Sacramento Kings wish Anthony Tolliver happy birthday, then cut him

Yes, the Sacramento Kings wished forward Anthony Tolliver a happy birthday on Thursday and then waived him only a few hours later on the same day.

In all fairness, the Sacramento Kings probably did the right thing on both fronts. Of course you have to wish one of your players happy birthday! Veteran forward Anthony Tolliver turned 32 years old on Thursday, June 1. The Kings even took to Twitter to help celebrate his birthday.

However, there was a slight problem with choosing to be nice on Thursday morning. Tolliver was a tad too expensive for the Kings’ taste. By cutting him from the club on the June 1 deadline, they’d only have to play $2 million of his 2017-18 NBA salary.

So yes, you read that correctly. The Kings wished Tolliver a happy birthday and then cut him before sundown. It was really awkward, but when has anything the Kings have done for the last decade plus not been awkward?

The Kings almost wasted six hours on the inevitable. Had they not wished him a happy birthday, it would have definitely taken the internet at least a day or two to connect the dots. Since this is the same Sacramento organization that completely forgot about the mid-level exception that one time, are you surprised?

Tolliver is an eight-year veteran out of Creighton University. He has been with nine organizations, having never been with one club for more than two years. Tolliver played 65 games for the Kings in 2016-17 NBA, averaging 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He shot 44.2 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three.

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Tolliver will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Since his is able to stretch the floor with his smooth stroke from distance and can play either forward position, he could make somebody’s bench better. Perhaps not being on the hapless Kings anymore is the best birthday present Tolliver could ever ask for?