It feels pretty fitting that over Labor Day weekend, the Sixers were one of the few NBA teams handing out jobs (or at least opportunities for some). Since the new regime took over in May 2013, they have done much of their offseason work late in the summer compared to most other organizations.
The Sixers first signed point guard Kendall Marshall, who is, wait for it… rehabbing from a torn ACL. Sometimes the jokes really do write themselves. According to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s a multi-year deal with the 2015-16 season fully guaranteed. After suffering the injury last January, the 24-year-old North Carolina product is expected back “sometime in the first half of the upcoming season” per Woj.
As for what type of player that Sixers fans should expect, Marshall is primarily looking to get his teammates involved out on the floor, one of those “pass-first point guards” that traditionalists champion. He is a high-assist, high-turnover player that has doubled as a good three-point shooter (38 percent) during his brief NBA career.
A former lottery pick, Marshall had a rough go of it early on— He spent some time down in the D-League with the Sevens — but appeared to finally figure things out last season before getting hurt. In 2014-15, Marshall played the best basketball of his young career as the lead guard on a Bucks bench that was absolutely destroying other teams’ second units. Before the offseason, Grantland’s Zach Lowe listed Marshall as a potential free-agent steal:
Marshall is a sieve on defense coming off an ACL tear, but the man has vision and he flashed a shockingly powerful butt-first post-up game under Jason Kidd in Milwaukee. Worth a flier for the right team.
Next up, the Sixers made a somewhat surprising move and signed 6-foot-11 forward Christian Wood to a reported four-year, partially guaranteed deal (aka Hinkie Special). Despite possessing what many talent evaluators felt was first-round talent, the former UNLV star went undrafted this past June. From just reading about him, there apparently were some concerns about Wood’s attitude/work ethic. Whatever actually happened, the Sixers felt signing Wood was worth a shot:
Wood has some interesting credentials. As a 19-year-old sophomore, he averaged 15.7 points, 10 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game for the Runnin’ Rebels. He also possesses an intriguing skillset as a guy who can both shoot the ball from the outside and dribble the ball up the floor on the fast break. Draft Express, which described Wood as a lottery talent in May, had this to say about his arsenal:
Offensively, Wood is uniquely versatile, showing sparks of potential in many different areas that give him a nice framework of skills to build on long-term, both on the perimeter or inside the paint.
Not done yet, the Sixers agreed to terms with Jean-Pierre “Don’t Call Me J.P.” Tokoto, last year’s 58th overall pick. But the athletic swingman won’t be signing a four-year deal, as Woj has the contract details:
Tokoto, the 58th overall pick out of North Carolina in the 2015 NBA draft, agreed to a non-guaranteed $525,000 tender offer, clearing the way for him to possibly become a restricted free agent in 2016. The Sixers would have to make him a qualifying offer to keep matching rights – or risk losing him as an unrestricted free agent.
This is familiar territory for the Sixers, K.J. McDaniels redux. After a primarily rocky showing in summer league, Tokoto enters the situation of betting on himself with a less impressive pedigree than McDaniels. Unlike McDaniels, Tokoto isn’t guaranteed a spot in the rotation.
In fact, Tokoto isn’t guaranteed a spot on the roster period. The Sixers currently have 19 players on the training camp roster:
PG: Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan, Pierre Jackson, Scottie Wilbekin, Kendall Marshall
SG: Nik Stauskas, Hollis Thompson, Jean-Pierre Tokoto
SF: Robert Covington, Jerami Grant, JaKarr Sampson, Gerald Wallace
PF: Nerlens Noel, Richaun Holmes, Carl Landry, Christian Wood
C: Jahlil Okafor, Furkan Aldemir, Joel Embiid ☹
This list doesn’t include either T.J. McConnell or Jordan McRae. According to our friend Derek Bodner, the former actually hasn’t officially put pen to paper yet:
During the offseason, 20 is the maximum amount of players you are allowed to carry on a roster. With only a couple of weeks before training camp kicks off, you have to wonder if Sam Hinkie isn’t quite finished shaping the roster.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann