Philadelphia 76ers Look to Add a Big Man Despite Limited Cap Space

With the official signing of Lou Williams yesterday, the Sixers' roster sits at 11. The inevitable re-signing of Andre Iguodala would give the team the maximum allowed for an NBA game. However, league rules allow for you to carry up to 15 players, and declare three inactive for each game.

Therefore, the Sixers will need to sign three more players in addition to Iguodala prior to the start of the season. Yesterday, Sixers GM Ed Stefanski hinted that he'd like one of those players to be a big man.

When the Sixers signed Elton Brand to that five-year, $82 million contract, it maxed out the Sixers salary cap for players not currently on the team. (The Sixers still could resign their own free agents without affecting the cap number, like Lou Williams.)

Therefore there are only two ways in which the Sixers can sign players from this point forward for the '08-'09 season. They can offer the veteran minimum amount (up to two years, based on number of years of service) or the Biannual Exemption, which is roughly $1.93 million for the upcoming season.

Last week the Sixers signed both Royal Ivey and Kareem Rush using the veteran minimum rule. Four-year vets' minimum salary is set at $854,957 and that's what Royal Ivey received. The minimum for a five-year vet is $926,678, which is what Rush signed for.

I expect the Sixers to be scouring the free agent list over the next couple of weeks to bring in one or two more of these types of players who are willing to sign for the minimum in hopes of having a great season and getting a larger contract next season. I would imagine they will have at least one open roster spot available heading into training camp, where someone will surprise the team and get a minimum contract offer.

Breaking down the Sixers' Roster as of now, assuming Iguodala comes back, Andre Miller will fill the point guard spot with Lou Williams and Royal Ivey behind him. Three point guards should be plenty, although neither Williams nor Ivey should be considered true point guards. It's also possible that the Sixers will look to bring back Kevin Ollie if they feel their depth at PG is not sufficient.

The shooting guard spot is interesting, because it's unclear as to whether the Sixers will start Willie Green there, or if Thaddeus Young will start at SF and move Iguodala down to the two. Either way, AI can play there, with Green and Kareem Rush as backups. Lou Williams and Royal Ivey could also move over there if needed. I think this position is set.

The small forward slot has Young and Iguodala manning the majority of the minutes here. Kareem Rush could slide in there in a pinch. I think we'll see one of the final roster spots filled by another small forward.

Power forward will see Elton Brand gobbling up the majority of the minutes, with Reggie Evans backing him up. We could see Jason Smith slide in here on occasion, along with rookie Marreese Speights rounding out this spot.

Samuel Dalembert is the obvious man in the middle for the Sixers. Jason Smith will back him, up and we could even see Speights here as well. With Smith and Speights having limited experience, I would expect the Sixers to bring a veteran to help fill out this spot.

Some of the available names out there that the Sixers could possibly sign to a minimum deal or the Biannual exemption are:

Jamaal Magloire 6'-11", 265 - He's just 30, but plagued by injuries the last few years.

Theo Ratliff 6'-10", 235 - He's 35, and would be a nice guy to bring back to the team.

Francisco Elson 7'-0'', 235 - He's 32, and played in 63 games between theSpurs and Sonics last year

Stay tuned for some articles in the coming weeks profiling every player on the Sixers roster.