- Olden Polynice has retired, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he's nearly 45 years old, but it took him longer to do than you might think. After retiring, Polynice became a coach for an ABA team, but the job security of a position like that is about six weeks maximum. He has not, as far as I am aware, joined the police force.
- Mark Pope has also retired, and as promised has enrolled in medical school.
- Vitaly Potapenko has also also retired. After falling out of the NBA in 2007 (and looking really quite bad during his last year), Vitaly sat around on the sidelines for a while before signing with Estudiantes in Spain in December 2007. He played 6 games, looked terrible, was quickly waived, and retired after that. End of an era.
- Roger Powell hasn't retired, so that means I'm going to have to actually put some effort into this entry. Powell didn't make the Bulls roster out of preseason, despite a pretty decent showing, and signed in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem. In 5 EuroChallenge games, Powell averaged 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, improving slightly to 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in the Israeli league. Powell is a combined 10-39 from three point range in the two competitions, including one 4-4 outing, so his weakness is still his weakness.
- Kasib Powell started the year in China, where he averaged a frankly disappointing 25.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.7 asissts on 59% shooting. He left the team at the beginning of the year and is now back in his natural territory - the D-League. For the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Powell is averaging 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
- Carlos Powell is playing for the pricelessly named Inchon ET Land Black Slamer in South Korea. He averages 25.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, numbers not too dissimilar from what he averaged in the D-League last year (22.5ppg, 6.4rpg, 4.8apg). Powell was arrested back in May on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, but I can't find what ultimately became of this. If you know, please let me know.
- Pablo Prigioni is with Tau Vitoria, averaging 6.0 points and 4.4 assists in Euroleague play, alongide 8.4 points and 4.8 assists in Spanish league play. Those numbers are good, even if they might not look it.
- Gorgeous Giorgis Printezis is with Olympiakos, averaging 9.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18 minutes per game in the Greek league, alongside 8.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 17mpg in the Euroleague. Gotta rebound better than that, George, regardless of how brilliant your hairline is. That only gets you so far.
- "Ca$h Money" Laron Profit - whose surname finally justifies my incessant use of that stupid joke - has spent the last year and a half maintaining an on-and-off relationship with an Argentinian team called Libertad Sunchales. It's currently off.
- Ivan Radenovic is playing for Panellinios in Greece, where I watched him this very week. The European game suits Radenovic rather well; he's tall, and a skilled finisher inside, but he's also slower than Rain Man and can only jump over a matchbox if you crushed it flat first and then pumped him full of helium. Nevertheless, Radenovic is averaging 11.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in the Greek league, alongside 14.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in the Eurocup. Those 14.4 points per game form a total of 201 points on only 111 shots, for a scintillating 1.81 points per shot average. If points per shot is a metric that gets you off, like it does to me, then you may want to take a moment to consider those numbers.
- Finally, Igor Rakocevic is not currently in the NBA. But that may well change, as it's been reported that he has a standing offer from an NBA team, speculatively credited to being Houston. Rakocevic's previous NBA stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves didn't go particularly well, as his undersized stature saw him miscast as a point guard, but in the last few years in Europe as a two guard Rakocevic has emerged as one of the best players in the continent. Starting alongside Prigioni in the Tau backcourt, Rakocevic averages 19.7 points per game in the Euroleague, and 20.6 points per game in the Spanish league, numbers that rank first in both the second and third highest standards of basketball competition in the world. Can't argue with that.
- Good news: Bobby Jones was claimed off of waivers. Bad news: Miami did it. Why is this bad news? Because Bobby Jones has already spent time with Miami, and going back to a team that he has already been with doesn't help Jones's quest to have briefly been on the roster of every NBA franchise before the start of the 2010 season. So far, in 2 seasons in the NBA - and if we rather generously include the 2006 draft, as Jones's rights were traded that night - Bobby has spent times with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Denver Nuggets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets, the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs, Denver again, the New York Knicks, and now Miami again. That's 8 franchises in 24 months, a rate that not even an in-his-heyday Josh Davis could match. So, Miami - do us a favour and trade him to Atlanta for his namesake Solomon Jones or something. Don't be selfish.
- Allan Houston wants to make another comeback attempt. Great. Good luck with that.
