Tag: Cam Oliver

Lakers to waive Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Trevelin Queen, Cam Oliver

The Los Angeles Lakers are waiving four players, including two-way player Joel Ayayi.

The Los Angeles Lakers Friday requested waivers on Joel Ayayi, Chaundee Brown, Trevelin Queen and Cam Oliver.

Out of the four, Ayayi is the biggest name since he previously occupied a two-way spot on the roster. Now the Lakers will need to replace his opening.

Brown, Queen and Oliver were all training camp players, so their releases were expected. Mac McClung and Frank Mason III are two other players who were on Exhibit 10 deals who got cut.

Head coach Frank Vogel said earlier in the preseason Brown was making a case for a two-way spot. Brown showed more than Ayayi, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the final spot.

L.A. recently inked Sekou Doumbouya to the other two-way opening.

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Frank Vogel explains how Lakers will use final two-way spot

Head coach Frank Vogel talked about what the Los Angeles Lakers will do with the second two-way roster spot.

With the preseason officially underway, the Los Angeles Lakers have multiple positional and roster battles in progress.

Players like Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, Kent Bazemore and others are competing for the starting shooting guard spot.

Everyone not named LeBron James, Russell Westbrook or Anthony Davis are vying for the most minutes possible, whether they’re starting or coming off the bench.

But another competition happening is for the final two-way spot. After the Lakers promoted Austin Reaves to the 14th guaranteed roster spot, a new slot opened up.

Undrafted rookie Joel Ayayi is the other player. Head coach Frank Vogel explained who the Lakers are targeting and if someone already on the roster has a good chance.

“Yeah, and potentially someone that’s not with us right now,” Vogel said. “We’re going to see how the preseason plays out, see who all is available, both guys that are here or around the league, guys that might get cut, and we’ll make a decision closer to opening night.”

Chaundee Brown, Mac McClung, Cam Oliver and Trevelin Queen are the four prospects currently on Exhibit-10 training camp deals, so it’s possible one of those four make the cut.

Brown and McClung were immediate grabs after the 2021 NBA draft concluded, but it’ll be interesting to see who L.A. has eyes on outside of their current group.

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Cam Oliver double-double leads Rockets in season-ending loss at Atlanta

Oliver had 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the short-handed Rockets versus the playoff-bound Hawks.

The severely short-handed Rockets played hard over the final weeks of the 2020-21 regular season, including Friday’s upset win over the Los Angeles Clippers, but they finally seemed to run out of steam in Sunday’s 124-95 loss (box score) at Atlanta. The Hawks (41-31) are headed to the playoffs as the East’s No. 5 seed, while Houston (17-55) ends the year with the NBA’s worst record for the first time since 1982-83.

DJ Augustin and Armoni Brooks led Houston with 18 points apiece, including four 3-pointers by Augustin and six by Brooks. Kelly Olynyk scored 16, while big man Cam Oliver had his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

Atlanta had eight players in double figures, led by Onyeka Okongwu’s 21 points (76.9% FG) and 14 rebounds. All-Star guard Trae Young had 10 points, 9 assists, and 2 steals in limited playing time of 16 minutes.

Here’s a sampling of highlights, postgame reaction, and analysis from Sunday’s loss. The NBA’s play-in tournament for the 2021 playoffs will begin Tuesday, with the playoffs officially starting Saturday.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVkgdNVQjDQ

Armoni Brooks scores career-high 24 as Lakers hold off pesky Rockets

Houston went on a 9-0 run in the final three minutes, but Kyle Kuzma connected on a driving layup with 6.9 seconds left to secure the win.

On the unveiling night of their 2019-20 championship banner, the defending champion Lakers had to survive in Wednesday’s 124-122 win (box score) over the visiting Rockets, who have the NBA’s worst record.

Rookie guard Armoni Brooks scored a career-high 24 points at Staples Center to lead the Rockets, who went on a late 9-0 run and briefly led until Kyle Kuzma’s runner in the final seconds sealed it for Los Angeles. Kuzma finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Talen Horton-Tucker (22 points, 10 assists) and Andre Drummond (20 points, 10 rebounds) led Los Angeles in scoring, while other standouts for Houston included Kelly Olynyk (24 points, 8 assists), KJ Martin (20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks), and Cameron Oliver (17 points).

