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The Los Angeles Lakers have officially waived undrafted rookie forward Elias Harris, the team announced Friday. Harris had been assigned to the team's D-League affiliate the D-Fenders, along with Ryan Kelly. Harris played in two games for the Lakers for a total of 11 minutes. The only stat he registered was one offensive rebound.
This brings the Lakers' roster count down from the NBA's maximum capacity of 15 to 14. He was the team's lone holdover from their 2013 Las Vegas Summer League roster and was signed to a two-year, minimum contract.
Only $100,000 of the first year was guaranteed to Harris with no guarantee date on the remaining $390,180 of the first year. His second year, worth $816,482, would become fully guaranteed if he was not waived on or before June 30, 2014, according to ShamSports.
Dividing up the $490,180 worth of salary in the first year of his contract between 82 games shows Harris was earning roughly $5,977 per game. The Lakers have played 16 games on the year, bringing his total earned up to $95,632 of the total $100,000 the Lakers had guaranteed him. In short, the maximum amount of salary the Lakers were on the hook for with Harris was already met. Had they not waived him he would break the $100,000 threshold he was due.
Still, this opens up a roster spot to take on an additional player via trade or seek out an unsigned free agent. The team is not currently linked to any trade or free agent rumors. This does not necessarily indicate the Lakers have a move lined up and could have been solely a financial decision, as pointed out by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