- The two remaining Oklahoma City unsigned draftees - DeVon Hardin and Serge Ibaka - have both signed contracts in Europe. Ibaka signed a three year contract with Ricoh Manresa of Spain, a deal which allows him to leave and return to the NBA after each year should he so wish. Hardin meanwhile signed with Belediyespor in Turkey on a one year deal. Neither signing is interesting.
- Earl Boykins has signed a one year, $3.5 million contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy, thereby making the remaining available point guard crop even worse. Not that the presence of Earl Boykins really did it much good.
- Filiberto Rivera has signed with Bamberg in Germany, thereby making the remaining available point guard crop even worse. Not that the presence of Filiberto Rivera really did it much good.
- For those keenly following the progress of Ivan Radenovic (if such people exist, I keep them well fed), Radenovic has upped sticks and moved to Greece, to play for Panellionios. If you couldn't be bothered to read previous posts on the subject of Ivan Radenovic, the Spanish team that he played for - Akasvayu Girona - extended his contract, and then went bankrupt, which was hopefully nothing to do with the size of Radenovic's contract. I'll miss Girona, you know. We got a few games of theirs on TV over here last year, and every time they were on, a staggeringly hot Spanish woman was the sideline reporter for the night. She spoke broken English in a hot accent, which just made the total package that much more enticing. You know how it is when women are so unbelievably good looking that it becomes impossible to rank their beauty when compared to other unbelievably good looking women? Well, she was one of them. So it's a shame that I won't be able to look at her talk four times a year for twenty seconds at a time A damn shame. And that's why I'll miss Akasvayu Girona.
- Jannero Pargo was reportedly on the verge of signing with the San Antonio Spurs, but now reports say that Miami has made a late bid for him. Since the Heat have spent most of their MLE on the unflinching duo of Mario Chalmers and James Earl Jones, the most that they can offer Pargo is the Bi-Annual Exception, which starts at $1.91 million, you have to wonder why Pargo opted out of the contract that would have paid him $1.976 million next year. Pargo has now opted out of his contract for two straight seasons, yet he remains unable to get the one massive paycheck that he's looking for. The chances of him signing a third straight two year contract with a player option, and then opting out after the first year, look impressively high. And that's got to be a world first. These are the things that I think about, by the way.
- Louis Williams re-signed with the 76ers, ensuring that they will have at least one shooting guard who will score more points than he will have attempted field goals. No, I haven't gotten over the Kareem Rush move yet.
- The Bobcats signed Shannon Brown, a move which doesn't seem to solve anything. By the way, if you are Shannon Brown, and you've just had your rookie scale contract cut down to only two years by Cleveland, and you're allowed to walk away unchallenged by your hometown Chicago Bulls, what reason would you possibly have for not joining on with a summer league team? Wouldn't it be a good idea to get in as much shwocasing as you can? This is what I would do, I'm pretty sure. (Note: if Brown was injured or otherwise incapacitated, therefore making my rant unjustified and ill-founded, please do not hesitate to keep that information to yourself.)
- The Rockets traded Steve Novak to the L.A. Clippers in order to save some money, so that they can try to re-sign Carl Landry and pay as little tax as possible. Or, ideally, none at all. It makes sense for Houston to dump the guaranteed money of an inconsequential player, but if someone could explain to me why the Clippers held onto Nick Fazekas for an unnecessarily long time, just to then trade for his older brother in Steve Novak, then please do that. Where's the vast gaping chasm of seperation between Fazekas and Novak, exactly? Is it a bigger or smaller gaping chasm of difference than the one that the Clippers saw between Jason Hart and Brevin Knight? An answer on those would be good, because I'm clearly not smart enough to get it. By the way, God bless Steve Novak. Class.
- Tarence Kinsey signed with the Cavaliers. Have I mentioned that Memphis waived Kinsey in preference to waiving Casey Jacobsen? I have. Will I mention it again? Probably. i just think it bears repeating, you know? The Memphis Grizzlies, everyone.
- And finally, what you've been waiting for - recently cut Nugget (so to speak) Taurean Green is about to sign with some team in some country in Europe. And I forgot to write down who and where.
What you've just witnessed, ladies and gentleman, is the work of an amateur. Be proud. Give generously.
- Darius Rice has left the immortally named Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants from the Phillipines, and is about to sign with Montegranaro in Italy. I think that translates as "Bread Mountain". I hope it does, anyway.
