NBA: Blazers Waive Adam Morrison

The Portland Trail Blazers have trimmed their roster to 15 players, the maximum amount of players an NBA team can have for the regular season, by waiving Adam Morrison along with four other players (Dallas Lauderdale, Demonte Harper, Coby Karl and Justin Holiday).

Morrison, 28, played for the Brooklyn Nets and then the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2012 NBA Summer League before accepting a training camp invitation from the Blazers. According to an interview with Dime Magazine, he also got training camp invitations from the Miami Heat and the Clippers, but chose Portland because it was closer to home and he thought it was a better situation.

On October 10th, his preseason debut with the Blazers, Morrison had a stellar performance in a win against his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers. In less than 12 minutes of play, he scored 9 points off of 4-of-6 shooting from the field. He also grabbed one rebound and was 1-of-2 from three-point range.



However, he struggled in his next games with the team. Morrison went scoreless in the next 2 games he played in and never quite found his shot again. He finished the preseason with underwhelming averages of 3.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 11.4 minutes over 5 games. He also shot 33.3% from the field and 28.6% from beyond-the-arc. However, he made all two of his free-throw attempts and finished with a perfect free-throw percentage.

Morrison released a statement to CSNNW.com:

"I want to thank the Blazers' organization for giving me a chance. I'm sorry things didn't work out, but I wish them nothing but success. Right now, I'm just going to talk to my agent and see where to go from here."

After originally saying that he might retire, finish school, and start coaching, he might not be ready to quit yet.

By waiving Morrison, the Blazers are placing his contract on waivers, which means that he can be claimed by another NBA team. Recently, when the Spurs waived Eddy Curry, the Mavericks claimed him off waivers. Last season, in 2011, the Knicks claimed Jeremy Lin after he was waived by the Rockets. Morrison still has a chance to catch on with a team for the 2012-13 NBA season.

The Heat and the Clippers, who both reportedly invited Morrison to training camp, are unlikely to claim him because they don't currently have any roster spots open and are in the process of trimming their rosters down to 15 each.

A wild card team that could end up claiming Morrison would be the Los Angeles Lakers. Their current roster stands at 15 players, but only 13 of those players are on guaranteed contracts. Rookies Robert Sacre and Darius Johnson-Odom, both 2012 second-round draft picks, are on playing on unguaranteed contracts. One or both of them could be waived in order to sign or claim Morrison. Considering how well he has played against the Lakers in the summer league and preseason this year, they might take a chance on him and give him a shot.

Hopefully, the Lakers, or another team, claims Morrison off waivers or signs him to a contract.

Have any thoughts on the Blazers waiving Adam Morrison? Do you think he will catch on with another NBA team? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

NBA: Clippers Should Sign Adam Morrison

(Photo Courtesy: thefrontofficenews.com)

After last playing with the Washington Wizards in the 2010 preseason, Adam Morrison returned to the NBA competition a month ago in July by signing with the Brooklyn Nets summer league team. He played five games with them and averaged 5.2 points in 19.2 minutes a game. Besides scoring 6 straight points in a game against the Magic and recording a double-double in another game, his stint with the team was forgettable. Overall, Morrison's play in Orlando was inconsistent. He showed flashes of supreme offensive prowess, but also mediocre defense and questionable effort.

As the 2012 NBA Summer League moved on to Las Vegas, Morrison was named to the Los Angeles Clippers summer league squad. The next five games that he played with his new team proved to be much more productive and memorable. His first game wasn't great. He scored 11 points off of 5-13 field goals and grabbed 5 rebounds in a loss to the T'Wolves. He then scored over 20 points and shot above 50% from the field and from 3-point range in each of his next 2 games against the Spurs and the Lakers. In his second-to-last summer league game, he scored 18 points and had 5 rebounds.

His final game with the Clippers was by far his best game of the entire summer league. He led the Clips to a double-digit victory over the Celtics. He scored 26 points, pulled down 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists. He also shot 9-for-15 from the field and shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. The fans in Las Vegas chanting "MVP" for him at the end of the game was a great way to cap off the summer league.



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The Los Angeles Clippers made it to the Western Conference Semi-Finals last season before being swept the Spurs. As a franchise that has been known for losing in the past, they have improved their roster significantly in recent years. In 2009, they drafted Blake Griffin who ended up being named the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2011 after missing the entire 2009-10 season due to a knee injury. The Clippers also traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul before the 2011-12 season.

During the current offseason, the Clips have made a flurry of moves in an attempt to build a roster that could win the 2013 title. They signed former All-Star Grant Hill and former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and traded for 2-time NBA champion Lamar Odom and underrated shooting guard Willie Green. They also signed journeyman center Ronny Turiaf who won a championship with the Heat earlier this year.

The Clippers are looking like contenders for the upcoming 2012-13 season and are hoping to win it all for the first time in franchise history next June.

As a team, they have one roster spot left to fill. They have 14 players on contract that includes 3 point guards, 3 shooting guards, 3 centers, and 5 forwards. Of the forwards that they have, Caron Butler and Grant Hill are small forwards, Blake Griffin and Trey Thompkins are power forwards, and Lamar Odom is a combo forward. If they want to fill every position equally, then they should probably sign another forward to fill up their roster completely.

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Adam Morrison is a small forward. He is, in my opinion, perfect to be the final add-on to the Clippers' roster for the upcoming season. He would likely accept the veteran's minimum and give Los Angeles the first shot to sign him out of loyalty. Morrison would be a great scoring kick off the bench and would probably be rejuvenated on the defensive end if he was given a role on a contending NBA team. The general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers needs to make this happen and sign Adam Morrison! Or at least invite him to training camp....

If not, there are other teams that could use Morrison's services. But I think he would be a great fit for the Clippers and I hope that he ends up on their squad for the regular season.

According to multiple online sources, Greg Anthony may have said on NBATV that Morrison had already signed a contract with the Clippers. However, no reliable sources have confirmed this and nothing is official to my knowledge.

Should the Clippers sign Adam Morrison? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.