Summer league round-up: Cleveland Cavaliers

About bloody time.

View the Cavaliers' long overdue summer league roster.

- Christian Eyenga: Everything I know about Christian Eyenga can be found here. Nothing has happened since then to really advance my knowledge. But I'll add this unoriginal thought: This is a Cavaliers team that is trying to win now. It really is. If you trade for Shaquille O'Neal, you're trying to win now. They're the rules. So why then would you take the biggest prospect in the draft with your sole first round pick? I'm not saying that any of them are brilliant players or difference makers, but players like Sam Young, Dejuan Blair, Jermaine Taylor....these are potentially useful pieces, and as things stand, the Cavaliers bench is pretty bare. Would it not have been worth taking one of their ilk instead? What is the percentage possibility of Eyenga becoming a better NBA player than these others? I don't know. But it'd have to be quite a way above 50% to make this make sense.

- Jamont Gordon: Jamont Gordon fills up the stat sheet in all categories, but he has his flaws. He's an inefficient scorer, he turns it over too much, his own hairline hates him, and he's too short for his skillset. But one of the biggest flaws has always been his jumpshot. And, based on last year's play, it still is. Gordon averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 24 minutes per game for Upim Bologna last season, but shot only 32% from three point range. He drew a lot of foul shots as per usual, but also missed a lot as per usual, shooting 68% from the stripe. Gordon's an unconventional kind of smallish guard, but he's quite a good one. He's just going to have to improve his decision making and/or shooting before he cracks the big league. If that happens, we'll forget about his fivehead.

- Danny Green: I like to think of Danny Green as being a bit like a crap Shane Battier. I like to think I know things. I don't.

- David Harrison: Harrison's rookie contract expired last summer, and after a brief training camp tryout with the Timberwolves, he left the NBA altogether. He buggered off to China, where he did the usual Chinese thing and put up a crapload of stats all across the board. Harrison totalled 21.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 2.3 blocks and 4.2 fouls a game, shooting better from the field (62.1%) than the foul line (56.9%). Thems is good looking numbers, for sure, but good looking numbers are easy to achieve when you're over 6'8 tall and even slightly mobile. May I remind you once again that Olumide Oyedeji averaged almost 20/20 in China last season. Even Priest Lauderdale put up big numbers, bigger than Harrison's, to the tune of 21/13/4. And he's not even mobile. (By the way, add Priest Lauderdale to the list of American players who have obtained Bulgarian passports. But at least Priest had the decency to play there for four years.)

Harrison turns 27 next month and has never really developed. Don't let me be catching you talking about him as having potential. But more importantly, here's a Priest Lauderdale fact: Priest Lauderdale was once banned from playing in the Phillipines Basketball Association because the league ruled he was too big. The PBA atthe time had a rule which stated that teams could field two imports with only a combined of 13 feet six inches, and the 7'4 Lauderdale had a 6'4 team mate (Jermaine Walker). That rule has since been dropped due to its inherent stupidity. Good times.

- Robert Hite: The ironically named Hite was in the Belgian league last year, averaging 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds for Oostende. But Cleveland, if you want Robert Hite, sign Luther Head. I'm seriously.

- Darnell Jackson: Jackson has an unguaranteed salary for next year, and if the Cavaliers get serious about winning now and decide to stock up with veterans, then his roster spot might be in jeopardy. But, since there's no real threat of that right now, he should be fine.

- Tarence Kinsey: Kinsey last season played about 13 important seconds all year. The rest of the time he saw was garbage time. Since you will no doubt know that Tarence Kinsey is the Kingsey Of Garbage Time, it might not surprise you to know that Kinsey managed to record a true shooting percentage last season of .595%. And this from your 13th man. Not too freaking bad, is it? Kinsey's contract is unguaranteed until July 28th, but I'm pulling for him to make it. And if he doesn't, I want my Bulls to get in on that. (Giggidy? Maybe.)

