Team Significantly

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