Sixers Waive Devin Searcy
The 76ers announced that they have waived forward Devin Searcy, bringing their roster down to 14 players. Searcy appeared in two preseason games for Phildelphia this year.
The 6'10" big man out of Dayton went undrafted in 2011 and spent last season overseas. Searcy hooked on with the club's summer league team in Orlando before inking a non-guaranteed deal in late September. The 76ers were expected to enter the season one shy of the roster maximum and did so by making Dan Gadzuric and Searcy their final two cuts.
Raptors Waive Jamaal Magloire
The Raptors have waived Jamaal Magloire, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (via Twitter). The club has also confirmed the move via press release.
Smith notes that the club will work to find a place for the big man in the organization when he clears waivers on Monday. There was previously talk of the Raptors offering him a non-playing role over the offseason but Magloire insisted on trying to make the final roster. The Toronto native averaged 7.2 PPG and 6.5 RPG across his 12 year career.
Magic Exercise Option On Nikola Vucevic
SATURDAY, 9:51am: The Magic formally announced the move via press release.
THURSDAY, 6:40pm: Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Magic GM Rob Hennigan plans to exercise the team's 2013/14 option on Nikola Vucevic this weekend. The second-year center is slated to make nearly $1.79MM during the 2013/14 season and has a $2.75MM team option for 2014/15.
Vucevic averaged 5.5 PPG, 4.8 PPG, and shot 45% from the field in 15.9 MPG for the 76ers last season before being dealt to Orlando in August.
Rockets Waive Reeves Nelson
The Rockets signed forward Reeves Nelson earlier this week but they are expected to waive him later on today, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Houston made the move in order to secure D-League rights on Nelson if he opts to go that route this season.
The UCLA product hooked on with the Lakers in September but was released from his make-good contract last Saturday. Nelson was widely viewed as a first-round talent before things went south for him in college. The Bruins dropped him from the program early last season, leading him to a short stint overseas.
Magic Waive Richardson, Harper, Johnson
The Magic have waived Quentin Richardson, Justin Harper, and Chris Johnson, a team official told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). Richardson will be owed $5MM over the next two years while Harper is guaranteed $762K for this season. Johnson's deal was non-guaranteed.
Richardson was set to earn $2.627MM this season and held a $2.808MM player option for 2013/14 that now becomes guaranteed after being waived. The guard came to Orlando on a widely panned four-year deal worth more than $10MM in the 2010 offseason. In two years with the club, the 32-year-old averaged 4.4 PPG and 2.9 RPG.
Harper, 23, was taken with the 32nd overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Cavs before being traded to Orlando for two future second-round selections. The big man saw time in 14 games for the Magic last season.
Nets Waive James Mays, Carleton Scott
SATURDAY, 9:07am: The Nets formally announced both cuts via press release.
FRIDAY, 12:51pm: Nets coach Avery Johnson confirmed today that the team has made two cuts, releasing James Mays and Carleton Scott, according to the team's official Twitter account. Both players are expected to join the Nets' D-League affiliate, the Springfield Armor.
Mays, a Clemson product, spent the last two seasons playing in Turkey. The 6'9" forward played for the Pacers' and Raptors' summer league teams in 2010. Scott, who graduated from Notre Dame in 2011, spent last season playing in Austria before playing for the Nets' summer league team this July.
Having also waived camp invitee Stephen Dennis earlier this week, the Nets have now reduced their roster to 15 players. The team could head into the regular season with its current group, though it's also possible that another cut may be coming, if Brooklyn prefers to keep an open roster spot. Josh Childress, on a non-guaranteed contract, figures to be on the bubble as the Nets' 15th man.
Hoops Links: Lawson, Suns, Sixers, Nuggets
Twenty-eight years and one day ago, a rookie named Michael Jordan debuted for the Chicago Bulls against the Washington Bullets. MJ had 16 points as the Bulls rolled to a 109-93 victory on their home floor. Jordan would ramp things up even further in his rookie campaign, averaging 28.2 PPG and 6.5 RPG while shooting 51.5% from the floor.
If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links, then send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- Wages Of Wins pits Ty Lawson against Russell Westbrook.
- The NBA Geek sticks up for the Suns.
- Hoops Addict believes that this is a big year for the Sixers.
- Smooth's Hoops offers a blueprint for how the Nuggets can win 50+ games this year.
- SB Nation asks if the Wizards overdid it with their culture change.
- Hardwood Paroyxsm rolled out their 2012/13 season preview guide.
- Basketball Prospectus looks at the Jazz's frontcourt logjam.
- Bright Side Of The Sun looks at the roster crunch in Phoenix.
- Rufus On Fire fired up the camera to break down the Bobcats in 2012/13.
- The Basketball Post takes a trip out to Greece.
- SLC Dunk isn't thrilled about Paul Millsap's preseason play.
- Blazer's Edge had a lot of takeaways from Portland's preseason.
- Raptors Republic wonders how Dwane Casey is going to divy up frontcourt minutes.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Spurs Waive Josh Powell
After signing him in late September, the Spurs have waived forward Josh Powell, according to a tweet from Yahoo! NBA reporter Marc J. Spears. Yesterday, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News wrote that he believed the team would keep Powell after waiving Eddy Curry and Derrick Brown.
The 29-year-old Powell was trying to latch on with his seventh team in seven seasons. He last played in the NBA in 2010/11, averaging 4.1 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 54 appearances with the Hawks.
Spurs Pick Up Options For Leonard, Joseph
According to a tweet from Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News, the Spurs have picked up the options on Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph's respective contracts. Both moves, especially Leonard's, were expected, as both players have been solid two way players so far in the preseason (and in Leonard's case, all throughout last year).
Odds & Ends: Varejao, Harden, Chandler, Stoudemire
Here are a few bits of news on this Friday evening:
- Hoopsworld.com's Stephen Brotherston wonders if Anderson Varejao will play center for the Cavaliers this season.
- The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry tweets that he believes the chances of James Harden signing an extension with the Thunder are 0.2%.
- According to the New York Daily News' Frank Isola, Amare Stoudemire is seeking a second opinion on his knee injury, and could miss as much as a month of the season.
- On the other end of the spectrum, Knicks center Tyson Chandler is convinced he'll play on opening night after suffering a leg injury this week, writes Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
- Hornets guard Eric Gordon has spent his brief career on the sidelines with myriad of injuries. This season he looks forward to hopefully playing a full 82 games, writes Hoopsworld.com's Bill Ingram.
- The Thunder have one open position left on their opening day roster, and four players—Andy Rautins, Daniel Orton, DeAndre Liggins, and Hollis Thompson—are fighting for it, reports The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry.