By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
The Sixers shuffled around the back half of their roster Monday afternoon, signing free agents Drew Gordon and Malcolm Lee, while releasing Keith Bogans and Jarvis Varnado. I profiled the 6’5″ Lee two weeks ago when the Sixers signed him the first go-round; the team is interested in his athletic potential at their thin wing position. As for the 6’9″ Gordon, the brother of rookie Aaron Gordon played collegiate ball at both UCLA and New Mexico before spending the last few years in Europe. Gordon averaged 6 points and 6 rebounds during 6 games for the Sixers (that’s a lot of sixes!) during this past Vegas Summer League. Gordon has the size and athleticism to be an NBA power forward, but lacks any refinement in his offensive game; I’d be surprised if he made the final roster.
Regarding Keith Bogans, the Sixers might have wanted to keep him around as a valuable trade chip with his $5.3M unguaranteed contract, but Bogans understandably had no desire to join a team slated for more than 60 losses during the upcoming season. Speaking on Bogans, Brett Brown said:
… He’s looking to get with a different type of program in regards to not in the rebuilding mode …
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) October 7, 2014
As for Jarvis Varnado, the center has struggled to recover from an offseason achilles injury, and the team understandably felt it was time to move on. In addition to getting a look at Gordon, Arnett Moultrie’s return to fitness might have played into the decision, as the Sixers certainly don’t have too many big men options at the moment. At least the Sixers brass won’t have to wait too long to get another look at the new signings in live game action, as…
The Sixers will play their home opener tonight against Charlotte, where they’ll look to get a better effort from their starting frontcourt, Nerlens Noel and Henry Sims. The pair combined to shoot just 5-24 from the field and 0-4 from the line against Boston, and were generally outclassed by the likes of Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk. Now, they’ll have a much more difficult task ahead of them, battling 3rd-team all-NBA center Al Jefferson.
Arguably the best post scorer in the league, Jefferson led the then-Bobcats, now-Hornets to the franchise’s first playoff appearance in 4 years. In order to help the team advance beyond the first round, management brought in the mercurial Lance Stephenson to boost the team’s ball-handling, perimeter scoring, and wind power. Hollis Thompson, cover your ears.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmEIkm73c6s]
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