GALLOWAY, N.J. — How young are the 2015-16 Sixers?
Of the 20 players in training camp this week at Stockton University, only two were born before 1991. But one of those two was born in December 1990. Meanwhile, only one player on the camp roster has more than three years of NBA service time headed into the season.
That one player, Carl Landry, has been around so long he may have played more NBA games than the entire roster combined.
“I’ve played almost 40 playoffs game, probably played more playoff and regular-season games than the whole team combined,” Landry said.
With 514 games between the regular season and playoffs in eight NBA seasons, the 6-foot-9 power forward is happy to be the elder statesman with the Sixers. In fact, he remembers coming up with the Houston Rockets and learning the ins-and-outs of the NBA from Dikembe Mutombo, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier and Steve Francis.
It’s as if his time in the NBA has come full circle with the Sixers, Landry says.
“I’m not going to lead them in the wrong direction,” Landry said of his young teammates. “I’m going to continue to be a professional. That's what got me to this point today. Hopefully with that, I can help this ball club out as well as myself along the way.”
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That last sentence is the key part. Though he’s still recovering from a wrist injury and isn’t expected to practice with his new team for five to six weeks, according to coach Brett Brown, Landry isn’t expecting to fill the de facto veteran role with the Sixers previously held by Jason Richardson and Luc Mbah a Moute. He wants to contribute to winning some basketball games.
Acquired in the trade that netted the Sixers Nik Stauskas, that’s exactly the same idea Brown and general manager Sam Hinkie have for Landry, too.
“I was in Houston when we drafted him and it seems like a lifetime ago for the both of us. We talked a lot about this situation and that it’s different than people might perceive it and how we’re going to need his voice,” said Hinkie, noting that Landry wasn’t acquired from Sacramento just for a salary dump. “That doesn’t take away from his game — I think he’ll be able to play fine.”
Brown saw first hand the contribution Richardson made with the Sixers even though he appeared in just 19 games over two seasons. But Brown adds Landry can make some on-the-court contributions when working with rookie center Jahlil Okafor. With eight years in the NBA, the power forward can give Okafor a workout in practice he might not be able to get from other players on the roster.
“He can provide some NBA wisdom,” Brown said. “There is a physical side to him where I look forward to pairing him and Jah up, where he can feel some NBA weight. But he has a veteran side and an experience side that we had with Jason and Luc that we now have in him and we will tap into.”
That experience could also be some veteran savvy off the bench. In eight years with the Rockets, Kings, Hornets and Warriors, Landry provided some offensive punch, scoring 10.9 points and shooting 53.4 percent from the field in 23 minutes per game over his career. Those numbers increased to 11.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 20 minutes per game in 12 playoff appearances with the Warriors two years ago.
Plus, it wasn’t that long ago when Landry was in the same position as a lot of the players with the Sixers. He was a rotation guy with the veteran-laden Rockets in his first three years in the NBA and has played in some varied situations. In college at Purdue, Landry played for legendary coach Gene Keady and in the NBA he played for coaches Rick Adelman, Paul Westphal, Mark Jackson and then the situation last season with the dysfunctional Kings where, “you didn’t know who was going to be the coach the next day,” Landry said.
There isn’t much Landry hasn’t seen or experienced in the NBA, so being the old guy is going to be a new challenge.
And Landry says he’s ready for it.
“This is a team where the sky is the limit,” Landry said. “I played right away when I was a rookie and there are a lot of players here that can be effective and compete in the Eastern Conference and you never know. … I’m definitely excited about being a part of this and being a leader.”