Dawkins Waived

The Vipers waived Kenny Dawkins today. The 5-9 point guard out of Lamar averaged 2.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and one assist in 10.6 minutes of work over the course of eight games.

The Vipers have not announced a corresponding roster move, and there is no guarantee that there'll be one.

An NBA Development League team can carry a 10-man roster, not including the first two NBA-assignees. Each NBA team can assign up to two players at a time, except in single-affiliation situations, where the limit is four. Still for a team like the Vipers, there's rarely the worry of having to waive a guy because the parents clubs are sending so many players down (do you really think the Rockets, or any team really, are going to send three or four players down at the same time? They're limited to a 15-man roster, including injured players and NBA-assignees (we can debate the ridiculousness of that all we want, but until the next Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations (next year), we're stuck with that), and not only do they to have players to play, but extra guys for practice purposes as well as protection and depth. With Yao out and McGrady on leave, the Rockets are down from 15 to 13 players. Joey Dorsey's with the Vipers, so now that number is 12. You see where I'm going with this?).

However, that doesn't mean the Vipers have to carry 11 players while Joey Dorsey is here.

Dawkins hasn't been playing much, and with the acquisitions of Will Conroy and Craig Winder, Dawkins wasn't going to get to play, barring multiple injuries. Waiving Dawkins gives him an opportunity to latch on elsewhere and get a chance to play.

If the Vipers do acquire a player to take Dawkins, it figures to be a big man, but those are hard to come by. Besides, right now, the Vipers are clicking on all cylinders and they aren't going to play more than 10 players in a game. So they don't have to make a move. They might, but perhaps only if the right players comes along.

After all, the Vipers are currently sitting at #2 on the Waiver list, meaning they'll have a chance to get a pretty good player, should one become available. If the #1 team (Sioux Falls) takes someone, then the Vipers become #1. Regardless of whether the Vipers make a move and drop to the bottom of the list or stand pat, they'll become #1 if Mike Harris remains on the Houston Rockets roster long enough for his contract to become guaranteed.

There are a lot of interesting things in the rules, but the long and short of it is, the Vipers will have the ability to get one and maybe two solid players off waivers if they become available. Waiving Dawkins isn't a prelude to anything because, if it was, the moves would have been simultaneously. This is simply a move to give a guy who wasn't playing a chance to go somewhere to play and develop so he'll have a shot at the next level.

A tip of the cap to the Vipers for not simply hiding Dawkins on the bench for the extra depth. I wish Dawkins all of the luck in the world. He's a nice guy. A quiet guy. Goes about his business the right way. I always root for those guys to succeed.