Summer league round-up: Houston Rockets

View the Rockets summer league roster.

- Hassan Adams: Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo struck gold in 2007 when he signed Jamario Moon right at the start of free agency, after a fine performance in a Raptors mini-camp. In 2008, he went for it again with Hassan Adams...and he struck out. He signed Adams to a guaranteed contract in July, then watched on as Adams (perhaps complacent due to the guaranteed money) showed up out of shape and with as few ball skills as ever. Adams was later salary dumped onto the Clippers, who cut him.

After that, Adams went to Serbia to play for Vojvodina Srbija Gas Novi Sad, a team that badly needs its name abridging if it's to make any catchy jingles. He totalled 11 points in 2 games before leaving in what I believe was acrimonious circumstances. He won't make the Rockets roster; they didn't sign Trevor Ariza, turn down Von Wafer's advances and spend all that money on Jermaine Taylor just to let Saddam take their roster spot. But it's nice to see him again anyway.

- Rodrique Benson: Rod Benson had a great year in 2007-08, starting out in the Nets training camp, then going to the D-League and leading it in rebounds. But 2008-09 was far crapper: Benson went to France and signed with Nancy, but averaged only 2.3/2.3 in 8 games before being released. He returned to the D-League, and averaged 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Dakota Wizards, before being traded to the Reno Bighorns (giggidy) where he averaged a far better 16.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Rod Benson fact: I accidentally typoed Rod Benson's name while compiling this post, and in doing so I stumbled across a Florida International University female player called Liene Bernsone, who is as Latvian as her name suggests. If you like girls, you might like her.


And here is her team mate, the equally Latvian Lasma Jekabsone:


So that's why Isiah's working at FIU for free; the bevy of Latvian hotties. Fair play to him.

- Chase Budinger: Budinger is but one other on my list of "Players I would totally have rather the Bulls had drafted instead of Taj Gibson at #26," an increasingly long list that's getting a bit extreme and now includes Levance Fields and Byron Eaton. I will get over it eventually, though. (Think of it as a good thing though, Taj. The less I expect of you, the more I'm going to like it when you turn out to be brilliant. And you will. Never forget that. If I have no expectations for you, they can't be dashed. You're like the anti-Eddy Curry. Make me love you.)

- Will Conroy: Conroy put up lots of everything for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the D-League last year. 49 games, 44.7 mpg (lead the league), 26.5 ppg (also lead the league), 8.0 apg (5th), 4.8 rpg, 2.0 spg, 4.20 topg. He stuffed that CV like a CV stuffing bitch. And it's a shame that it's more than likely only getting him as far as Spain. But still. A good effort. Have some time off, you must be knackered.

- Marcus Cousin: Cousin averaged 10.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for Houston last year, That's the University of Houston, though, not the Rockets. Those are good numbers. Shame about the crap conference that they came in. Mind you, Robert Loggia got drafted while getting slightly worse numbers in the exact same conference. And he's a lot smaller. So that makes total sense.

- Joey Dorsey: Dorsey's rookie year was pretty crap. He signed late -not before losing a game that he wasn't even in - yet ended up getting a way bigger than usual contract for a second rounder. Then it went downhill; Dorsey played all of 6 minutes for Rockets last year, and spent only 7 games in the D-League,. Down there, he played disinterested and largely sucked, averaging 9.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, which are pretty tame numbers in relative terms. He's also going to turn 26 later this year, which makes him 18 months older than Darko Milicic. And we all know how much potential he has - none. Still, there's some good news; someone wrote a fluff piece, and his contract isn't guaranteed after this season. So that's something.

- Charles Gaines: Gaines got a training camp contract with the Spurs to start the year, and after getting waived he was assigned to their D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros. The D-League is a slightly strange place for a 27 year old to go, and Gaines perhaps unsurprisingly beasted, averaging 14.9 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. He left before the end of the season to sign with Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, for whom he averaged 8.0ppg and 6.4rpg. He won't win a roster spot.

- Mike Green: Green played for the Cavaliers summer league team last year, where he started at point guard, took lots of shots and shot 30%. Can't say I was duly impressed, really. More impressive was his follow-up season in Turkey, where he averaged 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists for Antalya, but he shot only 31% from three point range, again in love with his sub par jumpshot. Hone that, and we'll talk.

- Maarty Leunen: Leunen, a draft pick of the Rockets last year, also spent the season in Turkey, playing for the immortally named Darussafaka C.Tires Istanbul. There, he averaged 31 minutes, 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting 44% from two point range and 44% from three point range. And he took a whole lot more threes than twos. If there was ever an outside chance of Leunen making the Rockets roster this year - and there wasn't, really - then the incumbent Brian Cook just took it away from him.

- Brad Newley: Another unsigned Rockets second rounder, this time from 2007, Newley has spent the two years since being drafted in Greece. Last year, he moved from Panionios to Panellinios, although it's plausible that he just boarded the wrong bus or something and no one sought to correct him. Newley averaged 10.4 points and 3.1 assists in 24 minutes a game, but his jumpshot wasn't really with him all year. He, like Adams, has very little chance of making the team this year, partly due to this next guy.

