The Sixers waive George Hill before his contract becomes fully guaranteed
Hill would have made $10 million for the 2021-22 season by remaining on the roster beyond Tuesday. By waiving him, the Sixers have to pay him only $1.2 million.
LAS VEGAS — George Hill’s tenure with the 76ers was short.
The team waived the reserve point guard who was acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-team trade in March. The Sixers cleared about $8.8 million from the salary cap by waiving Hill on Tuesday. That’s because his contract was partially guaranteed at $1.2 million for the 2021-22 season. They would have had to pay him $10 million if he remained on the roster past Tuesday.
Hill plans to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks after clearing waivers and after free agents are eligble to sign contracts at 12:01 p.m. Friday.
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Hill came to Philly with lofty expectations in a deal in which the Sixers gave up reserve center Tony Bradley and draft picks. However, he didn’t make his Sixers debut until April 19 after missing most of the season following surgery on his right thumb on Feb. 2. Hill suffered the injury on Jan. 24.
Hill averaged a career-low 6.0 points to go with 2.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 turnovers and 18.9 minutes in 16 regular-season games for the Sixers. He went on to struggle in the Eastern Conference semifinal series loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Hill averaged 2.4 points and shot only 30.4% from the field, making just 22% of his three-point attempts.
The Sixers had acquired him to help get them over the hump in the postseason. He was supposed to be the playoff-tested veteran they needed off the bench. And it was easy to see why they felt that way.
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Hill had averaged 12.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.9 steals and shot 37.0% on three-pointers during his 127 playoff appearances, including 91 starts, before this past season. He participated in the 2018 NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers. As an Indiana Pacer, he reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2013 and 2014. He did the same with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019.
But his tenure with the Sixers was disappointing.