Sixers to Sign Former Hornets Guard Grant Riller to Two-Way Deal
The Sixers plan to sign former Charlotte Hornets guard Grant Riller to a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
The Riller signing comes almost immediately after the Sixers opened up a second two-way spot on the roster. Following the 2021 NBA Draft, the Sixers filled up the first spot with undrafted Michigan State forward Aaron Henry.
Then, the Sixers brought back Rayjon Tucker with the second two-way slot. Last season, Tucker joined the 76ers on a two-way deal right before the G League started its season down in Orlando.
Tucker was one of the standouts on the Blue Coats as they went on their first-ever G League Championship run. Although the Coats lost in the final game, Tucker was one of three members of the squad to make it onto the Sixers' main roster for the remainder of the 2020-2021 NBA season.
Unfortunately, Tucker's run with the Sixers ended on Wednesday. After appearing in the first four NBA Summer League matchups this past week, the Sixers sat Tucker in Tuesday's final outing against the Utah Jazz.
Although Tucker wasn't injured, the Sixers wanted to make sure other young players received further opportunities to showcase their talents. Less than 24 hours later, Tucker was waived by the Sixers.
Now, they'll replace Tucker with former Charlotte Hornets guard Grant Riller. The 24-year-old Orlando, Florida native spent five seasons at the College of Charleston, beginning with his redshirt season in 2015.
After playing in 132 games over the course of four seasons in Charleston, Riller entered the 2020 NBA Draft. He was selected in the second round, with the 56th overall pick. Riller appeared in seven games for the Hornets, averaging less than five minutes on the court for them last year.
With Charlotte's G League affiliate, Riller played 11 games. Averaging 25 minutes on the floor, the first-year guard put up 13 points per game while draining 49-percent of his shots from the field and 46-percent of his threes.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.