- Leo Lyons: Lyons was covered in the Indiana Pacers round-up of the other day. Nothing has happened since then to make me change my mind.

- Maureece Rice: Rice was one of about 46 people to get a training camp contract with the Sixers last year, but he never really stood a chance of making the team. After that went south, he went north, and was acquired by the Erie BayHawks of the D-League. He didn't start out too well, but things got better, and he ended up averaging 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the year. Rice is still a bit fat, but he slimmed down a bit, and returned to his more suited position of shooting guard. He's managed to rebuild his resume after a bad previous 18 months, and another year like the second half of last year, and who knows; he might get somewhere. By the way, a slightly dodgy anagram of his name is "eerie cum race." Remember; everyone gets an anagram now. Peruse at will.

- Jawad Williams: Williams signed with the Cavs in training camp, and beat the long odds to make the team pretty much on the basis of his performance in one preseason game. He then sat on the inactive list until the contract guarantee date came around, at which point Ferry waived him. As soon as he cleared waivers, though, Jawad was bizarrely brought back for two ten contracts, where he once again sat around doing nothing. Clearly, Dan Gilbert was paying for a winner.

Then, disaster; the Thunder bought out Joe Smith, who signed with the Cavaliers, and Williams lost his roster spot. (By this time, he had played all of 10 minutes in 9 games.) That looked to be the end of that, and Williams slunk off to the D-League to average 25.7 points in 19 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

And then he bounced back. The overdue medical retirement of Eric Snow finally went through, and the Cavaliers had a roster spot open again. They wasted next to no time in burning it on Williams again, signing him through 2010 and giving him the opportunity to once again sit on the bench. They even let him play once; in the Cavs final game of the season, when they rest as many vaguely capable players as they could, Williams came off the bench to score 8 points and pull down two rebounds in 10 minutes. In the 81 games before that, he had managed only 2 points and 0 rebounds in the same amount of time. It truly was a breakout of Ndudi Ebi-like proportions. And boy, did he deserve it.

Will Williams make the roster again? I doubt it. There's no reason why he should (no offense). However, considering Jawad's amazing powers of survival in the Ohio area, I'm not putting it past him. And if he does, I'll be sure to tell you.

Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 57

As promised, things got quiet for a bit on here, as I went on a holiday to Spain, specifically to the town of Tudela near Zaragoza. Unlike my previous Spanish holiday, this one will not be tributed with pictures of cheaply built German televisions, or random fat woman's arses. Instead, we'll cut to the Chevy and bring you some long overdue fringe NBA player whereabout-y goodness. Remember, though, that we're nearly finished.

(Note: if you are a Tudellan resident, and your girlfriend decided to leave you this week because her heart was stolen by a bearded Englishman who walked around the town quoting lines from Chanel 9 News wherever he went and being unable to resist fitting the town's name into the melody of a similarly titled Rihanna song.....well, all I can say is that there must have been two of us.)

The following people are all called Williams.

- Ajani Williams hasn't played anywhere since scoring 1 point in two preseason games for the Atlanta Hawks in 2005. Probably not even Hawks fans remember this. That's how insignificant Williams's impact on the NBA landscape was. (No offense intended there, but....well, he's so unheard of that Googling his name returns this website as the fourth result. And that should never happen.) His career before this is extremely obscure, too - starting as a walk-on with Georgia Tech, Williams transferred to Eastern Michigan, where he didn't play much, and certainly didn't star. Tours in Bulgaria, the Philippines (where he became a bit of a hit) and the USBL followed, amongst others, and then Williams was signed by the Magic for 2004 training camp after (presumably) impressing in summer league that season with the Mavericks. He didn't make the team, and returned to Bulgaria for a second stint, before the Hawks came a-calling the next season. Seemingly, being able to score 1 point in an official NBA game (if not a regular season game) was a satisfactory conclusion to Ajani's professional basketball dreams, and he hasn't played anywhere since then, despite still being only 32 years of age. Williams is now the president of the Jamaican Basketball Association, choosing to help develop his homeland's game in preference to taking a player development job at the NBA's head office in New York. Also, according to this, AJ is the author of a guide called "How to become a PRO Basketball Player - The Complete Guide and Manual", which I can't seem to find anywhere. Then again, since it was apparently made in ring binders, that shouldn't seem surprising. (I did find this, but I'm assuming it's not the same person.)

