Knicks Waive Five Players

12:50pm: The Knicks have officially released C.J. Leslie, Josh Powell, and Ike Diogu, as well as Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Tyler, according to the team (Twitter link). So Chris Smith, Toure Murry, and Cole Aldrich have snagged the three open roster spots.

Tyler’s deal reportedly included a $100K guarantee, so the Knicks will owe both him and Leslie some money.

12:22pm: The Knicks have also cut Leslie, according to Zwerling (via Twitter). While the move had been telegraphed over the last few days, it’s still somewhat surprising, since nearly half of the rookie’s first-year salary was guaranteed.

Zwerling adds that Aldrich appears to have locked up a roster spot, meaning Smith, Tyler, and Murry are likely vying for the final two openings.

11:16am: The Knicks have begun to trim their roster down from the 20-man preseason maximum, according to Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report, who tweets that the club has released Josh Powell and Ike Diogu. The pair of cuts leaves New York with 18 players under contract, so three more will need to be released by Monday.

Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork, Al Iannazzone of Newsday, and Zwerling all hear that the Knicks are going young with their last few open roster spots. According to both Begley and Iannazzone (Twitter links), Toure Murry, Chris Smith, and Jeremy Tyler are likely to make the regular season roster. Presumably, that would mean that the Knicks would waive Cole Aldrich, C.J. Leslie, and Chris Douglas-Roberts, though Begley adds (via Twitter) that it’s not clear if the club will be making all its moves today.

As for Powell and Diogu, neither player appeared in an regular season NBA game in 2012/13, but they earned camp invites from the Knicks after working out for the team this fall. New York won’t be on the hook for any salary for either player, since they were on non-guaranteed contracts.