NBA Free Agency: Sixers Waive Carl Landry, Tibor Pleiss

The competition for roster spots just opened up a bit in Philadelphia. Bryan Colangelo pulled the trigger on two transactions today, waiving veteran forward Carl Landry and recently-acquired big Tibor Pleiss.

This news comes by way of The Vertical’s Shams Charania:

Pleiss being waived was expected, but Landry’s departure is one that will raise some eyebrows. Landry was solid in the locker room and a reliable, if aging contributor in limited minutes. The Sixers still owe Landry $6.5 million for this season, so moving on anyway signals an intent to create roster space above all else.

There’s an outside chance this signals larger moves to come, but parting ways with Landry is good news on the immediate front for several current Sixers. Jerami Grant is one of the more promising fringe guys left on the roster, but the overcrowding in the frontcourt would have made it difficult for the Sixers to continue carrying him if Landry would have stayed. As it stands, they can retain him a bit longer and hope he can supplement his tools with an improved three-point stroke.

Colangelo’s reshaping of the roster continues, and this unexpected detour might just open a window for some holdovers from Sam Hinkie’s regime. We’ll have to wait and see what it all means.