Cut- down deadline nears
With 30 teams in the NBA, each with a typical maximum roster size of 15 players, the league has 450 jobs available each season. Roughly 410 players currently have fully guaranteed contracts, and the nearly 40 with nonguaranteed deals will have their fates sealed Friday. The NBA’s official cut- down date is technically next Sunday, but teams need to let players go 48 hours before that, to allow for the two- day waiver period.
The Lakers will need to decide on the contracts of Metta World Peace ($ 1.5 million), Tarik Black ($ 845,059) and Marcelo Huertas ($ 525,093). The Clippers are likely to keep starting small forward Luc Mbah a Moute, whose $ 1.3 million for the season will lock in after the 2 p. m. deadline Thursday. Others around the league facing cut- down decisions include Dallas’ JaVale McGee, Philadelphia’s recent trade acquisition Ish Smith, San Antonio veteran Matt Bonner, and former Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison, presently with Charlotte.