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Wayns waived to save cash; Sixers looking for third point guard

The 76ers let local product Maalik Wayns go mostly because of money and doubts that he was ready to fulfill the role of the team's third guard.

Wayns, released on Sunday, had two years left on his deal. Had he been on the roster as of Monday his full salary (473,604) would have been guaranteed. He was scheduled to make $762,195 next season.

"As of today contracts become guaranteed," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "We had to give ourselves flexibility."

The Sixers brought Wayns, a product of both Roman Catholic High School and Villanova, in to be their third guard, Collins said. When they first signed Wayns to a contract following his impressive showing in the Orlando summer league, the Sixers actually talked of grooming Wayns to be a backup point guard.

The Sixers have 13 players on their roster. They will look to add a third point guard, Collins said. The team is also considering re-signing Wayns to a 10-day contract.

"We need to see if we can find maybe another guy who can come in and play pick-and-roll and do some things for us when Jrue is off the floor," Collins said.  "We really take a hit when Jrue is off the floor because we don't have the personnel to do it with the [second] unit.

Wayns appeared in 20 games this season and started once. He averaged 2.5 points and 1.0 assist.

After his stint with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Sixers rookie Arnett Moultrie is happy to be back with the team.

"You can say it was a dose of reality," Moultrie, who averaged 9.7 points and 6.10 rebounds in seven games with the Skyforce. "It wasn't bad for the most part. But it's not a place where I want to play again. I'm going to use that for motivation."

Moultrie was recalled Sunday.

The Sixers sent Moultrie down to the NBA D-League affiliate so that he could get more playing time. Moultrie, the 27th overall pick in the draft (Miami) was traded to the Sixers in exchange for the draft fights of Justin Hamilton (45th overall pick) and a protected future first round pick.

Moultrie started three games. He averaged more than 26 minutes per game and says he used that time to improve his conditioning.

However, the Sixers have gotten very little consistency from their big men. This is an opportunity for the 6-10 Moultrie to get some minutes if he is willing to work hard.

"I've been keeping up with the box scores," Moultrie said. "But I just want to come in and rebound and, if I get a chance, to come in and be dominant in the paint.

In other news, center Kwame Brown was excused from practice on Monday for personal reasons.