Solomon Alabi

Sixers Cut Solomon Alabi

The Sixers were at the 20-man preseason roster limit when they reached an agreement Gani Lawal today, meaning someone had to go. The unlucky Sixer is Solomon Alabi, whom Philadelphia has waived, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Alabi's tenure with the Sixers lasted less than a week, as the team announced his signing this past Saturday. He was presumed to be on a non-guaranteed camp deal, so Philly won't have to pay his salary now that he's off the roster.

Alabi was attempting a return to the NBA after a two-year stint with the Raptors ended in 2012. He spent last season with Ikaros in Greece, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. The 7'1" center went to Greece after spending camp last fall with the Pelicans (then the Hornets), so perhaps he'll once more head overseas.

Just like the Rockets and Jordan Henriquez, who was also waived today, the Sixers used cap space to sign Alabi to a three-year deal. As I explained this summer, doing so gives a team subtle advantages if it wants to re-sign the player when his contract ends. In this case, Alabi won't be sticking around, but the cap space he occupied goes back on Philly's books, and the Sixers will presumably use it for Lawal's contract.

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Sixers Sign Solomon Alabi, Mac Koshwal

The Sixers announced that they have signed Solomon Alabi and Nayal "Mac" Koshwal.  Terms of the deals are not disclosed but they are almost certainly non-guaranteed training camp contracts.

Alabi, a 7'1" center, was drafted by the Mavs with the 50th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to Toronto.  The 25-year-old played two seasons for the Raptors in 2010/11 and 2011/12.  Last season, Alabi played for the D-League's Idaho Stampede and Ikaros Chalkidas of the Greek League.

Koshwal, a 6'10" forward/center, spent time in the Las Vegas Summer League before spending time on several minor league teams.  The native of Sudan jumped from DePaul after his junior year but went undrafted in 2010.

Philadelphia's training camp roster now stands at the maximum of 20 players.

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Atlantic Notes: Martin, Nets, Raptors, Alabi

One day after the Atlantic's five teams went 4-1 – only the slumping Sixers failed to pick up a victory – the Knicks will look to continue the division's winning ways against the Thunder at Madison Square Garden tonight. As we look forward to that game, let's check out a few notes from around the division….

  • Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com isn't sure why Kenyon Martin has only played five minutes in his first six games with the Knicks. Martin is on his second 10-day contract, so if he's going to remain with the team beyond his current deal, he should be included in an expanded version of the rotation, says Begley.
  • Nets CEO Brett Yormark declined comment when asked about P.J. Carlesimo's performance as head coach, which Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News finds interesting.
  • According to Bruce Arthur of the National Post, the Raptors' roster is "full of overstuffed contracts and puzzle pieces that won’t fit," which is reminiscent of past Raptors teams.
  • With their playoff hopes on life support, the Raptors need to look the future and start playing guys like Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas more, says Eric Koreen of the National Post.
  • Former Raptor Solomon Alabi has signed with Ikaros Kallitheas of Greece, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). The 7'1" center played 26 games in two seasons with the Raptors, and was in camp with the Hornets last fall.

D-League Notes: Hayward, Alabi, Call-Ups

The latest on various moves and happenings from around the D-League on Sunday afternoon:

International Moves: Daniels, Mbenga, Emmett

It's a fairly quiet time of year for NBA transactions, but many former NBA players are still involved in the roster carousel with teams overseas. Here's the latest on a few of them:

  • According to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Sulia link), it will be Chris Daniels, rather than Alabi, who replaces Mbenga for Qingdao. Daniels had been playing for Golden State's D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 7.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in three contests.

Earlier updates:

  • The Qingdao Double Star Eagles, Tracy McGrady's team in China, have waived NBA veteran D.J. Mbenga, according to a Sports.QQ.com report (English link via Sportando). Mbenga, who has played for the Mavericks, Lakers, Warriors, and Hornets, was replaced by Solomon Alabi, who spent the last two season with the Raptors and was in camp with the Hornets this fall.
  • Former Texas Tech standout Andre Emmett has signed in Lebanon with Amchit, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Emmett, 30, was drafted by the SuperSonics 35th overall in 2004, but has only played 14 career regular season games with the Grizzlies and Nets.

