4:15pm: Both players have been officially waived, the team announced in a press release.
2:08pm: The Grizzlies have waived Earl Clark and Hassan Whiteside, according to the RealGM transactions log, though the team has yet to make a formal announcement. They possessed two of the team’s four remaining non-guaranteed contracts, and their subtraction leaves Memphis at 16 players, one more than the team can carry on opening night.
Clark was a hot commodity a year ago, when he signed a two-year, $8.5MM deal with the Cavs. However, only the first season was guaranteed, and the forward couldn’t duplicate what had been a career year with the Lakers in 2012/13. The Cavs sent him to the Sixers, who quickly cut him loose, and aside from a pair of 10-day contracts with the Knicks, he spent the second half of last season out of the league. The Spurs auditioned him before he inked with the Grizzlies, but it seems he didn’t make enough of an impression on the Memphis brass to stick into the regular season.
Whiteside was also attempting to return to the NBA, though the former 33rd overall pick’s regular season experience consists of just 19 games over two seasons with the Kings from 2010-12. He was with the Raptors in summer league this year and spent time playing in Lebanon last season.
Patrick Christopher and Kalin Lucas remain as the only players without full guarantees on the Memphis roster, and ostensibly one, if not both, will go by Monday’s deadline for teams to cut down to no more than 15 players. The Grizzlies have only carried 13 players on opening night the last two years.