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Sixers waive Charles Bassey and Isaiah Joe as they work to get roster to 15 players

Bassey had $74,742 guaranteed on his contract, while Joe would have made $1.78 million by making the season-opening roster.

Isaiah Joe after practice on the first day of training camp at the McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
Isaiah Joe after practice on the first day of training camp at the McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer

Doc Rivers was asked if there was anything to read into Isaiah Joe and Charles Bassey being the only two 76ers held out of Wednesday’s preseason finale against the Charlotte Hornets.

“You can,” Rivers said. “I don’t know what you will read into that.”

It turns out there was a lot to read into them sitting out. Around 12 hours later, the Sixers waived the duo Thursday morning, according to sources. The team announced in the news in a 6 p.m. press release,

» READ MORE: What’s next for Charles Bassey? Charting the recently released Sixers center’s NBA journey and tenuous future

Bassey appeared in just one of the Sixers’ four exhibition games, while Joe made two appearances. Bassey had $74,742 guaranteed on the second and final year of his contract. Joe, a guard, would have made $1.78 million by making the season-opening roster.

The Sixers selected the center late in the second round of the 2021 NBA draft out of Western Kentucky. Bassey averaged 3.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 7.3 minutes in 23 appearances last season.

Joe was selected late in the second round of the 2020 draft. He averaged 3.7 points while shooting 34.9% on three-pointers in 96 career games with two starts.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Isaiah Joe sits on roster bubble entering preseason — but he’s keeping his eye on the ball

Joe is an accomplished three-point shooter and a solid defender. However, he couldn’t stay in the Sixers’ rotation last season. He followed that up by playing a total of 1 minute, 8 seconds in the final four games of his team’s second-round playoff loss to Miami. Even that’s a bit misleading, because those minutes came in mop-up duty in the series-ending Game 6.

The problem was that Joe didn’t always flourish when called upon. But he displayed consistency while playing for the Sixers during summer league in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in July. And he made 4 of 8 three-pointers this preseason.

Meanwhile, Bassey had some success in his lone preseason game. He finished with four points on 2-for-4 shooting along with a team-high nine rebounds, one block, and a steal in 14 minutes.