Xavier Silas signed a 10-day contract with the 76ers late in the 2011-12 season. The next offseason, he was playing for their summer-league team when he suffered a nasty head injury that required facial surgery.
It’s been a long road back for Silas, who went undrafted out of Northern Illinois (where he transferred from Colorado) in 2011. After stints in the D-League and overseas, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard is back in the NBA and looking to prove he belongs longer than 10 days.
Shams Charania of RealGM:
Free agent guard Xavier Silas is finalizing a contract with the Washington Wizards, league sources tell RealGM.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 15, 2014
Silas is not a candidate for the Wizards to waive before the season in order for them to assign them to their D-League team. Washington’s D-League affiliate – the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who share affiliations with several NBA teams – already holds Silas’ rights.
So, maybe Washington wants Silas just for training camp and nothing more. That’s certainly possible. He participated in the Wizards training camp last year and got cut.
But with just 14 players, they have an open roster spot this time. Silas might have a real chance to make the team.
Glen Rice Jr., who barely played as a rookie last season, is Washington’s only shooting guard behind Bradley Beal. Martell Webster can play the position too, especially if Otto Porter is ready to back up Paul Pierce at small forward. But Webster is probably slightly better suited to stretch the floor from the frontcourt.
That’s a long way of saying the Wizards have room for another shooting guard. As of now, that stands to be Silas, but Washington can still add to its roster and create training-camp competition.
