Sixers Make SURPRISING Move… This is WILD

Sixers Make SURPRISING Move… This is WILD

Daryl my is add it again with a bit of a surprising move with the off season in full swing. The end of the Ricky Council era has arrived in Philadelphia after just two short seasons for the Arkansas product. Ricky Council has officially been released by the Philadelphia 76ers to help paint a clearer picture of what next year’s roster will fully look like. I’m going to dive into exactly what this means for the Sixers organization. why I’m a bit surprised at the timing but not the decision for Ricky and really reflect on where things went south for a guy that I think a lot of us had high hopes for. So to dive right into it, a short and sweet press release from the Philadelphia 76ers here just titled Philadelphia 76ers wave Ricky Council the fourth and all that it says inside is July 25th 2025 Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl my announced today that the team has waved Ricky Council the fourth. Council IVth appeared in 105 games with 12 starts over two seasons with the 76ers averaging 6.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists in 14.6 minutes per game. Now Ricky’s a guy that I think a lot of us were excited about, fell in love with, and could believe could grow into this very productive player for the Six’s organization, but unfortunately he just did not take those steps last year. Now, I know the immediate frustrations and reactions will be, “We’re keeping Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon on roster at age 73 or whatever each of them is and cutting loose a young athletic talent like Ricky Council the fourth.” And I hear you. I understand. But I also sort of get where Daryl my coming from. This is far more of a financially driven decision. And with the constraints of the roster, this is something that the writing has been on the wall for quite some time now. The timing of it is something that surprised me because Ricky Ricky Council was on a non-garanteed deal. It was a $2.3 million contract that he did have on the books heading into next year that the Sixers were free to cut ties with that January 10th was the date where they could officially make that decision. I sort of was under the impression or expecting them to carry him into the beginning of the season and then make that decision a little bit midway through the year, but ultimately I guess Daryl my doing him a little bit right here to grant him the freedom to find his next destination as he is officially a free agent. Now, reflecting on where things went south for Ricky Council, we got to start with the stats here. And to highlight what he produced on the on the court last year and 17.1 minutes per game, 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, shot just 38.2% from the field, just 25.8% from beyond the three-point arc. There he is set to turn 24 and hopefully there are brighter days ahead for Ricky Council. But I do understand exactly where Daryl Mory is coming from. Now to dive into the stats specifically as I do want to compare the two seasons for his rookie year versus what he produced last year. You can see a bit of a step back. Not an opportunity as obviously he only played in 32 games as a rookie. Played in 73 for the Sixers last year. Saw his minutes jump from 9 minutes per game as a rookie to 17.1 per game last year. But a lot of that was due to everything that went wrong last year and the production did not match that. The biggest thing that jumps out to me is the three-point percentage here. Shot 37.5% as a rookie. that down to 25.8% just last year. And to give the totals here as we had a clearer sample size as I acknowledged in the leap in opportunity that the volume I think was the defining factor here that you can see as a rookie just 32 three-point attempts. He shot 12 for 32 on those which does come out to 37.5 last year with a fuller sample size there. 213-point attempts for Ricky Ricky Council. Made just 55 of those which comes out to 25.8% there. It unfortunately boils down to a lot of these borderline guards here. The three-point percentage is going to be the make or break. And for Ricky Council, the fourth, it was the break here. Now, why this is disappointing to me is I did want to pull up this quote from Tyrese Maxi here who he talks about with Ricky specifically. And this coming from over a year ago to this point that he says, quote, “After every shootound, I make him shoot threes with me because if he gets that down, especially like corner threes, he can be a special player in this league.” I do think there was a genuine relationship between Maxi and Ricky Council. And that certainly plays into his favor for keeping him around, but not to the point where it is worth limiting your roster and flexibility for. And I think that is the decision that the Sixers did ultimately fall on. We now have a onslaught of young athletes with guys like Justin Edwards emerging, VJ Edgecom obviously selected with the third overall pick and a guy that is expected to make a day one impact for this Sixers team. Those are guys who had leaprogged Ricky Council in the depth chart and we have all our complaints about all the guards that are already on roster here. There kind of just was not a place for Ricky moving forward. This is a guy that I will be wishing the best. I do think he will likely get another NBA opportunity and in a different setting maybe he will be successful. But I will say for me personally what was most most frustrating about Ricky’s game last year is that was an environment which I thought he would thrive where it was madness where everything was going wrong where he had the opportunity to be a guy to kind of be the guy on the court in certain nights and he did not make the most of it there that I think my biggest concern for Ricky since he came to Philadelphia is I see the raw skills I see the athleticism I see how well he or how good he can look when he is operating as sort of the hub of the offense or a primary guy with the ball in the hands a lot but how does that worked in a scaled down role. Can he be a guy that sits in the corner, make corner threes, defend at a high level, equate his athleticism to oncourt production? Those were the questions that I had. But look back at last year and he sort of had the free reign to do whatever he want to be the madness of Ricky Council. That is what makes his game unique. What is what is what makes his game special there? And it did not translate in the same way. There’s some pretty clear numbers for why this was a guy who took a took a step back. Now, is this a little harsh from Daryl Mory and from the Sixers perspective to cut ties after just two years to not at least take him to the opport into the season and give him an opportunity to earn it? You