The Grizzlies have waived guard Kalin Lucas, the team announced in a press release. This is now the second time this season that Lucas has been let go by Memphis. The 25-year-old was with the Grizzlies during the summer league and the preseason before the franchise cut him a few days shy of opening night.
Memphis later re-signed Lucas to provide depth behind starting point Mike Conley, who had been nursing a tender ankle. His latest deal was non-guaranteed, so the franchise isn’t on the hook for any additional funds as a result of letting Lucas go. This move reduces the Grizzlies’ roster count to 14 players, one shy of the league maximum. It is unclear if the team intends to sign another player to fill the now vacant slot. With Nick Calathes set to return from his drug-related suspension shortly, it’s possible the team deemed Lucas expendable and intends to keep the slot open in case of an injury, which has been an unfortunate trend in the league this season.
Lucas has not made a regular season appearance for Memphis after playing in all eight of the team’s preseason games, averaging 3.1 points and 1.0 assists in 8.0 minutes per contest. He contributed 17.0 PPG and 3.4 APG in 33.4 MPG during his senior year with the Michigan State Spartans in 2010/11 before logging time in Turkey, Greece and the D-League over the first three years of his pro career.