Lakers Waive Darius Johnson-Odom
According to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, the Lakers have waived Darius Johnson-Odom. The 24-year-old appeared in four games for the team last season, and was waived in January, before being re-signed last month.
Los Angeles Times writer Eric Pincus tweets the belief that Johnson-Odom will find professional work soon enough, either in the NBA or China, where the Lakers are currently visiting on a preseason trip.
Pelicans Exercise ’14/15 Options On Davis, Rivers
The Pelicans have officially picked up their 2014/15 options on Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers, the team announced today in a press release. The move ensures that both Davis and Rivers will be on guaranteed contracts through 2015, with the Pelicans holding additional team options on both players for 2015/16.
There was no doubt that the Pelicans would exercise their option on Davis, last year’s No. 1 overall pick. Rivers didn’t have nearly as successful a rookie campaign as the Kentucky big man, but very few lottery picks have their options turned down, and New Orleans still has high hopes for the former Duke guard.
Davis will be in line for a salary of about $5.61MM in 2014/15, while Rivers will earn a guaranteed $2.44MM. Their salaries will bring the Pelicans’ total commitments up to about $52.1MM for six players, including Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, and Ryan Anderson.
You can follow all of this month’s rookie contract option decisions right here.
Wizards Release D’or Fischer
The Wizards have trimmed their roster by one, having waived camp invitee D’or Fischer, according to a press release from the team. Fischer’s release reduces Washington’s roster count to 18.
As Hoops’ Rumors international player movement tracker shows, Fischer finished last season with Ukraine’s BC Donetsk. appearing in 38 games for the club and averaging 11.0 PPG and 7.4 RPG. The West Virginia product has made a number of overseas stops since his days with the Mountaineers, playing in Spain, Israel, Belgium, Poland, and Germany, as well as in the D-League.
Since they already have 15 players on guaranteed deals, the Wizards aren’t likely to shake up the roster heading into the regular season. Still, the team continues to carry three camp invitees on non-guaranteed contracts: Josh Childress, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, and Xavier Silas.
Nuggets Waive Reginald Becton, Kyle Fogg
The Nuggets have parted ways with a pair of camp invitees, announcing today in a press release that the team has waived Reginald Becton and Kyle Fogg. The cuts reduce Denver’s roster to 16 players.
Neither Becton nor Fogg was expected to make the Nuggets’ regular-season roster, so it comes as no surprise that they were released by the team. Fogg, who spent last season with the D-League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers, appeared briefly in one game this month for Denver, while Becton, an Ole Miss product, didn’t play in the preseason.
The Nuggets now have one camp invitee remaining on the roster, in Damion James. He looks like the best bet to be released by opening night, to get Denver down to the regular-season roster maximum of 15. Quincy Miller, who has a partially guaranteed contract, is also a candidate to be cut, but I’d be surprised if the club gave up on the 2012 second-rounder so soon.
Sixers Sign Daniel Orton, Cut Tim Ohlbrecht
The Sixers have made their first cut of the fall, but aren’t any closer to finalizing their opening night lineup, having immediately signed another player to bring their roster count back up to 20. Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com reports (via Twitter) that Philadelphia has signed Daniel Orton and waived Tim Ohlbrecht.
Orton, 23, was released by the Thunder last Thursday, giving all 30 teams a chance to claim him on waivers. Although the Sixers have plenty of cap space and could have put in a claim at that point, it seems the team wanted to sign the big man on its own terms. I expect Orton’s new contract is mostly or completely non-guaranteed, like his old deal was, but perhaps Philadelphia made it a four-year pact, as the club has done for several other minimum-salary players.
Orton was selected by the Magic in the first round in 2010, but only lasted two seasons with the team before he became a free agent and signed a minimum deal with the Thunder. In 2012/13, the big man bounced back and forth between OKC and the club’s D-League affiliate at Tulsa. In 29 games for the 66ers, Orton averaged 12.5 PPG and 7.8 RPG.
The Sixers had claimed Ohlbrecht off waivers from the Rockets in July, along with James Anderson. However, while Anderson appears headed for a roster spot in Philadelphia, Ohlbrecht figures to become an unrestricted free agent later this week, assuming he clears waivers.
Nets Waive Marko Jaric
The Nets have waived point guard Marko Jaric, the team announced tonight. Brooklyn added the seven-year NBA veteran on September 30, though he was always considered a long shot to make a roster that already included 15 players on guaranteed deals. Jaric appeared in two preseason games for Brooklyn, totaling three points and seven assists.
