Trail Blazers Moves
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers waived veteran guards Nick Van Exel and Derek Anderson on Wednesday.
The Blazers chose not to retain Van Exel for the last non-guaranteed year of his contract. Van Exel averaged 10.7 points and 4.3 assists and made 39 starts last season before going on the injured list March 12 with left knee pain. The 12-year veteran was acquired in a 2004 offseason trade that sent forward Dale Davis and guard Dan Dickau to Golden State.
The 34-year-old Van Exel also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 15 points and 6.9 assists in his career.
Anderson will be designated as the team's amnesty player under the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, allowing the Blazers to release him and remove his contract amount from the team's salary cap for purposes of calculating the luxury tax.
``Given the direction of the team and Derek's limited availability in recent years, we felt this was the best solution for all parties,'' Blazers general manager John Nash said. ``This move gives us additional cap flexibility and minutes for our younger players.''
Anderson, an eight-year NBA veteran, averaged 9.2 points with the Blazers last season but had a variety of injuries. The Blazers say they will honor the final two years of Anderson's contract, and he can sign with another team.
