Philadelphia 76ers Blog – Page 24 – NBA Blog

Sixers still may use Ben Simmons as PG

The Sixers have all sorts of talent in their backcourt. The distribution of roles and responsibilities will be fascinating to watch. Here’s CSN Philly with more:

Ben Simmons made it clear this summer he wants to be the Sixers’ point guard. Less than a month from training camp, Brett Brown still is on board with that plan.

“We’ve gone on record, I’ve said what I’ve said and I don’t backpedal from any of it,” Brown said Thursday at the Sixers training complex while previewing his upcoming Coaches Clinic. “I’m excited to give him the ball and continue to grow him.”

With that vision comes questions that will be played out over the season as the 6-foot-10 Simmons makes his rookie debut after suffering a Jones fracture last training camp.

The Sixers made significant additions to their backcourt this summer, including point guard Markelle Fultz. How will the Sixers utilize these two No. 1 picks? Part of Fultz’s appeal to the Sixers was his ability to play off the ball and complement Simmons in a one-two combination.

Sixers add James Michael McAdoo and James Blackmon Jr.

The Sixers have signed forward James Michael McAdoo to a two-way contract, and also agreed to terms with guard James Blackmon Jr.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man NBA regular-season roster. A two-way player for the Sixers will provide services to the team’s G League affiliate – the Delaware 87ers – but can spend up to 45 days with the Sixers, not including any time spent with the Sixers prior to the start of Sevens’ training camp or following the conclusion of the Sevens’ regular season. McAdoo is the first player that the Sixers have signed to a two-way contract.

A three-year pro, McAdoo originally signed with Golden State on Sept. 2, 2014 following three seasons at the University of North Carolina. In 108 NBA games (three starts), he has averaged three points and two rebounds per game. A member of two championship-winning teams with the Warriors, McAdoo has seen action in 26 career playoff games. The 6-foot-9 forward has seen success in the G League as well, being named a 2015 All-Star, selected to the All-Rookie First Team and the All-NBA D-League Second Team as part of the league champion Santa Cruz Warriors.

McAdoo is a relative of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, who spent the final year of his 14-year career with the Sixers.

Blackmon Jr. played for the Sixers’ Summer League teams in the Utah Jazz Summer League and MGM Resorts NBA Summer League. He appeared in five games (one start) across the two leagues and posted an average of eight points in 16 minutes per game.

A 6-foot-4 guard, Blackmon Jr. played three seasons at Indiana University from 2015-17 and averaged 16 points, five rebounds and two assists per game over 76 contests (75 starts). A 2014 McDonald’s All American, Blackmon Jr. was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in his first season with the Hoosiers.

Elton Brand is now a GM in the G League

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced yesterday that Elton Brand has been named General Manager of the Delaware 87ers, the 76ers’ NBA G League affiliate.

“We are thrilled that Elton has agreed to take on the GM position of the Sevens, a natural next step given both his personal and professional skillset,” Colangelo said. “The transition from a terrific playing career to team management was something that we have been talking about for some time and this opportunity is both timely and appropriate. I look forward to working side-by-side with Elton as we continue to grow and develop our overall basketball program.”

Brand, a 17-year NBA veteran, spent parts of five seasons with the Sixers and appeared in 263 games (222 starts) with the team from 2008-12 and in 2015-16, reaching the postseason twice. For his career, Brand posted averages of 16 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free-throw line in 33 minutes per game. He played in 1,058 NBA contests (868) starts with Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sixers, Dallas and Atlanta.

“I’m extremely excited to begin a new role as General Manager of the 87ers,” said Brand. “I want to thank Josh Harris, David Blitzer, Bryan Colangelo and staff for the opportunity to develop, cultivate and elevate talent in our program. I look forward to building upon the successes the Sevens have had both on the court and in the community in Delaware.”

A native of Peekskill, New York, the 6-foot-8 forward was originally selected by the Chicago Bulls with the first overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft following two seasons at Duke University. He was named 2000 Co-Rookie of the Year after averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in his debut campaign. In 2005-06, Brand posted a career-high 25 points per game and was selected to one of his two All-Star Games. That season, he helped the Clippers reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Brand’s 1,828 career blocks place him 22nd all-time in NBA history.

