With the Sixers only having two point guards on roster in Tyrese Maxey and Kyle Lowry, many speculated that the team would use one of its three remaining NBA roster spots to sign Jeff Dowtin Jr., who produced in limited action late last season and had a solid Summer League showing.
The Sixers have indeed brought back Dowtin, but they did so on a two-way contract, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Two-way deals are hybrid contracts that afford a team the opportunity to send a player back and forth between the NBA and G League. Each player on a two-way deal can be active with their NBA team for up to 50 regular season games.
This is a clear win for the Sixers, who appear to view Dowtin, 27, as an NBA-caliber player. His size at the point guard position as well as his sound decision-making and lack of major weaknesses has impressed many. Dowtin is in his second stint with Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, as the two spent time together with the Toronto Raptors organization in 2022-23.
Oftentimes, two-way deals are given to developmental projects as a means to get them in the organization without using an NBA roster spot on them. In this case, the Sixers have found a two-way player who can actually give them serviceable minutes if needed.
It would not hurt to add another reliable ball-handler if a useful one becomes available, but the Sixers can now use their remaining roster space to address other needs and bank on having Dowtin available as their third-string point guard.
One potential plan: activating Dowtin for the vast majority of games for the first several months of the season, and reevaluating his standing within the organization whenever he is nearing the point of running out of NBA days on his deal.
Like many coaches, Nurse often seems more comfortable giving minutes to players who are known commodities, and Dowtin is exactly that. He should give the Sixers as much value as any team can realistically hope to get from a player on a two-way contract.
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