The Sixers announced their roster for the Orlando Summer League. Headlining the roster and storylines for the week of games will be the on-court debut of Nerlens Noel.
Joining Noel will be a pair of Sixers that appeared in contests last regular season, Hollis Thompson and Casper Ware. Thompson led all rookies in three-point percentage last season, averaging 9.5 ppg. He is the favorite to be the starting SG for the Sixers to open the season.
Joining the trio will be drafted rookie Jerami Grant and a handful of undrafted rookies, as well as Pierre Jackson, who the Sixers acquired on a draft day trade. The most notable name on the roster among the undrafted rookies is Aaron Craft, who had a four-year career at Ohio State University. Craft, a 6’2” guard, is known for his sharp instincts and gritty defensive play. Philadelphia Big 5 fans may also recognize Ronald Roberts, Jr., another guard on the roster. Roberts was one of the moor accomplished Hawks at St. Joseph’s in recent memory, helping to guide them to an Atlantic 10 tournament championship last March.
The games will begin this weekend, with the first tilt coming against the Orlando Magic on Saturday at 1 p.m. In total, they will play five times, the final game coming on Friday July 11.
Here is a look at the full roster and schedule, via philly.com:
4 C Nerlens Noel 6-11 228 4/10/94 USA (University of Kentucky/USA, last played for the 76ers)
12 G Casper Ware 5-10 175 1/17/90 USA (Long Beach State University/USA, last played for the 76ers)*
16 G Ronald Roberts, Jr. 5-10 175 8/5/91 USA (St. Joseph's University/USA)
18 G Aaron Craft 6-2 195 2/12/91 USA (Ohio State/USA)
30 G Isaiah Sykes 6-6 220 12/2/91 USA (University of Central Florida/USA)
31 F Hollis Thompson 6-8 206 4/3/91 USA (Georgetown University/USA, last played for the 76ers)
33 G Travis Bader 6-5 190 7/2/91 USA (Oakland University)
39 F Jerami Grant 6-8 210 3/12/94 USA (Syracuse University)
41 G JaKarr Sampson 6-9 214 3/20/93 USA (St. John's University)
42 F Talib Zanna 6-9 230 10/9/90 Nigeria (University of Pittsburgh)
43 F Ed Daniel 6-7 228 6/13/90 USA (Murray State University, last played for Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia in Italy)
44 F Jamelle Hagins 6-9 230 10/19/90 USA (University of Delaware, last played for Rio Grande Valley in the NBA D-League)
45 F Melvin Ejim 6-6 220 3/4/91 Canada (Iowa State University)
55 G Pierre Jackson 5-10 180 8/29/91 USA (Baylor University)
* – indicates player is not a rookie; both Ware and Thompson have one previous year of playing in the NBA
Below is the Sixers schedule for the Orlando Pro Summer League. Games will be played at the Amway Center, 400 West Church Street. All times are Eastern:
Saturday, July 5: vs. Orlando, 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 6: vs. Oklahoma City, 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 8: vs. Houston, 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 9: vs. Brooklyn, 5:00 p.m.
Friday, July 11: vs. TBD, time TBD
The only notable exception from the list is second round draft pick K.J. McDaniels, a forward out of Clemson. He was drafted with the 32nd overall pick, actually seven slots ahead of Grant.
