Quick Hitters

Sorry about the gap in posts everyone! A personal situation came up, but everything looks to be in good shape now, and I will get back to posting on a regular schedule.

Here are a few nuggets from the past several days:

Sixers have first game postponed

The Sixers' Sunday night game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City was postponed. It was Philadelphia's first postponed contest of the season (though perhaps it should have been the second).

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, after contact tracing following their loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, the Sixers found themselves without the NBA minimum eight available players required to participate in the game. The Minnesota Timberwolves, who played the Grizzlies earlier last week, had multiple players subsequently test positive for COVID-19.

Thankfully, the Sixers did not report any new positive tests. They are still expected to face the Boston Celtics as scheduled on Wednesday night.

Sixers waive Mathias

The Sixers waived guard Dakota Mathias on Tuesday according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice. The 25-year-old rookie was playing on one of Philadelphia's two available two-way contracts (forward Paul Reed is signed to the other).

The transaction creates some roster flexibility moving forward.

Mathias appeared in eight games for the Sixers, starting 2 when the team was shorthanded due to the league's health and safety protocols. He averaged 6.0 points in 15.4 minutes per game shooting 39.6% from the floor, including 30.8% from three.

Despite the limited box score production, Mathias can always say he hit a game-winner. With less than a minute to go in overtime against the Miami Heat last Tuesday, the Purdue product made a 3-pointer, turning a one-point deficit into a two-point advantage they would never relinquish the rest of the way.

Morey making moves?

In perhaps the least surprising news this week, missing out on James Harden may not have stopped Daryl Morey from looking to tweak his roster. In fact, according to Doc Rivers, the Sixers' president of basketball operations has had a number of deals potentially already on the table.

Rivers was a guest on the Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday and was very candid about Morey's aggressive mentality:

If you didn't watch the whole clip, here's the key nugget from the Sixers' head coach:

"What we do well is we listen to each other. Daryl has had several trades so far that I said ‘No, I don’t want to do that’ and he moves on. That’s the type of relationship you have to have when you have coach and management. I think it works that way."

Good to know, Doc.

Again, this isn't earth shattering. Morey swung 77 trades when he ran the Houston Rockets between 2007 and 2020, a total that ranked second in the league in that span (Philadelphia was first). Still, it's always exciting to start thinking about the potential swaps that can be made.

The NBA trade deadline is March 25.

Simmons happy to remain in Philly

One person happy that the Sixers did not trade for James Harden was the player many assumed would be the centerpiece in such a deal.

Ben Simmons was apparently quite thrilled to not be included in any deals:

In the Sixers first game after Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons recorded his second triple double of the season in a 125-108 victory over the Miami Heat with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. Through 12 games this year, the 2-time All-Star point guard is averaging 12.3, 9.3, and 8.0.