I spent an hour looking up all that Ajani Williams information, so don't skim-read it.

- Speaking of Jamaican ex-training camp signings with the surname Williams, former Raptors sideshow Corey Williams spent the year in Australia playing for the Townsville Crocodiles. "Homicide" killed it, averaging 18.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 32 games, albeit while hitting only 4 three pointers all year.

- Ezra Williams has had a weird career. After going undrafted in 2003, Williams spent the 2003-04 season playing in the NBDL, USBL and WBA in that order, and then spent the 2004-05 season in the CBA, finishing second in the league in scoring. For that, Ezra was rewarded with a training camp invite to the Seattle Supersonics, but he was an early cut. Williams spent the 2005-06 season in the NBDL again, averaging 12.5ppg for the Austin Toros, and then tried the summer league route again in 2006 with the New Orleans Hornets. It didn't work, though, and Williams spent the 2006-07 season playing for Mersin in Turkey, before trying the summer league route again in 2007, and again with the Hornets. Again, it didn't work, and Williams sat out last season before returning to the Toros this year, where he averages 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 39 games, shooting 44% from three point range. In all those years, he's seen only stint in Europe, which seems a bit odd; Williams is not far short of his 30th birthday, and he won't have earned much money from his professional basketball career to date. So why not visit the finest continent in the world and get the money up a bit? Is he excessively jingoistic? Xenophobic? Scared of flying over water? I need an answer on that. Pronto.

- Jawad Williams was one of five unnecessary training camp signings by the Cavaliers, and the winner of the battle for the 15th roster spot after a 13 point, 5 rebound, 3 assists outing versus Boston. Why they chose to keep him around until the contract guarantee date, I'll never know, but they did it anyway before waiving him to save money. However, seemingly unwilling to see the end of the Jawad Williams Experience, Cleveland then re-signed him for two ten day contracts, giving him more money that they could then double for tax penalties, further proving to LeBron James that they'd spend whatever it took to create a winning team. ("Don't leave us! We'll even spent over half a million on the 15th man!") Williams ended up appearing in 9 games for the Cavaliers, totalling all of 10 minutes, and managing to score 4 points in that time. After the Cavaliers finally gave up with him, Williams joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, where he averages 23.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12 games.

- Jerome Williams retired unusually early as the victim of the Knicks's 'Allan Houston provision', and became a community representative for his beloved Raptors. Three years on, I'm assuming that he is still there, due to a lack of evidence to the contrary.

- Justin Williams played for both the Bobcats and Warriors in training camp this season, but didn't make either team. He then tried out in China for Shandong in China, and didn't make that team either. After that, he tried out for Besiktas in Turkey, but they sent him home, unsatisfied with his practices and conditioning. As a result, Williams has not played all season outside of a few scant preseason minutes. It would appear that he can't be bothered to fulfill his potential.

- You'll know Marcus Williams's story, but here it is anyway; once a very highly touted high lottery pick, Williams's stock plummeted on draft night, and he ended up being drafted by the Nets behind Renaldo Balkman, much to everyone's amusement. However, it turns out it was justified - Williams proceeded to do absolutely nothing in two seasons with the Nets, was traded to the Warriors this summer for a future first round pick, but totalled only 12 points and 13 assists in 9 games before being waived earlier this month. He is now unsigned, although a shot at redemption will probably come from somewhere this summer.

- The other Marcus Williams - Spurs draft pick and former Clipper swingman Marcus E. Williams - is in the D-League with the Austin Toros, and absolutely beasting. Williams averages 22.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, and was named a D-League all star this season

- Scott Williams is now doing a media career. Williams called games for the Cavaliers for two seasons, then spent last year as a pre- and post-game analyst for Bucks games, before leaving once again to join the Suns for this season as a colour announcer once again. Seemingly he's doing a tour of all his former NBA teams, so hopefully he'll soon be replacing Stacey King.