- A previous blog post talked about how Ivan Radenovic had had his contract with Akasvayu Girona extended. That news is now bunkum, for Girona have gone bankrupt, and are not playing this upcoming season. This leaves Radenovic now unsigned, unattacthed, undervalued and undernourish. (I still want you to buy Scouting For Girls CD's, by the way. I will keep pushing this until you do it. Buy buy buy.)
- The "points per shot" fans amongst us - basically me and me only - were extremely moist to hear that the Philadelphia 76ers have signed shooting guard Kareem Rush to form an incisive and efficient off-guard partnership with the incumbent Willie Green. These two players have a role to play for the Sixers, in that they are the only two guards currently under contract who can actually hit a three point shot. This is a positive. But the negative side-effect is that both of these players are really, really bad. The pair are both deemed "one dimensional scorers", but neither is any good at scoring. Willie Green last season scored 921 points on 870 shots, for a spectacularly bad 1.06 points per shot, a number that still somehow managed to raise his career average to a heady 1.02. Rush is even worse, scoring 588 points on 569 shots last year for a 1.03 PPS average, against a catastrophic career average of 1.01. Yeesh.
For the sake of a point of reference, free agent Sixers backup point guard Kevin Ollie has a career points per shot average of a modest 1.21. That from a man who has 9 made career three pointers. Technically, if you need someone to hit a shot, you are better served going to Kevin Ollie than Kareem Rush or Willie Green. While that statement lacks important context....it's something to think about. Supposed "scorers" suck at scoring, and it's not difficult to see this.
- In one of the more bizarre moves of the offseason so far, the Detroit Pistons signed Kwame Brown for $8 million over 2 years. How the HELL does Kwame Brown still keep getting these huge salaries? Have people not noticed that he's really bad, and has gotten worse for 4 years?
(Hey, do you remember when Kwame Brown was an athletic power forward with a decent face-up offensive game, reasonable touch, a shot, and the ability to catch? Yeah, me too. I want that Kwame back. Not this slow old centre who doesn't need to try or care anymore as people keep paying him anyway.)
- Former Net prospect Mile Ilic has signed for two years with Cajasol Sevilla in Spain. He replaces English legend, Andy Betts. I am not happy about this.
- The L.A. Clippers have used the last of their cap space on Ricky Davis. In terms of value, it's not a bad signing. The same could be said of their acquisition of Marcus Camby and Baron Davis. But what the Clippers have now is a nice veteran team, that isn't going anywhere. They might make the playoffs, but what then? What's going to put them over the top? Not sure. But, still. It'll be nice to have at least that, I guess.
(Bonus points to Art Vandelay for making the Joke I Wish I'd Thought Of: "I guess Baron Davis was just an addition to help Ricky score." If you don't know what that references, you suck.)
The Clippers are also reportedly talking to Shaun Livingston and Paul Davis, both of whom they have already renounced, but both of which would be decent pickups for the minimum. All told, they've had a reasonable if mismanaged offseason.
- Pistons draft pick Trent Plaisted has signed with Angellico Biella in Italy. You know that joke that I always make about Angellico Biella? Well, I'm not going to make it this time. No way. Nope. Non. Nein.
- The Raptors signed Will Solomon on the basis that they needed a third point guard, and they hadn't signed anyone from a European league for about three weeks. (I'm sorry, but if they want the stereotype to stop, they know what to do.) The fact that Solomon isn't really a point guard is something we'll overlook for the moment.
- Consistent NBA oversight Zendon Hamilton is still fighting the good fight, switching Russian teams from Enisey Krasnoyarsk to Spartak Primorie Vladivostok. Hamilton averaged 19ppg and 8.4 rpg last season on a really bad team, which is something that I just wanted you to know.
- Finally tonight, a rumour. The Bulls are apparently talking to the Kings about a trade that would involve Brad Miller, Cedric Simmons, Andres Nocioni and a lottery protected first round pick. The link comes from this blog, which you will never have heard of before, because it hasn't existed for very long. Normally, this is the kind of thing we should disregard off-handedly, but the guy who runs the blog has a proven reputation, and has been breaking Bulls news for a number of years now. Just not in the form of that blog. (He has a family connection within the Bulls front office, or something. Can't remember exactly.)
Will it come to fruition? I don't know. I hope so. But if it does, remember that you heard it here first. And if it doesn't, remember that you heard it there and there only, and all I did was steer you towards it, thus this is in no way my fault.
