Memphis Grizzlies waive former two-year Duke basketball player Matthew Hurt
It’s hard to blame Matthew Hurt for choosing the pro route over what would have been a third Duke basketball campaign this season. After all, he averaged 18.3 points and 6.2 rebounds for the 2020-21 Blue Devils on his way to becoming the ACC Most Improved Player and landing on the All-ACC First Team.
Even so, Hurt went undrafted in July after posting some lousy numbers in the quickness and body-fat departments at the NBA Combine. The 21-year-old then joined the Houston Rockets via a two-way contract, which suggested he had a legit chance to play several NBA games this season. But he averaged only 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds during Summer League action before getting cut.
Hurt then got another shot by inking an Exhibit 10 deal with the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this month. However, the franchise must not have liked what they saw from the 6-foot-9, 235-pound power forward enough to put him on the opening day roster and waived him on Saturday.