- Jermaine Taylor: The Rockets bought Taylor's rights on draft night for $2.5 million, which is a hell of a lot of money to give up for a second round pick, even a high 30's one. As a result, I think you can pretty much go ahead and assume that he's making the team.

- Garrett Temple: Temple was the tall point guard to Marcus Thornton's undersized shooting guard, and averaged 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in his senior season. For some reason, I have a bit of a thing with offensively challenged tall combo guards who want to be point guards - see also, my views on Cedric Bozeman - but the fact that Temple didn't shoot over 40% in any of the four years of his college career means that his NBA prospects don't really exist.

- Darryl Watkins: Darryl Watkins's middle name is "Finesse", but don't read too much into that. Like Gaines, he went to camp with the Spurs last year, but didn't make the cut, and spent the rest of the year in China, averaging roughly 20/14. Good numbers, but it is China.

- James White: White has an unguaranteed contract with the Rockets for next season, and, if they're truly going to go young (and I don't see as though they have a choice), then the arrival of Ariza won't necessarily be the death of White. Nor will Budinger, either.

Views on NBA stuff will come soon. Really.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 55

Didn't get on the telly. Shame.

- Charlie Ward retired in 2004, and briefly became an assistant coach with the Rockets. However, he left that gig, and has instead found a place and a job that caters to his three biggest passions in life; basketball, American football, and Christianity. Ward is now the head football coach at Westbury Christian School in Houston, Texas, as well as an assistant coach on the basketball team. He also recently quarterbacked again, albeit only for a fun day. Question: if you were to ask Charlie Ward whether he regrets turning down an NFL career for his decent if underwhelming NBA career, what would he say? Genuinely intrigued by that.

- Darius Washington signed with the Bulls for preseason, and played very well in one of the preseason games. He didn't make the cut, though, and nor was he ever going to. Washington then signed with Ural Great Perm in Russia, where he is averaging 13.0 points and 3.6 assists per game in the EuroChallenge, along with 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in the Russian league. Did you know that Darius Washington is now a Macedonian citizen? Fun fact.

- Pistons draft pick Deron Washington is averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for Hapoel Holon in Israel. He recently helped the team to win the Israeli Cup, but is only shooting 23% on the year from three point range. So he still can't shoot.

- Darryl Watkins did not make the cut from the Spurs training camp, and then went to TianJin in China. Everyone loves Chinese numbers, and a post on this subject may well be soon appearing, so until then wrap your lips around this bad boy: 20.8 points, 14.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

- Jameel Watkins is also in China, playing for the Jiangsu Nangang Dragons. His numbers are highly comparable to the other Watkins, but slightly worse: Jameel averages 20.7 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.6 fouls and 2.1 blocks per game.

- Clarence Weatherspoon is not in China, but it would be great if he was.

- Chris Webber now does TV work on both NBA TV and Inside The NBA, and is supposedly writing a book, presumably one about basketball and not metamorphic rock identification or anything. He also just had his jersey number retired by the Sacramento Kings, somewhat needlessly. Fun fact: did you know that Chris Webber released an album back in 1999? You may well have done. But I didn't. Genuinely intrigued by this, too.

- Frederic Weis recently moved from Iurbentia Bilbao to ViveMenorca, both Spanish ACB teams. Weis averaged 2.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in the ACB for Bilbao, and has totalled 6 points and 19 rebounds in the 60 minutes that he has played for Menorca through three games.

- Jiri Welsch is playing for Unicaja Malaga, averaging 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the Spanish league, alongside 8.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and an insignificant number of assists in the Euroleague. His stats from previous seasons can be found here, on his personal website, as can a deeply sinister picture of him looking like a recently goosed Frankie Dettori.

- David Wesley was traded as an unguaranteed contract twice in the 2007 offseason, and was waived by New Jersey before the season began. He hasn't signed since, and isn't going to, either. Fun fact: did you know that David Wesley is Michael Dickerson's cousin? No, me neither.

- Finally, you probably already knew that Bonzi Wells signed in China this season, and you probably knew that he has since left. And you probably knew that he stuffed the stat sheet in every plausible way during his time there. But you might not know the specifics, and so I'm here to oblige you with that.

On the season, in only 14 games, Bonzi averaged 42.1 minutes, 34.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.8 steals per game. He shot 45% on the year, and 70% from the free throw line, and certainly wasn't waived because he wasn't producing. But a closer look at the numbers reveals a man who miiiiiiight not have been trying that hard. In those 14 games, Bonzi shot 156 three pointers, which for maths fans out there is a shade over 11 attempts per game. This seems like it's too many ('ooh, you think?'), but particularly so for a man who hit them at only 33%, and who hasn't shot the three pointer well since a fluke season in 2001/02. (For comparison's sake, Bonzi shot 50 three pointers combined last season in 73 NBA games for the Rockets and Hornets, hitting 12. And he hit 11 combined the previous two seasons.) Bonzi started out with a bash (giggidy), averaging 47 points through his first four games, shooting a Damon Stoudamire-like 57 threes in that span. But he scored only 3 points in a foul-plagued fifth game, and averaged a far more normal 32.2 ppg after that. The three's continued to go up, though, and with the foul plagued fifth game excluded (in which he shot only three), Bonzi never attempted less than seven 3 pointers in any game. I do not know why.

