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According to Turner Sports writer and noted Rights to Ricky Sanchez supporter David Aldridge, the 76ers have dipped their toes into the dangerous free agent waters.
Hearing former St. John's forward JaKarr Sampson, who played on 76ers' SL team, has signed a partially guaranteed 3yr deal w/Sixers.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) September 15, 2014
The 6'8" forward went undrafted after leaving St. John's following his sophomore year. He averaged 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds during his last season with the Red Storm. He checked in with an 7-foot wingspan during summer workouts, and landed a spot on the Sixers Orlando Summer League World Championship team, where he averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in five games.
His calling card is his athleticism. He has a pretty strong dunk game, which is always a nice thing to have. He's something of a tweener 3-4, both in his size, and that he doesn't have the skillset you'd hope for as a three, like any semblance of an outside shot for example (he attempted 13 threes in two years at St. John's and you don't want to know how many of them were successful), but he has demonstrated some good rebounding instincts, both at St. John's and during his Summer League stint. He does have decent touch on a mid-range jumper as well, so he's not strictly an undersized post player.
Here's a decent sampling of some of his greatest hits at St. John's. He's a raw prospect, and if he makes the team out of camp, I'd expect him to become very familiar with the scenic drive that takes you from South Philadelphia to the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, DE (also known as the Lorenzo Brown Bypass).
There's no details yet on what the partially-guaranteed aspect of the deal means, but if the past partially-guaranteed deals Hinkie has completed are any indication, I'd expect the terms to be heavily team-friendly, with a very small guarantee this year, and the next two years being completely non-guaranteed.
Bottom line, Sampson is a pure upside play. At only 21 years old, with Sampson's athleticism, there could be a lot of potential for Brett Brown and the Sixers' development staff to un-tap.