National Basketball Association

Utah Jazz Waive Big Man Henry Sims

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

With the preseason in the rearview mirror and opening night less than one week away, the Utah Jazz trimmed down their roster, waiving center Henry Sims.

The 2016-17 NBA season is set to tip-off in a matter of days and the Utah Jazz are making their final preparations for opening night. For Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey, that means that difficult personnel decisions must be made as he works to finalize the roster.

To that end, another domino has fallen.

The team announced on Thursday that center Henry Sims had been cut from the roster. Following the move, the Jazz roster stands at 16 meaning one more player must be waived to get to the league maximum of 15 players.

Jazz Waive Henry Sims

Details: https://t.co/QQ6oHBf5BP pic.twitter.com/exMpcQliEP

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 20, 2016

Sims, 26, signed a deal with the Jazz for training camp last month. He went on to appear in three preseason games with the club, averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in just over six minutes per contest.

The 6-foot-10, 248-pound big man had been presumably been competing with the incumbent Jeff Withey for a spot on the roster as the team’s fifth big. However, given Gordon Hayward’s broken finger and Alec Burks’ continuing rehab process, the team could opt to keep an extra wing instead.

In that scenario, Chris Johnson could find himself on the squad with Derrick Favors, Trey Lyles, Joel Bolomboy and Boris Diaw covering minutes in the pivot behind Rudy Gobert.

Johnson had a good preseason for the Jazz, averaging five points and 2.3 rebounds in just 11 minutes per game. He also shot 53 percent from the field, had a net rating over 34 and a PER of 22.62.

Moreover, he exhibited the same energy and defensive intensity that kept him on the roster last season.