Injury-riddled Sixers to sign Alex Poythress via hardship exception

After Jahlil Okafor and Robert Covington were ruled out for the year, the Philadelphia 76ers were in dire need of bodies just to finish out the year. The 82-game marathon had become a trial of attrition for the Sixers from the moment the season began as nearly half the roster are either stuck to the bench or at home recuperating. Coach Brett Brown said after the previous game that the team’s biggest need was a PF to spell poor Dario Saric, who has seemingly played non-stop for a year.

And who would GM Bryan Colangelo bring in to eat up some minutes?

Alex Poythress spent 4 years at Kentucky before going undrafted in last year’s draft. He found himself on Orlando’s summer league team and after a brief stint with the Indiana Pacers, he signed with the NBA D-L’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants where he’s played in 46 games. His stats look pretty good; 18.5 points, 7.4 boards, and a shooting line of 53/40/78.

So what can we expect from Poythress? A quick skim-through of his Draft Express profile, one can conclude that he was more raw athlete than a role/rotational player coming out of college. However, based upon his improved shooting numbers, especially beyond the arc, at least he looks to be developing a skill set that is valuable for his position.

With only eight healthy players and Saric looking visibly more fatigued by the game, Poythress will definitely get some run and experience up in the majors. Much like in seasons past, the new guy will get thrown into the fire without much time for practice or preparation. But, Brett’s been through this before and we’ve come to expect him to coach the heck out of whomever for whatever time. Poythress is in good hands.

Welcome to the NBA kid!