Former Duke swingman Chris Carrawell had the wind knocked out of his sails a little less than four months ago at the NBA draft. Yesterday, he downright crashed and burned.
The reigning ACC player of the year, who was clearly disappointed when he slid to 41st at the June 28 draft in Minneapolis, Minn., was waived yesterday by San Antonio as the Spurs continue to narrow their roster one week prior to the regular season. Reports from the San Antonio Express-News indicate that Carrawell, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, is currently pursuing a possible roster opening with Atlanta, where he could reunite with former Blue Devil teammate Roshown McLeod.
"Chris knew he was fighting for a spot," Lon Babby, Carrawell's agent, told the Express-News. "And he thought he had earned it with the way he had played recently. I think he feels confident he can play in the league, and he's going to keep trying.
"He's not bitter toward San Antonio. He's thankful for the opportunity."
That opportunity was not exactly welcomed with open arms by Carrawell back in June, when the first-team All-American felt more than a little slighted after falling out of the first round of the draft. Pre-draft rumors suggested that the Charlotte Hornets had Carrawell pegged at the 19th overall pick, but the Hornets balked at the chance to take the 6-foot-6 small forward when Kentucky's Jamaal Magloire remained on the board.
Every other team in the league, with the Spurs the lone exception, quickly followed suit, and Carrawell plummeted 22 picks in an embarrassing evening that weeks later he would call the absolute "worst." But in Carrawell, the Spurs felt they had a winner, so much so that assistant general manager R.C. Buford said the team tried to trade up during the draft to ensure the former Blue Devil did not go somewhere else.
Yesterday, the Spurs apparently realized what the league's 28 other teams knew during the week leading up to the draft.
"It was a real difficult decision to make," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told the Express-News. "But it's one that we're tasked to make at some point. We made the decision and obviously wish him well.
"You don't expect people in the second round to make a big impact on the team. There are a lot of second-round draft picks who aren't in the league."
Carrawell's release reportedly resulted from a sub-par showing at the summer league in Boston. Carrawell responded to his struggles by telling the Express-News earlier in camp that his mind was still focused on his disappointing draft. He rebounded in the preseason by scoring 5.6 points per game, including two 10-point outings, thus far in five games, but his efforts did little to sway the Spurs, who instead chose to stick with rookie small forward Ira Newble.
Carrawell, who signed a two-year contract with the first year guaranteed, will still receive a large percentage of his $316,969 rookie-minimum salary.
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