On Oct. 20, 2016, following training camp with the 76ers, Brand announced his intent to retire from the NBA. Brand rejoined the team on Dec. 6 as a player development consultant, a role that he held until accepting the Sevens General Manager position.

In a related move, the Sevens promoted Matt Lilly to Director of Basketball Operations & Scouting. Lilly spent the past two seasons as Basketball Operations Assistant and Video Coordinator for the Sevens. The Towson University graduate enters his fifth season overall in the NBA G League, including two seasons with the Erie BayHawks from 2012-2014.

Markelle Fultz injury update

Sixers guard Markelle Fultz was evaluated following an injury to his left ankle, which was suffered in the third quarter of a Summer League game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, July 8 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Fultz underwent X-rays, which were negative, and the injury was determined to be a lateral ankle sprain. He will miss the remainder of Summer League and is expected to return to normal basketball activities in 1-2 weeks.

Sixers sign JJ Redick and Amir Johnson

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced today that the team has signed guard JJ Redick and forward Amir Johnson.

A 6-foot-4 guard, Redick finished 2016-17 with the Los Angeles Clippers averaging 15 points and two assists in 28 minutes per game while shooting 43 percent from three-point range and 89 percent from the free-throw line over 78 appearances (all starts).

“We are really excited to add one of the game’s truly elite shooters in JJ Redick, who should fit perfectly with our pace-and-space offense. JJ works as hard as anyone in the league to get open looks, but his job will be made easier with the playmaking and facilitating mindset of players like Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric and Ben Simmons,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo said.

Entering his 11th season, the 33-year-old holds the league’s 14th-highest all-time three-point percentage at 42 percent. He has finished in the top five in three-point percentage the last three seasons, including first in 2015-16, shooting a career-best 48 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Duke product was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic after he was named 2006 Associated Press Collegiate Player of the Year.

All told, he’s played in 690 career games (319 starts) with the Clippers, Milwaukee and Orlando and holds averages of 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes per game. He’s shot 45 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range and 89 percent from the free-throw line (10th all-time).

A 6-foot-9 forward, Johnson has appeared in 745 career games (461 starts) with Boston, Toronto and Detroit. He holds career averages of eight points, six rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes per game while shooting 57 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free-throw line. His 57.4 percent field-goal percentage ranks seventh-best in NBA history and fourth among active players. This past season with Boston, Johnson posted seven points, five rebounds and a career-high two assists per contest.

“Amir Johnson is an ideal veteran addition for our young basketball team. Amir is that iron horse type of producer who impacts a team in so many positive ways on the court, but his value will also be felt in the locker room and in our community,” Colangelo said.

A 12-year NBA veteran, Johnson averaged 10 points per game in back-to-back seasons from 2012-14 with Toronto. He was originally selected in the second round (56th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft by Detroit out of Westchester High School in Los Angeles, California. He was a 2005 McDonald’s All-American.

Redick will wear No. 17 with Philadelphia, while Johnson will don No. 5. The duo will be introduced at a press conference today at 6 p.m. PT in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center in the Strip View Pavilion Room. More information relating to the press conference will be disseminated later this afternoon.

Sixers sign rookie Markelle Fultz

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced today that the team has signed guard Markelle Fultz to his rookie contract. This was a mere formality, as first round draft picks are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they wish to begin their NBA career right away.

“Markelle Fultz possesses elite basketball skills, instincts and talent which prompted us to move up to No. 1 and add him to our talented young core of players. At only 19 years of age, the sky is the limit for Markelle and we could not be happier to have him join our Sixers family,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo said.

A 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard, Fultz played one collegiate season at Washington prior to being chosen first overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by Philadelphia. He averaged team-highs of 23 points (sixth in NCAA) and six assists to go along with six rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes per game. He was just the second NCAA freshman to average 23 points, five rebounds and five assists per game since 1992-93.

Fultz was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, which has been presented annually to the outstanding collegiate basketball Player of the Year since 1976. He was selected First Team All-Pac-12 and was named an Associated Press Third Team All-American.

