In a rather strange move, the Philadelphia 76ers front office made the decision to cut ties with Cameron Payne and convert Dalen Terry's two-way deal into a standard NBA contract with the regular season ending in a few wiggles. While not a lot of eyes are going to be set on this one, this is certainly the kind of roster shuffle that does not make a lot of sense from a basketball perspective.
Payne, who was brought in shortly after the trade deadline to help fill in the void left by Jared McCain after the 76ers unceremoniously traded him to the Thunder, has been relatively serviceable enough for the team to give him a minor role off the bench. However, he suffered an untimely injury that will keep him out for a few weeks, which is probably the main reason why the team's brain trust had to waive him.
However, the fact that it was Terry who got the "promotion" might be the wrong decision here. The young forward surely offers above average resistance on the defensive end, but he is not going to help fix this team's lingering issues when it comes to guard play off the bench., among many others.
The 76ers acted hastily in waiving Cameron Payne for Dalen Terry
Parting ways with Payne at this time is especially questionable when taking into account the fact that his hamstring injury was not really expected to keep him out of the commission for long. He was only expected to miss around a couple of weeks before giving it a go once more, and with him gone, the 76ers will basically be operating with a three-guard rotation in both backcourt spots.
Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes form a rather formidable three-headed monster in the backcourt, but Maxey is already hobbled himself. The 76ers need that fourth guard who can soak up some minutes in their stead, and with Payne gone, they no longer have that luxury.
Nick Nurse will probably end up further increasing the minutes of those guards (which were already high to begin with). The coaches might also explore going with some funky ways to shore up their rotation with, say, Trendon Watford and even Justin Edwards in more jumbo-sized lineups next to a single guard.
Still, those cannot match what Payne is capable of providing in spurts. The veteran combo guard, while not exactly a poster child of efficienycy, has been good enough as a playmaker and scorer for the 76ers in his limited minutes. Now, the team will have to get even more resourceful.