RealGM

I know, this is a weekly topic. But I just posted this on the TnT board, and curious what everyone here thinks:

Sixers roster currently stands at:

PG: Jerry Bayless, Sergio Rodriquez, T.J. McConnell, Cat Barber
SG: Gerald Henderson, Nik Stauskas, Hollis Thompson, Brandon Paul
SF: Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, James Webb
PF: Ben Simmons (injured), Dario Saric, Elton Brand, Shawn Long
C: Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Richaun Holmes,

Even if the 4 mostly unguaranteed new signings are cut (striked out players), there are 16 players for 15 spots. Maybe a trade of Noel or Okafor solves everything by taking back no current players, but if not, there is a problem that needs a solution. Which was made worse by Elton Brand being paid a full 1m to be an on the roster babysitter, taking away the obvious cut.

As such, the bubble players look like:
1) Elton Brand -- cut him anyway, and then have him sign on cheaply as a coach using the 1m guaranteed salary as salary floor circumvention whereby an assistant coaches salary counts towards the floor. Sure, that seems unlikely. But cutting Brand is roster wise logical and doing so as preplanned way to count his coaching salary against the cap is nefarious enough that I had to include it as a possibility.
2) Hollis Thompson -- his outside shooting makes sense on the team and besides Covington he might be the biggest beneficiary of teh Sixers getting more players that can get him his spot up looks. But he is in the last year of his deal so there is no locked in long term upside, and is fully unguaranteed. Given the contract structure, it makes sense that he is tradable versus just cut for nothing, admittedly not for much at all.
3) Nik Stauskas -- still just 2 years off being a lotto pick. The Sixers need to decide if they want to pick up his team option for next year. If they don't have enough confidence to do so, then cutting Nik now and not developing a guy they cannot sign for more than that option and is unrestricted doesn't make sense. Especially with Hollis the more complimentary player
4) Richaun Holmes -- Had a good rookie season and Colangelo has raved about his summer, so seems extremely unlikely but given the positional glut maybe he is flipped in a trade and its a pump up move to keep talking him up? Doesn;t make a lot of sense, the positional glut is more in the starting area than a 2nd round backup but, maybe?
5) TJ McConnell -- Supposedly is pushing Sergio as the better pure pg in camp, although Bayless was initially slotted as the starting pg and with Simmons playing some on the ball (when back), how much is a 3rd pg needed? Fully unguaranteed which is why I included him here.

So:

How does this resolve itself (see Poll)?
What team would offer something (very small) for Hollis?
What team would make a better offer for Holmes?
Would anyone want Stauskas, or should Philly cut bait and decline the option and cut him?

I'd cut TJ McConnell, but I think there is good chance Stauskas is cut, due to not wanting to deal with his option.

TLC to the D-league an option? Still think they end up trading one of the bigs though in a packaged deal.

Hartford, you have Elton on there twice. As to the question, I think Elton shouldn't be on there once.

phillthy13 wrote:TLC to the D-league an option? Still think they end up trading one of the bigs though in a packaged deal.

He still takes up a roster spot.

Noel goes IMO. Him or holmes whoever they feel they can get better relative value for. I don't think it's a coincidence that Jah isn't playing, they want to showcase those 2 and see what they get for offers

Sixersftw wrote:Hartford, you have Elton on there twice. As to the question, I think Elton shouldn't be on there once.

Fixed. I moved him in front of Long on the depth chart and kept him behind Long as well.

D you think the Sixers will cut Brand, or just that they should? And if it is should but not will, what do you think will happen?

HartfordWhalers wrote:

Sixersftw wrote:Hartford, you have Elton on there twice. As to the question, I think Elton shouldn't be on there once.

Fixed. I moved him in front of Long on the depth chart and kept him behind Long as well.

D you think the Sixers will cut Brand, or just that they should? And if it is should but not will, what do you think will happen?

I personally think they should cut Brand. The second most preferred move (theres a big gap) would be to trade Okafor to clear space and alleviate the logjam. They aren't going to do either one because 1) they seem to view Brand as a veteran locker room presence that is more valuable as a player than a coach. 2) Okafor just doesn't have the market and his contract having additional years on it is very valuable compared to Noel. This is true even though you can make an argument that Noel is a better player now and projects favorably with the trends of the NBA's current/future playstyle.

I think the most likely outcome is cutting Nik or trading Nerlens. Nik because he seems like a lost cost. Nerlen's because of his contract and because he likely has a relatively healthy market for his services. We may have trouble finding value for Nerlen's because a lot of teams will try to lowball us.

I'm wondering whether if Brand was signed just for training camp knowing that he would not be on the roster once the season started. They could easily employ him as a coach afterwards.

It doesn't make sense that he would take a spot reserved for players that would actually play.


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Hollis seems like the odd man out. TLC replaces his "skillset", the FO seems to still believe in Nik. They also think Grant and Saric can play some 3.Bayless can slide to the 2. Hendo also takes a space on the wings....so why keep Hollis at all?

that being said...I think a big man trade happens...regardless of Simmons' injury.

I think Stauskas is cut which will be moronic to lose him to keep Elton Brand

Potential surprise is Jerami Grant is cut which will also be a travesty if its done to keep Brand

I want a do over on my vote. Stauskas is a lame duck. He has zero chance of getting his option picked up.

I know it's just the first preseason game but IF Paul keeps showing what he did tonight I think he makes the team.

As for getting down to 15 I think the cut/cuts are coming from our 2 guards

Brandon Paul may actually be ahead of both Sauce and Thompson at the end of camp if he can keep playing like what he did tonight.

It's between thompson, sauce and brand ..right?

what about cutting all 3 and picking up a vet free agent?

tayshaun prince type? someone on a 1 year vet min deal.

gary neal? http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/nealga01.html

chalmers? kev martin?

i mean - yeah didn't want them in the beginning of FA but at this point - seeing how the team is shaped and is desperate for vet (consistant) shooting. why not bring in one of these guys?

neal and brown should be familiar.

Nik's gotta go. I liked him in Michigan, I thought he could be an interesting NBA player, but holy hell has he not translated at this level....at all. Wouldn't cry if they cut Hollis. Would cry if they cut Holmes, stuck in a numbers squeeze, but I love the dude.

I voted for Stauskas cut. That's the right move outside of cutting Brand. He has shown ZERO improvement in his ability to shoot. The preseason game was a replay of the past 2 years of him badly missing open three pointers. I'd much rather give Paul a shot on this roster than either Stauskas or Thompson to be honest.

We could lose Sauce or Thompson and not miss a beat with Paul. I'm tired of those guys and would rather give a fresh face a chance to fail in the same role.

Kinda tired of McConnell too - I think he's too predictable and a ball killer as a PG to be effective at this level. We're thin at PG though, so I think he sticks, but it's going to be a problem if he needs to get a lot of minutes this year. He's not going to help the important players develop with his style of play.