Jazz waive Henderson; more moves uncertain

MINNEAPOLIS — NBA teams are permitted to carry up to 15 players, 12 active and three inactive.

The Jazz on Friday waived recently acquired forward Alan Henderson, reducing their roster count to 13 — and giving them extra room to grow.

What they do with that space, if anything, remains to be seen. And that's because Jerry Sloan isn't sure if he wants to make an addition.

One reason not to, he suggests, is because when all of his current players are healthy it's already too tough for him to inform one of them not to dress for a particular game.

"I don't like to have to tell a player every night that he's not going to be on the active list," the Jazz coach said. "You feel like you're being the bad guy, and I don't like that."

Sloan calls is "a very uncomfortable situation," and said while "our guys have been good," some "get dejected a little bit."

On the receiving end of the bad news prior to Friday's win at Minnesota was healthy rookie Ronnie Brewer, who was made inactive for the first time in his career.

That leaves rookie Paul Millsap and veterans Derek Fisher and Jarron Collins as the only Jazz players — whether because of injury, or coach's choice — who haven't been inactive at one point or another this season.

Meanwhile, C.J. Miles took Brewer's spot on the active roster Friday after sitting out Wednesday's win at Memphis.

"It's not a big deal," Sloan said. "It's not anything personal or anything. I wish everybody would dress. I've never really liked the rule — but we all have to live with it."

NEVER KNEW YOU: The 34-year-old Henderson came from Philadelphia on the NBA's in-season trade deadline day last week, but he never did join the Jazz.

He does, though, join Glen Rice and Elden Campbell on the list of veterans the Jazz have traded for in the past — only to waive them before ever reporting because they never planned to keep them in the first place.

Jazz basketball boss Kevin O'Connor makes the deals when other teams are looking to dump salary from their accounting books. Utah benefits by ridding themselves of players they don't want (John Amaechi in Rice's case; Carlos Arroyo in Campbell's case), and/or helping itself in future drafts.