Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have signed rookie free agent guard Maalik Wayns.

Wayns (6-2, 200) was an early entry candidate for the 2012 NBA Draft following his junior season at Villanova.  He was named second team All-BIG EAST in 2011-12 after averaging team-highs of 17.6 points and 4.6 assists to go along with 3.8 rebounds per game.  Wayns ranked seventh in the nation in free throw shooting (89.2%) this past season.

As a member of the Orlando Magic in the 2012 Orlando Pro Summer League, Wayns appeared in three games, averaging 11.7 points, 5.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 2.33 steals in 26.7 minutes per game.  He was ranked second in the league in both assists and steals per game.

A native of Philadelphia, Wayns attended Roman Catholic High School and was a Parade and McDonald’s All-American.

Maalik Wayns left Villanova a year early to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA. It appears that dream will come true, in his hometown no less.

A source confirmed Saturday that Wayns has agreed to a free-agent deal with the 76ers.

The deal reportedly is similar to the one Lavoy Allen received after the Sixers took him in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, No. 50 overall, the source said. Allen reportedly received a $60,000 signing bonus and then received the rookie minimum of $473,604 after making the team.

— Reported by Terry Toohey of the Times Herald

Andre Iguodala is competing in his first Olympics here. But he might have been able to play in 2004 and 2008, if he’d wanted to.

Thing is, he wouldn’t have been playing with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He would have been playing against them.

Iguodala’s father is Nigerian. So he was invited to try out for – and in this case, “try out for” means “make” – the Nigerian Olympic squad. That team, which includes Penn grad Koko Archibong, will compete in these Games with nine American-born players on its roster.

This is the first time Nigeria qualified for the Olympics, but with Iguodala aboard, who knows if the team would have made it sooner?

— Reported by Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have signed free agent guard Royal Ivey.

Ivey (6-4, 215) was originally the 37th overall pick by Atlanta in the 2004 NBA Draft.  In eight seasons, he has appeared in 437 games with 109 starts, averaging 3.4 points, 1.1 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game.  For his career, Ivey has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.00.  Over the past four seasons, he has recorded 75 steals with just 48 turnovers.

The Sixers first signed Ivey as a free agent on July 28, 2008.  He played in 97 regular season games for Philly before being traded along with Primoz Brezec and a second round pick to Milwaukee in exchange for Francisco Elson and Jodie Meeks on February 18, 2010.

Ivey spent the past two seasons with Oklahoma City, which advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2011 and the NBA Finals last month.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have signed rookies Maurice Harkless and Arnett Moultrie.  Harkless was the 15th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by Philadelphia while Moultrie was the 27th overall pick by Miami.  The Sixers acquired the rights to Moultrie from the HEAT in exchange for the draft rights to Justin Hamilton (45th overall pick) and a protected future first round pick.

Harkless (6-8, 208) was an early entry candidate for the draft following his freshman season at St. John’s and turned 19 years old back in May.  He was named Big East Rookie of the Year after averaging 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks while shooting 45.2% from the floor.  Harkless ranked sixth in the nation in scoring among freshman and second in rebounding.

The freshman started all 32 games for the Red Storm last season, scoring in double-figures 26 times, including seven games with 20-plus points.  Harkless had a career-high 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting vs. Providence and tallied 30 points and 13 rebounds at Duke.  Overall, he recorded 11 double-doubles.

Moultrie (6-11, 249) was an early entry candidate for the draft following his junior season at Mississippi State.  He was named First Team All-SEC after averaging 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists this past season while shooting 54.9% from the floor.  Moultrie led the conference in rebounding and ranked tied for 10th in the nation.

The 21-year-old averaged 3.7 offensive rebounds this past season, grabbing 6-plus seven times including a career-high 11 vs. Northwestern State.  Moultrie recorded 18 double-doubles in 30 games.

Guard Royal Ivey has returned to the Sixers, coach Doug Collins told reporters today.

The 6-4 Ivey played in 71 games with the Sixers in 2008-09, averaging 3 points per game in 12.1 minutes as a reserve. Ivey appeared in 26 games the following season before he was traded to Milwaukee in the deal that brought Jodie Meeks.

He spent the last two seasons with Oklahoma City, playing in 25 games two years ago and 34 games last season. He also appeared in five playoff games as the Thunder reached the NBA Finals this past season.

— Reported by the Philadelphia Daily News

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have waived center Darryl Watkins.  He was acquired by the Sixers in a three-team trade last Wednesday.

The Sixers obtained Watkins from New Orleans and forward Dorell Wright from Golden State while sending the rights to Edin Bavcic to the Hornets, who also traded Jarrett Jack to the Warriors.

In 14 career games across two seasons with Sacramento and New Orleans, Watkins has averaged 2.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have re-signed center Spencer Hawes. According to multiple reports, the deal is for two years, $13.1 million.

Hawes (7-1, 245) was originally acquired by Philadelphia along with Andres Nocioni from Sacramento in exchange for Samuel Dalembert on June 17, 2010.  In 118 games with 110 starts for the Sixers, Hawes has averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.01 blocks in 22.4 minutes per game while shooting 47.4% from the floor.

Last season, the Sixers were 22-15 in games that Hawes played compared to a 13-16 mark in games that he missed.  The fifth-year veteran recorded eight double-doubles in 37 games played last season after having just seven in 81 games played in 2010-11.

The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a $6 million, two-year contract with former No. 1 overall draft pick Kwame Brown.

Agent Mark Bartelstein announced the move Friday.

Brown will be reunited with Sixers coach Doug Collins. Collins was Brown’s first coach in Washington in 2001. Brown has averaged 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds over an 11-year career.

— Reported by the Associated Press