With the 2024-25 season tipping off on Tuesday, NBA teams waived 48 players on Saturday, including Braxton Key by the Los Angeles Clippers and Chuma Okeke by the New York Knicks.
A former Auburn standout, Okeke was waived by the Knicks for the second time in three weeks.
The Knicks released Okeke on Sept. 29 in their maneuvering to trade for Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns while not running afoul of the NBA’s salary-cap regulations.
After sending guard Donte DiVicenzo and forwards Keita Bates-Diop and Julius Randle to Minnesota and guards Duane Washington Jr., Charlie Brown Jr. and DaQuan Jeffries to the Charlotte Hornets to obtain the NBA All-Star, New York re-signed Okeke on Oct. 2.
Okeke played in three preseason games for the Knicks. In 17.9 minutes on the court, he had one point, one assist and one steal.
The Knicks originally signed Okeke on Aug. 2. He was an unrestricted free agent after the Orlando Magic failed to make a qualifying offer to keep him this offseason.
Okeke was in training camp on an Exhibit 10 contract.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum-salary, non-guaranteed deal. If the player doesn’t make the NBA roster, the contract usually includes a provision that will pay the player as much as $77,500 if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s NBA Gatorade League affiliate.
Key also was in the Clippers’ training camp on an Exhibit 10 contract. Los Angeles’ NBA G League affiliate is the San Diego Clippers. New York’s NBA G League affiliate is the Westchester Knicks.
Key had nine points, three rebounds and one steal in his only preseason appearance for the Clippers this month.
A 6-foot-8 forward, Key had 22 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one blocked shot while playing 60 minutes in 20 games with the Denver Nuggets last season. Playing on a two-way contract last season, Key also appeared in five games with the G League’s Grand Rapids Gold.
Key played at Alabama in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons before transferring to Virginia. With the Cavaliers, he played on the 2019 NCAA championship team.
After his two seasons at Virginia, Key played with the Delaware Blue Coats in three G League campaigns, including the 2023 championship team, while also appearing in 14 NBA games with the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons.
A 6-foot-6 forward, Okeke played in 47 games for the Magic in the 2023-24 season. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game last season.
A first-round draft choice in 2019 who missed his first season because of a knee injury, Okeke has averaged 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.3 minutes in 189 regular-season games.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
