(AP)

Khalif Wyatt is headed to China.

Four days after being waived by the 76ers, Wyatt took a one-year deal to play for Guangdong Southern, of the China Basketball Association, a source close to Wyatt confirmed.

Wyatt, the Temple standout who won Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2012-13, played for the Sixers in the Orlando Pro Summer League and through the preseason before being cut last Friday. He had averaged 4.2 points per game in four exhibition appearances with the team.

A Norristown native, Wyatt had options stateside. A league source had said the Sixers were looking to keep Wyatt in the pipeline with the team's NBA D-League affiliate in Delaware.

(AP)

Khalif Wyatt sat in the 76ers’ locker room Wednesday, before their preseason finale, and said he was still living in Norristown, his hometown, with his mother. He had expressed a desire to wait until he earned a roster spot with the Sixers before he bought his own place.

Then Thursday’s news trickled down.

The 76ers released Wyatt and fellow guard Vander Blue and forwards Royce White and Mac Koshwal Thursday night, according to a league source.

The team has until Monday at 5 p.m. to make at least one more cut, to be in compliance with league guidelines, prior to Wednesday’s season opener. Three of the Sixers’ cuts are somewhat surprising, as Wyatt and Blue were believed to be competing for the same job, and White, who has had a brief yet tumultuous run in the NBA, appeared to have found a home.

Sixers coach Brett Brown hinted that the first round of cuts would come Thursday.

"When I put my coaching hat on ... you want to get your group and start moving,” he said after the team’s preseason finale. “And that's what (Thursday) will be about."

White, Houston's first-round pick in the 20

12 draft, missed his rookie season while dealing with anxiety issues and a fear of flying. Traded to Philly in the offseason as more of a salary dump measure for the Rockets than anything else, White looked comfortable with the Sixers, who had allowed him to drive – rather than fly – to a pair of preseason games.

Additionally, White gave the Sixers muscle in the middle for a roster that's lacking in frontcourt talent. He averaged five points and seven rebounds in five preseason games.

Wyatt and Blue, both of whom received partially guaranteed contracts as undrafted rookies, looked to be vying for one roster spot that neither ended up getting, as far as Brown was concerned.

However, the writing was on the wall for both to be cut. Wyatt, the Temple product by way of Norristown, and Blue, out of Marquette, tellingly were not inserted into Wednesday night's preseason finale until the final five minutes.

Koshwal, a deep reserve, appeared in three exhibitions.

(AP)

From last year’s Temple roster to this year’s 76ers training-camp roster, there is no alteration to Khalif Wyatt’s weight. But the combo guard swears he’s gotten himself in better shape – and he sure looks the part.

Wyatt, who signed a partially guaranteed, multi-year contract this month, is attempted to play his way into the Sixers’ rotation. Shouldn’t be difficult, considering how young this team is and how needy for offense it will be. In his final season at Temple, Wyatt averaged 20.5 points per game en route to winning Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year honors.

That’s why Wyatt, a Norristown native, is convinced he needs to be in better shape.

“Coach (Brett) Brown wants me to make sure I’m in the best shape possible,” Wyatt said the other day. “He understands I’m getting in better shape, but he wants me in better shape. He wants to keep pushing me, keep pushing me, keep using the word ‘development,’ and wants me to keep developing my body and developing my game.”

Wyatt contended that he could have been in better shape at Temple.

“Somehow I got by,” he said. “Now it’s the next level. You’re not going to be able to get by unless you’re in tip-top shape. I took a concerted effort in my body (after the Orlando Summer League) and I still have a lot of work to do.

Wyatt led the Sixers’ OSL team in scoring – something that wouldn’t be frowned upon with the regular-season version of the club.

As for what position he will play under Brown, Wyatt said he’s unsure. He played the point at Temple, evolving into more of a scoring 1-guard with the Owls. With Syracuse rookie Michael Carter-Williams likely to start at point guard, Wyatt will take any spot he can get.

“I’ve always been better with the ball in my hands,” Wyatt said, “but at this level, somebody else could have the ball in their hands.”

(Christopher A. Vito)

Temple guard Khalif Wyatt rated his workout Saturday with the 76ers as “good,” and said he’s hopeful to hear his name called June 27 at the NBA draft.

Wyatt, a Norristown product, participated in the predraft workout at PCOM alongside Miami’s Shane Larkin, Ohio State’s DeShaun Thomas and Glen Rice Jr., who spent last season in the NBA Development League.

“I think I did good,” said Wyatt, a 6-4, 210-pound guard. “I made shots. I competed well. Played pretty good defense, and I gave a good effort. … We did a little bit of everything – some ballhandling, shot a lot of shots, we competed 1-on-1. It was only four guys, so we did a lot of 1-on-1 stuff.”

Wyatt said he shaved about 14 pounds in the six weeks he spent in Las Vegas, where he trained at Impact Basketball’s facility with other prospective draft picks. Most teams that Wyatt has worked out for, he said, have taken notice of his slimmed-down physique. He’s workout out for Phoenix, Portland, Brooklyn, Washington, Detroit and the Sixers, with upcoming workouts with Dallas (June 18), Sacramento (June 21) and the Los Angeles Lakers (June 24) scheduled before draft day.

“Teams have been impressed with my body change the last time they saw me, against Indiana,” Wyatt said of the Owls’ final NCAA Tournament game. “Teams are looking at me as a second-round prospect. Hopefully I get my name called.”

For more on Wyatt, pick up Sunday’s Daily Times.

On a related note: Saint Joseph’s C.J. Aiken, who declared for the draft after his junior season with the Hawks, will work out for the Sixers June 24.