Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 2

- Akin Akingbala

Akingbala came out of nowhere to be a decent rebounder and defender for Clemson in his senior season, and was a training camp invite of the Celtics in 2006 as a result. After that he went to the D-League for a bit, and has spent the last three years touring Europe. He is currently with Nancy in France (pronounced Noncy, which is even funnier), averaging 11.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in the French league. Akingbala exclusively does "big man things", as evidenced by his 47% FT shooting and 2 assists all year. But as athletic interior players go, you could do worse. The King Baller also put up a 9 points, 7 rebounds, 8 blocks statline earlier this month, which is not bad going.



- Cenk Akyol

After at least 7 years there, Akyol finally left Efes Pilsen in his native Turkey this summer, and moved to Italy to join Air Avellino. He missed six weeks due to injury, and has appeared in only 6 of 11 Serie A games for the team, but he's averaging 7.0 points and 2.2 steals in 21 minutes per game. The 17% three point shooting is not a great start, and nor is the 5 total assists, but Akyol is still young. He's only 22. Feels like he shouldn't be by now.



- Chris Alexander

D-League veteran and occasional NBA flirt Alexander has ditched both of those on-off girlfriends in favour of going to South Korea. Playing for the LG Sakers, Alexander averages 14.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 28 minutes per game, shooting 65% from the field and 61% from the foul line.The South Korean league plays a heeyooooge, NBA-like amount of games; opening night was on October 17th, and LG have already played 30 games in those two mere months. All that court time and all those statistics are part of the reason why fringe and former NBA players like to go there; a longer breakdown of the South Korean Experience can be found by clicking the words South Korean Experience.



- Cory Alexander

Alexander fell out of the NBA in 2001 after bouncing between Denver, San Antonio and Orlando for a few years, but he didn't hitch on straight away with the first six figure European contract that he could get. Instead, he sat out the 2001/02 season, and then went to the D-League for a year, where he starred as a veteran amongst whippersnappers and built himself a new CV. Alexander DID sign in Italy with Lottomatica Roma for the 2003/04 season, and performed pretty well for a Euroleague-calibre team, but the D-League came first for Alexander (and also afterwards; he went back there or the 2004/05 season too). Seemingly it worked, because Alexander DID get back into the league, playing a few games for the expansion Bobcats as Brevin Knight's mentor (maybe). This Bobcats gig was also Alexander's last, and he now works as a radio announcer for University of Virginia games.



- Courtney Alexander

Of all the people I've tried to find out about, Courtney Alexander has been the hardest. He hasn't played in the NBA since the 2nd of May 2003, and he never played outside of it. He spent the whole 2003/04 season on the injured list, and although he signed with the Kings in October 2004 and made the team for three weeks, he spent all that time on the injured list and never played for them. Alexander's only other NBA contract was a training camp invite to the Nuggets in 2006, where he did not make the team. He has not played since, nor has he been found since. And I've done a lot of looking.

Finally found him, though; he and his wife has set up a foundation called "CA Press", a foundation seemingly set on both academic and spiritual excellence. The foundation is advertised as being "non-profit", but given that his wife seems to have given up a career in order to help run it (according to the About page), then clearly they're turning some kind of trade from it.

A quick Facebook search for "Courtney Alexander" reveals a lot of fairly good looking women, interspersed with the occasional stunner. It's worth a gander if you're a misogynist.



- Shagari Alleyne

Shagari Alleyne started this season in Norway. I told you about this at the time, but no one would fault you for not noticing. He left the team (Tromso) before playing a game, and came back to America, where he signed with the D-League and was taken in the fifth round of the draft by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds released him without so much as a whimper before the season started, and a couple of weeks ago, Alleyne signed with the Halifax Rainmen in Canada, who play in the Premier Basketball League. You'll notice we don't cover Norway and the Premier Basketball League on here as a rule.

In his first game with the Rainmen, Alleyne put up 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 16 minutes. In his second game the following night, Alleyne put up 3 points and 0 rebounds in 8 minutes. In the third game, he perked up a bit, totalling 8 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks in 19 minutes off the bench, in a PBL game against the Vermont Frost Heaves that the Rainmen won by 45 points. What's a Frost Heave?

