(AP)

With time winding down before the 76ers have to get their roster in compliance with NBA mandates, coach Brett Brown offered a glimpse into what he’s looking for from the group of players vying to avoid being the last man cut.

“An NBA skill,” Brown said after Friday’s practice. “Is he an NBA shooter? Is he an NBA athlete? Can he become an NBA shooter? Can he became an NBA athlete?”

Brown said “a few of the young guys” are in the mix to make the team before the Sixers, who are carrying 16 players, have to trim their roster by one to get down to a league-maximum 15. Among the players who face being waived by the Sixers are: Rodney Williams, Hollis Thompson, Gani Lawal and Kwame Brown.

A 13^th-year center, Kwame Brown (pictured) remains a possibility to be waived or moved by the Sixers, as they cannot afford to have such little roster flexibility at the beginning of the season. Brown has yet to play in the preseason and has seen little to no court time along the way while battling with a hamstring strain. Carrying Brown would mean the Sixers, who already have three players (Nerlens Noel, Jason Richardson and Arnett Moultrie) dealing with long-term injuries, will be limited to 11 healthy players for Wednesday’s opener against visiting Miami.

“I’m terrified by the reality of our injured list,” Brett Brown said. “How many NBA teams start the year with four guys on the injured list? We have no relief. To carry 11 people and try to play hard games and try to practice hard and reduce injury, that is a funny mix. At the minute, I’d like to say, ‘Heck yeah, that’s what I’d like to do,’ but I want to be smart with the realities of our roster.”

The other possibility is that the Sixers cut no one.

Brett Brown could petition the league to get a fourth player on the injury list and a 16^th roster spot, though that usually requires having a player who will miss the full season. And since neither the Sixers nor Richardson or Noel have declared either of those two out for good, that might be a stretch.