Cavaliers Waive Kelenna Azubuike
The Cavs have waived Kelenna Azubuike, the team announced via Twitter. Azubuike had a guaranteed minimum-salary deal, meaning the team is still on the hook for $1.07MM. Since his contract covered both 2011/12 and 2012/13, the Cavs have to pay him the full minimum amount based on his years of service, instead of the two-year veteran's minimum of $854,389. The move brings the team's roster down to 17 players.
Cleveland acquired Azubuike in a draft-night trade with the Mavericks, who had signed him in March for the rest of 2011/12 with a team option for 2012/13. The 6'5" shooting guard appeared in just three games for Dallas, scoring a total of seven points in 18 minutes. He saw a little more time with the team's D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.7 minutes over seven contests. Azubuike had his best days with the Warriors, starting 51 games and averaging 14.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG while shooting 44.8% from three-point range in 2008/09.
The decision to let go of Azubuike's guaranteed deal presumably opens up another roster spot for Micheal Eric, Kevin Jones or Samardo Samuels, all of whom have partially guaranteed deals, and Donald Sloan, whose contract is non-guaranteed. Daniel Gibson has a partially guaranteed contract, too, but the team would be obligated to pay him $2.49MM if they let him go, making him less likely to be cut.
Timberwolves Waive Phil Jones, Seth Tarver
The Timberwolves waived training camp invitees Phil Jones and Seth Tarver to bring the roster down to 18 players, the team announced via Twitter. Both were believed to have been on non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals, having been signed right before camp began. Neither made an appearance in any of the three preseason games the Wolves have played so far.
Jones, a 6'10" center, played in Romania in 2011/12 after he was ruled academically ineligible midway through his senior season at UNC Charlotte in 2010/11. Tarver is a 6'5" swingman who averaged 10.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 28.2 minutes over the past two seasons for the Idaho Stampede of the D-League. He was in camp with the Blazers in 2010 and 2011.
The moves leave Jermaine Taylor, Mike Harris, Chris Johnson and Will Conroy to battle for the final roster spot, since all 14 other players on the roster have fully guaranteed contracts. Conroy would appear to have a slight edge, since his deal is partially guaranteed for $100K. The 6'11" Johnson, from LSU, is not to be confused with the 6'6" Dayton product of the same name in camp with the Magic.
Warriors Waive Stefhon Hannah
The Warriors announced that they have waived guard Stefhon Hannah. The 27-year-old was signed as a free agent on October 1st and did not see playing time in any of the team's three preseason games since then.
The 27-year-old was a standout at the University of Missouri where he shined as an offense-oriented point guard. Hannah spent last season with the Dakota Wizards of the D-League – controlled by the Warriors and now located in Santa Cruz – and averaged 18.4 PPG with 4.8 APG and 3.8 RPG in 29 games. Golden State's roster now stands at 19.
Blazers Claim Justin Holiday
The Blazers announced tonight, via Twitter, that they have claimed Justin Holiday off waivers. He will join the team on Sunday. Justin, the older brother of Jrue Holiday, was released by the Cavs on Wednesday after being signed on October 1.
Holiday, 23, played at Washington and went undrafted despite being ranked as the 57th-best prospect in the class by ESPN.com's Chad Ford. He should still be considered a long shot to make an NBA roster, though it is interesting that he was claimed this late in the preseason. Holiday will wear number 10.
Lester Hudson Signs In China
Unable to find an NBA offer to his liking, Lester Hudson has signed with the Dongguan Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to a NetEase report (Chinese link; translation via HoopsHype). Hudson becomes the second NBA free agent to sign in China this week, on the heels of Tracy McGrady's agreement with the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles.
Hudson, 28, played for Qingdao last season, averaging an impressive 33.6 PPG to go along with 7.0 RPG and 6.3 APG in 32 contests. He has also appeared in 52 NBA games for five teams, enjoying the most succcessful stint of his three-year NBA career in 2011/12, when he averaged 12.7 points in 13 games for the Cavs. However, he was unable to secure a deal with an NBA team this summer, and was reportedly dropped from his agency after he failed to show up to a workout his representatives scheduled with the Bobcats.
