The NBA’s roster deadline did not just squeeze out fringe players. It reached into three different kinds of investment: a recent first-round pick, a 12-year franchise veteran and three Bucks players still trying to win a standard roster spot.
Memphis waived Walter Clayton Jr. and Micah Peavy on Monday, clearing the way for the Grizzlies to finalize their regular-season roster by the 5 p.m. ET cutdown deadline. Clayton, the No. 18 pick in the 2025 draft, was owed $4.2 million this season on his rookie-scale deal, and Memphis had explored a trade before the deadline but could not complete one.
Clayton’s numbers in Memphis were modest but not empty. He averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 assists, and shot 31% from 3-point range. The Grizzlies entered the deadline with 17 players on standard contracts, so the cuts were part of the required trim to get down to 15.
Dallas made a different kind of move, but one with a similar finality. The Mavericks waived Dwight Powell on Monday, likely ending a 12-year run that began in December 2014, when he arrived in a deal that included five players and two draft picks.
Powell’s place in franchise history was not hard to measure. He ranks fourth among Mavericks all-time in career field goal percentage at.606, and he was the third-longest-tenured player with the same team in the NBA when Dallas waived him, behind only Steph Curry and Draymond Green. He also appeared in 63 games last season, starting 12, and averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.3 minutes per game.
President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri praised Powell’s run with the team, saying, “Dwight was the consummate professional throughout his 12 seasons with the Mavericks and embodies everything you want in someone representing your organization.”
The Spurs’ 2022 draft class also disappeared from the opening-night picture. On Oct. 17, all three of San Antonio’s 2022 draft picks were waived by their respective teams, a reminder that draft status alone does not guarantee a place on a roster once the deadline arrives.
Milwaukee’s moves fit the same pattern. The Bucks requested waivers on Pete Nance, Johni Broome and Jake Stephens as they worked to settle their roster before the season. Nance had been on a non-guaranteed contract, Broome signed a training camp deal on Oct. 6, and Stephens had limited preseason run, averaging 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in two games.
Taken together, the deadline cuts show how quickly roster plans can change. A first-round pick can be waived before the season starts. A veteran who has spent more than a decade in one uniform can be moved on from. And even players who arrive in camp with a chance to stick can be sent out before opening night.