- Brian "Chevy" Chase has signed for Le Mans in the French league, and anyone who reads all this overseas basketball shit that I write would no doubt get the impression that signing in the French league has bad news for your career written all over it. Whether I'm right or not is another matter, but would it be a bad thing for the NBA if it saw the back of a 5'9 guard who can't pass? Doubt it. (Speaking of, Earl Boykins is still unsigned.)
- Ivan Radenovic's contract with Akasvayu Girona of Spain has been extended. On a different note, Akasvayu looks a little bit like Matisyahu. And Matisyahu is a rabbi rapper. Go and search for him on Youtube, then go and buy his album, and then come back here. Do this, and do this now. (Note: I'm going to start using this blog as a guerilla marketing tool, for the relentless promotion of people and things that I like. While we're at it, buy this. You're likely not going to be English, so some of the references in the album's lyrics will be wasted on you, but bear in mind that this is how we Brits feel about Family Guy, and that shit's great. So that's no excuse for you not buying it.)
- Jared Newson, who played in summer league and training camp with the Mavericks last season, has signed with Brose Baskets, marking his second season in the German league. Last season over there, he won the dunk contest. And he also did this.
So he's good at dunking. That much we know. Send in any further Jared Newson trivia to the usual address.
- Joseph Blair signed with Spartak St Petersburg, which is in Russia and not Florida. Neither of Joseph's websites carried this news. But one of them did carry this amusing blog post type thing, from Jaybl-Air himself:
I think that in life a certain amount of respect has to be given to everything you do. Especially when it comes to something that gives you your livelihood! I have always been able to take pride in the fact that I have always given my best and my all to this sport that I love so much. Not always have things turned out the way that I wanted and I wish that I would have made more free throws and there are a ton of easy shots that I have missed and wished that I could go back and try again but I have always tried my best. Nobody is perfect and I realize that but 100 percent must be given constantly!!
That being said I want to talk about tonights game! I have played basketball since I was 5 years old. Organized basketball, not just playing in the yard!! I have played professional for 11 years now!! And never in my career have I ever tried to blame a referee for a loss!!
But tonight was the most disgraceful and disrespectful attempt at what they want to call refereeing a game that I have ever seen or been a part of. It was truly scandalous!!
Tonight I witnessed a huge disrespect to this game that I love!! It is a sad time!! I am truly heartbroken that anyone could do this to this game that I love so much!! And now we even see this type of problem in the NBA!!
When will it stop? Where will it stop? When did it start? God bless basketball
God bless basketball indeed, and God also bless Joseph Blair. Watch out, Gilbert Arenas.
- If you are wondering whatever happened to Jumaine Jones - and who doesn't think about this at some point every day? - then fear not, impoverished serfs, for Jumaine is doing fine. Unable to crack an NBA rotation any more through no real fault of his own, Jonesy still has a decent bsketball career, recently signing for Armani Jeans Alyssa Milano in Italy, for one year plus an optional second year. I still don't get why he's not in the NBA, given that this is a league in which players like Uros Slokar and Damir Markota keep getting drafted. But whatever. What would I know. I'm a middle aged blogger who has never played the sport and who loves Star Trek and who lives in his mum's basement, wanking about stats and the like. (More on the glaring accuracies of this stereotype - apart from the middle-aged, basement, Star Trek and wanking bits - in a future blog post.)
- Kennedy Winston has been released by Greek champions Panathinaikos, who won the Greek League AND the Greek Cup last season, but who obviously fancy their chances of being able to repeat this feat without K-Win in their team. (By the way, isn't that the perfect starting pitchers nickname? Apart from maybe B.A.A. Whipsave. Which I just invented. And which is shit.)
- Former Spurs wingman Melvin Sanders has signed with Gran Canaria in Spain, after leaving Unicaja Malaga, where he played rather badly last season. You will, of course, remember Malaga from the previous Summer Signings post as being the team that Robert Archibald and Omar Cook are to play for next season, a proposition that excites me greatly. It would excite you too if you'd ever seen Robert Archibald bank home a 21 foot runner while drawing a three point play. I have seen this, and I am not ashamed to admit that I was slightly aroused by it. He looked like Dirk, only he wasn't Dirk, which made it better. Great times. Great times.
- Quinton Hosley has managed to land a rather plush gig with Spanish legends Real Madrid, as the replacement for recently departed (not dead, just departed) Charles Spider Smith. Lucky Quinton.
