The Philadelphia 76ers recently made a move to bolster their depth when they signed veteran forward Anthony Tolliver to a 10-day contract. The 13-year veteran out of Creighton is a career 37.3% shooter from deep, and he brings a stretch 4 capability to the bench unit.
Tolliver played for three teams in the 2019-20 season: Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies. He had not had any offers for the 2020-21 season until the Sixers called.
“I got the call; they asked if I was in shape, and I said ‘absolutely’,” Tolliver beamed on Wednesday. “They said ‘How soon can you jump on a plane?’ and I said ‘In about two hours’. I kissed all my kids and my wife and said ‘See you later; we’ll figure it out’. I just had to come here and take some tests and get ready to go.”
He actually was enjoying some rare time with his family, which is something he did not have much of in the past.
“I was kind of enjoying my time at home enjoying my kids for an extended time of daddy time and being able to coach my oldest son’s basketball team and different stuff like that,” said Tolliver on Wednesday. “I didn’t really want to go into the wrong situation. I wanted to make sure the situation was really a great fit, and something I really wanted to do.”
However, he stayed ready for any offer that should come his way. He explained he has a half-court basketball set up at his house, and he stayed ready should another NBA chance come calling. Whatever opportunity and role that is remains to be seen, but the point is, he is ready for anything coach Doc Rivers asks of him.
“I feel very prepared as far as the opportunity moving forward,” he added. “Honestly, if that means playing two minutes or 20 minutes or whatever, I’m just here or just playing nothing, playing, no minutes at all. I’m here to support in any way I can try to lead and help these young guys that are not necessarily in the rotation, help them through this time because I’ve been there. From experience, that actually can help a team a lot by just helping the guys who aren’t playing. Keep them prepared.”
Tolliver is not going to come in and be a game-changer. He knows his role as somebody who has been around the block quite a few times and he wants to help the younger guys on the team get into a groove and do things behind the scenes. Philadelphia needs a guy like him to pass along his experiences as well as contribute on the floor when the time calls for it.
“For me, it’s bigger than just coming here and trying to play a bunch of minutes,” he finished. “It’s a bigger task than that. There’s a lot more to winning at a high level. I’m not the savior. I’m not here to win a championship for the team by myself. It’s just the little things behind the scenes that go a long way.”
Tolliver will be available to play when the Sixers take on the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday at 7 p.m. EDT.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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