The Trail Blazers have waived Gary Payton II, Cameron Oliver and Chinanu Onuaku, according to an official release from the team. The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. All three players were on fully non-guaranteed contracts, so Portland won’t be on the hook for any money.
With the moves, the Trail Blazers have lowered their roster count to 15 players in anticipation of the upcoming regular season. Portland could have kept one or two of Payton, Oliver, and/or Onuaku as two-way players, but with no G League affiliate, the team decided not to go that route.
Payton, 25, is the son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton. He has seen a little NBA action over the last two seasons with the Lakers and Bucks, but spent most of his time in the G League.
Oliver, 22, signed a training camp contract with the Rockets after going undrafted in 2017, but was waived before the regular season. He averaged 10.8 PPG and 7.1 RPG in 39 total G League games last season.
Onuaku, 21, was selected in the second-round of the 2016 NBA Draft, but has only appeared in six NBA regular season games in his first two NBA seasons. Like Payton and Oliver, he has extensive G League experience, playing in 83 total games for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers the past two seasons.