Philadelphia 76ers: Carl Landry Out, Someone Else In?

The Philadelphia 76ers have slimmed down their roster, but is it a set up to beef it up again?

The Philadelphia 76ers have announced that they have waived Carl Landry and Tibor Pleiss on Wednesday. Pleiss was just acquired, along with some future second-round picks, in the trade involving Kendall Marshall. It was speculated after the deal was made that Pleiss would be cut from the team.

Carl Landry being cut was somewhat of a surprise. Although Landry wasn’t projected to be an impact player for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, he still provided quality bench minutes and a veteran presence. Landry averaged 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 15.8 minutes. With the influx of front court talent joining the team, it’s understandable why Landry would be the odd man out.

In addition to waiving Landry and Pleiss, the Philadelphia 76ers officially signed former N.C. State guard Cat Barber. Barber originally agreed to terms of the contract in July, but was not officially signed to allow room for a salary dump trade. The trade happened with Pleiss, and the team was at their max 20-man offseason roster limit.

The team could have cut just Pleiss and officially signed Barber, but they chose to cut Landry as well. Apparently, Landry wanted the team to move him in order to play more minutes in his contract year. Instead of trading him, they cut him.

So, with Landry gone the team now sits at 19 for the offseason roster. As of now, it seems like Barber, Brandon Paul, Shawn Long, and James Webb III are on the bubble to make the team. Even with a near maximum offseason roster, could the Philadelphia 76ers make a late signing?

With the new cuts and the signing, the Philadelphia 76ers are still roughly $14 million short of the salary cap floor. Reaching the floor isn’t that important, as failing to reach the floor just means dispersing the money amongst the current roster. The team may prefer to seek out another player however, even if it’s for a pricey one year rental.

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The biggest free agent name that comes to mind is J.R. Smith. Smith was apart of the championship Cleveland Cavaliers team and served as the team’s starting shooting guard. Although it’s likely he’ll return to Cleveland, it may be something the Philadelphia 76ers sniff out just to gain more talent. Smith is 30-years old, and would provide a huge perimeter shooting boost.

Smith shot 40% from the outside, and 42.1% from the left corner. Smith could be a decent catch and shoot offense that can spread the floor for the big men inside. Smith’s timeline doesn’t fit the Philadelphia 76ers, so any deal would likely be for one year. Again, it’s unlikely that the Cavs let Smith walk, but with the new signing of Corey Jefferson there could be some hesitations. It wouldn’t hurt the Philadelphia 76ers to at least dip their feet in and test the waters.

The other free agents that could be viewed as options, but none that would be deserving enough for a contract that would help the team reach the salary floor. Josh Smith, Cleanthony Early, and Lance Stephenson are all decent available players, but not worth $14 million.

The Philadelphia 76ers could be saving room for a shot at J.R. Smith, but more than likely are just keeping a roster space open in case another trade pops up. Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor may still be shopped, and whether it’s for a formidable player or picks and a salary dump, the team will need the roster space.

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The Philadelphia 76ers are going to have a busy couple months before the season starts. Whether it’s involving cuts or more additions, the team will continue to see turnover.