By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers roster stood at 20 before the 5:00 p.m. roster deadline and now it's down to the league requirement of 15. There weren't a whole lot of surprises when it came to the Sixers cuts considering they had 11 guaranteed contracts already. Among those that may have been considered on the bubble, Nik Stauskas and Hollis Thompson both made the 15-man roster. The team cut Cat Barber, Shawn Long, Brandon Paul and James Webb III.
Recently signed guard Dionte Christmas will be the teams' fifth cut. The former Temple standout was signed to a contract on Monday morning, hours before the deadline of final roster cuts. He'll head to the Sixers D-League team in Delaware.
The Sixers officially waived Cat Barber, Dionte Christmas, Shawn Long, Brandon Paul and James Webb III.
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoCSN) October 24, 2016
Barber signed with the Sixers as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina State. He played in two preseason games, averaging 5.5 points on 41.7 percent shooting. Many were expected to see more playing time for him, but ultimately the team went with Hollis Thompson and Nik Stauskas over Barber.
Long, at 6-foot-9, didn't really have a big chance at making the roster with the surplus of big men under contract for the Sixers. In seven preseason games, the Louisiana-Lafayette product averaged 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds.
Paul, 25, was one of the more intriguing non-guaranteed contract players for Philadelphia. He had a strong first game, but was hampered by injury for a bulk of the preseason. In four games, Paul averaged 7.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. According to multiple reports, other teams have interest in Paul for their D-League teams.
Boise State forward James Webb II was also in the big man mix for the Sixers and mostly got mop up minutes at the end of preseason games. He played in six of the teams' seven preseason contests, averaging 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds.
The Sixers do have D-League rights to Long, Webb and Barber.
Here's what the Sixers roster looks like at this point:
| Philadelphia 76ers Roster | ||||||
| # | NAME | POS | AGE | HT | WT | SALARY |
| 0 | Jerryd Bayless | G | 28 | 6-3 | 200 | $1,015,696 |
| 33 | Robert Covington | F | 25 | 6-9 | 215 | $1,015,696 |
| 21 | Joel Embiid | C | 22 | 7-0 | 250 | $4,826,160 |
| 9 | Jerami Grant | F | 22 | 6-8 | 210 | $980,431 |
| 12 | Gerald Henderson | G | 28 | 6-5 | 215 | $9,000,000 |
| 22 | Richaun Holmes | F | 23 | 6-10 | 245 | $1,025,831 |
| 20 | Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot | F | 21 | 6-6 | 205 | $1,326,960 |
| 1 | T.J. McConnell | G | 24 | 6-2 | 200 | $874,636 |
| 4 | Nerlens Noel | C | 22 | 6-11 | 228 | $4,384,490 |
| 8 | Jahlil Okafor | C | 20 | 6-11 | 275 | $4,788,840 |
| 14 | Sergio Rodriguez | G | 30 | 6-3 | 176 | $8,000,000 |
| 9 | Dario Saric | F | 22 | 6-10 | 223 | $2,318,280 |
| 25 | Ben Simmons | F | 20 | 6-10 | 240 | $5,903,160 |
| 11 | Nik Stauskas | G | 23 | 6-6 | 206 | $2,993,040 |
| 31 | Hollis Thompson | G | 25 | 6-8 | 206 | $1,015,696 |
With a few days remaining before their opener, the Sixers could still make a waiver move to add a young guard to the mix in the coming days. Tyler Ennis, Archie Goodwin and RJ Hunter are a trio of players that could intrigue the Sixers.
The Philadelphia 76ers open their 2016-17 season on Wednesday, October 26 at 8:00 p.m. at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jerryd Bayless, Nerlens Noel and Ben Simmons will be inactive.