Bonzi Wells would be in the NBA right now, earning about $8 million, if Geoff Petrie had had his way. Something to consider.

Summer signings, round 25

Celery! All! Done!

- Andre Owens signed with Red Star Belgrade, which kind of answers my question about whether you'd rather have Horace Jenkins or Alex Scales . The answer is apparently neither. Good answer.

- The Lakers signed Brandon Heath for training camp. Heath did a decent job pretending to be a point guard for the Clippers' summer league team this season, and by "did a decent job", I mean "put up 3 assists and 13 turnovers in 5 games". (For what it's worth, he looked better than those numbers do. Although that's not hard.) They also signed C.J. Giles, taking their training camp roster up to 18 players already, and with an offer to Didier Ilunga-Mbenga still out there. They are also supposedly working out Jelani McCoy, so clearly they're looking for a tall crappy centre. All of this means that there's no room any more for Ira Newble, which we sorta already knew, but which this writer wants to confirm.

- Chris Quinn re-signed with the Miami Heat, and may well be the starter at point guard next year. Since winning the championship, the Heat have publicly pursued everybody, ever. From Mickael Pietrus to Smush Parker to Charlie Bell to Penny Hardaway, the Heat have made a play for everybody that has ever played the game, with almost no success on the free agency front. And now, three years into their search, their starting point guard figures to be Chris effing Quinn. This probably isn't pleasant for Heat fans. (And no offense to Chris Quinn, by the way. It's just that......you know.)

- Darryl Watkins has signed with the San Antonio Spurs for training camp, a move that brings with it no incisive follow-up comment or silly joke.

- The Cavaliers finally re-signed Delonte West to a very fair deal. Worryingly, the Cavaliers have had a pretty good offseason. They've re-signed West and Daniel Gibson for decent value, traded peripheral pap for a starter and scorer in Maurice Williams, made two good draft picks in J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson to reinforce their weakest position, and made a good depth signing with Tarence Kinsey. Of course, they still inexplicably signed Lorenzen Wright (if you need a veteran third string centre, fine, but NOT HIM. Jesus, not him. Jake Voskuhl's still out there, for instance, and Jake's all right), but it mostly went well. If they find a way to never let Ben Wallace take the court again, and turn Wally Szczerbiak's expiring into a talented player, they might get over the hump that they've been painfully short of lately. There you go, I've credited Danny Ferry. I will now sever my own arms.

- A post from the dark ages informed you paupers that Thunder draft pick DeVon Hardin had signed in Turkey. However, I'm now here to inform you that he's no longer signed in Turkey, for the team let him go due to a stress fracture in his right foot. That's what they do in the continent - they release you if you hurt yourself. Seems harsh.

- Gabe Muoneke was also released, by Asvel in France, but not because of injury. Apparently he didn't "fit" the team's "profile". So it would appear that Asvel think they have room to be choosy when it comes to signing fringe NBA players.

- In spite of the fact that this is ostensibly a list of 'signings', the last two entries were the opposite of that, and this one makes three straight. More than once (i.e. twice), I have made reference to the ongoing Jumaine Jones saga. For those uninformed, Jones somehow managed to sign with two teams at the same time, causing a legal battle. This saga has now been resolved - Jones has been suspended by FIBA for a year, and since FIBA and the NBA respect each other's contracts and suspensions, this means that Jones is now out of basketball for a year, a worrisome proposition for a 29 year old with NBA aspirations. Bad times.

- And now, some signings. Big signings, at that. Ken Johnson has signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany. Take a minute to let that sink in.

- The Orlando Magic found their third string point guard of dreams in Mike Wilks, while Pat Garrity officially announced his retirement. Mike Wilks should have been in the NBA last year, and Pat Garrity shouldn't, so this is justice more than anything. God speed, Pat Garrity, and all who sail within you.

- Robert Swift re-signed with Oklahoma City, taking his qualifying offer of three and a bit million dollars. This was a good idea for a man who has played 8 games in the last two years and who still hasn't recovered from an incredibly bad knee injury. I hope Robert Swift gets healthy, by the way. He was getting somewhere as a player.

- Steve Castleberry signed with Podebrady Sadska in the Czech Republic. Right now, you're probably thinking "who the fuck is Steve Castleberry?" It's a good argument, well constructed.

- And finally, some bonus trivia. Former Mavericks guard Jon Stefansson has gone back to Iceland, signing with KR Reykjavik and thereby foregoing a decent basketball career. Also, another former Maverick, forward Ruben Wolkowyski, has been offered a contract by Spanish team Fuenlabrada. Ruben Wolkowyski is easily the worst player I have ever seen in my life, and I've seen Steve Goodrich. And Steve Goodrich wasn't good. Or rich.

More importantly, Shawn Kemp has arrived with his new Italian team, Montegranaro, and now we get to see what shape he's in. The answer is....not bad.


Photo courtesy of whoever took it, and used without permission.