The Golden State Warriors on Monday waived injured center Mikki Moore, thereby creating the roster room to keep rookie big man Chris Hunter.
The Warriors were granted a special exemption by the league to sign an extra player in November because of a spate of injuries that wiped out nearly half of their 15-man roster. They promptly chose Hunter out of the D-League.
But players who fill a temporary 16th roster spot cannot be playing on a guaranteed contract. With Hunter's minimum contract due to become guaranteed for the rest of the season Jan. 10, Golden State was forced to make a decision this week.
The Warriors' options were waiving Moore to keep Hunter as their 15th man or waiving Hunter and trying to re-sign him to a 10-day contract after he cleared waivers. The risk there, though, is that Hunter might have been claimed by another team before the Warriors had the chance to re-sign him.
Moore's $1.3 salary for the season was fully guaranteed, but a heel injury that required Dec. 18 surgery is expected to sideline the 34-year-old into March. Moore still hopes to sign with another team before the end of the season.
Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.