The Sixers are adding 25-year-old point guard Derrick Walton Jr. as the team continues to fill out its roster with training camp nearing.
Walton is signing a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Sixers, a source confirmed Thursday to NBC Sports Philadelphia. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news.
A four-year college player who shot 40.1 percent from three-point range at Michigan, the 6-foot Walton played 23 games for Doc Rivers’ Clippers last season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.0 assists in limited minutes.
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“He’s been in big games in his life,” Rivers told reporters last December. “What I like about him is he can make shots. … The one thing he’ll do is shoot the ball, and you need guys who are capable shooters on the floor.”
Walton was traded to the Hawks in February and waived by Atlanta before signing a 10-day contract with the Pistons. He played three games during that deal and didn’t receive a second opportunity with Detroit.
As an undrafted rookie, Walton appeared in 16 games for the Heat during the 2017-18 season and in 27 for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, posting 16.1 points and 7.1 assists per game for Miami’s G-League affiliate.
There’s no clear regular-season spot for Walton on the Sixers, but perhaps his relationship with Rivers will be beneficial.
NBA
NBA teams are allowed to have up to 20 players during training camp. Once the Sixers’ trade with the Thunder is finalized and first-round pick Tyrese Maxey signs his rookie contract, below is a rough look at the team’s depth chart as things stand. We’re also including second-round selections Isaiah Joe and Paul Reed, though neither player has signed with the team yet. Players are not listed at multiple positions for the sake of simplicity but a combo guard like Shake Milton or wing like Matisse Thybulle is of course capable of playing more than one spot.
PG:
Ben Simmons, Shake Milton, Tyrese Maxey, Derrick Walton Jr.
SG:
Seth Curry, Matisse Thybulle, Terrance Ferguson, Dakota Mathias (two-way contract)
SF:
Danny Green, Furkan Korkmaz, Isaiah Joe, Ryan Broekhoff
PF:
Tobias Harris, Mike Scott, Paul Reed
C:
Joel Embiid, Dwight Howard, Tony Bradley
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