Odds & Ends: D-League, Odom, World Peace

Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld spoke with Dan Reed, the president of the NBA's developmental league, and heard that there is growing interest from several NBA teams in either purchasing or having a joint affiliation with a team in the NBDL. According to Reed, Koutropis notes that with an increase in the assignments of young players from the NBA to the D-League, it will make for a great opportunity for developmental affiliates to market themselves with some of the NBA's top young talent. Here are more of today's odds and ends from the Association: 
  • Lamar Odom is starting to get in shape and is displaying flashes of his old Sixth Man of the Year form, as Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News observes.
  • The Lakers' decision not to amnesty Metta World Peace before last season is paying off, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that this summer's discovery and treatment of a nerve issue that had been bothering World Peace for four years has reinvigorated his play.
  • Nuggets guard Ty Lawson admits he can do better than his slumping performance this season, and Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post outlines what the point guard must do to return to the form that netted him a four-year, $48MM extension in October.
  • Despite GM David Kahn's denial of Pau Gasol trade rumors, the Timberwolves "would love" to acquire the big man and play him at center, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
  • Finnan also hears from sources within the ranks of media, agents, assistant coaches, GMs and scouts who tell him they are convinced LeBron James will opt out of his contract in 2014. 
  • Center Solomon Alabi is close to a deal with a Chinese club, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The 7'1" Alabi was let go by the Hornets at the end of training camp. He spent the last two seasons with the Raptors, but saw little playing time, averaging 1.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 7.0 minutes a game over 26 total contests.

 

Hornets Waive Alabi, Wright

John Reid of the Times-Picayune reports that the New Orleans Hornets have released center Solomon Alabi and guard Chris Wright. These moves bring the Hornets' roster down to 14, which means it appears their regular-season roster is set barring a late signing.

Alabi played briefly for the Toronto Raptors last season but spent most of the year in the D-League. Wright played in Turkey last season. Both were signed by New Orleans prior to training camp.

Hornets Sign Alabi, Morrison, Wright

The Hornets have added three players to their training camp roster, according to Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (via Twitter). Eichenhofer tweets that Solomon Alabi, Dominique Morrison and Chris Wright will be in camp with the team, clarifying that Wright is a guard from Georgetown, not the Raptors forward of the same name (Twitter link).

Alabi, a 24-year-old center from Nigeria, spent two season with the Raptors before Toronto turned down its option on him for 2012/13. Morrison and Wright, meanwhile, both went undrafted — Morrison in 2012 and Wright in 2011. A 6'6" forward, Morrison averaged 19.8 PPG in his senior year at Oral Roberts, while Wright 12.9 PPG and 5.3 APG in his senior year as Georgetown's point guard.

The Hornets have at least two other players on contracts without full guarantees — Brian Roberts' deal is only partially guaranteed for $100K, and Lance Thomas' contract is non-guaranteed. Darius Miller's deal may also not be fully guaranteed. That leaves just 11 Hornets assured of full guarantees, which should give Alabi, Morrison, and Wright the opening to impress in camp and earn a roster spot.

Raptors Shopping Jose Calderon

JULY 6th, 3:16pm: There's a "growing sense" around the league that the Raptors will either trade or keep Calderon, rather than amnestying him, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).

JULY 1st, 11:52am: The Raptors are trying to trade Calderon so that they don't need to amnesty his expiring contract, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Stein adds in a second tweet that the Raps are seeking a trade partner with a big enough trade exception or chunk of cap space to absorb Calderon's salary. The Nuggets are the only team with a trade exception large enough for Calderon's contract, so finding a deal could be tricky.

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