Jonah Bolden Plans To Play For Sixers

July 6th 2018 at 11:28am CST by Arthur Hill

After spending one season in Israel, Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Jonah Bolden believes he is ready for the NBA, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 36th pick in 2017, Bolden made his intentions clear after Thursday’s practice with the Sixers’ summer league team.

“My plan is to come [to the NBA] this year,” Bolden said. “That was the plan from Day 1 with [former president of basketball operations] Bryan [Colangelo]. That’s still the plan now without Bryan. All respect to Bryan. I appreciated all he did for me. … But the plan is coming over this next season, 2018/19.”

A 6’10” power forward out of UCLA, Bolden spent this past season with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. He averaged 6.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 28 starts while shooting 31.9% from 3-point range. His three-year contract with Maccabi includes an NBA buyout that’s reportedly set at $400K.

“That’s between my agent, my team — the team I was on, Maccabi — and the Sixers,” Bolden said. “They have to figure that all out.”

Roster space could be an issue for Bolden again. Philadelphia, which had 11 players under contract when the offseason began, reached an agreement on Thursday with free agent Nemanja Bjelica. The Sixers also have a deal in place to acquire Wilson Chandler from the Nuggets and will re-sign J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson. Add in draft picks Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet, who have already signed, along with a possible deal for second-rounder Shake Milton, and the team will be well over the 15-man roster limit.

T.J. McConnell and Richaun Holmes are on non-guaranteed contracts, while Jerryd Bayless [$8.58MM next season] and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot [$1.54MM] could be in danger of being waived.