Sixers officially sign Marco Belinelli

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Brett Brown has watched 107 different players check into a game for him as head coach of the Sixers.

One more newcomer can’t hurt.

The Sixers are hoping for a boost to their bench after officially signing veteran guard Marco Belinelli on Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Belinelli cleared waivers after reaching a buyout agreement with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday over the $6.6 million he was owed in the final year of his contract. He will wear No. 18 and be available for tonight's game against the Knicks, but Brown said pregame that he does not plan to use him.

So, why the Sixers for Belinelli?

"Because I trust the process," he said Monday. "I think I was lucky to watch a couple games of other teams, Philly, too. I think [the Sixers] play really well, play together on offense and defense. I really trust this kind of thing. Opportunity to help this team make a run for the playoffs. It’s going to be good for me, so I’m really happy."

The 11th-year veteran averaged 11.4 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.2 percent from three-point range with the Hawks this season. For his career, Belinelli has averaged 9.8 points a night.

Those numbers may not seem eye-popping, but they will be a welcomed sight for a Sixers team that didn’t make a move at last week’s trade deadline. That’s because the Sixers’ reserves rank near the bottom of the NBA in several offensive categories, including points per game (26th), field goals made (26th), three-pointers made (29th) and three-point percentage (29th).

"It can help a lot. We can have another shooter coming off of that unit to allow us to space the floor even more than what we already do," Robert Covington said Monday. "With the rotations, teams have got to sit up here and play us just as hard as they've got to play the first unit. Can't really sit back and kind of sag the way a lot of teams do at times. Now with Marco, he's going to space the floor and then it's just like another JJ (Redick). Teams are going to run him offline and then it's going to help put them in scramble mode."

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