Xavier Henry Released by Lakers: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Hoping to add another big man, the Los Angeles Lakers have waived Xavier Henry.     

ESPN's Marc Stein first reported the news:

Henry's release opened up a roster spot, which the Lakers was filled with Tarik Black, whom the Houston Rockets waived after adding Josh Smith:

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski believes that adding Black is a smart move for Los Angeles:

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne added that the Lakers were close to offloading Henry earlier in the year:

The 23-year-old guard/forward appeared in nine games this year, averaging 2.2 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 9.6 minutes a night. In November, Henry ruptured his left Achilles tendon, thus ruling him out for the rest of the 2014-15 NBA season.

Henry is earning a base salary of $1,082,000 this year, per Spotrac.com. If another team claims Henry off waivers in the next 48 hours, the Lakers will be off the hook for the remainder of his contract.

Given his injury, it's more likely that he'll clear waivers, thus keeping him on Los Angeles' books this year.