The Los Angeles Lakers have waived guard Darius Johnson-Odom, it was announced today.

Johnson-Odom, the 55th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was originally acquired by the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks on draft night. The 6-2 guard out of Marquette appeared in four games for the Lakers last season, where he totaled four rebounds and one assist in six minutes. Johnson-Odom also played in 13 games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders where he averaged 21.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 39.8 minutes. After being waived by the Lakers in January, the Raleigh, North Carolina native spent the remainder of the 2012-13 season playing in Russia for BC Spartak Saint Petersburg. Johnson-Odom then proceeded to participate in the 2013 NBA Summer League games in Orlando and Las Vegas as a member of the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

Signed by the Lakers in September, Johnson-Odom played in three games this preseason, averaging 3.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 8.2 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 16 players.

Mark Cuban, the flamboyant billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, did not engage in insider trading when he sold his stock in an Internet company in 2004, a Texas jury decided on Wednesday.

Cuban, 55, estimated by Forbes magazine to have a net worth of $2.5 billion, was accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of trading on non-public information when he sold his 600,000 shares in Internet search company Mamma.com - worth $7.9 million - and avoided a $750,000 loss.

Cuban nodded and smiled, and he blasted SEC lawyer Jan Folena in remarks after the verdict, saying she had tried to bully him and “lied” to the court.

– Reported by Reuters

The Charlotte Bobcats will host an open practice on October 23 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena. This free event is open to the public and fans in attendance will have the opportunity to receive autographs from players, coaches and the Lady Cats at the conclusion of the event. Official team merchandise will be available, concession stands will be open and various entertainment elements will be on display in the main concourse. During the event, one lucky fan will win an exclusive behind the scenes game day opportunity hosted by Bobcats Head Coach Steve Clifford.

“As we prepare for the upcoming season, this is a great opportunity to showcase our basketball team to the fans,” Bobcats Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield said. “The support for our organization has been tremendous, and we are looking forward to that continued loyalty throughout this year as we make Time Warner Cable Arena one of the best home court atmospheres in the NBA.”

Portland guard CJ McCollum successfully underwent a non-operative ultrasound procedure today to repair the fifth metatarsal fracture in his left foot. The procedure, which is designed to promote bone growth, was performed at the OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina by Dr. Robert Anderson.

McCollum will remain sidelined indefinitely and will be reevaluated in six weeks.

The Denver Nuggets have waived forward Reginald Becton-Buckner and guard Kyle Fogg, general manager/executive vice president of basketball operations Tim Connelly announced today.

Fogg appeared in one preseason game for the Nuggets, scoring one point in two minutes against the San Antonio Spurs. Becton did not play in any of Denver’s first four preseason games.

The Nuggets now have 16 players on their training camp roster.

As NBA preseason continues, many more players around the league who were signed to non-guaranteed “training camp contracts” will be let go by their teams.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived center D’Or Fischer.

Fischer appeared in one game for the Wizards this preseason logging three minutes of action vs. Miami on 10/15. Undrafted in 2005, Fischer signed with the Wizards as a free agent on 9/28/13.

The Wizards’ roster now stands at 18.

Carter will provide instant offense and vastly underrated defense in his second consecutive season as the Mavs’ sixth man.

Coach Rick Carlisle wants to keep Carter’s minutes in the mid-20s per game again, putting a priority on keeping the 16-year veteran fresh throughout the season. Carter, who remains an outstanding one-on-one and pick-and-roll creator, will be the offensive focal point for the second unit. He can also be a floor-spacing complement with a five that features mostly starters, having knocked down 40.6 percent of his 3-pointers last season.

Reported by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas

Nets fans can remember: MarShon Brooks was once part of the future.

He was an All-Rookie selection and one of a few reasons to feel good about a terrible team in New Jersey, a smooth scorer who was talking about winning Sixth Man of the Year. Then it all fell apart in Year 2, and the divorce was finalized on draft day when he was dealt to Boston.

According to multiple sources, Brooks had communicated to the Nets that he wanted to be dealt. Brooks didn’t go that far while opening up in an interview with the Daily News on Tuesday, but he outlined some of his frustrations under Avery Johnson and PJ Carlesimo.

“I wasn’t really sure with (Jason Kidd becoming coach). I didn’t know what to expect. Last year obviously we knew what was going on, it was so rocky, I didn’t know if I was playing. There just wasn’t any structure to any of my minutes,” Brooks said. “So it was kind of hard for me to perform under those circumstances and obviously I didn’t want to be in that situation next year.”

Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

Dion Waiters appreciates tough love.

The Cavaliers shooting guard admits he loves the way Mike Brown is coaching him.

“He takes me out, talks to me and then puts me back in,” Waiters said after the Cavs’ 92-74 loss to the Bobcats on Tuesday before a sold-out crowd of 4,047 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

Brown yanked Waiters out of the game at least three times to correct mistakes.

“He can be a high-level defender,” Brown said.

However, he wasn’t doing things at a high level in the first half when Bobcats shooting guard Gerald Henderson was scoring on him at will.

Brown called time out and brought the second-year shooting guard to the sideline.

“You’re better than this,” he told Waiters.

Reported by Bob Finnan of the Morning Journal and News Herald

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced they have signed free agent center Daniel Orton. The Sixers preseason roster stands at 20 players.

Orton (6-10, 255) was originally an early entry candidate for the 2010 NBA Draft following his freshman season at Kentucky and was selected with the 29th overall pick by Orlando. The 23-year-old spent last season with Oklahoma City and also played for the Thunder’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Tulsa 66ers, averaging 12 and a half points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and over two blocks per game while shooting 53% from the floor.

In a related move, the Sixers have waived center Tim Ohlbrecht.

The 76ers are very likely going to struggle in dramatic fashion this season. They have a very young, inexperienced roster mostly filled with bench players. They’ll need luck in discovering some hidden gems.

The mother of an Oklahoma City NBA star said today’s society is so over-sexualized that very young children are contemplating sexual matters.

“They should be dreaming about being an artist or a dancer. They should be dreaming of being the president or a doctor. Instead they’re thinking of sexual things. It really hurts my heart,” said Wanda Pratt, mother of Oklahoma City Thunder star forward Kevin Durant.

Pratt spoke Tuesday to about 150 people who attended the “Shine the Light” event Tuesday at Wheeler Park, 1120 S Western. The event was part of “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” an anti-pornography campaign launched Oct. 1 in Oklahoma City.

Reported by Carla Hinton of the Oklahoman

The Warriors and Andrew Bogut have opened negotiations on a contract extension designed to keep him off the free-agent market in July, he told NBA.com, with Bogut willing to make major concessions to stay but also looking for payback from management for pursuing Dwight Howard last offseason.

Bogut said team officials started conversations with agent David Bauman last week, before the Warriors left Oakland for exhibition games in Beijing and Shanghai against the Lakers. Bogut expects talks to heat up once Golden State returns to the United States following the Friday night contest (7:30 a.m. ET, NBA TV). The issue will come to some resolution by early in the regular season: either he will have a new deal soon or he will become a free agent because neither side wants the discussions dragging long into 2013-14.

Bogut said the initial numbers from the Warriors, “weren’t insulting. But they weren’t what I’m looking for. Nothing concrete has been actually formally written up. We’ve just been going back and forth, but nothing too crazy.”

Not insulting is encouraging — the sides are starting in the same vicinity.

Reported by Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com