Pacers Waive Hilton Armstrong
The Pacers have waived center Hilton Armstrong, the team announced via press release. That leaves Rasual Butler‘s deal as the only non-guaranteed contract on a roster that’s down to 14 players. Butler hasn’t necessarily made the team, since coach Frank Vogel has indicated the Pacers are likely to go with just 13 players to start the regular season.
Armstrong played sparingly in the preseason, appearing in seven games and averaging 1.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 6.1 minutes per contest. The 28-year-old has five years of NBA experience, but he hasn’t seen regular season action since 2010/11 with the Hawks.
The Pacers have about $69MM on their books for this season, roughly $2.7MM beneath the luxury tax threshold. The team has been adamant about avoiding the tax, so keeping fewer than the 15-player roster max as the regular season gets underway will allow them some flexibility to sign players later this year.
Bulls Release Dexter Pittman, D.J. White
The Bulls have placed Dexter Pittman and D.J. White on waivers, the team announced via press release. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reported the news shortly before the transactions took place (Twitter link). The moves pare the team’s roster down to 13, the minimum number of players a team can carry in the regular season. Both were on non-guaranteed deals.
Mike James remains the only Bulls player without any guarantee on his contract, so it looks like the 38-year-old guard has made the opening night roster. Second-round pick Erik Murphy, who has a $250K guarantee, also remains with Chicago.
The Bulls are over the luxury tax line, so getting down to 13 players is likely a cost-cutting move for the franchise, which paid the tax for the first time last season.
Bucks Cut Graham, McKinney Jones, Czyz
1:03pm: The Bucks have also released Stephen Graham and Trey McKinney Jones, taking their roster down to 15, the team announced on Twitter. Both were on non-guaranteed contracts. None of the team’s camp invitees had much of a shot to make the opening-night roster, since the team began preseason with 15 fully guaranteed deals.
9:45am: The Bucks have released Olek Czyz, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). The Polish forward spent last season with Virtus Roma in Italy and left a guaranteed gig overseas to try and hook on with Milwaukee this offseason.
Czyz played alongside Gigi Datome in Italy and averaged 5.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG in just 14.5 minutes per contest across 48 games. Czyz joined the Bucks at a time when they already had 15 players under guaranteed contracts and was signed at the same time as Junior Cadougan, Trey McKinney Jones, and Stephen Graham, so his chances were never that strong.
The Bucks could theoretically try and steer him to their D-League affiliate, but it could be tough to pry open a spot as they share the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with five other clubs.
Jazz Sign Jamaal Tinsley
SATURDAY, 12:45pm: The Jazz have officially announced the move, with a press release on their website.
9:17am: The deal is a one-year, minimum salary pact, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter). While most contracts signed this month are non-guaranteed, it’s unclear whether or not that’s the case for Tinsley’s deal.
THURSDAY, 12:18am: Utah and Tinsley have reached agreement on a deal, Kennedy reports. He’ll join the team for its game Friday at the Lakers (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:09pm: It’s “only a matter of time” before the Jazz bring aboard Jamaal Tinsley, a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who says the team’s interest in the point guard has intensified (Twitter link). Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld classifies the possibility of a deal between the two sides as “very likely” (on Twitter). Agent Raymond Brothers said last week that his client, a free agent who spent the last two seasons with Utah, and the team were both giving thought to a reunion.
The Jazz are without rookie point man Trey Burke, the ninth overall selection this June, who suffered a broken right hand earlier this month. John Lucas III, Scott Machado, Lester Hudson and Alec Burks are all internal options at the point, but it’s sounding like the club will seek outside help in the form of the 35-year-old Tinsley, who started 32 games for the Jazz last season.
Tinsley’s addition could spell trouble for the six players trying to make the team on non-guaranteed deals. Utah has 12 guys on fully guaranteed contracts, and rookie Ian Clark has a partial guarantee of $200K. That could leave just one spot open for Hudson, Machado, Brian Cook, Mike Harris, Justin Holiday and Dominic McGuire, and that’s assuming Utah elects to carry a full complement of 15 players to start the regular season.
