Lakers waive two players

The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on guard Joe Crawford and forward CJ Giles, it was announced today.

Selected by the Lakers with the 58th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Crawford, a 22 year-old native of Detroit, Michigan, played four seasons at the University of Kentucky, averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 127 games (76 starts). In six preseason games with the Lakers, Crawford averaged 2.8 points in 7.3 minutes.

Giles, a 6-11 forward who finished his collegiate career at Oregon State after playing two seasons at Kansas, averaged 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in ten games last season for the Beavers. Giles played in four preseason games with the Lakers where he averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.2 minutes.

The Lakers preseason roster now stands at 15.

Mavs waive three players

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have requested waivers on Cheyne Gadson, JaJuan Smith and Reyshawn Terry.

Gadson (6-3, 190) signed as a free agent after spending last season in the D-League. He went undrafted out of Oklahoma State in the 2003 NBA Draft. Gadson saw action in 5 preseason games and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 assists in 7.4 minutes per game.

Smith (6-2, 195) was signed by the Mavericks as a rookie free agent after he went undrafted out of Tennessee in the 2008 NBA Draft. Smith played in all 7 preseason games, averaging 4.7 points and 0.9 steals in 9.6 minutes per game.

Terry (6-8, 232), the 44th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, was acquired by Dallas from Orlando on draft night (6/28/07). The Mavericks received the draft rights to Terry in exchange for the draft rights to forward Milovan Rakovic. He spent last season as a member of Aris TT Bank (Greek A1 League) and averaged 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 Euroleague games. Terry saw the floor in 5 preseason games and averaged 4.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 7.0 minutes per game.

The Mavericks roster now stands at 15 players.

Raptors waive Jamal Sampson

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have waived forward-centre Jamal Sampson. The roster currently stands at 13.

The Raptors signed Sampson as a free agent September 29. He appeared in one game in the preseason where he had two points and three rebounds.

The Raptors open the regular season Wednesday, October 29 in Philadelphia. They return to Toronto for the home opener Friday, October 31 versus Golden State.

Oct 21: Suns 86, Clippers 69

The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points in his second game back from an eye injury, Boris Diaw got six of his 14 points during a 57-second span to spark a pivotal fourth-quarter run, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 86-69 Tuesday night. Alando Tucker, back in the Phoenix lineup after missing three games with a tightness in his left hamstring, missed five of his first six shots and finished with 10 points in his first start of the preseason. Robin Lopez, getting his first start while Shaquille O’Neal had the night off, had five points and two rebounds before fouling out with 7:26 left in the game and Phoenix ahead 69-61. Chris Kaman had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers (4-2), who have two more exhibition games at Staples Center before their season opener on Oct. 26 against the Lakers.

Oct 21: Lakers 102, Bobcats 98

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant injured his right knee in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 102-98 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night and did not return to the preseason game… The extent of Bryant’s injury is not known… Andrew Bynum scored 16 points, Trevor Ariza added 14. Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher scored 12 points apiece for the Lakers in limited playing time. Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace each had 16 points for the Bobcats, who close out their preseason schedule on Thursday against the Lakers.

Oct 21: Nuggets 105, Raptors 94

The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 15 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 105-94 in the first NBA game played in the Alberta capital in nine years. Forward Chris Bosh scored 17 points and point guard Jose Calderon had 18 points for the Raptors, who trailed 24-17 after the first quarter of the exhibition and never seriously challenged the rest of the way… Bosh was 5-for-8 from the field with three rebounds. Calderon was 5-for-11 to go with five rebounds and seven assists. He made two 3-pointers.

Oct 21: Bulls 109, Mavs 105

The AP reports: Rookie Derrick Rose scored 30 points, including the go-ahead basket with 41.5 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 23-point deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-105 Tuesday night. Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni added 14 points each for the Bulls (2-4). Rose, the first overall pick in the draft, went 13-for-18 from the field and had seven assists. Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points, Gerald Green had 19 and Josh Howard added 18 for Dallas (4-3).

Oct 21: Hornets 101, Pacers 96

The AP reports: Chris Paul’s midseason-like form kept the New Orleans Hornets undefeated in the preseason. Paul had 23 points, 15 assists, five rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 101-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night… David West added 26 points, hitting 12 of 17 shots in the Hornets’ return home from their two-game trip to Berlin and Barcelona last week… Danny Granger, a New Orleans native, led Indiana (3-4) with 20 points in 37 minutes. T.J. ford added 14 points, while Troy Murphy had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Oct 21: Heat 102, Grizzlies 85

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 25 points, Michael Beasley scored nine of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Memphis Grizzlies 102-85 Tuesday night for their first preseason win in nearly two years… Udonis Haslem had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Shawn Marion added 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Miami (1-4), which had dropped 12 straight exhibitions since beating Orlando on Oct. 24, 2006… O.J. Mayo scored 28 points for Memphis on 12-for-19 shooting, with five rebounds and five assists. Darko Milicic scored 12 for the Grizzlies (2-5), who allowed 11 points off turnovers in the final 12 minutes.

Oct 21: Celtics 101, Knicks 90

The AP reports: Kevin Garnett had 14 points and nine rebounds, Ray Allen scored 12 points and the Celtics tuned up for the start of their NBA title defense with a 101-90 win over the Knicks on Tuesday night… Eddie House led the Celtics with 20 points. Leon Powe added 19 points and 12 rebounds as Boston’s big men overwhelmed an undersized New York lineup… Nate Robinson scored 25 points and Stephon Marbury had 14 for New York.