By R.L. Bynum
Four former Tar Heels were waived on a tough day for UNC alums in the NBA as teams work toward reducing their rosters to 14 players.
The Memphis Grizzlies waived rookie Armando Bacot, and the Oklahoma City Thunder waived Cormac Ryan after they both had signed Exhibit 10 contracts.
In addition, Miami waived Nassir Little, who signed with the Heat in the offseason after Phoenix released him, and Cleveland waived Pete Nance.
To avoid a salary-cap hit, teams had until 4 p.m. Saturday to waive players on non-guaranteed contracts. All could potentially play for those franchises’ G League teams if they clear waivers.
That leaves only seven former UNC players on NBA rosters: Orlando guard Cole Anthony; San Antonio forwards Harrison Barnes and Harrison Ingram; Brooklyn forward Cameron Johnson; Utah center Walker Kessler; Brooklyn center Day’Ron Sharpe; and Chicago guard Coby White.
Bacot played 39 minutes and scored 15 points over four preseason games for the Grizzlies. He was courtside on Tuesday at the FedEx Forum when Carolina beat Memphis 84-76 in a charity exhibition game.
Ryan scored 15 points over 30 minutes in 15 games for the Thunder.
Little only got into two exhibition games for Miami, scoring 16 points in 47 minutes.
Nance only played 10 minutes over two games and was scoreless with three rebounds.
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