Sixers do not make offer to guard Meeks

With the deadline to make qualifying offers set for Saturday and the free-agency period to begin on Sunday, the Sixers are beginning to put together their summer plan for building the roster.

It began shortly after the team drafted power forward Arnett Moultrie and small forward Mauricve Harkless in the first round of Thursday night’s draft and was followed by a qualifying offer extended to second-year center Lavoy Allen on Friday.

But in making the qualifying offer to Allen, Sixers president Rod Thorn confirmed that the team has not made a qualifying offer to Jodie Meeks, Sam Young or Xavier Silas.

Allen, drafted with the 50th overall pick last June, received an offer of approximately $962,165. It would be a deal good for one year if the team doesn’t sign him to a new contract. However, Allen could field offers from other teams, though the Sixers would have the right to match any offer.

Meanwhile, in not making an offer to Meeks, which would have had to be approximately $3.3 million for next season, the Sixers will allow the two-guard out of Kentucky to become an unrestricted free agent.

Meeks was the only player on the Sixers to play in every game last season, garnering 50 starts. However, there was no other player on the team who was as hot and cold as Meeks. Coach Doug Collins liked to use Meeks as a starter because of the floor spacing he provided and as the one true jump shooter on the club, Meeks drew attention from opposing defenses no matter what. To Collins, that made Meeks an effective player even if his shot was not falling.

Still, Meeks was so streaky during the 2011-12 season that Collins shifted him out of the starting lineup in favor of Evan Turner. In fact, after shooting nearly 40 percent from three-point land during the first half of the season, Meeks barely cracked 31 percent during the second half. Starting with the game on Jan. 6, Meeks made at least one three-pointer in 25 straight games, good for the third-longest streak in team history. However, when the playoffs rolled around, Meeks was typically the eighth or ninth man in Collins’ rotation and averaged a paltry 7.8 minutes per game.

Along with Meeks, Silas and Young could also become unrestricted free agents.

A tough defender, Young, 26, got lost in the shuffle with Memphis and the Sixers this season. The Sixers had hoped to use Young’s toughness on the court down the stretch and into the playoffs, but for whatever reason, Collins didn’t see a fit. He played sporadically after starting for Memphis during its playoff run last season in which the No. 8 seed beat San Antonio and took Oklahoma City to seven games.

Silas began the last season playing for BCM Gravelines Dunkerque Grand Littoral in France. He was also one of the last players cut by the Sixers after training camp, before going off to spend the season with the Sixers’ D-League affiliate. There he averaged 9.8 points with three rebounds in 40 games, while shooting 40.1 percent from the field.

Silas joined the Sixers for the final week of the regular season and got into two games. He was inactive for a few games during the opening-round playoff series against the Bulls, but saw action in two games against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Thorn and the Sixers can pick up the phone and call free agents starting on Sunday. Expect the phones to be busy.

E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com