Xavier Silas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Waive Silas, Childress, Mensah-Bonsu

October 24th, 2013 at 5:07pm CST by Luke Adams

5:07pm: The Wizards announce that they’ve also waived Childress and Mensah-Bonsu in addition to Silas (Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today via Twitter). The roster now stands at 15.

4:46pm: While the news has yet to be confirmed by the team, Xavier Silas has been released by the Wizards, according to an update on his Instagram account. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reported last night that Washington was expected to cut Silas, Josh Childress, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu, so perhaps when the team makes an official announcement, it’ll include word on all three players.

Silas, 25, went undrafted out of Northern Illinois in 2011 after averaging 22.3 PPG in his senior year. Since then, he has had played overseas and in the D-League, and briefly saw NBA action for the Sixers during the 2011/12 season, appearing in two games for Philadelphia. As Silas noted in his Instagram update and as Michael Lee of the Washington Post detailed, the 6’5″ guard was impressive in his brief preseason audition with the Wizards, scoring 12 points in just 10 minutes.

Releasing Silas reduces Washington’s roster count to 17, while cutting Childress and Mensah-Bonsu as well would ensure that the team’s roster is regular-season-ready.

Wizards Expected To Cut Childress, 2 Others

October 23rd, 2013 at 10:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards are set to waive camp invitees Josh Childress, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Xavier Silas, a source tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (Twitter link). All three are with the team on non-guaranteed deals. Washington entered the preseason with 15 guys on fully guaranteed contracts, so it appears none of the players the team brought to camp compelled the Wizards to cut one of their guaranteed salaries. The team released D’or Fischer, its other camp invitee, last week.

All three of the Wizards about to hit waivers have NBA experience, and none more extensive than Childress. The swingman from Stanford impressed in a sixth-man role for the Hawks during his first four-year stint in the NBA, but he hasn’t been able to regain his footing in the league after signing a lucrative deal with a Greek team in 2008. He returned to the NBA in 2010/11, but the Suns amnestied his contract after two seasons, and he didn’t make it until New Year’s Day last season with the Nets. He scored eight points in 32 minutes over four preseason games with Washington.

Mensah-Bonsu spent this month trying to return to the NBA after a two-season absence, while Silas has been seeking to add to his abbreviated NBA regular season game log, which includes just a pair of games with the Sixers in 2011/12. Neither saw significant action in any of the Wizards’ preseason games.

Xavier Silas To Sign Camp Deal With Wizards

September 23rd, 2013 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Xavier Silas is set to join the Wizards for training camp, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com (via Twitter). Silas will be Washington's camp invitee, joining Josh Childress, who reportedly reached an agreement with the team over the weekend.

Silas, 25, went undrafted out of Northern Illinois in 2011 after averaging 22.3 PPG in his senior year. Since then, he has had stints overseas and in the D-League, and briefly saw NBA action for the Sixers during the 2011/12 season, appearing in two games for Philadelphia.

As I noted on Friday, the Wizards are one of a handful of teams with 15 or more players on fully guaranteed contracts. That makes it unlikely that camp invitees like Childress or Silas will make the regular-season roster, but Washington has seen Chris Singleton and Emeka Okafor go down with injuries — if the team is concerned about depth, it could open the door for a small roster shakeup.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Stone, Morais, 76ers

September 16th, 2013 at 11:10am CST by Zachary Links

The Celtics pushed the reset button this offseason when they sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn in a package that will give them MarShon Brooks, draft picks, and a whole lot of financial flexibility. On the surface, it looked like a smart way for Danny Ainge & Co. to jump start the rebuilding process. However, Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com has another theory as to why KG and Pierce were jettisoned from Boston after unearthing a picture of the duo wearing sunglasses at night and posing with Lakers legend Magic Johnson. Here's today's look at the Atlantic Division..

Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun sees an interesting chase for the Raptors' 15th and final spot unfolding in the weeks ahead (Twitter links). Julyan Stone, Chris Wright, and Angolan standout Carlos Morais will audition for the last bench position and Wolstat expects Stone, if healthy, to be the frontrunner for the gig. Wright might be the least likely of the three to stick with small forwards Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan, and Terrence Ross in the fold with Quincy Acy also possibly seeing some time at the three. Wolstat says that the Raps could use both a scoring guard like Morais and a defensive guy like Stone (link).
No real surprise here, but Doug Smith of the Toronto Star doesn't expect anyone competing for the Raptors' final spot to get a fully guaranteed deal.
Commissioner David Stern is hoping that the 76ers make the playoffs this season, writes Roy Burton of SBNation. Some fans might be behind the "Riggin' For [Andrew] Wiggins" campaign, but Stern certainly doesn't endorse that line of thinking. "That is so… small," said Stern at the Beyond Sport Summit. "I hope they have a great season and don't have the chance for the No. 1 pick." Of course, the worst record only gives you a 25% chance at the top pick in the draft lottery.
Agent Charles Briscoe told HoopsHype (via Twitter) that former Sixers combo guard Xavier Silas will work out for the Jazz today and tomorrow. Silas appeared in two games for Philly in 2011/12 and suffered a concussion in summer league with the 76ers later that year.

Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Smith, D-League, Pippen

November 1st, 2012 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this week, we heard that there were a number of teams that at least touched base with the Thunder about James Harden before he was traded to the Rockets. We can add the Bobcats to that list as well, as owner Michael Jordan tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that his team "made a couple calls" about Harden's availability. Jordan, who says he's "in it for the long haul" as Bobcats owner, adds that he believes Charlotte can still be an attractive destination for free agents down the road, though he acknowledges the team needs to get its house in order first.

Here are a few more notes from around the NBA, as the Thunder and Spurs prepare for the only game on tonight's schedule:

On the heels of some surprising contract extensions, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com shares his five rules for teams thinking about extending players.
Nolan Smith tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that he understands the Blazers' cap situation and has no problem with the team's decision to turn down his 2013/14 option, adding that he views it as a "blessing in disguise" (Twitter links).
A few intriguing names will be in camp with the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics' D-League affiliate, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Xavier Silas, Micah Downs, Chris Wright, and Chamberlain Oguchi are among the invitees.
Nets GM Billy King tells Newsday's Roderick Boone that one of the lessons he learned at his previous job in Philadelphia: "At the end, I was just trying to keep my job. Once you start trying to keep your job and not do it, it's not going to work."
The Bulls have appointed Scottie Pippen a Senior Advisor to the President and COO of the team, according to an official release.

Sixers Waive Xavier Silas

October 9th, 2012 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

Guard Xavier Silas says on his Twitter account he's been cut loose by the Sixers. He signed with the team shortly before the end of last season and re-joined them as a training camp invitee, but will become a free agent once he clears waivers.

The 6'5" Northern Illinois product appeared in only two regular games for the Sixers last season, totaling 11 points in 39 minutes. He got into two postseason games as well, but only for four garbage-time minutes. He received much greater exposure with the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, averaging 9.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 23.3 MPG in 40 contests last year.

He was believed to have been on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal, and his subtraction from the Sixers roster will leave the team with 17 players.

Sixers Sign Four For Training Camp

September 27th, 2012 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers have added four players to their roster for training camp, the team announced today in a press release. Dan Gadzuric, Devin Searcy, Xavier Silas and Damien Wilkins will be in camp with the Sixers, bringing the team's roster count to 17 players.

Of the four, Gadzuric, Silas, and Wilkins all played for NBA teams in 2011/12. Gadzuric's and Silas' appearances were brief, with Gadzuric playing just two games for the Knicks and Silas appearing in a pair of games for the Sixers. Wilkins, however, spent the season with the Pistons, averaging 15.4 MPG in 60 contests, though he posted a career-low 6.9 PER.

As for Searcy, the 6'10" big man went undrafted out of Dayton a year ago and spent the 2011/12 season in Japan, averaging a double-double (13.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG) for the Toyama Grouses. He was also part of the Sixers' summer league squad in Orlando this July.

If all four players are on non-guaranteed deals, which is likely, they'll be competing for the team's final couple roster spots. The Sixers currently have 12 players on fully guaranteed contract, plus Maalik Wayns on a partial guarantee.

Meeks, Young, Silas To Become Unrestricted FAs

June 30th, 2012 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The 76ers did not extend formal qualifying offers to Jodie Meeks, Sam Young, or Xavier Silas, meaning all three players will become unrestricted free agents, says John Finger of CSNPhilly.com. Having played in the NBA for three years or less, each Sixer was eligible for restricted free agency, had Philadelphia made the necessary qualifying offers.

Meeks, who met the starter criteria, would have required a one-year offer of close to $2.7MM, while the other offers for the other two players would have been more modest — about $1.48MM for Young and $962K for Silas.

Sixers Sign Xavier Silas

April 24th, 2012 at 5:50pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Michael Preston, the Director of Public Relations for the 76ers, tweeted that the team has signed Xavier Silas for the remainder of the season.

The 6'5 guard had been on Philadelphia's pre-season roster before being waived and has spent most of the year on the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League. Silas averaged 9.8 PPG in 23.6 MPG for Maine.