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The Toronto Raptors announced Saturday they have waived guard Carlos Morais and forward Chris Wright.
Morais totaled six points and 21 minutes in three preseason games, while Wright tallied 10 points, six rebounds and 26 minutes in five outings.
The roster now stands at 15. The Raptors open the 2013-14 season at home October 30 versus Boston (7 p.m.).
The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have requested waivers on guard Mickey McConnell.
McConnell (6-0, 190) saw action in five preseason games for the Mavericks and averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 assists in 8.7 minutes per contest.
The Mavericks’ roster now stands at 15.
The Mavericks open the 2013-14 regular season against Atlanta on Wednesday, Oct. 30.
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The Denver Nuggets reduced their roster to 15 players by waiving forward Damion James, general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.
James, signed as a non-roster invitee, averaged 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in seven preseason games for Denver. He went 8-for-23 from the field.
The Nuggets open the regular season Oct. 30 at Sacramento.
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The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have waived forward Lou Amundson. The Clippers roster now stands at 14 players.
Amundson appeared in seven preseason games (one start) for the Clippers, averaging 1.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 9.9 minutes of action.
Amundson has appeared in 327 career games (seven starts) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets. The 6”9”, 225-pound forward finished last season with the Hornets, averaging 2.4 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18 games.
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The Phoenix Suns exercised their 2014-15 options on forwards Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris and center Miles Plumlee, the club announced today.
In two seasons with the Suns, Markieff Morris has averaged 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 145 games. The 13th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, he closed the 2012-13 season strongly as he averaged 11.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in April, the best scoring and rebounding month of his young career.
Marcus Morris joined the Suns in a midseason trade with Houston and averaged 5.7 points in 23 games with Phoenix last season. Originally the 14th overall pick of the 2011 draft, he led the Suns with an average of 14.3 points in seven contests at the 2013 Las Vegas Summer League.
Plumlee played his rookie season with Indiana before being acquired by the Suns in a trade with the Pacers this past summer. In seven contests with the Suns this preseason, Plumlee averaged 6.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.14 blocks in 18.5 minutes per game.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has exercised its fourth-year options on guard Ricky Rubio and forward Derrick Williams.
Rubio, the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, joined the Wolves in 2011-12 and has played 98 games with the club. He holds career averages of 10.7 points, 7.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game, including setting the franchise single-season steals mark last year (2.40 spg). As a rookie in 2011-12, Rubio was named to NBA’s All-Rookie First Team after averaging 10.6 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
Williams, the second overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, has appeared in 144 games (71 starts) with the club, holding career averages of 10.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Williams started 56 games in 2012-13 and averaged 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 40 games (all starts) over the last three months of the season.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has waived center Chris Johnson. The Wolves roster now stands at 15 players.
Johnson, 28, played in two preseason games this season and averaged 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He was originally signed by the Wolves to a 10-day contract on January 19, 2013 before being signed to a second 10-day contract on January 29. Johnson was signed for the remainder of the 2012-13 season on February 8. He appeared in 30 games with the Wolves last season and averaged 3.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per contest.
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The Atlanta Hawks have waived forward Eric Dawson, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry.
Dawson appeared in three preseason contests for the Hawks.
The roster stands at 15.
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The Indiana Pacers announced Saturday they have released forward/center Hilton Armstrong.
The Pacers’ roster now stands at 14 players.
With the NBA regular season starting on Tuesday, teams around the league are trimming their rosters down to 15 players or less.
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The Orlando Magic have exercised their third-year team option on the contracts of forward Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson, while also exercising their fourth-year team option on the contracts of Tobias Harris and Nikola Vučević, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.
All four players are now under contract through the 2014-15 season.
Harkless (6-9, 220, 5/11/93) played in 76 games (59 starts) during his rookie campaign (2012-13) with Orlando, averaging 8.2 ppg., 4.4 rpg. and 1.16 stlpg. in 26.0 minpg. He ranked sixth in the NBA in steals-to-turnover ratio (1.28, 88/69) and 40th in steals. Harkless also ranked among all NBA rookies in scoring (11th), rebounding (9th), field goal percentage (8th, .461), steals (2nd) and blocked shots (8th, 0.82 blkpg.). He was acquired by Orlando as part of a four-team, 12-player trade on Aug. 10, 2012, along with Vučević. Harkless was originally selected in the first round (15th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Philadelphia.
Harris (6-9, 235, 7/15/92) was acquired by Orlando in a six-player trade with Milwaukee on Feb. 21, 2013. He appeared in 55 games (34 starts) with both the Magic and the Bucks in 2012-13, averaging 11.0 ppg., 5.2 rpg. and 1.3 apg. in 23.6 minpg. In 27 games with Orlando, Harris averaged 17.3 ppg., 8.5 rpg., 2.1 apg. and 1.37 blkpg. in 36.1 minpg. On Mar. 29 @ Charlotte, he poured in a career-high 30 points, becoming the second-youngest player in Magic history to score 30+ points in a game (20 years, 257 days old). Harris was originally selected in the first round (19th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft by Charlotte.
Nicholson (6-9, 250, 12/8/89) played in 75 games (28 starts) during his rookie season (2012-13) with Orlando, averaging 7.8 ppg. and 3.4 rpg. in 16.7 minpg., while shooting .527 (256-486) from the field. He ranked among all NBA rookies in scoring (14th), rebounding (16th), field goal percentage (4th) and free throw percentage (5th, .798). Nicholson participated in the 2013 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend, tallying six points and three rebounds in 10 minutes.
Vučević (7-0, 250, 10/24/90) appeared and started in 77 games in 2012-13 for Orlando, averaging 13.1 ppg., a team-high 11.9 rpg., 1.9 apg. and a team-best 1.03 blkpg. in 33.2 minpg., while shooting .519 (461-889) from the floor. He ranked second in the NBA in rebounding, third in double-doubles (team-high 46), tied for 21st in field goal percentage and tied for 33rd in blocked shots. Vučević finished fourth in voting for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. On Dec. 31 vs. Miami, he broke the franchise record for most rebounds in a single game, pulling down 29 boards and breaking the mark previously held by Shaquille O’Neal (28, Nov. 20, 1993 @ New Jersey).