Two NBA rings weren’t enough to help Adam Morrison earn a place on the Wizards’ roster. The former No. 3 overall draft pick was waived by Washington on Thursday along with center Sean Marks.
Morrison, who was on the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers the last two seasons, made four preseason appearances for the Wizards, averaging 5.0 points and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range.
Morrison turned down other opportunities to sign with the Wizards in September and see whether he could establish himself in a crowded competition at small forward.
Marks, a New Zealand native who has played for five different NBA teams in 10 seasons, injured a hamstring during training camp and didn’t make any appearances during the preseason.
Thursday’s cuts did not shed any light on the outlook for the Wizards’ three remaining nonguaranteed players — Lester Hudson, Cartier Martin and Hamady Ndiaye — but could be an indication that Josh Howard, the presumed starter at small forward when healthy, is closer to returning from his knee injury than his original late-November, early-December timeline.
“There’s no question he can still play and be effective,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said of Morrison. “But the way our numbers were and everything else — Josh is a little bit ahead of schedule. Where we think he is, he’s moving pretty well, and so it’s probably not going to be as long as maybe everyone anticipated.”
The Wizards’ roster is down to 15 players with a week to go before the team’s Oct. 28 regular-season opener at Orlando.
