Noel and Alex got cut

[Kori Ellis]

Noel Felix and Alex Scales got cut on the final cut from the Sonics this morning :(

Oh well. Noel made it a lot further than I thought he would. He'll try for other teams and then if not, stay in the CBA or NBDL this season.

[SpursWoman]

:depressed

[Kori Ellis]

They considered cutting a player with a guaranteed contract to keep him, but I guess ownership didn't go for that. :(

He'll be alright though.

[boutons]

but to stay in the NBDL, doesn't he need to be signed by an NBA team and sent down?
or do the NBDL teams do their own contracts independent of NBA contracts?

[Kori Ellis]

do the NBDL teams do their own contracts independent of NBA contracts?

Yes. The majority of players in the NBDL won't be players sent down from the NBA -- they'll be regular independent players. It's not a pure farm system yet.

[angel_luv]

Aw! = ( Sorry Noel!

I am sure he will make a team soon though! =)

[exstatic]

If he was that close to making the squad on a WC playoff team, he'll probably get picked up some time this season. I would think that the D-League would be a pretty good place to get noticed.

[ducks]

spurs here is your guy

[Kori Ellis]

His agent already has a couple other NBA teams asking about him. I'll know he'll be fine and I know that he progressed a lot in the last few months.

But I talk to him everyday about 20 times a day on email, text or the phone, so I'm still super sad because I really wanted him to make it :cry It was a long shot from the start -- 7 players vying for 1 spot. And the guy who ended up with the spot (Mateen) had been with the team before and was rumored to have a partial guarantee. So it was a tough task.

[angel_luv]

It's rough to get cut after making it so far, but he should be really proud too.
He did well. =)

[xcoriate]

^ Yeah agreed. Getting that far is nothing to scoff at. They sure did keep him around a long time, they were certainly thinking about it.

[Kori Ellis]

Yeah, I know. It still sucks but I'm proud him and he's proud of himself.

They were trying to turn him into a small forward after playing power forward his whole life. So it's not an easy transition. He'll be okay. I'm probably sadder than he is :) Either way, it's good that he only got cut a few hours ago and other NBA teams are already calling his agent.

Anyway, he just turned 24. If he has to play one more year in CBA/DLeague, it's not that tragic.

He had a fun summer. He got to play for Team USA and make it to an NBA training camp and play in five preseason games.

[ducks]

this guy seems to be better then what the spurs had

maybe they would be willing to pay more for him
offer him a partial guarantee and they could cut him later if they do not want to pay tax

[FromWayDowntown]

If he's making that transition as a means to make an NBA roster, the Sonics might have done him a huge favor. At least this way, he'll get a chance to play everyday and the opportunity to develop those skills not only in practice but in games as well. It's not as glamorous (or as luctrative) as sitting on an NBA bench, but in the same way that the Spurs did Devin a favor by releasing him and allowing him to go back to the NBDL for one last non-NBA season (which made him a better player), Noel has the opportunity to get better and become a regular, rather than a marginal, end-of-the-bench guy.

[spurschick]

Sorry to hear he got cut, but I'm sure we'll see him again soon. :spin

[lilmads]

Sorry about him getting cut.. If he made it that far I'm sure he can do it...
I predict we'll be hearing something from you about him soon:)

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Bummer.

[Das Texan]

sucks for noel...


good that teams are after him. too bad we wouldnt sign him up and let him get a year of time in the spurs system to really see the kind of player he can be.