Saturday was roster cutdown day, when NBA teams had to trim their rosters to regular season numbers, 15 players max, plus two two-way players (who can bounce between the NBA roster and G-League).
There were a few surprises and a few expected cuts, plus some guys on the bubble also made teams. Here is a rundown of the big names and big moves on Saturday.
• The Warriors waived Avery Bradley, Gary Payton II and Mychal Mulder, choosing to keep their 15th roster spot open for now. That likely means more run for rookie guard Moses Moody.
• The Rockets waived Dante Exum. He had played fairly well for Australia in the Tokyo Olympics, but that did not do enough to land him a roster spot in rebuilding Houston.
• The Trail Blazers waived three name players: Marquese Chriss, Patrick Patterson and Quinn Cook. The Trail Blazers chose to keep Dennis Smith Jr. for the final roster spot on the team. This preseason, Chriss had some quality moments and could get picked up by another team sooner rather than later.
• The Nuggets signed sharpshooter Nik Stauskas to an Exhibit 10 deal, he will be part of their G-League affiliate. Stauskas played for Spanish league team Baskonia a couple of years ago and was with the Raptors 905 G-League team a year ago.
• Point guard Kris Dunn was cut loose by the Grizzlies. There are not many guard minutes there behind Ja Morant, especially with De’Anthony Melton and Desmond Bane looking good. Cutting Dunn meant the Grizzlies kept shooting guard Jarrett Culver on the roster.
• The Clippers cut Harry Giles, choosing to keep Isaiah Hartenstein on the roster.
• The Knicks signed former first-round pick Luka Samanic to a two-way contract. The Spurs had recently cut Samanic.
• David Duke Jr. impressed the Brooklyn Nets enough during training camp that they signed him to a two-way contract.
• The Cavaliers signed fan favorite Tacko Fall to a two-way contract.
