Geoff Burke – USA Today Sports Images
The Philadelphia 76ers rocked the landscape of the NBA and the course of their franchise on draft night when they traded away All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday in exchange for the rights to projected number one overall pick Nerlens Noel. Sending Holiday out of town really signaled that this Sixers team is blowing things up in the interest of rebuilding for the future.
Now it seems like Jrue wasn’t the only Holiday that isn’t a part of the 76ers’ long-term plans. On Wednesday, Sixers reporter Tom Moore tweeted out that new general manager Sam Hinkie said that Justin Holiday, the brother of Jrue, had been waived by the organization.
Holiday was signed towards the end of last season as somewhat of a flyer by the Sixers to see if he had the potential to be an asset for the franchise moving forward. However, in his limited time in Philadelphia, Justin Holiday proved to be, more or less, invaluable to the team.
Holiday ended up playing in only nine games for the Sixers last season. In those limited appearances he averaged only 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.7 blocks in 15.8 minutes per game at the two-guard. Holiday also only shot 33.3 percent from the floor and only hit on 25 percent of his three-point attempts.
Though the Sixers didn’t give Holiday many opportunities while he was with the team, it became pretty clear that he wasn’t a piece to build around. He has solid athleticism and size, but his skills aren’t NBA-ready by any measure. As the Sixers look towards their future, waiving Holiday was a necessary move.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.