Teammates of his that you may have heard of include former Blazer Desmond Ferguson, former NBA draft pick and middle aged man Gordon Malone, as well as D-League veterans John Strickland and Gary Ervin. But that's about it. Lest it needs to be said, PBL basketball is not strong. (Nor is Norwegian league basketball.) The intent of the PBL is to surpass the ABA, and they're doing fairly well at that, mainly because they have infinitely more sensible expansion credentials. But it's still not significant to the NBA landscape, which is what this website is supposed to focus on. I realise that that's a silly thing to say when talking about Shagari Alleyne, however. Never mind. Let's move on.



- Lance Allred

Allred, a D-League veteran, turned down the D-League this year to try and get some money. He initially signed with Napoli in Italy, but got out of there just in time. (More on their downfall later.) Allred then signed with Scavolini Pesaro for two months, another SerieA team, but in 4 games he totalled only 42 minutes, 21 points (on 22 shots), 16 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 0 assists and 9 fouls, shooting 46% from the field and 20% from the foul line. He last played on November 1st, and left in late November when his 60 day contract expired.

I still haven't bought his book, but you still should. He's writing another one, although this time it's a work of historical fiction. There's also apparently a book of poems on the way.



- Morris Almond

Almond went to camp with the Magic, a team who at least understand that you can never have too much jumpshooting. Us bandwagon Bulls fans have made quite a song and dance this year about how bad our three point shooting has been; so would you if you replace Ben Gordon's soothingly sensual buttery touch with the claw-like scratchings of rabid feline John Salmons. But they are only actually tied for 26th in the league in three point percentage with Memphis, and three teams (New Jersey, Detroit and Minnesota) are somehow even worse. There are also 9 teams in the league shooting .318% or worse from three point range this season. Why is this the case? It needn't be. The world of basketball did not run out of shooters. The NBA just stopped getting them. What a stupid stat that is.

Anyway, the Magic didn't keep Almond, because a taxpaying team already with J.J. Redick doesn't need him. So Almond went back to the D-League with the Springfield Armor, for whom he is averaging 28.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.8 turnovers. Sounds about right.




- Alade Aminu

After going undrafted, Aminu was picked up by the Miami Heat for training camp, but he never really had a chance of making the team and was an early cut. He then went to the D-League and was picked 10th overall by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who then immediately traded him to the Erie BayHawks in exchange for Rob Kurz. At Erie, Aminu is averaging only 10.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 24 minutes a game. For a supposed Chris Andersen type, that's a mediocre start to a professional career.



- Alan Anderson

Anderson signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv fantastically early on this summer, and he's still there. In the Euroleague, Anderson is averaging 13.1 points, 3.3 fouls, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 25 minutes per game, and in the Israeli league he's averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18 minutes a game. There have been rumours a-flying about Maccabi potentially getting rid of him, but rumours like that have accompanied many Maccabi players this year, especially Maciej Lampe. And neither has left yet.

Speaking of Maccabi, if anyone was wondering if Derrick Sharp went back there for a 14th consecutive season, the answer is yes.



- Derek Anderson

Anderson's last basketball employment was with the Bobcats back in 2007. He has not signed anywhere since, and nor has he been linked to anyone. Anderson recently signed up to join a program at the University of Kentucky that helps former players complete their degrees, as has Ron Mercer.

Summer league round-up: Los Angeles Lakers

View the Lakers summer league roster.

I've not heard of several of these people. Should enjoy this.

- Alan Anderson: Anderson has been on the fringes of the NBA for quite a while. He spent parts of two seasons with the Bobcats, playing in 53 games, and spent last summer on the Grizzlies VSL team. After failing to make the team, he signed in Russia with Triumph (the team perhaps better known last summer for the big contract they gave Nenad Krstic.....briefly), but left during midseason and joined Cibona Zagreb. There, he averaged 16.2ppg, 6.8rpg and 2.8apg in the Croatian league, alongside 18.4ppg, 5.6rpg and 2.1apg in the Adriatic league. However, he left Cibona last month, because they weren't able to afford is contract demands for next season, and Anderson has already signed for next season with Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

I'm not sure why he's even bothering with summer league, to be honest; his Maccabi contract does have an NBA-escape clause, meaning that he can get out of it if an NBA team comes a-calling later this summer, but that might not be preferable. His Maccabi contract also calls for him to be paid $800,000 next year - which, remember, is a net sum - and sees him in a guest guitarist role for one of the biggest bands in showbiz today. I'm not sure why he'd jeopardise that for the chance to sit on the bench behind Kobe Bryant, Sasha Vujacic and Shannon Brown. But, good luck to him I guess.