- Georgian starlet Shammond Williams is playing for Pamesa Valencia, where I recently had the privilege of watching him play. In the first minute, he got a cut under his eye that required stitches, and he returned in the second half to throw the ball away repeatedly during crunch time. Good times. Williams averages 13.4 points and 3.9 assists per game in Eurocup play, alongside 9.8 points and 3.7 assists in the Spanish league.

- Finally, Walt Williams's NBA career dribbled to a stop in 2003, and he has disappeared off the radar since then. But we can rest assured that, no matter where is or what he's doing, he's still the man. He just is.

Second Prize Is A Set Of Steak Knives

I should have written this note before I did. But you're not the boss of me. Unless you are the boss of me. In which case, hey. Sorry I'm late. Traffic was bad.

These are the camp signing and battles that we are to watch with captivated interest. If you're not even slightly interested, then don't worry, because I'm intrigued enough for the both of us.


- Atlanta re-signed Mario West, and signed Marcus Hubbard, Frank Robinson and ShamSports.com favourite Olumide Oyedeji, after having earlier signed Thomas Gardner and Othello Hunter. These moves give them three shooting guards to battle for one backup spot, but Gardner has the advantage of 50% guaranteed money. Hubbard and Hunter will fight for the inactive list power forward spot, but Hubbard's grand total of three NCAA games can't work in his favour. (If anyone can tell me why he played so little, please do.) Oyedeji has already been waived, which is a damn shame. Sham's predictions to make it: Gardner and Hunter.

- Boringly, Boston only signed one player for training camp, with the re-signing Sam Cassell taking their roster to 16 players. Come on now. Even if they haven't a hope of making the team, play the game and bring in some fringe D-Leaguers. You don't have to give them any guaranteed money, and you get to look at players that might help you one day. Even if they don't, you lose nothing but the tiny amount that you have to pay them for the fortnight that they're there. Signing only Cassell, though, is still enough to give Boston a problem, for they now have 16 players for 15 spots, with no obvious cuts. Maybe the Darius Miles comeback story isn't going to be quite as fairytale as we had hoped, for his fully unguaranteed contract looks very expendable right now. Sham's prediction: Sorry, Darius, but you're a massive health concern, you have a 10 game suspension to deal with, and Bill Walker just got a 4 year contract. I'm not seeing where you fit any more. Failing that, someone might remedy the situation by trading a second for Gabe Pruitt. Someone like the Thunder, maybe.

- Charlotte took on three guys, like the slut that she is. New head coach Larry Brown has always had a thing for guards with no offensive skill who work hard on defense. so that, plus the Bobcats lack of third option at point guard, might bode well for Donell Taylor. Other camp invites Marcus E. Williams and Andre Brown have less of a chance - the Bobcats have enough inconsequential players at Brown's power forward spot, and while Williams has the ability to make it, he just so happens to play the one position that Charlotte doesn't need any help at. Sham's prediction: Donell makes it. How long he lasts for, is another matter.

- Chicago beautifully combined the training camp signing requisities of "fringe NBA talents" and "hometown guys to give people something to care about", when they signed Elton Brown, Roger Powell and Darius Washington. Powell, the hometown boy, has no chance to make it as a reformed small forward, given Chicago's present depth there. Brown isn't exactly the calibre of post scorer that Chicago needs, but his skillset fits the team, and he has NBA talent. Washington has less of a chance, given the team's guard depth, but the Bulls could still use an extra defender at point guard, which gives him a chance. Sham's prediction: Since Ben Gordon took the qualifying offer like a damn fool, the Bulls are now able to afford 14 players. So Brown should make it, along with Demetris Nichols, whose $150,000 guarantee and good outside shot serve him well. Also note - I didn't mention Michael Ruffin - the Bulls other camp signee - at any point. There's a reason for that; the Bulls need an extra centre, particularly a defensive one.....but they don't need Michael Ruffin.