- Sam O'Udrih - best known for being Beno's brother, partly because he is, and partly because Samo's not really done anything of his own - has signed with Estudiantes. Estudiantes is in Slovenia, not Uruguay as I first thought. Other players that you may have heard of in the Slovenian league include.....no one.
- Sani Becirovic, Denver Nuggets draft choice from 2003, has signed with Roma in Italy for three years. He will be 30 by the time the deal is up, and still with bad knees. This changes his chances of ever joining the NBA from 0.01% percent into precisely zip. But, still, you want to see a 7 minute Sani Becirovic tribute mix anyway, right? Of course you do.
(He's number 7.)
- Willie Deane has signed with Zalgiris in Lithuania, to the amusement of no one.
Apologies for the site disappearing for 48 hours. Truth be told, I have no idea what happened. I went to bed, and it was working. I got up, and it wasn't. Turns out the hosting company kinda broke something on their end, but all is well now.
Also, you may have found that the home page consisted of nothing more than the word "hello" for a few hours. That wasn't me who did that, but the nameless technician mending it. It freaked the shit out of me when I saw it. But never mind, all is now good and that. Call off the search.
Mark Pope - Legend - always said that he was going to go to medical school once his NBA career had finished, so I guess he's done exactly that.
Vitaly Potapenko fell out of the NBA in the summer of 2007, and wound up in Europe, where he averages a mere 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds for Estudiantes in Spain, alongside Florent Pietrus, wife of Mickael.
Roger Powell is playing for Teramo in Italy, where he averages 13 points and about half an assist per game.
Carlos Powell was signed by the Warriors for training camp this season, but was an early cut. They may have made a mistake here, though. The Warriors ended up prefering to own such players as Austin Croshere, Troy Hudson and Chris Webber over Powell, all of whom did pretty much nothing for the team. Meanwhile, Powell went to the D-League, played for the Dakota Wizards, and absolutely beasted, averaging 22.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, on 49% shooting, 40% from three point range. That's some pretty epic numbers right there. The 4 turnovers a game that go with all that are a lot, but if he was perfect he wouldn't be in the D-League. I'd kind of expect a training camp invite after a season like that, and a greatly improved chance of sticking around this time.
Cult hero Laron Profit averaged 11 points and 4 rebounds for Libertad, the Argentinian champions.
Ivan Radenovic is playing for Akasvayu Girona in Spain, where he averages 4.5 points and 2 rebounds. I watched an interview with him the other day, and it turns out that he speaks good English. So that's nice. Somewhat unsurprising given that he went to Arizona, but I didn't know that at the time, hence why it surprised me. Shame about his play, though.
Milovan Rakovic, whose rights are owned by the Magic, plays for Spartak Moscow, alongside Rafael Araujo and Joe Smith. (Not THE Joe Smith, obviously.) As with all Russian teams, I haveth no stats.
Pedro Juan Branches has gone back to Puerto Rico to star. He averages 19.2 points and 10.4 rebounds for a team called Caguas.
Allan Ray spent the season with Lomattica Roma in Italy, where he got paid handsomely for a 13 points 2 assist average. His teammate was Gregor Fucka. I've said it before, and I'll say it as often as I feel like it. Gregor Fucka Gregor Fucka Gregor Fucka Gregor Fucka. Gregor Fucka. Allan Ray. Gregor Fucka.
You, like I, may have thought that Zeljko Rebraca retired. He sure as hell spent a long time out with a chronic back complaint, and the Clippers ate some guaranteed money to get his roster spot. Bit apparently things weren't all that bleak, as the now-35 year old Zelly just poured in a part-season for Valencia (Spain) in which he totalled 8 points in three games. Clearly back to his best there. The lesson, as always - inactive lists can be deceiving.
Justin Reed is a member of the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, where he averages an impressive 20.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. Not bad from a hustle player.
Sham is a miserable and self-effacing little bastard, whose basketball opinions are often riddled with bias, insecurity, and rank immaturity. He has also never played the sport, and the only game he has ever been to see was a Ware Rebels game back in 2001. The night bus didn't show up and he had to walk the 9 miles home. It was after this that his passion for basketball really took off.
He considers himself to be Britain's foremost NBA expert, an arbitrary title that carries with it no basis in fact, or any worldly significance. He also wrote this section of the website in third person narrative, purely for reasons of arrogance.
Copyright ShamSports.com, 2005-2010. Every published word on this website
is copyrighted to the website's owner, including (but not limited to)
the really stupid ones that I wish I'd never written.