- Aron Baynes: Baynes is a centre with dual Australian and New Zealian citizenship [Zealandish? Zealish? Zealandolian? On a postcard, if you would] who recently graduated from Washingon State university. In his senior season, Baynes averaged 12.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, on handsome percentage of 58% and 77%. He also has legit NBA size (being listed as 6'11 and 270lbs), plays physically, and is a post player through and through. However, he too has already signed elsewhere, catching on with the slightly bankrupt defending Eurocup champions, Lietuvos Rytas. The Lakers appear to have adopted a weird approach to summer league this year.

- Dominique Coleman: Coleman is a former Colorado Buffaloes guard who was last with the Colorado 14ers of the D-League. The Nuggets clearly weren't too interested, though. Coleman's D-League numbers from last year are pretty freaking impressive; in 50 games, the 6'3 guard averaged 15.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.9 steals, shooting 50% from the field and 41% from three point range. This is particularly impressive when you consider that he'd played for three teams in Finland the previous season. Another year like the last one, Dominique, and you'll be famous.

- Chinemelu Elonu: When I watched Texas A&M last year, I saw Junior Elonu and thought "if anyone on this team is going to play in the NBA, it'll be him". He had decent defensive instincts, a mechanical and unattractive but fledgling offensive game, and the strength to make up for his comparative lack of size. Given an ever-present need to quench the NBA's thirst for defensive minded centres, I figured he might be on the radar down the road as someone who might be able to do a decent impression of the 2008 Adonal Foyle at some point. But that doesn't mean that I thought he had NBA talent.

- Tony Gaffney: Gaffney's numbers last year are pretty brilliant: 11.5ppg, 10.2rpg, 1.7apg, 2.0spg and 3.8bpg, on 54% shooting. However, they came at the basketball powerhouse that is Massachusetts, which helps provide some context as to how he did that. He also only measures at 6'8 and 205, which is NBA small forward size on an interior specialist. Considering his lack of offensive ability outside of opportunity scoring and hustle, he'll be best served with a tidy European career. By the way, everything I've just written also applies to Kenneth Faried.

- Terrel Harris: Harris averaged 13.9 points and 4.8 rebounds for Oklahoma State last year, taking lots of three pointers and looking for his shot at all times. But that also describes the entire Cowboys roster last year. (PS; Marshall Moses, use your right hand some time.) Harris was a solid offensive player, not really creating a whole lot but finishing the looks he got quite well. Unfortunately, that's not really good enough at the NBA level.

- Justin Hawkins: Hawkins played for the Kings summer league team last year, but I came away from that with absolutely no idea what he was good at. He played in all 5 games, started 2 and played 100 minutes, but averaged only 5.6 points and 2.2 rebounds a game, shooting 32% from the field. He didn't leave an impression, really. He went to France for last season, where again his numbers don't really suggest anything NBA worthy: 13.3 points and 4.6 rebounds a game, on 42% shooting and 61% FT. I also hate The Darkness because their music is annoying and there's nothing cool about glam rock. So if there's a reason to view Justin Hawkins as an NBA prospect, and I've missed it, then do please let me know.

- Ben McCauley: From what I saw of McCauley last season, he either couldn't or wouldn't rotate on defense, and was slower than a paraplegic donkey in a minefield. He also wasn't strong, physical, or blessed with overwhelming NBA size. But he could shoot, and I saw him once gave a hard foul in the final two seconds of a blowout loss that sparked an enjoyable multi-player punch-up. So my impressions of him are mixed, with some great high points.

