Sixers waive Mikki Moore, Xavier Silas

The Sixers pared down their roster a bit on Wednesday morning, announcing that veteran Mikki Moore and guard Xavier Silas had been released.
 
The move puts the Sixers’ roster at 16 players headed into Thursday night’s exhibition game in Orlando. The Sixers must whittle the roster down to 14 by opening day. Of those 14, the team is required to have 12 players on the active roster and at least one player on the inactive list.
 
Moore, 36, broke into the NBA in 1998 and has had stints with the Pistons, Celtics, Hawks, Nets, Jazz, Clippers, Sonics, Kings and Warriors. Coach Doug Collins said Moore likely will join a D-League team if he clears waivers, though he could consider an offer to play in Europe.
 
“He’s a veteran, but Dan Gadzuric has been more lively and energetic, which is what we need right now,” Collins said. “The thing about Mikki is he’s one of those guys who has been around long enough that if you need to pick someone up he can come right in.”
 
Silas, 24, appeared in two regular season games for the Sixers last season as well as a pair of postseason games, too. He was in training camp with the Sixers last season before he was waived and hooked up the team’s D-League affiliate in Maine.
 
Silas also was injured during the Orlando summer league when he took an elbow to the head. He suffered a concussion and a skull fracture that required surgery to fuse his sinuses back together.
 
“X has done a nice job but when we added Royal [Ivey] and Maalik [Wayns], the numbers were against him,” Collins said. “I wanted to give him a chance to plan his future."

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