"I worked so hard to get him a workout, and he didn’t show," agent Tyler Glass told Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. "The Bobcats were annoyed and they should have been. They’re a professional organization. You don’t skip out on workouts…. He really can play in the league. But what happened with the Bobcats… Word gets around."
It's not clear whether the incident involving the Bobcats significantly impacted Hudson's ability to earn a camp invite, or whether he simply received a more lucrative offer from the CBA's Leopards. Either way, we can cross another NBA free agent off the ever-dwindling list of available players.
Spurs Waive Tyler Wilkerson
The Spurs announced via press release that they've waived Tyler Wilkerson, bringing their roster down to 18 players. Wilkerson saw limited action in the team's first pair of preseason contests, averaging 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 4.0 minutes per game.
The team officially inked Wilkerson to a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract on the eve of training camp, but we heard in August that the team had extended him an invitation after being impressed by his performance for their summer league team. The 6'8" Marshall product put up 9.3 PPG and 5.0 in 20.7 MPG during four summer games.
San Antonio has 13 players with some sort of guarantee on their contracts, leaving Derrick Brown, Eddy Curry, Gary Neal, Josh Powell and Wesley Witherspoon to fight for the remaining spots, though the Spurs could choose to carry only 13 men in the regular season.
Hawks Waive Keith Benson, Isma’il Muhammad
After foreshadowing the moves via Twitter, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports the Hawks have waived training camp invitees Keith Benson and Isma'il Muhammad, bringing the team's roster down to 17 players. Both were on non-guaranteed minimum-salary contracts.
Benson, a 6'11" big man, got into three games for the Warriors last season, but didn't score in nine minutes and wasn't retained after his 10-day contract expired. The 6'6" Muhammad was a college star in Atlanta with Georgia Tech, but went undrafted in 2005 and is still seeking his first official NBA action.
The Hawks have 14 players under partially or fully guaranteed deals, so today's moves seem to narrow the competition for the final roster spot to James Anderson, Damion James and Carldell Johnson, none of whom are big men. The lone partial guarantee belongs to Kyle Korver. The Hawks could buy out his $5MM deal for $500K, but it seems unlikely they'd do so.
Cavaliers Waive Kevin Anderson, Justin Holiday
After opening camp with the maximum allowed 20 players, the Cavaliers have begun to make cuts. The Cavs formally announced today that Kevin Anderson and Justin Holiday have been released, reducing the team's roster to 18 players.
Anderson, a 23-year-old point guard, graduated from Richmond in 2011 and played overseas in France last season. Holiday, the older brother of Sixers point guard Jrue Holiday, graduated from Washington in 2011 and played in Belgium last season.
With Anderson and Holiday off the roster, the Cavs have just one player, Donald Sloan, on a non-guaranteed contract. Daniel Gibson, Micheal Eric, Kevin Jones, and Samardo Samuels are all on partially guaranteed deals.
Sixers Waive Mikki Moore
The 76ers have waived Mikki Moore, the team announced today in a press release. The Sixers also confirmed that Xavier Silas has been released, as Silas himself tweeted yesterday.
Moore was signed by the Sixers at the same time the club announced that Andrew Bynum would be held out for three weeks for "precautionary measures" related to his knees. While it's probably premature to assume Philadelphia's decision to release Moore suggests anything about Bynum's health, it's certainly not a bad sign that the team was willing to cut loose an extra big man already.
With Moore and Silas no longer on the roster, the Sixers are now carrying 16 players. Maalik Wayns, who is on a partial guarantee, looks like the favorite to be the team's 13th man, while Dan Gadzuric, Damien Wilkins, and Devin Searcy will likely fight for the final two roster spots, depending on how many players the Sixers decide to carry.
Sixers Waive Xavier Silas
Guard Xavier Silas says on his Twitter account he's been cut loose by the Sixers. He signed with the team shortly before the end of last season and re-joined them as a training camp invitee, but will become a free agent once he clears waivers.
The 6'5" Northern Illinois product appeared in only two regular games for the Sixers last season, totaling 11 points in 39 minutes. He got into two postseason games as well, but only for four garbage-time minutes. He received much greater exposure with the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, averaging 9.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 23.3 MPG in 40 contests last year.
He was believed to have been on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal, and his subtraction from the Sixers roster will leave the team with 17 players.