Rockets Ex Usman Garuba Cut by Thunder; NBA Career Over?
A former member of the Houston Rockets is looking for a new home.
According to the team, the Oklahoma City Thunder has waived former Rockets forward Usman Garuba.
Garuba, the No. 23 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, was drafted by the Rockets and played his first two seasons in the league with Houston. This summer, he was traded alongside point guard TyTy Washington to the Atlanta Hawks. Just days later, the pair was traded to OKC.
Washington was cut over the weekend after the team tried to trim down the roster ahead of training camp, and now Garuba became the next domino to fall.
Despite missing nearly all of his rookie campaign and summer league in 2022, Garuba said he used the time spent on the sidelines to learn the game from afar ahead of his second season.
Garuba spent the 2022-23 season as a rotational player backing up Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. in 75 games. He averaged 4.1 rebounds and 3.0 points.
Now that he's been cut by the Thunder, Garuba has about a month left before training camp begins and he could sign with another team. However, given his European roots, there's a chance he may return overseas.
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