Notable 2012 Camp Invitees Who Didn’t Return

Not every training camp invitee is an anonymous rookie. Teams often bring in veterans with extensive track records, as I detailed when I looked at a few longtime veterans in camp with teams this year. Still, just because those players have eye-catching names doesn’t mean they’re destined to make the team, or even catch on with another club if they’re let go. Several prominent veterans were in camp with teams last season, got cut, and still haven’t found another NBA playing gig. We’ll detail the cases of some of them here. Note that this list doesn’t include Eddy Curry, since he appeared in a pair of games for the Mavericks last year before they waived him in early November.

  • Kelenna Azubuike, Cavaliers: He didn’t play in any professional league last season after the Cavs let him go in mid-October. He remains unsigned this year, and we haven’t heard anything regarding another opportunity for him. The former starting small forward for the Warriors has played only three NBA regular season games after botched surgery on a torn patellar tendon in 2009.
  • Anthony Carter, Nuggets: The 14-year veteran sat out last season after Denver waived him, and it appears his playing career is over, since he’ll serve as an assistant coach for the Spurs’ D-League affiliate this year.
  • Kyrylo Fesenko, Bulls: Financial considerations may have been in play for the hard-capped Bulls when they let him go before opening night last year, but the team didn’t re-sign him once the minimum salary had prorated far enough down to allow them to do so. The Hawks passed after working him out in November, and he wound up signing to play in Ukraine. He hit free agency again this summer, but he remains unsigned and we haven’t heard him linked to any teams.
  • Jonny Flynn, Pistons: The former sixth overall pick was a high-profile signing for the Melbourne Tigers of Australia this past November, and the Lakers and Grizzlies were linked to him during the season. A new NBA deal never materialized, so he inked this summer with a Chinese team.
  • D.J. Mbenga, Mavericks: The seven-year vet and two-time champ didn’t even make it to the preseason last year, as the Mavs let him go on October 2nd, shortly after signing him. He went next to a Chinese team, but that squad waived him after only a month. He wound up playing in the Philippines, and though he’s back on the free agent market, there doesn’t appear to be any interest.
  • Jamaal Magloire, Raptors: A native of Toronto, he stepped into a post-playing career with the Raptors shortly after they waived him, joining the team last November as a basketball development consultant and community ambassador.
  • Mikki Moore, Sixers: The 37-year-old center appears to be at the end of the line, as there haven’t been any updates to his Hoops Rumors page since the Sixers cut him. He didn’t play regular season ball for any team last season.
  • Adam Morrison, Trail Blazers: It appeared that Morrison was set to retire when the Blazers waived him last year, but agent Brad Ames said shortly after Morrison’s release that the one-time third overall pick was open to playing overseas. He didn’t wind up doing so, and there’s been no interest in him in the offseason.
  • Ronald Murray, Grizzlies: The guard known as “Flip” ended up with a Ukrainian team last season, and though he took part in a mini-camp with the Jazz in September, he remains a free agent.
  • Delonte West, Mavericks: West’s conduct doomed his chances with the Mavs, and his decision to wait two months after signing with the D-League’s Texas Legends to suit up for the team certainly didn’t help his perception among NBA clubs. Still, the KnicksLakers and Grizzlies are among the teams that showed varying levels of interest before he signed to play in China a few weeks ago.

The Hoops Rumors International Player Movement Tracker and RealGM.com were used in the creation of this post.

View Comments (0)