Orton not complimentary of Sixers
Daniel Orton recently opened up to The Oklahoman about his nearly four-month tenure with the 76ers in the 2013-14 season.
The 6-foot-10 center signed with the team on Oct. 16, 2013 – one week after being cut by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers released him on Jan. 7, 2014.
Here's part of the question-and-answer interview the 24-year-old had with the newspaper:
Question: How would you describe what you've been through since you left the Thunder?
Answer: "Leaving the Thunder, you see the greater side of the NBA. I went into Philly and a situation where it was the total opposite. You got a team just trying to rebuild basically from scratch and blowing up anytime you had something going good. So you definitely learn the business side of it."
Question: This might sound like a crazy question given that you love the game, but after everything that you've been through did you ever have a moment where you asked yourself why you're still doing this?
Answer: "There's never a 'Why am I doing this?' Because I honestly, truly do love the game of basketball. But one time in Philly it was like, 'What's going on? This is too obvious as to what we're doing here.' And going in every day literally felt like a job. And I told (coach) Brett Brown that. And basketball's never in my life felt like a job. I told him it was nothing against him. He wasn't doing anything wrong. It was just I was going to him as a man telling him the truth. That's probably the only time I really questioned what was going on with a situation. But it's never been 'Why am I doing this?' I know why I'm doing this. I'm 6-10 and can play basketball. That's why."
Click here to read the full Q&A interview:
The Sixers released Orton right before the contract-guarantee deadline on Jan. 7, 2014. NBA teams had until 5 p.m. on that day to make decision regarding the contracts of players on non-guaranteed deals.
If Orton would have remained a Sixer following the deadline, his contact would had be fully guaranteed for the remainder of the 2013-14 season.
He started four games and played in 22 games this season. Orton averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game. Orton finished with a season-high 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds while starting in place of Spencer Hawes at Indiana on Nov. 23. 2014.
Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers and on Instagram at PompeyOnSixers