- David Monds: In keeping with the Lakers policy of bringing in players for summer league who have already signed elsewhere for next season, we now have David Monds, who has already signed somewhere for next year. Or at least, I thought he had; I forgot to write down where, and now I can't find it. Lest we forget, this website is amateurish.

Monds is another former Oklahoma State player, who was kind of an afterthought role player in college, but who has done a bit better since. He last played in Puerto Rico, where he averaged 11.0 points and 7.6 rebounds for Humacao, and before that he spent the season with the Dakota Wizards and Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the D-League, averaging roughly 12/9 between the two. He'll be 26 by the start of the next season, and a solid but unspectacular 6'9, but as I write this he just scored 17 points in 14 minutes in his summer league debut. So you might like him anyway.

- Adam Morrison: Christ. It shouldn't have been THIS bad.

- Taylor Rochestie: Roschestie (with an I, not an L, to rhyme with the singular of "testes") was Baynes's team mate at Washington State for the last three years, after transferring from Tulane. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists last year, rocking a decent 2:1 assist to turnover ratio in the process. However, he also shot under 40%, and is only 6'1. If you can't shoot 40% in college at that height, you're not doing it in the NBA either. Rochestie is a fine shooter, but not an NBA calibre player.

- Luke Schenscher: Woop, it's the long overdue return of The Schensch. How could you ever leave me, you beautiful beautiful man. Luke was back in his native Australia last year, where he averaged 16.9 points per game, a league leading 10.8 rebounds per game, as well as 1.4 blocks, good for 3rd in the league. He shot 55% from the field and 75% from the foul line, which is great news if you've ever seen Luke Schenscher bank in free throws in your team's crucial first round playoff game. And I have. As for how the old school hook shot is looking these days, I couldn't say, but I imagine it to still be sheer unadulterated hardcore sex. Lakers fans, if he unfurls that bad boy in summer league play, get ready to nurse some semis.

- Mustafa Shakur: Shakur didn't have a great year last year, starting out with Tau Ceramica as the backup to Pablo Prigioni but not playing a lot, before moving to Panellinios in Greece, where he only played in the Eurocup games. In those Panellinios Eurocup games, he averaged 6.3 points and 1.2 assists on 54% shooting, which is about as much as any man can do in 11 minutes a game. But the European game isn't really suited to him, which might explain his continued desire to come home.

- Reggie Williams: Williams was with the Mavericks summer league roster last year, where he demonstrated good size and athleticism along with a penchant to get pretty damn wild at times. Williams is the best player in VMI history, leading the whole NCAA in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons. He did that without ever having a good jumpshot, which is more of a testament to the standard of competition that he faced than it is to his slashing game. Williams played in France last season, where he averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. However, he also shot 21% from three point range on over 100 attempts. So he still hasn't corrected that flaw.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 2

- Chris Alexander re-emerged as a vaguely interesting prospect last season, despite being 28 years old, after a campaign that saw him average 11.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game in the D-League for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He turned that into first a contract in the Phillipines, and then a training camp contract with Oklahoma City. As Alexander is a centre, he must have fancied his chances on the length-crazy Thunder, but he didn't make the cut. After the Phillipines thing ended (where he won the title of "Best Import" in the championship series), Alexander went back to the Skyforce this season, and averaged 6.9 points and 8.5 rebounds before leaving the team on Christmas Eve, for reasons which either weren't announced or which I can't find. More importantly, here's an update on the length of his neck.



- Shagari Alleyne is now a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. He goes by the name "Skyscraper". I think this means his NBA dream is over.

- Lance Allred was waived by the Cavaliers, and has gone back to the D-League with the Idaho Stampede. He averages 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds, and would be the most NBA-desired big man on his team were it not for the presence of Jermareo Davidson, who averages slightly better (17/11) and who is nearly four years younger. Tough break for Lance.

- Hawks draftee David Andersen has left Russia and forgotten how to rebound. For Barcelona, Andersen is averaging 10.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in nearly 22 minutes a game. The second tallest guy on the team (behind Daniel Santiago, who plays less than him), Andersen is a mere third in rebounds, comfortably behind Ersan Ilyasova (7.9 rebounds a game) and Fran Vazquez (6.5). That's not the best effort, really, and yes I know that he's playing increasingly further away from the hoop these days. Perhaps he shouldn't.

