Open roster spot could be filled on "cut down day"

A week from Thursday, all non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals become fully guaranteed unless teams waive those players before the end of business that day, January 10.

With a roster spot open, thanks to Josh Childress' request, the Nets will likely wait until then to decide whether to sign someone and to what kind of deal. Teams can sign players to 10-day contracts on January 7. The Nets would also like to preserve their options for January 15. On that day, every player on the roster can be traded.

So who's out there? There are of course a couple of players already waived and available: Daequan Cook, the 6'5" three point specialist likely to be dumped Monday by the Rockets, is one. Another player ready and willing to sign is Donte Greene, the 6'11" small forward who the Nets invited to training camp but who then suffered a broken ankle in a pick-up game. He says he's recovered and looking for tryouts. How able is one question. (So is some bad publicity.)

But the bigger pool will wait until January 10. A review of salary data suggests a number of players who teams will have to decide on, including: Nate Robinson of the Bulls, Samardo Samuels of the Cavaliers, Greg Smith and Scott Machado of the Rockets, DeAndre Liggins of the Thunder, Anthony Tolliver of the Hawks, Ben Hansbrough of the Pacers, Jamaal Tinsley of the Jazz, Shaun Livingston of the Cavaliers, Terrel Harris and Josh Harrellson of the Heat, DaQuan Jones of the Magic. Some others who are 10-day deals may also be available, including Jarvis Varnado of the Celtics.

If the Cavs want to save two million dollars on Daniel "Boobie" Gibson, he could be available as well. He's out with a concussion. If he's cut, teams could bid for his services, but he's unlikely to get more than the vets minimum.

The list is not all inclusive and in some cases, contract data may be incomplete. Nor is it certain who will be cut. There were reports in the Chicago press that Robinson won't make it. But it's hard to believe the Rockets would dump Smith. Over the years, the Nets have expressed a varying degree of interest in some of the lesser lights: Liggins and Harrellson when they were at Kentucky, Ben Hansbrough coming out of Notre Dame,Scott Machado who they looked at seriously during the June Draft.

It's always possible the Nets will pass on all of them, but Billy King and Bobby Marks have signed a number of 10-day contracts the last two year, most notably Gerald Green. They can take the risk.