After being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, Ricky Council IV is among the latest batch of former 76ers players who no longer have a home in the NBA. We’re in the offseason stage where teams are fine-tuning their rosters heading into training camp through two-way signings or waiving players to clear up space. As a result, a few players Philadelphia fans once thought fondly of are phasing out of the league. Let’s take a look at them.
Shake Milton
Roughly five years ago, Shake Milton put himself on the map after dropping 39 points against the Los Angeles Clippers. In a dysfunctional 2019-20 campaign, Milton was one of the 76ers’ few bright spots. The following season, he molded into a quality rotation guard – averaging a career-best 13 points per game. He also finished 12th in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Unfortunately, that was the pinnacle of Milton’s NBA career. Between Tyrese Maxey’s ascension and the acquisition of De’Anthony Melton, Milton remained in Philadelphia’s rotation, but to a lesser degree. After the 2022-23 season, he signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was then dealt to the Detroit Pistons for Monte Morris and later waived.
The New York Knicks signed him for the rest of the season, then inked him to a multi-year deal in the summer of 2024. Just as things were looking up for Milton, he was thrown into the trade that netted the Knicks Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets. In December, the Nets packaged him with Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers primarily for D’Angelo Russell. Los Angeles waived him on July 20th. Last week, Milton signed a deal with a Serbian basketball club called Partizan Belgrade.
Jaden Springer
The 76ers drafted Jaden Springer with the 28th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. At 19 years old, he was more of a project player with upside as a two-way wing. In his first two seasons, he played a combined 18 games as Philadelphia’s wing room was heavily crowded. Springer got more of an opportunity in 2023-24, but aside from a few sequences, he didn’t show any true promise.
Later that year, he was dealt to the Boston Celtics for a 2024 second-round pick, which became Adem Bona. It’s safe to say that the 76ers won this trade. On February 6th, Boston traded him to the Houston Rockets for draft capital, who then waived Springer later that day. He finished the season with the Utah Jazz before being waived on July 24th. Springer is yet to sign with another team.
Lonnie Walker IV
After striking gold with Guerschon Yabusele, Philadelphia tried to do so again by signing Lonnie Walker IV. He began the 2024-25 season in Boston before being waived to cut costs. Later, he agreed to play for a Lithuanian team named Žalgiris Kaunas where he spent the first half of the NBA season. On February 21st, the 76ers poached him on a two-year contract once he agreed to a buy-out with Žalgiris Kaunas.
Walker played 20 games for Philadelphia where he averaged 12.4 points per game. Amidst its tank, he was solid on a team lacking in offensive creation. However, to create more salary cap flexibility, the 76ers declined his team option for the 2025-26 campaign. On July 26th, Walker agreed to terms on a deal to return overseas with Euro-League club Maccabi Tel Aviv.