What Does Hollis Thompson Being Waived Mean For The Philadelphia 76ers?

One of the first Sam Hinkie players was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers January 4th, 2017. Waiving Hollis Thompson was a strategic move by the front office.

News reports state that the Philadelphia 76ers are parting ways with long time swing man Hollis Thompson. Fans of the “The Process” are sure to be saddened by this move. However, it was not unexpected. These 76ers want to continue to improve. Now that Ben Simmons will return soon, the team needs some flexibility in the roster. The front court needs reinforcements, as well as the back court could find a big man trade coming up before the NBA trade deadline.

The news was first reported by NBA writer Derek Bodner.

The #sixers will waive shooting guard Hollis Thompson, according to a league source.

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) January 4, 2017

Exactly what does this move mean for the franchise? With his next couple of tweets, Bonder speculates the reasons why Thompson was waived.

An error occurred while retrieving the Tweet. It might have been deleted.

This reasoning that Bodner provides more than makes sense. With Sergio Rodriguez, Ben Simmons and Jerryd Bayless all out with injury, the Sixers are more than thin at the point guard position. A fellow contribute Bret Stuter covers a D-league option that could help at the point guard position and in general to the struggle Sixers. Using 10-day contracts would patch the team up temporarily, while keeping the team flexible enough to address other needs later in the season.

That factor was pointed out in a discussion between Bodner and Stuter on twitter.

Tomorrow is the day 10-day contracts can be signed. https://t.co/4B87cIYh6x

— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) January 4, 2017

On one hand, this was a strategic move the Bryan Colangelo in order for him to look at multiple option for the team at the point guard position. The Sixers can look at options from the Delaware 87ers and beyond to see if there is anyone that can help the franchise until they get healthy.

On the other hand, the waiving of Thompson will allow for more playing time for rookie swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Fans all season have been wanting to see Luwawu-Cabarrot get consistent playing time and now he has it. This will surely help him in his development.

This was a good move by Colangelo and hopefully he can make another smart decision soon in regards to the center situation in Philly.