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A former Rookie of the Year is among six players hitting waivers today.
Michael Carter-Williams was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Chicago Bulls in a move to reduce Houston’s luxury tax obligations, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com and reported by Michael Kaskey-Blomain of CBSSports.com. The deal is for a future second-round pick that may never actually be sent due to heavy protections.
Carter-Williams won Rookie of the Year in 2014 with the Philadelphia 76ers, but was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2015-2016 season as Philadelphia looked to stockpile draft assets. He previously played in Chicago in the 2016-2017 season. He has played in just 16 games this season, averaging 4.3 points and 1.3 assists.
The Bulls placed him on waivers after the transaction completed.
Last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers reached an non-guaranteed deal with restricted free agent Pat McCaw. The Warriors declined to match, hanging him over to the Cavs... who played him for three games and was released to become an unrestricted free agent.
Not yet clear how deeply the NBA will look into Cleveland's signing and near-immediate release of restricted free agent Patrick McCaw. Asked if they would urge the league to do so, Warriors officials declined comment Monday
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 7, 2019
Wojnarowski also reported the Toronto Raptors waived guard Lorenzo Brown, and the Washington Wizards released guard Ron Baker. Brown was waived ahead of his contract becoming guaranteed for the rest of the season.
Toronto has waived guard Lorenzo Brown, league source tells ESPN. His contract would've become guaranteed for season later today.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 7, 2019
Washington has waived Ron Baker, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 7, 2019
Brown played in just 26 games, averaging 2.1 points per game. This is the second time this season Baker has been released. The New York Knicks let him go on December 13th, 2018.
All told, six players are heading to waivers today: MarShon Brooks, Carter-Williams, McCaw, James Nunnally, Brown, and Baker, according to Wojnarowski. If no qualified teams claim them, they will become free agents later this week.