INQUISITR.COM / Sports

Philadelphia 76ers Rumors: Elton Brand Expected To Make Sixers

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 08:46 PST, Sep 25, 2016

The Philadelphia 76ers have a lot of roster decisions to make when they open training camp on September 27.

Philadelphia will begin training at Stockton University in Galloway Township, New Jersey (from September 27-30) for a third consecutive year. The 76ers will then move camp to their brand spanking new practice facility in Camden, NJ. The Sixers open their eight-game preseason schedule against the Boston Celtics (October 4) at the Mullins Center on the campus of the University of Massachusetts.

Philadelphia has 20 players under contract though only 12 have fully guaranteed contracts. Which theoretically means that eight players, who possess partial or non-guaranteed contracts, are vying for the 76ers’ final three spots on their 15-man roster.

One player that could have an edge in the battle for one of the remaining roster spots is veteran Elton Brand according to Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers.

https://twitter.com/JakeLFischer/status/779371916360507393

Brand agreed to re-join the Sixers on a one-year, $1.5 million non-guaranteed contract earlier this month. The 37-year came out of retirement last January, appearing in 17 games for Philadelphia. He averaged 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds over 13.1 minutes a game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field. While those numbers — besides his shooting percentage — are not bad, Brand was re-signed for reasons other than his production.

When Brand signed with Philadelphia last year, he wrote a piece for The Cauldron stating that the reason he decided to play was to provide leadership to a young 76ers team and help tutor Jahlil Okafor. He will presumably perform the same role this year though he will have more pupils with Joel Embiid finally being healthy and the addition of Dario Saric.

Philadelphia released veteran Carl Landry, who would have served the role that Brand is expected to occupy, earlier this summer due to the Sixers’ plethora of power forwards and centers.

Landry played well for the Sixers last season, producing 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in less than 16 minutes a contest. The 33-year-old is still on the open market though Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 reported that San Antonio, Houston, Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana has shown interest in the veteran.

If Brand does make the team, it could be at the expense of one of the 76ers young veterans. Right now, there are likely 11 players guaranteed of a roster spot with the Sixers — Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson, Sergio Rodriguez, Ben Simmons, Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Timothe Luwawa-Cabarrot, and Hollis Thompson. 10 of the 11 players listed above hold guaranteed contracts with Covington the only one with a non-guaranteed contract. This could change if Philadelphia trades either Okafor or Noel as has been widely speculated.

Jerami Grant is a virtual lock to make the team as well. He possesses a non-guaranteed ($980, 431) contract for the 2016-17 season. Grant is athletically gifted, but he has struggled making shots during his first two seasons in the league.

Shooting guard Nick Stauskas also will likely make the squad as well, but he has struggled to find a niche since being a lottery pick of the Sacramento Kings in 2014. He needs to show that he is capable of knocking down shots on a more consistent basis and be better defensively overall.

Stauskas, known as a sharpshooter coming out of Michigan, tallied double-figures 30 times in 71 games last season. The 22-year-old averaged 8.5 points on 38.5 percent shooting from the floor and 32.6 percent on three-point attempts. While Stauskas’ numbers are an improvement over his rookie campaign, it won’t cut it if he wants to be in the league (or rotation) for a long time. Stauskas’ contract is guaranteed, and he is slated to make $2.9 million this season.

Second-year power forward Richaun Holmes is the player who holds a guaranteed contract that is in the most tenuous position due to the overcrowding of the frontcourt. Holmes did show some flashes last season as a rookie, reaching double figures in 13 of his 51 games. The 22-year-old averaged 5.6 points and 2.6 caroms in 13.6 minutes of action overall.

Holmes is an efficient scorer who can stretch the floor with his range. The 6-foot-10 forward also is a solid rim protector though he needs to improve his rebounding — like he did during summer league action.

T.J. McConnell, Cat Barber, Brandon Paul, James Webb, and Shawn Long are the other players on the Sixers roster. McConnell had a surprising rookie season and the 76ers need for backcourt depth could help him make the team again this year. That would leave Barber, Webb, Long and Webb destined to begin the season with the D-League’s Delaware 87ers.

[Featured Image by Michael Perez/AP Images]

Share this article: Philadelphia 76ers Rumors: Elton Brand Expected To Make Sixers
More from Inquisitr