Before tipping off against the Lakers tonight in LA, the New Orleans Pelicans will be without a few familiar faces. Forward Lance Thomas, the epitome of an "energy" and "hustle" player, was released today by the Pelicans, as was big man Arinze Onuaka.

Thomas, who has spent portions of the last three seasons in New Orleans, tweeted about his release earlier today.

twitter/slangmagic
twitter/slangmagic
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With the team off to a 3-4 start, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps decided to shake up the roster.

Thomas and Onuaku's release opened up two roster spots for veteran small forward Josh Childress and veteran power forward Lou Amundson. Both were a shoot around this morning at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Childress sent out the following tweet after practice.

twitter/@JChillin
twitter/@JChillin
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Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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Childress is a 7 year NBA veteran, who also played three seasons in Greece for the Olympiacos Piraeus between 2008-2010. Before playing in Greece, Childress spent 5 seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Since returning to the U.S., he has played for both the Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets.

Amundson is a 7 year journeyman, who has played for 9 different clubs, including the New Orleans Hornets at the end of last season.

Amundson will likely earn more minutes than Childress, based purely on numbers. New Orleans released two frontcourt players today, and are already thin in that area (Ryan Anderson has yet to play this season as he recovers from toe injury).

On the wing, the Pelicans already have Al-Farouq Aminu, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Anthony Morrow, Austin Rivers, and Darius Miller (injured foot, has yet to play this season). Point guards Jrue Holiday and Brian Roberts can also play off the ball for spurts.

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