The 76ers finished up preseason on Friday night and had until today to choose which players will make the team, as waivers need to be requested today so the players can hit free agency ahead of Monday’s roster cutting deadline. Per The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, the team has already informed Kris Humphries, Emeka Okafor, and James Blackmon that they’ll be waived.
None of the releases are surprises. Okafor was attempting an NBA comeback four years after his most recent game action. He looked to be in tremendous physical condition for a 35-year-old, but he appeared a bit slow for the fast-paced NBA. Blackmon intrigued me as a potential two-way player, but per Pompey the second two-way spot will likely go to backup guard Jacob Pullen, who hasn’t yet been informed of his fate. I’d have kept Blackmon as a potential depth wing player with some shooting touch, but to each his own.
Kris Humphries is another story. The Sixers probably could use someone with Humphries’ shooting at a big position. However, the dude was mercilessly booed during each home game in Philadelphia. Part of it was due to his infamously short-lived marriage to a reality television star. Part of it was due to him fouling Ben Simmons on a fastbreak during a televised team scrimmage. And another part of it may be due to his politics. Regardless, he’s gone, and a lot of people are happy about that.
The Sixers’ 15-man NBA roster is mostly filled with guaranteed contracts. Robert Covington, Richaun Holmes, and T.J. McConnell do not have contract guarantees for this year, but were practically guaranteed to make the roster out of camp. Other players on the team were either signed to lucrative free agent contracts over the past two summers or drafted in the first round, and thus would be owed their full salaries. Releasing at least three players was merely a formality. The only questions now are whether the Sixers make a trade late in camp and whether Pullen accepts a two-way contract.