Kofi Inkoom
San Antonio Spurs, as per Shams Charania of The Athletic, are set to release center Khem Birch.
Birch became a part of the Spurs’ roster in February when they traded Jakob Poeltl to Toronto.
Unfortunately, due to a right knee injury, Birch never had the chance to step onto the court for the Spurs, missing the entire season.
San Antonio, with 16 contracts already fully guaranteed, needed to reduce their roster size before the league-wide cutdown date on Monday.
If Birch is not claimed off waivers, the team will be responsible for his entire expiring contract, which amounts to $6,985,000.
The 31-year-old big man had a 20-game stint with Toronto last season, where he averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.1 minutes per game.
Notably, Birch went undrafted in 2014 after playing college basketball at UNLV, and he has accumulated six NBA seasons split between the Magic and the Raptors.
Upon the completion of this transaction, the Spurs will have 18 players on their preseason roster, leaving one two-way contract spot open.