The deadline for teams to slim their roster from 20 members to 15 has come and gone, and the Philadelphia 76ers are done making hard roster move decisions, at least for the moment (then again, knowing Sam Hinkie, he could be striking up a deal to bring another new player to the team soon).
Being a player in the NBA is a tough job, especially if you’re a veteran who doesn’t have much skill, or if you’re a younger player without a whole lot of talent that’s been tapped. The same toughness occurs for players who have battled injuries during Summer League.
There’s not many professions where your job is so dependent on your performance. There’s also not many professions where you can be completely healthy one day, and have your world turned upside down the next, and have that considered to be part of the business.
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Summer League, the preseason games, and injuries were all major factors in deciding who made the team, and possibly more importantly, the five cuts on the team.
The first cut that came out of the day was one that didn’t surprise most, but still left lots of fans who have fallen in love with this guys’ style of play devastated. His name is Pierre Jackson, and he’s fought so much and come so far, but yet another injury this year during the preseason left the Sixers with not much choice but to cut him. They need someone reliable at the point guard position, and right now Pappy Jack simply can’t be that, unfortunately.
Quote from Coach Brett Brown on Pierre Jackson (via @DerekBodnerNBA) pic.twitter.com/AFUpmEd4Va
— Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) October 27, 2015
J.P. Tokoto was the next cut, and this was also no surprise. Some liked him, but it’s not that big of a roster, and there’s simply no room for him right now. He signed a tender before the preseason when he may have been better off just going to the D-League or overseas. Now, he’s probably kicking himself for not doing just that, because he’ll probably end up in one of those two places.
The third cut of the day was Scottie Wilbekin, a cut I don’t agree with. Scottie was a great scorer for the Sixers in the preseason, averaging 11.8 points per game in games that he played more than five minutes. T.J. McConnell, the player who took Wilbekin’s spot, only averaged 6.2 points per game in the preseason, but made up for it with 4.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. Overall Wilbekin was not as balanced as McConnell, doing well with scoring, but not anything else. This was a toss-up between the two, and the winner was going to be backing up Isaiah Canaan in the point guard slot to start the season. McConnell fought hard for the job and won a spot that no one thought he would win.
The next reported cut was Furkan Aldemir, who was the biggest surprise of the day as a player that was on the team last year. Aldemir only averaged 4.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the preseason. He averaged 2.8 fouls per game as well. Overall, he had something going for him heading into the preseason—a spot that existed last year on the team for Aldemir. He was outplayed in the preseason by the likes of players like Christian Wood, and lost what he had.
Jordan McRae was the last player cut, making the roster 15. McRae was a victim of the clogged guard positions, and didn’t do much to show for himself with only 6.0 points per game, 1.8 assists, and 3.2 rebounds.
For those of you who may have lost track, here’s the (possibly changing) final 15 man roster for opening night.
- Nerlens Noel
- Jahlil Okafor
- Joel Embiid (out for season)
- Richaun Holmes
- Christian Wood
- Carl Landry
- JaKarr Sampson
- Jerami Grant
- Hollis Thompson
- Robert Covington
- Nik Stauskas
- Isaiah Canaan
- T.J. McConnell
- Tony Wroten
- Kendall Marshall
Do you agree with the cuts? Were there any you would have changed? One thing is for certain, this roster will be fluid and changing throughout the year with the ways that general manager Sam Hinkie likes to operate. Last season the Sixers had 25 different players on their roster at one point or another when the regular season opened up.