- Cleveland made some of the best signings ever, bringing in Ronald Dupree, Vernon Hamilton and Jawad Williams, as well as making the ultimate random camp signing in Michael Dickerson, a man who medically retired five years ago. The randomness of that group is sublime, and is the reason that I love summer league. Those four, plus holdover Lance Allred, are battling for what is more than likely only 1 roster spot. (Note: Eric Snow will never play again, but they can't trade his expiring contract if they waive him, so he'll probably prop up the inactive list until the trade deadline. Also, Lorenzen Wright is D-U-N done and shouldn't be taking up a spot, but he got guaranteed money, so they're probably stuck with him too.) Sham's prediction: Erm, don't know. Dickerson is (or was) easily the most talented of the bunch, and the Cavaliers could use an extra shooting guard, particularly one with decent size. But the man retired in his prime with an assortment of injuries - now 33, and after 5 years out of the sport, how can we accurately predict what he can offer this season? We can't, so I'll go ahead and assume that it's nothing, due to a lack of alternatives. (I'd dearly like to be wrong on that.) The other invitees offer little. Allred perhaps has the most talent, but after bringing in Wright and drafting J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson, the Cavaliers don't really need an extra big man any more.

- Dallas have given themselves a pleasant predicament. After signing Gerald Green, Keith McLeod and James Singleton spectacularly early (during the moratorium, in fact), the Mavericks then added some more players, signing JaJuan Smith, Cheyne Gadson, Reyshawn Terry and Charles Rhodes for camp. Green has a guaranteed contract, so he's in, but the rest have a problem, and there are only two spots left to fill. In this blog, I have previously mentioned how Singleton is an NBA calibre talent and a good signing for Dallas, but unfortunately for James, so is the other power forward, Charles Rhodes. Rhodes had a fine summer league, and has shown himself to be a fine candidate for this year's Craig Smith Award™ (an award annually given to the undersized power forward that either goes undrafted, or who slides into the second round, because scouts overlook their skill set, believing it to be less important than the inch or two of height that would make them ideal for their position. Formerly known as the Chuck Hayes Award.) The Mavericks don't need both players, and so it looks as though they're fighting for one spot. Working in Singleton's favour is that Rhdoes largely duplicates Dallas's other power forward backup, Brandon Bass; working against Singleton is the fact that he's four years older than Rhodes. Neither can play centre, and so the Mavericks can't really keep both, so there's a legitimately interesting training camp battle for you there. As for the guards, JaJuan Smith's sweet jumpshot stands him in good stead for a spot on the guard roster as a shooter off of the bench, as does the inherent uselessness of Keith McLeod. (Gadson is irrelevant.) Reyshawn Terry may play in the NBA one day, but he chose the wrong year to come over, because Devean George just took his spot for no real reason. Sham's prediction: Singleton beats out Rhodes due to him having guaranteed money, and Smith makes it as the 15th man. But this won't be the last time we see Charles Rhodes in the NBA.

- The Denver Nuggets often make signings that fill one of two criteria - veterans for the veteran's minimum, and players that are widely disliked. They achieved both this summer, as they signed Ruben Patterson, Smush Parker, Mateen Cleaves, Juwan Howard, Nick Fazekas and James Mays for training camp. Given Denver's tendency to go with only 13 players due to their self-inflicted payroll concerns, it seems tough for anyone of the above to get in, given that the Nuggets had 13 players under contract already, but the proposed Jamaal Tinsley trade may open up one spot, and Sonny Weems is not certain to make it, albeit probable. The Tinsley trade, should it go down, will spell doom for Parker and Cleaves, whose chances of making the team are miniscule anyway. Fazekas has NBA talent, but doesn't seem to have made the best choice of training camp to join. Howard is D-U-N done, and hopefully Denver aren't too attatched to the sentimentality that accompanies his return to the team. Patterson is also returning to one of his former teams, and he's got to be somewhat fresh, after his career best 2006/07 season with Milwaukee went largely by the wayside. (He has only played in 20 games since then, while on an unguaranteed minimum salary contract with the Clippers last season. This is the sort of thing that will happen when you're on the sex offenders register - you need to be more than marginal to get into the NBA.) And Mays always has Top Gear to fall back on. Sham's prediction: Ask me after the Tinsley deal. If there isn't one made, expect nothing, because there just isn't the money for it.

