The Hornets are beginning to trim down their preseason roster, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer, who tweets that the team is waiving camp invitees Jaylen Sims and Anthony Duruji.
Sims went undrafted this June after spending four seasons at UNC Wilmington. The 23-year-old guard, a native of Charlotte, averaged 16.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG on .383/.357/.820 shooting in his final college season in 2021/22. He played for Toronto’s Summer League team in July before signing an Exhibit 10 deal with the Hornets in August.
Duruji, 24, split his college career between Louisiana Tech and Florida. The undrafted rookie forward averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 55 games (23.4 MPG) over the past two seasons with the Gators, then played for Atlanta at the Las Vegas Summer League before signing his own Exhibit 10 deal with Charlotte.
Both Sims and Duruji appear likely to become affiliate players for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League team.
With two open spots on their 20-man roster, the Hornets can now move forward with their reported two-way deal for Theo Maledon. After signing Maledon, the team would have to make at least two more cuts before Monday’s regular roster deadline. LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Crutcher, and Xavier Sneed remain on the roster on non-guaranteed training camp contracts.