- Just this very day, it was announced that former Bobcat guard Alan Anderson has followed Nenad Krstic out of Triumph Lyubertsy of Russia, and instead signed with Cibona Zagreb. Anderson averaged 10.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals for Triumph, and presumably left because they stopped paying him. I can retract this presumption if need be.

- Derek Anderson and Shandon Anderson remain unsigned. It's basically impossible to know when players are officially retired, but I'm willing to bet that Shandon is, and that Derek is still loosely working out and waiting for the phone to ring. Meanwhile, Kenny Anderson gave it up, and is now the head coach of a Slamball team. True story.

- Rashad Anderson has broken away from his above namesakes and is playing professional basketball for Udine in Italy. Anderson leads all of Serie A with a 20.3 points per game average, but he only averages 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists to go along with that, which is something that we should use to make sweeping unfounded judgements about his selfishness. Or we could not, it's up to you.

- Én finalement, Martynas Andriuskevicius is signed with Alicante in Spain, where he averages 9.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.2 fouls a game. You know why running this website has been worthwhile? I can type Martynas Andriuskevicius without having to stop and look it up. And Wally Szczerbiak as well. Good times. I shall now experiment with lethal overdoses of needle drugs.

Summer signings, round 27

This post also written a while before being posted.

- Alan Anderson, after unsuccessfuly trying to become Memphis's 14th guard this summer, has signed with Triumph, the Russian team that earlier signed glamour model Nenad Krstic. Anderson's backcourt team mate will be former Celtic guard J.R. Bremer, who now holds a Bosnian passport and plays for their national team. ShamSports.com - News you need to know.

- Kimani Ffriend has signed with Mersin, a team in Turkey named after former alcoholic ill-toothed midfield dynamo.

- Darnell Marcus Lamar Fizer was released by Maccabi Tel-Aviv after not recovering from the knee injury that caused him to miss the end of last year. Guaranteed cone-tracts are not necessarily a bad thing. (Bonus points if anyone spots the TV show reference there.)

- In case the Eurelijus Zukauskas news from the last update wasn't niche enough for you, here's some news of former Sonics draft pick, Paccelis Morlende. Patch has signed with Ural Great, a team in Russia. As if the team name wasn't great enough, the team plays in a town called Perm, something which I hope is enforced in the town like jury duty would be. Paccelis Morlende haircut updates to follow.

- Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim announced his retirement after a long and futile effort to recouperate from a right knee injury. When the New Jersey Nets tried to make a sign and trade deal for Abdur-Rahim in August 2005, they announced the trade, and then Abdur-Rahim failed his physical because of his knee, despite having never missed a game in his NBA career because of knee trouble. The Nets were roundly mocked for this. But, you know.....I guess they were right. The trained professionals saw coming what we the public couldn't, and we held that against them. Whoops. Shareef signed with Sacramento to a five year deal after the Nets trade fell through - the Kings only got one decent year, one mediocre year, and one non-existent year out of Shareef, and now he's had to retire with two seasons left on his contract. The world owes you an apology, medical examiners.

- Stephane Lasme, recently waived by Miami, has signed with Partizan Belgrade, a Belgradian team that don't have a red star for a logo. This news will hit some Golden State Warriors fans hard, still bitter from the day that their team waived Lasme. There there. You have Rob Kurz now, for at least one more week.

- Goran Dragic finally decided to join us, signing with Phoenix for four years after completing the World's Longest Buyout©. It bears repeating that San Antonio, who originally drafted Dragic, traded him to Phoenix for roughly nothing, even though they were in need of guard help. So what does Phoenix see that San Antonio didn't? We vill zee.

- Another Spurs draft pick - forward Viktor Sanikidze - has signed with Estonian champion and former Vulcan, TU/Rock. From Estonia to Bruce Bowen's replacement. You heard it hear first. And by that, I mean you won't hear it anywhere else, because it's stupid.

- Finally, Washington signed DerMarr Johnson, Linton Johnson and Taj McCullough for training camp. If Linton gets passed over for the other two, I'll be shocked and appalled. We're all pulling for you, Linty, despite you being the 16th man on a 15 man roster.

