Sixers in the market for a point guard?
WASHINGTON - Maybe Brett Brown revealed something and tried to take it back. Or perhaps he was just rambling.
Whatever the case, the 76ers coach downplayed his remark Thursday morning about being in the market for a point guard.
Brown was asked about the point-guard situation with Jerryd Bayless all but certain to miss the start of the regular season with what the Sixers labeled a sore left wrist. T.J. McConnell and Sergio Rodriguez are battling for that starting spot until Bayless returns.
"With the problem that we actually have right now without Jerryd, you search and you wonder," Brown said following a shootaround at Georgetown's Thompson Center. "You got [undrafted rookie point guard] Cat [Barber] you are looking at. We are obviously looking at the market place. We are going to look at Nik [Stauskas]."
Does in the market place mean the Sixers are looking to acquire a new point guard?
"We are looking at everything," Brown responded. "Nobody should read into anything more than that. It's all on the table as it should be."
Right now, the Sixers have three healthy point guards in McConnell, Rodriguez and Barber.
Barber is trying to get back in shape. He had missed the first three games with soreness in his right hand and wrist. The former N.C. State standout will most likely play for the Delaware 87ers, the Sixers' NBA Development League team.
It's no secret that the Sixers have been shopping center Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor this summer. With Bayless sidelined, the team could still acquire a starting-caliber point guard in exchange for one of their big men. The only problem, according to multiple sources, is that team doesn't want to surrender what the Sixers believe is equal value.
While he wouldn't go into detail, Bayless said last week's MRI results weren't good. It's fair to wonder if the free-agent acquisition has ligament damage to his wrist, and if so, to what extent. The Sixers are running more tests and trying to select the best healing option.
When that's the cause, one of the options is usually undergoing surgery. If that happens, Bayless could possibly be sidelined for weeks, if not months.
"It's still uncertain," Brown said of how long Bayless will be sidelined. "I think soon we are going to make some level of an announcement. But we are still trying to learn everything we can and do this with him out of respect for his future, his current health.
"So we are not in a position to make any statement, yet."
Notable
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