The Sixer Sense
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Sixers will be fine without Nemanja Bjelica

By Lucas Johnson

ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 16: Nemanja Bjelica #8 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Orlando Magic on January 16, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 16: Nemanja Bjelica #8 of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the Orlando Magic on January 16, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in an interesting place with Nemanja Bjelica deciding not to join the franchise this upcoming season.

Keith Pompey of philly.com has tweeted out that Nemanja Bjelica has chosen to stay in overseas for the upcoming season and the primary reason is because he wants to be with his family. Pompey also tweeted that Bjelica had passport problems which prevented him from having a physical with the Philadelphia 76ers. This comes after Bjelica agreed to a deal with the club on July 5th, 2018.

A deal is never final until the player signs on the dotted line. That’s exactly what happened in this case with the Sixers and Bjelica. This situation is similar to what happened between DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks in 2015. However, unlike the Jordan and Mavericks situation, this doesn’t set the 76ers back in any major way.

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Sure it was nice that the Sixers agreed to a deal with a stretch four that could sure up the depth chart, however make no mistake that Philadelphia will survive without him. Even before the club agreed to sign Bjelica, they already had decent depth that the position.

The franchise still has starter Dario Saric and other players that can fill in the role just fine. Ben Simmons, Robert Covington and Wilson Chandler can all provide minutes at the position. Head coach Brett Brown could also have Justin Anderson play small-ball four this season, as I’ve suggested that Anderson would be suited for in a previous article.

If the club doesn’t feel stable with its current depth, then they could also use the money meant for Bjelica on another free agent. In the past, I have wrote in two separate articles that Michael Beasley and Christian Wood are big men free agent options. Another option is just to sign Jonah Bolden to his rookie deal as well, but I’ve written that Bolden isn’t ready for the NBA so adding him wouldn’t be the best option for the club.

However, adding someone to replace Bjelica could add more to the already over crowded roster. With Bjelica backing out of his agreement with the franchise and returning to Europe, the Sixers are now at 16 players under contract. They need to bring it down to 15 players.

The most likely candidate to go is combo guard Jerryd Bayless. The Sixers could waive, stretch or trade Bayless’ contract. It’s important to note that trading Bayless would either have the 76ers receiving no players back or including another player to help decrease the club’s roster size.

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While losing out on a legit stretch four should disappoint the Philadelphia 76ers front office and fans alike, the club will recover just fine without him. The club has plenty of players on the roster that can fill the role and this gives the Sixers more options in how they want to shape the roster moving forward.