(That count includes Juan Dixon, who we'll get to in a minute.)

Where Are They Now? Part 2

In a new and uninteresting series of post, we (I) shall attempt to update you on the current whereabouts of some of your favourite players who sniffed the NBA for a brief moment before retiring with their tail between their legs to basketball's minor leagues. These players are to be glorified at all times, as they provide amusement, and also they provide the oft-undervalued mechanism for sports fans to worry entirely too much about the last player on the roster. It is a trend true of all sports, but particularly in basketball - if we can't see a player play, but they're on an NBA roster, we can then convince ourselves that they are potential 20ppg players, and no one can refute our claim with evidence because there isn't any. It's a dream we regularly live, then shatter, and then live again. Good times.




Shagari Alleyne, one time 76er for about 8 minutes, just finished a season in the powerhouse Premier Basketball League, an ironically named minor league in the USA that you've probably never heard of.

David Andersen, one time highly overrated Atlanta Hawks draft pick whose rights they still own, is in his fourth season playing for CSKA Moscow, in Russia.

Alan Anderson is playing for La Fortezza Bologna in Italy.

Kenny Anderson showed up bizarrely playing for Zalgiris in Lithuania at the very end of the 2006 season, and hasn't been heard of since. (EDIT: Apparently he's now the coach of a CBA team, the Atlanta Krunk. Great name.)

Shandon Anderson hasn't played since leaving the Miami Heat with a ring on his finger, and has only subsequently been heard of when Miami nearly re-signed him the following season.

Martynas Andriuskevicius is playing for Alicante in Spain, and working as a part time giraffe.

Rafael Araujo is playing for Spartak Moscow, also in Russia as are most Moscow teams.

Robert Archibald is playing for Azovmash in the Ukraine.

Brandon Armstrong is playing for Kotwica Kolobrzeg of Poland, and no I don't know how to pronounce that.

Stacey Augmon has retired, as we all thought he already had before being signed by Denver for this year's training camp. He is now working for the Nuggets as a player development coach.

Mario Austin, 2003 draft choice of the Chicago Bulls, is playing for Benetton Treviso in Italy. He's also one of the best players not in the NBA, and doesn't want to join it.


More later.

30 teams in 524 or so days: Charlotte

Players acquired via free agency or trade:

Jason Richardson (acquired from Golden State)



Players acquired via draft:

First round: Jared Dudley (22nd overall)
Second round: Jermareo Davidson (36th overall)



Players retained:

Derek Anderson (re-signed, one year minimum)
Jeff McInnis (re-signed, one year minimum)
Matt Carroll (re-signed, six years, $26,900,000)
Gerald Wallace (re-signed, six years, $57,000,000)
Ryan Hollins (exercised team option)
Walter Herrmann (exercised team option)
Primoz Brezec (opted in)




Players departed:

Alan Anderson (signed in Italy)
Jake Voskuhl (opted out, signed with Milwaukee)
Brevin Knight (waived, signed with L.A. Clippers)



Bobbins:

In a recent debate with someone about who the eight playoff teams in the East are going to be this season, debate raged as to who would be the 8th team. We discussed the possibility of the eighth seed being Orlando, Washington, Milwaukee, and even Atlanta, before finally settling on one which I won't mention (because it will spoil a later post).

Neither of us debated the possibility of Charlotte being the eighth seed. This is because we had both already pencilled them as the seventh, with absolutely no contention from each other.

There's two possible conclusions that you can draw here. The first would be that the two of us basically don't know what the hell we are talking about, which is a good point well made that I am unable to counter. The second would be to assume that, yes, Charlotte is a playoff calibre team. And that point, I can defend.

The franchise got off to a slow start after expansion, as you would expect, but slowly the Bobcats picked up pieces along the way. Starting around Emeka Okafor and building outwards, nothing much has gone right for the Bobcats before this summer. Mired deep in the lottery, and bound by the salary cam limitations that the NBA seems to strangely enjoy putting onto new franchises, the Bobcats achieved little on-the-court success, struggling through the growing pains that expansion teams are somewhat mandated to go through. All the losing didn't really pay off either, given the shockingly unsuccessful selection of Adam Morrison at number 3 in last year's draft.

