With Maalik Wayns waived from the roster, in essence to avoid the rookie guards contract from becoming guaranteed for the rest f the season, the Sixers are a bit thin at point guard.
Nevertheless, expect Wayns time away from the team to be short-lived. According to a source, the Sixers could sign Wayns to a 10-day contract as early as Tuesday if the rookie gets through waivers.
Still, dont expect Wayns second stint to be too terribly long as the Sixers look to bolster the backup point guard spot. In other words, look for the Sixers to try to add some depth at point guard as soon as possible.
We need to see if we can find maybe another guy who can come in and play pick-and-roll and do some things for us when Jrue (Holiday) is off the floor, head coach Doug Collins said. We really take a hit when Jrue is off the floor because we dont have the personnel to do it with the (second) unit.
Fortunately, Collins has been able to use Holiday for 70 percent of the minutes in the games the point guard has played. With 38.1 minutes per game, Holiday is ninth in the NBA.
It's those 10 minutes a night that Collins needs to fill and Wayns and backup Royal Ivey havent cut it.
Sure, Holiday is having the proverbial breakout season and is in the discussion for an All-Star berth. However, when Holiday is out of the game the Sixers often get into big trouble. A quick glance at the onoff-the-court stats for Holiday show the Sixers are significantly worse without him, specifically on defense.
In the meantime, a report indicates that the Sixers unsuccessfully attempted to swing a deal for Oklahoma Citys Eric Maynor, who has struggled since his return from an ACL injury. During last summers free agency period, the Sixers signed Ivey even though veteran point guard and Chester, Pa. native Jameer Nelson was available.
Yes, Nelson carried a higher price tag, but sometimes a basketball team gets what it pays for.
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com.