Getty Isaiah Joe.
Don’t look now, but Philadelphia 76ers boss Daryl Morey might be tinkering with the roster just a smidge more. The dust is barely settled after a flurry of moves Wednesday, including cuts to both Charles Bassey and fan-favorite Isaiah Joe.
While Joe didn’t make Philadelphia’s final roster after a decent preseason, his time with the Sixers might not officially be finished just yet. According to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice, the Sixers could bring back the sharpshooter on a non-NBA contract.
“There is some interest, according to a source, in bringing Joe back on a two-way deal if that ends up being possible. From the player’s perspective, a standard NBA contract would obviously be the first priority, so the Sixers may not have the luxury of bringing Joe back on a deal with better terms for the team. That said, it’s too early to say if his time with the organization is up yet, or if he can be retained in a role that allows Joe to put time in with the Blue Coats in the hope of becoming a reliable role player.”
It’s an intriguing development, especially after Joe flashed some solid shooting chops last season with the Sixers and during the preseason.
Isaiah Joe Showed Out During 76ers’ Scrimmage
Last weekend, the Sixers held its annual preseason Blue and White Scrimmage, putting the team against itself as the coaching staff makes final decisions on cuts and lineups.
With the score knotted at 40 at the end of regulation, head coach Doc Rivers decided to switch things up. Rather than overtime, the two sides would engage in a shootout, with Furkan Korkmaz lining up for Team Blue and Joe taking the reins for Team White.
And what do you know, but the last shooter standing wasn’t Korkmaz, who appeared in 67 games last season for the Sixers, but rather Joe. It wasn’t enough to save Joe a spot on the roster, but my, it made for an excellent fireworks display.
The Sixers tied the Sixers 40-40 in the Blue x White scrimmage.
Isaiah Joe wins it for the white team in a shooting competition.
Unfortunately for Joe, the cut might not have had anything to do with his play on the court. Of course, if he absolutely lit things up, he’d likely still be on the Sixers’ roster. But Joe was cut nonetheless, a surprising one considering that the Sixers only needed to cut one more player to get to the league’s max of 15 players. Before cutting Joe, Bassey was let go.
The decision very much might have come down to finances.
76ers Opened Up More Cap Room With Bassey, Joe Cuts
The Sixers were already wedged between a rock and a hard place this summer. By signing PJ Tucker to the mid-level exception, the Sixers triggered the league’s hard cap, set at nearly $157 million.
By cutting Bassey and Joe, the Sixers opened up roughly $5.5 million after roughly $300,000 in cap holds for Trevelin Queen and Bassey. That $5.5 million might not seem like much, but it’s significantly more than the less than $1 million that Philadelphia was expected to enter the season with.
Down the line, Philadelphia look to package a few players together to bring in some midseason depth. Matisse Thybulle is a name that was thrown around all summer; his expring $4.3 million could be offloaded for additional help around the trade deadline.