can make that case. Absolutely. But I understand where they are coming from here. And to highlight the payroll here, do got to shout out my guy Jacob Mareno as always who did an awesome job putting this together. Shout out to Sixers Country. His page on uh Instagram there does a lot of awesome work for Sixer Sense as well. But he does break down sort of the salary cap outlook here. And the biggest story that I would note here is they’re now down to 13 players on roster. Now, the vast assumption and something that I’m pretty certain will be done based on how the restricted free agent market is shaking out to this point is Quinton Grimes will be back in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform to some extent and at some dollar figure there. We will see what that number ultimately falls on, but that number will bring them to 14 players there. The Sixers have operated since Daryl Murray has gotten to town with a bit of a preference to keep an open roster spot. Now, part of that is financially motivated by being cheaper to not being employing a full 15-man roster, and the other part is the flexibility that it does bring on a two for one trade that does pop up where you can take in two players with just with with just sending out one in a way that you do not have to cut any players there. I think it was the writing was on the wall for Ricky Council not being a long ter long-term part of the Six’s organization, and they decided it was best to cut ties right here. Again, I do think this guy will get another NBA chance. If not, it would not shock me, and I don’t mean this as a wild insult here, but he could be a guy that absolutely tears it up overseas. I mean, you can see a number of these guys. Miles Pal is a dude that pops to mind who sort of was in a similar role, who had a two-way contract, kind of latched on for the Sixers for a bit. Obviously, was an absolute bucket and a blast to watch during his days at Satan Hall. He is tearing it up in China right now, making a pretty penny, more than what he could make in the NBA based on what his skill set was. And I could see Ricky going down that path as well. Now, there’s certainly a world in which he works out his problems. he finds a little bit more, you know, of a clear role within organization. Cuz to be fair to Ricky here, expectations changed quite a bit last year that this was not a guy that was asked to play a scale down role, just hit corner threes. He had to make things happen out here and I think he kind of got lost in the shuffle or battled with, you know, juggling those different things that he was being trying to do there. Now, for the Sixers overall, we do kind of have an idea of what the finished depth chart is going to look like. And shout out to Jacob Mareno again who tweets this out that you can see with the point guards. So there is Tyrese Maxi, Kyle Lowry, Jared McCain, I even think you can throw in that category although we will see how this all shapes out when we see these guys on the floor. Of course, BJ Edgecom and Eric Gordon also a key part of that guard rotation there. And Hunter Salah on the two-way as well. Have not seen a ton from Salace, but I’m still optimistic from what I’ve seen from his college tape there and would like to see a little bit more of him. He did not pop it to me in summer league, but I will remain open-minded there. And of course at small forward Paul George, Kelly Ubé, and Justin Edwards. Power forward. We can have that conversation, but it is really this top end of the depth chart that I just don’t see a lane for where Ricky Council can really earn anything or have any sort of type of role on this immediate Sixers team. Now, with the concept of keeping an empty roster spot, I would tell my to be a bit cautious about this is I get the appeal of it. I understand the flexibility it brings, the money, the way that you can kind of keep yourself financially safe in a way here. But we also got to keep in mind the exact constraints that showed up last season. This is not a team that is young in the way that we know these guys are going to be on the court any given night. Who knows how many games Joel Embiid is playing. Who knows how many games that Paul George is playing for this Sixers team that I do think it would be in the best interest to get more of a win now piece to round out this roster. If that is Chris Bouchet on a veterans minimum, which they absolutely can pull off, or something along those lines, that would be something that would fire me up and something that I hope is the case there. Ultimately, my expectations at this point in time, I would guess that Ricky Council ultimately finds a new NBA team for next season and the Sixers enter next year with just 14 guys on the roster. To this point, we will see what happens, but I do want to wish Ricky Counsel a bit of a farewell and good luck for sure. This is a guy that I will be rooting for. Certainly, no hatred in the heart, but I do not think it was working out here in Philadelphia. And I think there are locations where he has a clearer pathway to earning an opportunity. So, do hope that is the case for him here. We will see ultimately what unfolds for the rest of this offseason for this Sixers team and see where Ricky Councel ends up himself. But let me know what you guys think about this. Are you more outraged than I am? I have kind of got the sense that plenty of people are upset about this. I sort of could see this coming. I’m surprised the at the timing, not surprised at the decision, and we’ll see what else unfolds from here. But let me know what you guys think in the comments. As always, appreciate you guys for tuning into this video here. Make sure you’re dropping a like on the video if you have not already. Drop a subscribe to the channel. Let’s get this Sixers Digest family continuing to grow. We back. Talk with you next time.

Sixers Make SURPRISING Move… This is WILD

Daryl Morey proved he is not done tinkering with this Sixers roster just yet and has waived Ricky Council IV to free up another roster spot. Sean Barnard breaks down what this means for the Sixers and why it did not work out for Ricky in Philly.

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Sixers Digest is a YouTube Channel that covers all the latest news, trades, reports, and rumors regarding the Philadelphia 76ers. We provide comprehensive coverage on topics such as game highlights, player performances, and in-depth analysis of team strategies. Our channel features discussions on key players like Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain, and Kyle Lowry, as well as insights from Head Coach Nick Nurse and President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates and engaging content on everything Sixers!

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