The Mavericks, Bobcats, Rockets, Suns and Nets all reportedly looked into signing Tinsley during the offseason, but I’d be surprised if Tinsley warranted any more than a minimum-salary deal. Tinsley made the minimum in both years of his previous contract with the Jazz, and neither season was guaranteed when he signed the deal in 2011.
Nets Waive Gutierrez, Johnson, Thomas
The Nets announced that they have waived guard Jorge Gutierrez and forwards Chris Johnson and Adonis Thomas. Brooklyn’s roster now stands at the max of 15.
Gutierrez, who was signed to the training camp roster on September 30, appeared in five preseason games, averaging 1.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Johnson, who was also signed to the training camp roster on September 30, played in seven preseason games, averaging 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Thomas, who was signed to the training camp roster on October 18, did not appear in any preseason games for the Nets.
Jazz Waive Cook, McGuire, Holiday, Hudson, Machado
The Jazz announced that they have cut Brian Cook, Dominic McGuire, Justin Holiday, Lester Hudson and Scott Machado. Utah’s roster is now down to 15, including the injured Brandon Rush and Marvin Williams.
Today’s news means that Mike Harris and Jamaal Tinsley have both made the cut for the Jazz. Tinsley’s signing, necessitated when rookie point guard Trey Burke broke his hand earlier this month, likely cost one of today’s camp cuts a spot on the team. All five were on fully non-guaranteed deals, so the Jazz aren’t on the hook for their salaries.
Everyone the Jazz brought to camp has NBA experience, and that includes Harris, who’ll begin his fourth NBA season on opening night. The power forward has played sparingly, totaling just 34 games across stints with the Rockets and Wizards, but coach Tyrone Corbin values the mobility of his 6’6″, 235-pound frame, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News points out (on Twitter).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Spurs Waive Josh Howard
The Spurs today announced that they have waived forward Josh Howard. Howard barely had a chance to unpack his bags as he was signed by the club just yesterday.
Howard was originally drafted 29th overall in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Mavericks where he played for seven seasons. Over the course of his career with the Mavs, Wizards, Jazz, and Timberwolves the Wake Forest University product has averaged 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 30.3 minutes.
According to Mike Monroe of the San Antonio News-Express (via Twitter), the gameplan is to wait for Howard to clear waivers so that they can send him to the D-League’s Austin Toros. There, Howard can continue to ramp back up towards being in game shape.
Clippers Waive Lou Amundson
The Clippers waived forward Louis Amundson after last night’s preseason game, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Amundson was on a non-guaranteed deal.
The 30-year-old saw NBA action for the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Hornets (now the Pelicans) last season, averaging 1.9 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 39 contests. It wasn’t a banner year for the big man, but he came to the Clippers with a reputation for solid rebounding and overall hustle. For his career, Amundson boasts a 10.1 RPG per 36 minutes average.
Wizards To Exercise Bradley Beal’s Option
The Wizards aren’t going to pick up the fourth-year options on Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton, but they will trigger Bradley Beal‘s third-year option, a source familiar with the club’s thinking tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Of course, the move was widely expected.
Beal, 20, averaged 13.9 PPG with 3.8 RPG and 2.4 APG in his rookie season. The guard was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 draft and along with John Wall he helps to form one of the most promising backcourts in the NBA.
Beal & Co. could be joined by a bonafide star next year as they are projected to have about $15MM for next summer’s free agent frenzy.
Celtics To Waive Chris Babb
The Celtics will waive former Iowa state guard Chris Babb, sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Releasing Babb brings the C’s roster down to 14 and keeps them out of luxury tax territory.
Babb, 23, went undrafted this past June and hooked on with the Celtics in late August after playing for the Suns’ summer league squad. In his senior year at Iowa State, the 6’5″ guard averaged 9.1 PPG to go along with 38.2% shooting from three-point range. Babb was always viewed as a longshot to make the C’s but he managed to outlast fellow camp invitees DeShawn Sims, Kammron Taylor, and Damen Bell-Holter by a few days.