The former first-round pick last appeared in the NBA in 2008/09 as a member of the Grizzlies. Before that, he spent three years with the Clippers and three years with the Timberwolves, accumulating career averages of 7.1 PPG and 3.6 APG. The move puts the Nets roster at 18 players.
Hawks Sign Cartier Martin
A day after releasing three camp invitees, the Hawks have added another player, signing Cartier Martin to a contract, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The move brings the Hawks’ roster count back up to 18 players.
Martin, 28, has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Wizards, appearing in 118 total games for Washington. Last season, the 6’7″ forward averaged 6.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 41 contests (16.9 MPG).
Despite having 18 players under contract, the Hawks should still have a roster spot or two up for grabs this month. The team has 12 players on guaranteed deals, plus Mike Scott on a partially-guaranteed contract ($100K guaranteed). Assuming Martin gets the chance to compete for a regular-season spot, he’ll be in the mix along with Eric Dawson, Royal Ivey, James Johnson, and Shelvin Mack.
Kings Waive DeQuan Jones, Brandon Heath
12:20pm: The Kings have confirmed in a press release that the team has cut Jones and Heath.
8:32am: We heard yesterday that the Kings’ first round of roster counts would arrive soon, and according to Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom, that decision has already been made. While the team hasn’t confirmed the moves yet, Santiago reports (via Twitter) that Sacramento has released camp invitees DeQuan Jones and Brandon Heath.
Jones, 23, recorded averages of 3.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and an 8.4 PER as an undrafted rookie last season for the Magic. Heath, who went undrafted out of San Diego State in 2007, played for Lukoil Academic in Bulgaria in 2012/13, averaging 12.0 PPG and 4.7 APG in 39 contests. Both players appeared very briefly in a single preseason game for the Kings.
Once the Kings make the two cuts official, their roster count will be down to 16 players. 14 of those guys have guaranteed contracts, and Trent Lockett has a partial guarantee on his deal, making him the odds-on favorite to be the club’s 15th man. Hamady N’Diaye also remains under contract, on a non-guaranteed deal.
Spurs Waive Maggette, Kabongo, Cousin
The Spurs have reduced their preseason roster by three players, the team announced today in a press release. According to the club, Corey Maggette, Myck Kabongo, and Marcus Cousin have been waived.
Maggette’s release is particularly notable, since the veteran scorer suggested over the weekend that he’d be headed for retirement if he didn’t earn an NBA roster spot this season. There has been no official announcement from Maggette yet, but assuming he does retire, he’ll finish his 14-year NBA playing career with 13,198 points in 827 total contests, having played for the Magic, Clippers, Warriors, Bucks, Bobcats, and Pistons. The longtime Clipper is expected to transition into a front office role at some point.
Having waived three camp invitees, the Spurs are now carrying 16 players — 14 guaranteed contracts, plus Courtney Fells and Daniel Nwaelele. Fells and Nwaelele may both be cut before opening night, as at least one report has indicated San Antonio is likely to start the season with a 14-man roster.
As for Kabongo and Cousin, one or both of them could end up with the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in Austin. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported when San Antonio first added Kabongo to its camp roster that the undrafted rookie would likely land in the D-League with the Toros, and reiterated that point today (Twitter link).
Sebastian Telfair To Sign With Chinese Team
9:25pm: Telfair’s deal covers only one season, Wojnarowski confirms.
8:32pm: Sebastian Telfair will sign with the Tianjin Ronggang Gold Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, agent Andy Miller tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Several NBA teams were monitoring the 28-year-old point guard prior to camp, and just this morning he appeared to be among the veterans likely to draw interest around the league. Telfair will instead play overseas until at least February, when the Chinese regular season ends, which leaves open the possibility that he winds up back in the NBA before 2013/14 is over.
Telfair also considered playing in Europe, though that option probably wouldn’t have allowed him to become available to NBA teams again so soon. The former lottery pick began last season as the backup point guard with the Suns, but he finished the year third on the depth chart in Toronto after a midseason trade. He averaged 5.6 points and 2.6 assists in 16.6 minutes per game for the season, some of the lowest numbers of his nine-year career.
China has become a popular Plan B for NBA free agents in recent years, and Telfair is one of several players who spent last season in the NBA to reach an agreement with a team in China’s top-flight league this offseason, as our International Player Movement Tracker shows. He’ll join fellow former lottery pick Shelden Williams, who also reached a deal with the Gold Lions this month.