- Detroit brought back their former draft pick Alex Acker for training camp, and that's it. Boo them. Boo them loudly. Boo them now. Sham's prediction: who cares. Detroit highly rated Acker a few years ago after picking him with the last pick in 2005, but he did nothing for Barcelona last year with plenty of opportunities. At least he's not Lindsey Hunter, though.

- Golden State's training camp signings were made well in advance of this great day, with Rob Kurz, DeMarcus Nelson, Dion Dowell and Anthony Morrow all signing nice and early. But, ever eager, they added two more to that list, bringing journeyman point guard Dan Dickau and love machine Justin Williams in as well. Sham's prediction: The Warriors need a point guard in the worst way, but Dickau is the only one of the bunch. He's had a modicum of success in the NBA before, but only on a bad Hornets team, and he also apparently has a bad back right now. Nelson might make the team as a point guard defender, but he has no offense for the position. Dowell and Kurz add little, but Morrow may be a useful shooter off the bench, even if the depth chart is against him. Williams has a shot at making it, if only for his genuine size on a team bereft of much of that. But he hasn't developed much. I'm going to call it as being Dickau and Williams that make it, with Morrow not far behind, and I fully expect to be wrong on this.

- Houston has very little money to spend, and few spots to spend it on, but they've played the training camp game anyway, and God bless them for that. Along with bringing in their draft pick, Joey Dorsey, to a first round sized-contract, their camp signings are off-guard Von Wafer and late blooming big man Marcus Campbell. The Dorsey signing gives them 13 guaranteed contracts, with Mike Harris and D.J. Strawberry also on the team with unguaranteed deals, and there may also be Dikembe Mutombo to add to that. The Rockets are also tiptoeing around the tax, so it looks bleak for those on the cusp. Sham's prediction: Doesn't look good for Wafer or Campbell. Strawberry was acquired specifically for his unguaranteed salary, which has bad news written all over it. And despite the Rockets' like of Harris, his unguaranteed deal may be more useful to them than whatever few minutes he gets. But he might make it if Dikembe doesn't return. A dump-type trade of Steve Francis, Luther Head or Chuck Hayes (less likely) might open things up for somebody, but such a trade would be sought out only to save money.

- Indiana's lone camp signing was their former figure of hate and love, Justin Frazier. We can make a teeny weeny allowance for their almost total ignorance of the training camp phenomena, because a summer of decent trading has left them with already 16 guaranteed contracts for only 15 spots, and probably regretting their decision to take out Stephen Graham's team option. Sham's prediction: Croshere didn't look like he had much left last season anyway, and while a redux of his would be nice, there isn't the room for him here. It also doesn't look good for Graham, who just isn't required on the Pacers right now. Also note - if the Jamaal Tinsley for Chucky Atkins and Steven Hunter trade goes down as reported, as expected, then the Pacers again have to cut or move someone with guaranteed money. If they can't get Denver to take back Graham or Josh McRoberts in the deal, then they'll have 17 contracts for 15 spots. That would pretty much be it for Graham, and it doesn't look great for McRoberts either, purely because of the numbers involved. This is unless a side move sees Shawne Williams moved on to somewhere where he hasn't worn out his welcome. (Also note: if they see enough in McRoberts to keep him, contracts be damned - and they might - then Macy O'Baston is an easy cut, in spite of his $2.2 million deal.)

