With less than a week before the NBA regular season, the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday announced it is waiving its right on four players, including former No. 10 overall pick Jimmer Fredette, ESPN reported.
Fredette attended the Spurs training camp last summer for a partially guaranteed payment of $500,000 and scored four points during his 26-minute of gameplay in exhibition contests. However, he sat out two of the Spurs pre-season games.
"So far, there's been some good things, some bad things [over my career]," Fredette told ESPN.com in an interview last Oct. 1. "But I think I've progressed and learned how to be a pro. I think I've continually gotten better as a basketball player. You've just got to keep your confidence high. You can't let anything bad that happens get you down. You've just got to continue to stay strong, stay mentally tough and know that when you do get an opportunity, you have to be prepared for it. You never know when that can come."
Aside from Fredette, the Spurs also cut Youssou Ndoye, Keifer Sykes, and Deshaun Thomas as they try to trim their rosters to 15 players ahead of the 2015-2016 NBA regular season. Fredette is a defender, but this skill does not fit San Antonio, who wants to build on its defense. Fredette was competing with Ray McCallum and Rasual Butler for a spot on the roster, but eventually he was cut from the team.
A standout at the Brigham Youth University during his senior years in 2010-11, Fredette led the Division I in scoring, contributing 28.9 points per game. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2011 but failed to establish his niche in the NBA after two seasons with the team. He later moved to New Orleans Pelicans, Chicago Bulls, and Spurs.
He continued in the same ESPN interview, "There are times when you're like, 'Dang, man, this is not the way that I pictured it as kid or growing up.' But I think that's all a part of the growing process as a pro. It's not necessarily that you're not good enough to be out there, you know what I mean? Sometimes, there are other circumstances. So you've just got to stay mentally prepared, know that you can play, and when you get out there be able to compete."
Who's in the Spurs Final Roster?
With the announcement of their decision to waive four players, the Spurs must complete its 15-man roster before the Monday deadline, said My San Antonio.
Early indications showed that forwards Rasual Butler and Reggie Williams will be battling for the small forward position. Both Butler and Williams has shown great abilities during their limited action in the preseason to make them good prospects.
The 36-year-old Butler averaged 3.8 points and shooting 37.5 percent during his four-game appearances, while Williams, 29, averaged four points in his five pre-season games.
Coach Gregg Popovich commented, "It depends on how we feel about cuts, I guess. No final decisions on that." One more player who participated in the Spurs training camp will be let go before the week ends.
"It's tough because they are great guys - all of them," point guard Tony Parker said. "But you can only keep 15."
