Brackins heads to D-League
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Brackins heads to D-League
John Mitchell, Inquirer Staff Writer
As reported in the Inquirer this morning, the 76ers have assigned second-year forward Craig Brackins to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Brackins had appeared in eight games this season.
“He actually asked for that; I respected that a lot," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "He just said, ‘You know, I’ve made a position change and we’re winning and there’s really no place for me to play, and I’d like to go down and play.’ I was proud of Craig. He wants to play and he wants to be in this league and there just weren’t any minutes there for him this year.”
Collins hopes that Brackins will be used at small forward, which is where the Sixers envision him at the NBA level. However, Collins thinks they will probably play Brackins at power forward.
Brackins (6-10, 230) was assigned to the D-League three times last season with the Sixers old affiliate, the Springfield Armor. In 18 games for the Armor, he averaged 20.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 37.6 minutes per game while shooting 44.0% from the floor, 24.7% from 3-point range and 72.7% from the line. He was tied for the eighth highest scoring average of any D-League player last season.
His game to date seems to be almost exclusively on the perimeter. Going to Maine and playing alot of basketball is the bestthing for him right now...as well as building up his body.— bearsfriend
Comment removed.- No mention of who is taking is spot. With Hawes out, why not sign a young big man or bring one up from D League. Why not bring in a young point guard, so when team is blowing teams out, it is not keeping Turner, Williams or Meeks out on the court to risk injury.— 76er
- He is still technically on the roster so the Sixer's can't sign another player to replace him. — BeFrank
- Why would there be any mention of the person taking his spot? Chances are he'd play less than brackins, right?— Rawkus
- Am wondering what DC actually sees in this guy???
He's been around for nearly 2 years with barely a sniff of playing time. Any clues? ...— FishFryFrank - Trade bait==— Dr.Jp
- Good move Craig!!! He was not going to play for the team this year.— reveugene
- Young Boy need 2 Brush up on his Skill's & this will give him the Playing Time He Needs— jamesjones
- Am I the only one concerned about the disconnect between the Sixers and the D-league team?
The Sixers want Brakins as a Small Forward, but the D-League team is probably going to play him at Power. Why in the heck would the Sixers let them do that to their player? The D-league is supposed to develop the player to play in the NBA. This is a serious violation of the spirit of the D-league.— dervin - Brackins has an outside shot and he seems pretty athletic when dunking in the layup line before games. It would be nice to have Jason Smith and Willie Green back for him now, but Brackins has some upside, I hope. He really has gotten a chance to work out the nerves etc when he gets on the court. If you based Lavoy's performance on garbage time and how he looked at first against Miami when Vuk went down . . .— Leegles
- Why did they make a deal for this guy again? Vuc and Allen have come right in and played effectively as rookies, this guy was a 1st round pick who's been around for 2 years now and has probably never needed to wash his warmup gear. Either he can play or he can't
- Brackins seems to be stuck in the 12th man position since he got here; while Vuc and Lavoy are getting quality minutes, he just can't seem to crack the lineup... Any chance of a trade of Brackins, Nocioni, and maybe a 2nd round draft choice that we got from the Speights trade to somehow get another pick in the first round?— guitarman
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