- The Clippers have spent their whole season reworking their entire roster, but after Jason Williams's unexpected retirement, they suddenly have a spot to fill all over again. Always willing to play the training camp game (God bless you, Elgin Baylor), the Clippers brought in four players, ranging from underwhelming point guard Dontell Jefferson, through to journeyman centre Jelani McCoy, via forwards Curtis Sumpter and David Noel. Paul Davis also has only a $200,000 guarantee, so his spot is still available on a team with no luxury tax concerns. That said, he's probably safe - the Clippers don't really have a third point guard, but Mike Taylor can handle the role better than Jefferson could, and McCoy doesn't outclass him by enough to merit the spot over the far younger Davis, if at all. Sumpter and Noel have only each other for competition, but neither is needed. Sham's prediction: fuck it, pick one out of a hat. Jelani McCoy. There you go. (And Davis, obviously.)

- The Lakers did most of their training camp business early, signing Brandon Heath, Dwayne Mitchell and C.J. Giles long before September ended. They also brought in their second rounder of this year - Joe Crawford - and re-signed Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, the most famous jug eared half-Belgian half-Congoish 7 footer in the game today. (Note: former Clipper Josh Powell only has $200,000 guaranteed this season, and therefore is not a guarantee to make the team, but for the purposes of this paragraph, I'm treating him as though he is. He should be - he's better than the others.) You will notice that those five players are all either shooting guards or centres, which gives you a clue what the two upcoming camp battles might be. Sham's prediction: Mbenga makes the team as the unnecessary fourth string centre (for those questioning my counting ability - Bynum, Gasol, Mihm, in that order), and all of the shooting guards lose out to the incumbent Coby Karl. The only way for one of the others to make it is for Powell to duly unimpress, ro for Sun Yue to be imprisoned for heroin smuggling.

- Memphis signed Quinton Ross, which comes as a great relief to those of us out there to have posed the question, "Won't somebody PLEASE think of Quinton Ross?". Unfortuantely for us Ross fans, Quinton seems to have chosen the one team that really doesn't need a guard. (Memphis's backcourt is small, something which Ross can help with, but it's also deep, and in need of an extra shooter, which Ross doesn't bring.) The Grizzlies' other camp signings include former Blazer (for about a week) and summer league bench player, Brent Petway, and former Rockets draft pick Malick Badiane. Sham's prediction: Memphis needs a power forward, but Petway isn't it. Ross has the most talent of the three, but the numbers are against him. Badiane therefore has a chance, but the Grizzlies threw several million at Hamed Haddadi earlier this summer, thereby filling up their "project centre" quota, and doing so without Badiane, a soon to be 25 old year old man still suffering from inherent rawness, and who runs like a pre-teen girl. (Hint: it's in the wrists.)

- The finest quality that the Miami Heat possess is their ability and desire to sign everybody in the world of professional basketball, which leaves those of us obsessed with transactions nursing semi's. Having already waived Stephane Lasme and Bobby Jones earlier this summer, and signing Jason Richards and David Padgett straight after summer league, the Heat kept on playing the signing game, bringing in Eddie Basden, Matt Walsh, Omar Barlett and Tre Kelley for camp. Since then, the Heat have brought in Shaun Livingston, waiving Kelley to open up the spot. (Kelley must have been real bad, because Richards - the other excess point guard on the roster - has suffered a knee injury and won't play this year. Yet somehow the Heat would still rather have him than Kelley.) Sham's prediction: Walsh, Richards, Padgett, Barlett and Basden are all doomed since the Livingston signing, which gives the Heat 14 guaranteed contracts. The 15th man - Jamaal Magloire - has a 50% guarantee on his contract, and despite me often harping on about how poor Magloire is, he's still better than David Padgett. Any role Basden may have filled has already been filled has already been taken by Yakhouba Diawara, any role Walsh may have had has already been filled by James Jones, the Heat have four point guards already that are better than Richards (who can't take the court anyway), and Barlett.......well, he's not got guaranteed money, or NBA talent. So I don't think he's making it.