The Philadelphia 76ers have re-signed veteran big man Elton Brand, the team announced on Wednesday. This is pretty surprising, considering that Brand indicated he was going to retire (for the second time) after his brief comeback last season and the 76ers did not appear to have any open roster spots.
Brand, 37, came out of retirement to join the Sixers last season and provide veteran leadership. He played in 17 games, averaging 4.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13.2 minutes.
Assuming that Brand will actually be on the roster, this signing appears to be bad news for at least one person who is expecting to play for Philadelphia next year. Here's the Sixers' projected 15-man roster before the Brand signing:
PG: Sergio Rodriguez, Jerryd Bayless, T.J. McConnell
SG: Gerald Henderson, Nik Stauskas
SF: Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson, Timothe Luwawu
PF: Ben Simmons, Jerami Grant, Dario Saric, Richaun Holmes
C: Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor
Something will have to change. Also, wow, that's a lot of bigs.
Of course, there is still time for general manager Bryan Colangelo to pull off a trade before the start of the season. It also seems possible that Brand could transition to a coaching role if there's no room for him as a player.
