10:33am: Philadelphia has officially waived Clark, the team has announced.
7:53am: The Sixers are waiving newly acquired Earl Clark, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The club has yet to officially announce the move, but the Sixers have to cut someone to get down to 15 players after yesterday’s trio of trades.
Clark came to the team from the Cavaliers along with Henry Sims in the deal that sent Spencer Hawes to Cleveland. The 26-year-old appears destined for free agency just months after signing a two-year, $8.5MM contract this past summer with the Cavs. It’s unlikely any team will claim him off waivers, since the 6’10” forward has underwhelmed this season, averaging just 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.
His $4.25MM salary is guaranteed for this season, so it will remain on Philadelphia’s books, barring a waiver claim. The deal is non-guaranteed for 2014/15. The Kevin Bradbury client inked with Cleveland after a career year with the Lakers in which he showed glimpses of the promise that made him the 14th overall pick in 2009. He notched 11.9 PPG and 9.0 RPG in 32.9 MPG over a 22-game stretch in 2012/13.
Would not Danny Granger have been a better buyout candidate? It seems Clark’s high non-guaranteed salary for next year could have made him a decent trade chip to use this next offseason. Or what about even cutting loose Jason Richardson finally? The Sixers, as much as they want to lose, are banged up and need fresh bodies to throw out there.
Well, the Earl Clark era is officially over in Philly. And what a whirlwind time it was! So full of hope and promise
Could be the lengthy wing the Heat are looking for, and he does have prowess on the defensive end