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Thunder waive C Daniel Orton

By Brad Rowland

Jan 18, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Daniel Orton (33) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Daniel Orton (33) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 18, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Daniel Orton (33) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Daniel Orton (33) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

In a move that looks to be a pure roster-trimming situation, the Oklahoma City Thunder have waived center Daniel Orton.

Here is the part of the text of the press release from the team:

"The Oklahoma City Thunder waived center Daniel Orton, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti.Orton appeared in 13 games with the Thunder during the 2012-13 season, averaging 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per contest."

Well, that is short and sweet. Orton’s career has really taken a nosedive since his early college exit from Kentucky, and he’s never been able to get his footing in either Orlando or Oklahoma City. The 6-foot-10 center (who is a dead ringer for point guard Russell Westbrook) is still only 23 years old, and he has all of the physical tools that you could imagine from a budding NBA center. However, the skill set has been the issue, and his “raw” profile out of college has never been refined.

For the Thunder, this move gets them down to 16 players on their roster, but with no obvious cut on that list, Sam Presti and company are still charged with making one more difficult decision. My money is on them to make the right move, but in the case of Orton, I don’t believe he’ll be out of work long.

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