The Hornets have officially waived forward Dominic McGuire, the team announced today in a press release. ESPN.com's Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that McGuire was expected to be released.
McGuire had signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Hornets back on December 16th. With the contract guarantee deadline fast approaching, McGuire's contract would have become guaranteed for the season if he had remained on the Hornets' roster through next Monday. Instead, New Orleans has saved itself from paying the 27-year-old a rest-of-season salary.
The Hornets now have 13 players left on their roster, leaving two open roster spots. If New Orleans employs a strategy similar to last season's, the club figures to use those open spots to audition players on 10-day contracts. In 2011/12, the Hornets signed six different players to at least one 10-day deal, as our tracker shows.
McGuire, who began the season with the Raptors, posted nearly identical numbers in nine games for the Hornets (2.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 16.1 MPG) as he did in 15 games with Toronto (2.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 15.3 MPG). McGuire has also played for the Wizards, Kings, Bobcats, and Warriors during his six-year NBA career.