Though they were expected to play earlier in the day, superstars LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (groin) were late scratches. With the win, Los Angeles (40-30) stayed a game behind Portland and Dallas (41-29) in the race to avoid the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed — which would require winning a play-in tournament game to make the playoffs.

Houston (16-54) was missing 11 of the team’s 17 players under standard contracts: Christian Wood (right ankle), John Wall (right hamstring), Eric Gordon (right groin), Sterling Brown (head/face lacerations), Kevin Porter Jr. (left ankle), Avery Bradley (personal reasons), Dante Exum (left calf), Danuel House Jr. (right ankle), DaQuan Jeffries (right ankle), David Nwaba (right wrist) and D.J. Wilson (health and safety protocols). The Rockets, who have been ravaged by injuries throughout the 2020-21 season, reached the required number of eight active players with Oliver and Khyri Thomas — who are on hardship exceptions.

The Rockets return to play Friday with their regular-season home finale at Toyota Center against the Los Angeles Clippers. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. Central. For now, here’s a roundup of postgame highlights, analysis, and reaction from Wednesday’s late game versus the Lakers.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2HMdJk9WCI

In Cameron Oliver debut, Rockets set NBA record for most players in a season

The Rockets have now had 29 players with playing time in the 2020-21 regular season, which breaks the former NBA record of 28 players.

With Monday’s debut for newly signed big man Cameron Oliver, the Houston Rockets set an NBA record with 29 players having now played for the team in the 2020-21 season. The previous record was 28, shared by this season’s Rockets, the 2015-16 Grizzlies, and the 2018-19 Magic.

The number reflects a turbulent year for the Rockets and new head coach Stephen Silas, who began the season having to navigate James Harden’s trade demand alongside widespread injuries and COVID-19 health concerns. While Harden was traded to Brooklyn in January, which added to the changing roster, the injuries and health woes have yet to abate.

As of Monday, 10 of the roster’s 17 players under standard contracts were listed on the team’s injury report. In recent days, the NBA approved two hardship exceptions (for Oliver and Khyri Thomas) just to allow the Rockets to have enough players to finish out the season.

It’s also important to remember that this is a shortened NBA regular season of only 72 games. With Oliver’s debut in the 69th game, Houston set the mark 13 games prior to when a normal 82-game slate would end.

The complete list of this season’s 29 players includes Harden, Oliver, Victor Oladipo, Christian Wood, John Wall, Kevin Porter Jr., Kelly Olynyk, PJ Tucker, Jae’Sean Tate, Eric Gordon, Khyri Thomas, Danuel House Jr., Armoni Brooks, Sterling Brown, Avery Bradley, David Nwaba, Kenyon Martin, DaQuan Jeffries, DeMarcus Cousins, DJ Augustin, Justin Patton, Ben McLemore, Anthony Lamb, D.J. Wilson, Mason Jones, Ray Spalding, Rodions Kurucs, Brodric Thomas, and Bruno Caboclo.

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Rockets to sign big man Cameron Oliver for remainder of season

Oliver, who was in training camp with Houston before the 2017-18 season, was averaging 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in Australia.

The Houston Rockets are signing 6-foot-8 big man Cameron Oliver for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, according to ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. Oliver had most recently played in Australia for the Cairns Taipans.

After playing in college at the University of Nevada, Oliver declared for the NBA’s 2017 draft before signing a deal with the Rockets as an undrafted free agent. At the time, current Houston general manager Rafael Stone was on the basketball operations staff of Daryl Morey.

Oliver didn’t make the team after injuring his hand during 2017-18 training camp, but he played two seasons in the NBA G League before transitioning to Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) in 2019.

Now 24 years old, Oliver averaged 17.3 points (49.8% FG, 31.9% on 3-pointers), 9.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game for Cairns this season.

Per Uluc, Oliver is signing a 10-day deal with the Rockets, which covers the rest of the season — since it ends on May 16. Though Houston does have a full roster, the NBA granted them a hardship exception (based on their historic wave of injuries) for the recent signing of Khyri Thomas. If they could get a second hardship exception approved, that could allow them to add Thomas to a 10-day deal without making a release.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ijNItE2WdE