Along the way, though, the Bobcats have slowly been assembling pieces. Despite only Gerald Wallace and Primoz Brezec remaining on the roster from their initial expansion draft (someone's going to have to explain to me one day quite what the point was of selecting so many free agents that they then didn't sign), Charlotte have picked some players up along the way for cheap, players that have helped their on-court product. Brevin Knight (recently waived, but we'll come to that) added veteranness and that, and also played fairly well. Pickups on the cheap such as Matt Carroll and Walter Herrmann have paid dividends, and the Bobcats have added good young players through the draft such as Okafor and Raymond Felton (notice that I didn't list Morrison).

This summer, they added the scoring punch that they sorely lacked, in obtaining Jason Richardson from Golden State for next to nothing. The move has its downsides - with contract extensions for Felton and Okafor coming up in the not-too-distant future, and with Gerald Wallace and Matt Carroll re-signing this summer to 6 year contracts, adding the big salary of Richardson takes away the financial flexibility that Charlotte previously enjoyed. It commits them to this current core for at least the short term, whether it is good enough or not. And it also means that the awesome unredoubtable Matt Carroll gets less court time, which is disappointing for all concerned. But it plugs the slightly important 20 point a game scorer that Charlotte has always lacked. Draw your own Jason Richardson/Michael Jordan comparisons, they're all stupid.

In addition to this, the Bobcats spend well in retaining most of their players from last year, and obtained two possible rotation players in Jared Dudley and Jermareo Davidson via the draft. I don't really know any more about them than that, so I'll leave that there.





Next year:

As I said above, Charlotte seemed like a strange choice for automatic inclusion into my predicted playoff seedings. They haven't, to coin a phrase, done shit yet. But despite being only a 33 win team a year ago, they have three big factor working for them:

a) They had a big infusion of talent this offseason, more so than most teams.
b) They have continued interal growth from their young core players.
c) They're relatively healthy. Well, except Sean May.

To elaborate on point C, the Bobcats do have an injury prone roster. Star big man Emeka Okafor has played in only 166 of the 246 games of his career, which is a poor ratio, and star forward Gerald Wallace set a career high in games played last year with a rather uninspiring 72.

Everyone is healthy at the moment, apart from Sean May, who is to miss the season with more surgery on his cartilege-free knees, and who I'm willing to bet never plays more than 40 NBA games for the rest of his life. Despite the fact that injuries to the Bobcats are about as inevitable as a Jonny Gomes swing and a miss on a down and away curveball, they have the sort of depth right now thay they have never had before, which will help them to overcome it. Last year's starter Matt Carroll is now a key bench player, joinining a deep wing rotation including Wallace, Richardson, Dudley, Morrison, and last's year breakout player and Lord of the Sex, Walter Herrmann. Herrmann shined late last season filling in as an emergency power forward as the injuries piled up yet again, but he's now faced with lengthy stays on the bench as Charlotte stocked up the wing positions this summer. It also appears that head coach Sam Vincent thinks it's best to start Emeka Okafor at power forward alongside Richardson, Walace and either Primoz Brezec or Ryan Hollins at center, and we can only hope that it won't take long for him to realise that it would be best to play Okafor at center with Wallace and Herrmann as the forwards. Walter needs his court time, dammit, if us neutrals are to have any interest in watching Charlotte this year.

The Bobcats are weak at the center position though, in spite of their improved depth, and Jeff McInnis is the full time backup point guard. But it's not really that important: the backup point guard spot has never been important enough to be able to sabotage an entire season, even if it is Jeff McInnis. After all, the San Antonio Spurs just won a title without a backup point guard worth a damn. By the way, someone (namely me) ought to point out the irony of waiving Brevin Knight for reported chemistry issues and locker room diviseness, then re-signing Mr Chemistry 2007 McInnis to take his place. A strange one, that.

Nonetheless, the Bobcats plugged other gaps, andTo make the playoffs, the Bobcats only realistically need about 8 more wins. Is adding a 20 point scorer for no real cost good enough to do that, especially when youf actor in all the other shit that I outlined above?

Probably.