The Utah Jazz made their final roster cuts Tuesday morning, releasing Isaac Austin, Justus Thigpen and Corey Crowder and retaining second-round draft pick Bryon Russell and former Dallas guard Walter Bond.
The cuts left the Jazz with 13 players, including Mark Eaton, who will likely begin the year on the injured list.Austin, drafted in the second round by the Jazz in 1991, averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in two seasons. Crowder, who played in 51 games for the Jazz in 1991-92, averaged 2.2 points a game. Thigpen, from Iowa State, played with the Jazz through the summer league and the exhibition season.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan termed the cuts some of the toughest of his career. All the young players played well during training camp and exhibition play. But the numbers were against Thigpen from the start, since John Stockton and John Crotty already occupied the point guard spot, with Jay Humphries splitting time between the guard positions.
The closest call, though, was between Crowder and Bond.
"It was a very difficult decision. Corey and Ike have been with us before," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "It's not an easy thing."
The release of Austin means the Jazz will still pay Austin's $400,000 salary for this year.
Though Austin is a veteran, his release wasn't a surpise. The coaching staff complained for two years that Austin hadn't learned to control his weight and get in top condition. Austin said the coaches wanted him to trim down to 275 pounds. But going into last weekend's exhibition trip he weighed 287.
"It came down to us three and he just had to let us go," said Austin, referring to himself, Thigpen and Crowder. "The team has got to do what it's got to do. It's something I don't have any control over."
He continued, "I'm not going to make my head drop. I'm a young player and I've just got to go somehwere else to play."
Austin said he couldn't say whether he got a fair chance to make this year's team. `I can't really answer that. They probably gave me a chance," he said.
However, he hinted that weight shouldn't have been an issue. "When you have a player who plays hard and can run the floor and wants to play, why not play him?" said Austin. "But things happen."
Sloan said weight wasn't the entire reason for cutting Austin. "The more wee talked, we just felt we had to go in a different direction."
Bond, a 2-guard who played with Dallas all last year, played exceptionally well in practice and showed his NBA experience. "We just thought Walter's overall situation was a little better," said Sloan.
Russell earned his spot by hard work, Sloan said. "He put himself on the team by the way he played," said Sloan.
Utah's opening-day roster includes John Stockton, Jay Humphries, John Crotty, Jeff Malone, Tyrone Corbin, David Benoit, Karl Malone, Tom Chambers, Luther Wright, Felton Spencer, Russell and Bond. Eaton is expected to begin the year on the injured list.