1:00pm: The moves are official, the team announced via press release.
10:11am: The Spurs have waived Deshaun Thomas and Youssou Ndoye sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement, though Charania indicates the moves have already taken place. Ndoye went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure this year, while the Spurs picked Thomas 58th overall in the 2013 draft, so releasing him means the team is relinquishing his draft rights. Both have non-guaranteed contracts, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The subtractions will leave San Antonio with 18 players, meaning at least three more cuts have to take place before opening night. The Spurs have 13 fully guaranteed salaries, as our roster count shows.
Thomas, a 24-year-old combo forward, totaled nine points on 2 for 9 shooting in about 29 minutes of play spread over two preseason appearances. The former Ohio State standout who averaged 19.8 points in his final season with the Buckeyes appeared intent on joining the Spurs this season after playing two years overseas, and he signed for the terms of the required tender San Antonio had to make to keep his draft rights. While a release from the Spurs today would give any NBA team a crack at Thomas, San Antonio can elect to keep his D-League rights.
It appears San Antonio will be doing just that with Ndoye, as the expectation when he and the team reached agreement was reportedly that he would end up with the D-League Austin Spurs. Ndoye still plans on signing with San Antonio’s D-League affiliate should he clear waivers, as Charania writes in a full story. The 24-year-old center averaged 3.3 PPG in 10.0 MPG across three preseason appearances.