Cavs waive DeSagana Diop, Elliot Williams, 2 others

Oct 8, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Olek Czyz (15) defends Cleveland Cavaliers center DeSagana Diop (5) in the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

It was a very entertaining story in the preseason to see long-time NBA center DeSagana Diop coming “home” to the team that drafted him in Cleveland, but it was a short-lived stay with the Cavs.

ROSTER UPDATE: #Cavs waive Diop, Kadji, Taylor and Williams. Roster now stands at 15. [MORE] http://t.co/KOwD5RC7hT
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 25, 2013

The now 31-year-old Diop was taken with the #8 overall pick in the 2001 Draft out of Oak Hill Academy, and despite being a bit of a “bust” in terms of expectations, the 7-footer has been in the NBA ever since. It wasn’t a shock to see him cut by the team (he had a non-guaranteed deal), but his presence would have given them a bit of insurance behind the oft-injured Andrew Bynum.

In addition to Diop, the team cut ties with Elliot Williams, Kenny Kadji and Jermaine Taylor to get their roster down to 15 before the NBA’s opening night deadline. Williams has been a colossal disappointment (mostly due to injury) since being selected in the 1st round by the Blazers, while Kadji and Taylor weren’t considered to be legitimate threats to make the team out of camp.

7-footers who can protect the rim don’t grow on trees, especially in today’s NBA, and I don’t think Diop will be unemployed for long.

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