4:02pm: The move is official, the Sixers announced via press release.
3:42pm: The Sixers are releasing Tony Wroten to make room for the recently acquired Ish Smith, a source tells Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Philadelphia had been carrying the league maximum of 15 players. The decision to waive Wroten is a bit of a surprise, since he is one of 10 players on Philly’s roster carrying a fully guaranteed contract, so they’ll be on the hook for the remainder of his $2.179MM salary, assuming he clears waivers.
Wroten was in the fourth and final year of his rookie-scale contract. Although he only played in 30 contests last year due to injury, he led the team in points per game, averaging a total of 16.9 each night. His minutes have been cut down quite a bit this season however, as rookie T.J. McConnell has played relatively well manning the point, and Wroten has struggled shooting since coming back from injury, having hit on just 33.8% of his shots.
The Clippers had some interest in Wroten last season, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register points out on Twitter, but they don’t have room on their roster to accommodate a waiver claim or eventual signing, barring a corresponding move. It’s fair to infer the Pelicans passed up on the chance to acquire Wroten, so it appears his value has taken a hit as a result of his poor play this year.
It’s surprising that they cut him considering he’s the best guard on their roster. He won’t wait long before a team signs him.
He’s just very inefficient. No jumper or 3 point shot. Gets to the rim but not even a good free throw shooter. Had more turnovers than made field goals this year.