Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog

Clearly the biggest surprise of the preseason, the Roman Catholic and Villanova product has impressed with his speed and ability to push the ball up the floor with the Sixers’ second unit. In Wednesday’s victory over the Cavaliers, Wayns scored a team-high 19 points, with three three-pointers and four assists.

The downside: five turnovers.

Nevertheless, when Wayns came into the game on Wednesday night, it changed everything, said Collins.

— Reported by John Finger of CSN Philly

Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum will continue with conditioning drills as part of a previously announced precautionary measure related to the Orthokine treatment he received on September 15, 2012.

Bynum will also receive a Synvisc injection in his right knee from Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital of Special Surgery on Monday, October 22, 2012. The injection of Synvisc – a natural substance that lubricates and cushions the joint – has been a routine procedure for Bynum during the previous two seasons and is unrelated to the bone bruise of the medial femoral chondyle of his right knee.

Following the injection, Bynum will be examined by Dr. Jack McPhilemy of Main Line Health.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have waived forward/center Mikki Moore and guard Xavier Silas.  The Sixers roster now stands at 16

Moore (7-0, 225) has appeared in 564 games with 181 starts across NBA 13 seasons, averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game.

Silas (6-5, 205) was an undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois in 2011.  He originally signed with the Sixers in late April and appeared in the final two regular season games.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that Jordan Cohn has been named Pro Personnel Scout.

“We are committed to improving all facets of our basketball operations department and we are happy to announce the addition of Jordan Cohn to the Sixers,” said Sixers General Manager Tony DiLeo. “Jordan is one of the most talented and respected scouts in the NBA and will be an invaluable resource for the upcoming season.”

Cohn will enter his first season as a scout with the Philadelphia 76ers after spending the past eight seasons as a scout for the New Jersey Nets, covering NBA, D-League and college games for the organization.

Prior to joining the Nets, Cohn served as the Director of Pro Player Personnel for the New York Knicks during the 2003-04 season.  That came after a five-season stint with the Miami HEAT where he worked closely with Pat Riley, the rest of the coaching staff and the front office, on various statistical projects.

Cohn is well known for co-authoring “Rick Barry’s Pro Basketball Bible,” an annual trade paperback released during the 1990’s which contained detailed information on every NBA player and draft pick.  During the time he was writing the book, Cohn also created a scouting service that involved charting tendencies of the opponents for numerous NBA teams.  Now commonplace, it was one of the first scouting services of its kind.

A native of New York, Cohn received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and received his graduate education from USC Law School.  After practicing law for a few years, Cohn became a freelance writer for various publications, including the NBA’s HOOP magazine.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today they have signed free agent center Mikki Moore in preparation for training camp which begins on Tuesday, October 2 at Saint Joseph’s University’s Hagan Arena.  The Sixers training camp roster now stands at 18.

Moore (7-0, 225) has played 13 seasons in the NBA despite not being selected in the 1998 NBA Draft out of Nebraska.  In 564 games with 181 starts, he has averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game while shooting 55.1% from the floor.  In 2006-07, Moore led the NBA in field goal percentage (.609).

Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent last summer, Young admitted Wednesday to being “shocked” at ending up in Philadelphia.

A phone call and subsequent chat with Doug Collins early in the free agency period gave the Sixers the inside track with Young.

Collins sealed the deal by meeting with Young’s parents a few days later.

“He sat down and talked to my dad and mom. Once my mom started raving about him, it was pretty much a wrap right there,” said Young, smiling.

Young officially signed a one-year, $6 million contract July 12.

— Reported by Tom Moore of Philly Burbs

[Doug] Collins has already said – loosely – that the preliminary plan is to move center Spencer Hawes over to power forward, teaming him early on the floor with Andrew Bynum, who will get the majority of the minutes at center and will be spelled by Kwame Brown.

Collins likes the idea of having Hawes at power forward alongside Bynum, because Hawes is skilled at manning the high post offensively and should let the Sixers take advantage of his ability to hit the elbow jumper (which will give Bynum infinitely more room to operate in the post) and use his ball skills to create more opportunities for players cutting off of him.

Hawes, who has never played power forward for extensive minutes, gave two reasons in a phone conversation earlier this week for why he expects the transition to be relatively seamless.

“I don’t think it’s a huge challenge,” Hawes said. “I’ve guarded the four a lot. Offensively, the way we’ve done it, the four and the five are pretty interchangeable. I don’t think the transition will be overwhelming.”

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer