Even if they waived Bentil, the Celtics would still have three young players vying for two spots in third-year swingman James Young, second-year guard R.J. Hunter and rookie guard Demetrius Jackson. Boston knowingly put itself in this bind when it signed Jackson, the No. 45 pick in June’s draft, to a four-year, $5.5 million contract in which the first year is fully guaranteed. The Celtics like Jackson, who is perceived to have slid on draft night, and would love to keep him in the sort of emergency ball-handler role that Phil Pressey held down in recent seasons.
More on Training Camp Cuts
Earl K. Sneed: Per @MavsPR, the @dallasmavs have made their 1st roster cut by waiving Jameel Warney.
The general consensus is that Boston's battle essentially comes down to Hunter versus Young. Veteran Gerald Green, signed to a minimum contract this summer, has proved he can help Boston's bench more than either player, securing his spot. (Plus, it would look bad if Boston let go a player who could have found other offers this summer.) Some have wondered if the team could find a way to move Tyler Zeller, but he's Boston's only pure big man and his salary -- nonguaranteed $8 million next year -- makes him a valuable trade asset further down the road. Jordan Mickey, a 2015 second-round pick, has shown enough -- at least last season in the D-League -- to be spared from the cutdown conversation.
Remember, too, Boston could always punt on the Hunter/Young decision and simply waive Jackson while hoping no one else leaps on him at a time when the market will be saturated with available bodies after final cutdowns.
The Celtics don't just have 16 fully guaranteed contracts, they also have a pretty sizable chunk of change ($250,000) committed to second-round draft pick Ben Bentil. Considering a $94.1 million salary cap, that partial guarantee ultimately amounts to pocket change and is the sort of money a team comfortably below the luxury tax can commit to help encourage a fringe roster player to accept the low wages associated with joining the team's D-League affiliate in Maine.
Calvin Watkins: The Rockets waived guard Isaiah Taylor on Sunday. The six-foot-three Taylor played in three preseason games for the Rockets. Taylor played just five minutes of Saturday's double overtime loss to Memphis.
Mo Williams is still taking up a roster spot. The Cavs are trying to work out a contract settlement. Williams just had knee surgery. But that stalemate means DeAndre Liggins and Dahntay Jones and are probably batting for the last spot on the roster. Liggins was the D-League Defensive Player of the Year. My guess is he has the edge.
The Portland Trail Blazers have waived guard Luis Montero, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey. Signed as an undrafted free agent on July 9, 2015, Montero played in 12 games for the Trail Blazers as a rookie in 2015-16, averaging 1.2 points (26.3% FG, 11.1% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 0.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists.
The Denver Nuggets have waived G D.J. Kennedy, F JaKarr Sampson and F Axel Toupane, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly announced today. Kennedy, was signed by Denver on Aug. 16, 2016 and has appeared in one preseason game for the Nuggets, posting four points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals in 12 minutes of play.
Over his 12-year NBA career, Smith owns averages of 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.02 steals in 26.9 minutes over 839 regular season games (295 starts) with New Orleans, Denver, New York and Cleveland. He currently ranks 17th in league history in three-pointers made with 1,679. His 28 career regular season games with at least seven three-pointers and 14 contests with eight or more three-pointers both rank second in NBA history. Smith has made the most three-pointers in the Eastern Conference since the Cavs acquired him in a three-team trade on Jan. 5, 2015 (335 three-pointers). In a related move, the Cavaliers have waived guard Toney Douglas.
Jody Genessy: From Jazz PR: The Jazz waived Eric Dawson, Quincy Ford and Marcus Paige. Utah's roster now stands at 17 players.
The LA Clippers announced today that the team has waived guard Xavier Munford and forward Dorell Wright. The roster now stands at 15 players for the Clippers.
Serena Winters: The Lakers make their first set of cuts, waive Zach Auguste, Julian Jacobs & Travis Wear. The Lakers roster stands at 17. Will still need to make a couple more cuts by the start of the regular season (max of 15 allowed on roster).
Eric Pincus: Zach Auguste has a $60k guarantee from the Lakers, if he goes to the @nbadleague - he'll likely end up on @DFenders as an affiliate player
Adrian Wojnarowski: Clippers are waiving Dorell Wright and Xavier Munford today, league sources tell @The Vertical.
Marc J. Spears: The Warriors waive Elgin Cook & Scott Wood.
Eric Pincus: The Warriors paid Elgin Cook & Scott Wood $50,000 apiece to come to camp, now both waived - perhaps we'll see with Santa Cruz Warriors
Even if Ferrell doesn’t make the Nets’ 15-man roster, odds are he would be sent to the D-League Long Island Nets. With Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks preaching player development — and the D-League team practicing at the HSS Center and playing at Barclays Center — he could get plenty of minutes and mentoring. “I’m not worried about whether or not partial or D-League,” Ferrell said. “I’m just going to go out and do what I’ve always done the entire time I’ve played basketball. That’s just being a point guard, facilitator first, scorer second. I’m just going to go in and try to help my team win as much as possible.”
David 'Dubi' Pick: The Washington Wizards will soon waive Villanova's winning center Daniel Ochefu, according to source.
Sean Highkin: The Bulls have waived Vince Hunter from their training camp roster. Didn't play in preseason opener.
Paul Garcia: The New Orleans #Pelicans waived forward Chris Copeland. Their roster now has 19 players, 15 guaranteed.
Justin Verrier: Dell Demps on the competition(s) in camp with 15 guaranteed contracts plus Lance Stephenson: "We're going to have to make a hard decision in the coming weeks. I think that it's no secret. We're not trying to hide from it. Some guys are competing for roster spots. Some guys are competing for minutes. We're going to evaluate every practice, every game, every play. The key is not going to be who's the best player, but the key's going to be who's the best player for us to be a good team."
Moreland was not cleared by the Cavaliers to participate in training camp this past week. Cleveland will likely re-evaluate Moreland -- who re-aggravated the injury last April -- prior to the season. Moreland broke his foot last December. Moreland signed with Cleveland earlier this month, but doctors have told Moreland that he is approximately 6-8 weeks away from being 100 percent.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed point guard Toney Douglas to a contract, General Manager David Griffin announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts. Per league and team policy, terms of the contract were not released. In a related move, the Cavs have waived forward/center Eric Moreland.
The Hawks waived forward Richard Solomon on Saturday. The move trims the training camp roster to 19 players. However, the Hawks are likely to add a guard to the roster soon. They are thin at the guard position with Dennis Schroder nursing an ankle injury and Jarrett Jack being brought along slowly from a torn ACL. The Hawks had an excess of big men in camp knowing that Tiago Splitter was returning from hip surgery.
Chris Vivlamore: The Hawks have released Richard Solomon. Look for them to add another guard to training camp roster.
Ryan McDonald: That didn't take long: The Spurs announce they have waived camp invitee Ryan Richards, their former second-round pick
Ford went undrafted out of Northeastern, but impressed several teams including the Jazz. Ford is expected to join rookie point guard Marcus Paige with the Stars. The Jazz currently have 14 guaranteed contracts on their roster. The 15th spot is expected to go to center Jeff Withey, who has a contract that will become guaranteed in January.
The Dallas Mavericks waived forward Maurice Ndour on Monday to finalize their regular-season roster, league sources told Yahoo Sports. "It was a really tough decision," Mavs owner Mark Cuban told Yahoo. Ndour is sidelined indefinitely because of a stress reaction in his left leg, an injury that played a major role in the Mavericks’ decision. Dallas dealt with injuries throughout the preseason and opted to keep healthy center Salah Mjeri. Ndour had been a strong candidate to remain on the roster before his injury.
Ronald Tillery: Griz will waive journeyman center Ryan Hollins as 4 pm roster deadline looms, per source.
Shams Charania: Center Ryan Hollins has been waived by the Grizzlies, source tells Y! Memphis attempted to clear spot for Hollins, who had strong preseason.
