Philadelphia 76ers Will Chasson Randle Sign Second 10-Day Contract?

The Philadelphia 76ers have been hit hard with injuries at point guard this season. Will PG Chasson Randle‘s 10-Day Contract Be Renewed?

The Philadelphia 76ers thought they had adequately addressed the point guard situation in the off-season. After all, the team had returning rookie T.J. McConnell, veteran free agents Jerryd Bayless and Sergio Rodriguez, and of course, top-rated-rookie-point-forward-turned-point-guard, Ben Simmons, lined up to swell the position for the 2016-2017 season.

They thought wrong.

Ben Simmons injured his foot in preseason.  Jerryd Bayless tried to play through the pain of a wrist injury, before acquiescing to have surgery and miss the season.  And Sergio Rodriguez injured his ankle.

Making Way For A 10-Day

And so as the team neared the period for signing players to 10-day contracts, the team waived veteran Hollis Thompson to clear room for a short term solution to what has become a long term problem for the team.  The need was point guard.  The player was Chasson Randle.  And it was to be a short term solution to a short term need.

But just as the team saw the return of Sergio Rodriguez, T.J. McConnell sprained his wrist against the Washington Wizards, and the team is now back to one point guard, an emergency point guard in Nik Stauskas, and whatever the team can duct tape together.

"“[I’m] trying to keep it stable and not move it around a lot. I should be good to go very soon,” McConnell said. “I’m leaving [when I play] up to the medical staff. I’ll just tell them how I feel. It’s getting a lot better each day.” – McConnell as interviewed by Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com"

One up, one down.

Again.

Silver Lining

But before we shake our heads in despair, there is definitely a silver lining on this rainy cloud.

And he goes by the name of Chasson Randle.

Randle has been with the team for eight days, and in that time has appeared in just two games, the loss to Washington on January 14th, and the victory over Milwaukee on January 16th. In fact, his performance against the Bucks is worth discussing.

In his 16 minutes of play, he shot three of six from the floor, including two of four from three-point range, for 10 points. He also brought down two rebounds, grabbed one steal, and dished out one assist. His cameo appearance so far has earned him a 24.7 player efficiency rating from ESPN. While that is a relatively ineffective stat (it suggests he is the most valuable player on the team), it does validate that the kid knows what he is doing.

Next Moves

It does suggest that he has done enough to earn more time with the team. And with the soon-to-be arriving Ben Simmons, it does place his name into the dialogue of whether he could play or even start alongside Simmons?

Meanwhile, it’s impossible to keep T.J.McConnell out of the lineup for too long. In fact, McConnell looks to start against the Raptors, sprained wrist and all.

But look for Randle to get into the game at some point. If he continues to deliver on his shooting accuracy, he will likely be setting himself up for some additional time in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey.

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Since the team knows that Sergio Rodriguez’s contract expires at the end of this season, Randle could play himself right into a multi year contract.