Fultz was a member of the 2016 Team USA Under-18 team that won the FIBA Americas World Championships last July. He was named MVP of the FIBA Americas Championships after averaging 14 points, five assists and three steals per game on 55 percent shooting from the floor.

Fultz is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School where he was a 2016 McDonald’s All-American. In his senior season, he led DeMatha to the Maryland Private School League Championship, while setting the school’s single-season record for assists with 278.

Markelle Fultz a player to watch at Summer League

One of the best uses of summer league is getting to know the top rookies. Plenty of eyes will be on Markelle Fultz, who the Sixers, after trading with the Celtics to move up in the draft, selected No. 1 overall this year.

Here’s what Fultz had to say about the summer league experience — of which the Vegas edition just began on Friday — according to CSN Philly: “Here everybody is skilled” … “Any given day people get blown by, everybody can pass you and everybody can score the ball. So, it just has to do with being more mental until you lock it in and just trusting my bigs when screens come, not looking back. It’s going to be a challenge every night coming out to guard whoever is in front of me, so that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Sixers trade Jawun Evans` draft rights to Clippers

The L.A. Clippers have acquired the draft rights to Oklahoma State University guard Jawun Evans from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for cash considerations.

In his final season at Oklahoma State, Evans, 20, led the Big 12 in scoring (19.2 ppg), was an AP All-America Honorable Mention selection and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team. In 54 appearances over two seasons at OSU, Evans averaged 16.6 points, 5.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds, while shooting 40.7% from three-point range.

Evans, 6’0”, 185 pounds, was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2015-16. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning USA Basketball team at the FIBA U19 World Championships and a McDonald’s and Parade All-American out of Kimball High School in Dallas.

Sixers trade draft rights of Sterling Brown to Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired the draft rights to Sterling Brown from the Philadelphia 76ers for cash considerations. Brown was the 46th overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft.

A 6-foot-6 guard from SMU, Brown played four seasons with the Mustangs, appearing in a program-record 136 games with 106 starts. As a senior in 2016-17, Brown was named to the All-AAC Second Team after averaging 13.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting a conference-high 44.9 percent from 3-point range. During the 2015-16 season as a junior, Brown shot an SMU-record 53.6 percent from 3-point range and averaged 10.1 points with 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In his four seasons at SMU, Brown set the school record for career wins (109) and is second all-time with a 45.1 3-point shooting percentage for his career. Brown is a native of Maywood, Ill., and is the brother of Shannon Brown, who spent nine seasons in the NBA from 2006-2015.

Sixers sign Furkan Korkmaz

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo announced Tuesday that the team has signed guard-forward Furkan Korkmaz.

“We are happy to have Furkan Korkmaz join us in Philadelphia this year where we feel he will be best positioned to develop physically and acclimate to the NBA game,” Colangelo said. “Furkan is another talented young player that we are excited to have in our program.”

The Sixers selected Korkmaz with the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Korkmaz spent the 2016-17 season with Banvit (Turkey) on loan from Anadolu Efes, helping Banvit win the team’s first Turkish Cup in February. In 21 games, the 19-year-old averaged 11 points and four rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “terms of the deal were not announced, but Korkmaz was slotted to make $1.2 million this season. However, the Sixers could have paid him 20 percent more than that, and might have done so considering Korkmaz ‘s buyout was for $2 million. NBA teams are permitted to contribute only $675,000 to buyouts.”

Korkmaz also helped Banvit reached its first Basketball Champions League Final. He was later named the Basketball Champions League “Best Young Player” after averaging 11 points and five rebounds while shooting 50 percent from three-point range in eight BCL games.

In 2015-16, Korkmaz played with current Sixers forward Dario Saric with Anadolu Efes. In 37 games, Korkmaz averaged five points while shooting 48 percent from the field.

A native of Istanbul, Korkmaz has been named a Turkish Basketball Super League All-Star three times and is a two-time Turkish Cup champion. He’s represented his home country of Turkey in international play in multiple competitions, earning a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and silver at the same event in 2015.