Orazio Cauchi: #Sixers have waived Furkan Aldemir, Scottie Wilbekin, Jordan McRae, JP Tokoto and Pierre Jackson. Roster now stands at 15. #NBA
Jake Fischer: Sixers were invested in Furkan Aldemir and sent a coach overseas to fix his jumper this summer. Shows how bullish they are on Christian Wood
Shams Charania: Philadlephia has released forward Furkan Aldemir, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. Aldemir had a contract guarantee of nearly $3 million.
Orazio Cauchi: Sixers are expected to cut Jordan McRae, per source.
Shams Charania: The 76ers are waiving guard Scottie Wilbekin and have informed rookie forward Christian Wood he has made team, league source talks Yahoo.
Shams Charania: The Dallas Mavericks have waived forward Maurice Ndour, who had a guaranteed contract through next year, league source tells Yahoo.
Mike Mazzeo: The #Nets have waived Justin Harper and Dahntay Jones. Roster now stands at 15 players.
Detroit Pistons: Roster update: The #Pistons have waived forward Danny Granger.
The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Jabari Brown, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Brown appeared in six games for the Lakers this preseason, averaging 6.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 14.3 minutes per game. In 19 games (five starts) for the Lakers last season, Brown, who was signed to a multi-year contract on April 1, averaged 11.9 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 29.9 minutes per contest.
Shams Charania: The Indiana Pacers have waived guard Toney Douglas, league source tells Yahoo Sports. Douglas had made a case to earn roster spot.
Keith Pompey: #Sixers release J.P Tokoto.
Brad Turner: Lakers make it official that they waived Jabari Brown. Metta World Peace on 15 man roster. https://t.co/ZxsQHpqFt8
Shams Charania: The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving guard Jabari Brown, allowing Metta World Peace to make 15-man roster, league sources tell Yahoo.
Danny Granger is likely to be the last one cut, a decision that could come soon after Van Gundy said Sunday he remains at home in Arizona rehabbing his knee. About the possibility of trading him? "It's doubtful," he said. "We're probably sort of at the end of the road with him. We took it as far as we could, hoping to get a look at him, but he hasn't been ready to come back. So we'll go with the 15 guys that are here."
Bobby Marks: In regards to compensation for the non-guaran. players still under contract. If waived tomorrow their salary will count as a 2 day cap hit. However because they likely receive training camp compensation ($2k per week), the team only is responsible for the difference. If Jabari Brown is waived tomorrow his 2 day pay out is $9,972 (2 x $4,971) minus $8,000 (4 weeks x $2k). He will earn $1,972 from LAL.
Keith Langlois: SVG says #Pistons have waived Ryan Boatright, as expected. He'll head to @grdleague as an "affiliate player."
Under the NBA's "affiliate-player" rule with the D-League, Whittington, Benson and Weber are expected to be signed by the Skyforce. Recently released Heat guard Corey Hawkins also is expected to transition to the Skyforce as a designated Heat affiliate player, with NBA teams allowed to designate up to four such players. Such players must finalize their 2015-16 D-League commitments by Thursday. Because Kelley played with the Skyforce two seasons ago, he is considered a "returning-rights player" and also would be under Skyforce control if he were to elect to play in the D-League this season.
The Lakers will wait until at least Sunday to make their final roster trim, Scott said, keeping alive the battle between Metta World Peace and Jabari Brown. It could come down to Sunday's practice, Scott suggested. "Either way I go, it's going to be a very tough [decision], but I've got to do it," he said.
“We’re a better team with Metta,” said Randle, who praised World Peace for teaching him about offensive and defensive rotations, footwork, mental preparation and playing off the ball. “It’s not our decision if he’s on the team or not. But Metta’s knowledge and wisdom that he brings to this team is amazing. It’s fun playing with him.”
Marc Stein: Four NBA teams have one cut still to make: Mavericks, Pistons, Pacers and Lakers all have to get from 16 players to 15 by Monday afternoon
Eric Pincus: I count 457 NBA players under contract with 12 still to be cut - 4 teams w/ room to take in (Rockets, Pelicans, Suns, Knicks) @BBallInsiders
The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived forward Perry Jones III and guard Corey Walden. Jones, a 6’11” forward, was originally acquired by the Celtics on July 14, 2015 and averaged 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game in five appearances with the team.
Joe Gabriele: #Cavs waive G Quinn Cook. The roster stands at 15.
The Washington Wizards announced today that the team has waived center Josh Harrellson, guards Jaron Johnson and Toure Murry, center Jaleel Roberts and guard Ish Smith. Harrellson appeared in seven preseason games, recording 27 points and 12 rebounds over 51 minutes.
Dan Woike: With Clippers waiving Hayes, Luc Mbah a Moute has secured the Clippers' 15th roster spot, per a source.
Adrian Wojnarowski: The Denver Nuggets are waiving guard Nick Johnson, clearing way for Erick Green to earn a roster spot, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Eric Pincus: Nuggets also waived Pecherov and Sweetney, in addition to Johnson @BBallInsiders
Gary Washburn: #celtics officially waive Perry Jones and Corey Walden. Walden is likely headed to NBADL Maine. Jones may try to seek another NBA deal.
Eric Pincus: Grizzlies have waived Sampson Carter, Yakhouba Diawara, Lazeric Jones & Alex Stepheson @BBallInsiders
Dan Woike: The Clippers are waiving Chuck Hayes, per a source
Jonathan Feigen: Rockets waive Joshua Smith and Kazemi, per source
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that the team has waived Reggie Williams and Julian Washburn. San Antonio's roster now stands at 15.
The Suns will take a 14-man roster to opening night Wednesday after deciding to keep power forward Cory Jefferson and waive center Henry Sims. The Suns already had met the roster minimum with 13 players on guaranteed contracts but invited Jefferson and Sims to training camp on non-guaranteed deals with a chance to make the regular-season roster.
Josh Lewenberg: As expected, Raptors waive Shannon Scott, Axel Toupane, Michale Kyser and Ronald Roberts. Most, if not all of them should wind with the 905
Scott Agness: Pacers have waived C.J. Fair and Kadeem Jack.
Mark Followill: Mavs officially announce cuts of Sam Dalembert, Brandon Ashley, Jamil Wilson & Tu Holloway. Roster at 16, one more cut to make this wknd
The Cleveland Cavaliers will release former Duke point guard Quinn Cook, giving Jared Cunningham a roster spot, league sources informed Northeast Ohio Media Group. Cunningham secures the 15th and final roster slot.
The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has waived forward Jeff Adrien and guards Bryce Dejean-Jones and Bo McCalebb. Adrien, 6 feet 7, 245 pounds, appeared in three preseason games, averaging 6.3 points and 6.0 rebounds. Adrien was originally signed by New Orleans on Sept. 23.
The Celtics have to finalize their roster by Monday. Corey Walden is expected to be waived and join the D-League Maine Red Claws. Perry Jones is most likely to be the final roster cut; the Celtics have 16 guaranteed contracts and 15 roster slots.
Shams Charania: The Dallas Mavericks are releasing center Samuel Dalembert, league sources tell Yahoo. Dalembert had a guaranteed vet minimum contract.
Minnesota Timberwolves: #Twolves waive Lorenzo Brown, Kleon Penn and Nick Wiggins. Updated Training Camp roster:
Jay King: Ainge told @A. Sherrod Blakely he's "made a lot of phone calls" in search of an alternative roster trimming option: csnne.com/boston-celtics…
Ainge declined to say who the odd-man out would be if the Celtics can’t swing a trade, but multiple league sources have told CSNNE.com that Perry Jones III would be the player Boston would likely waive if they can’t find a trade partner.
With the roster at 19, the Raptors will have to cut four players on Saturday, the final day to waive non-guaranteed contracts. Though the team likes all of its training camp invitees, there is no room for Ronald Roberts, Axel Toupane, Michale Kyser or Shannon Scott.
The Orlando Magic have waived center Nnanna Egwu (EGG-woo), General Manager Rob Hennigan announced following tonight’s preseason game. Orlando’s roster now stands at 14 (attached below).
