Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 11

Calling it early; Miami will trade Dorell Wright along with New Orleans' 2010 second rounder to the Grizzlies in exchange for changing the protection on the Grizzlies 2012 secound rounder - already owed to the Heat from last year's Shaun Livingston deal - from top 55 to top 50. (That is to say, in exchange for as little as possible.)

That's a prediction, not a story, but it makes sense; Miami gets under the tax with this deal, and Memphis gains a free decent player and a 40's pick to replace their own, which is owed to the Lakers as a part of the Pau Gasol deal. It's the kind of deal a lot of teams have done lately, not least of all Memphis, who spent much of last year taking on either people's unwanted cap hits in exchange for future picks and cash. It's a solid way to do business, and, post-Iverson buyout, they can afford to do it again. Add this to my list of predicted trades, which previously featured one other; Hilton Armstrong to the Clippers, who's now gone to the Kings instead. Don't know why I was so hung up on it being the Clippers. Thought too much about TPE's and forgot about cap space.

Speaking of which, the salaries are updated.

Also, what I said earlier about Mikki Moore was wrong. Golden State does not pay him more now that they've waived him; for some reason, the rebate thing applies once a player has been paid more than the two year minimum, regardless of whether he's on the roster not. Thus, Golden State will still only pay $825,495 to Moore after all. Sorry. The confusion/misinformation stemmed from the case of Austin Croshere, who last season signed a one year minimum salary contract with Indiana (later claimed off waivers by Milwaukee) but who didn't make it beyond the guarantee date; Croshere got paid $543,026 by the Bucks for his two months of work, which was 73 days worth of the team or more year veteran's salary for that season ($1,262,275), but apparently that wouldn't have applied if his contract was guaranteed. This makes it even weirder than the Bucks waived him, since it cost them $543,026 for 73 days work and would have only cost $254,555 for another 97 more. But anyway.

Everything's Justin Frazier's fault, somehow.



- Derrick Byars

Byars is American, so he's obviously in the German league. He's with ALBA Berlin, yet he's averaging only 6.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in the German league, along with 5.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in the Eurocup, shooting only 26% from three point range in the Budnesliga and 33% in the Eurocup.

Nevertheless, Bulls fans still haven't stopped talking about him.



- Sergei Bykov

Dynamo Moscow lost all their good import players over the last year because they ran out of money. This means that Bykov - who last year was buried as the third point guard behind Hollis Price, Brian Chase and Jannero Pargo, and behind Travis Hansen at shooting guard - now gets to star. His numbers are up across the board, averaging 18.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in the Eurocup, in conjunction with 22.9/2.9/4.4 in the Russian Superleague. He leads the Superleague in points per game, and is third in assists per game as well. Yet Dynamo have only a 3-5 record anyway because they have no imports to support him with.



- Rashid Byrd

Rashid Byrd appears to be unsigned. I say "appears to be," because someone purporting to be his cousin said on this site's Facebook page that Rashid had been reacquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the D-League team with which he finished up last season. However, no source of D-League news seems to agree with her. So either it's a premonition, something that's going to happen soon, a misunderstanding, or a lie. The last one seems unlikely.

In lieu of Rashid Byrd news, here's a video of him and Ron Artest discussing life, women and condoms.



- Zarko Cabarkapa

Zarko Cabarkapa was out of the game for three years, from early 2006 to early 2009, due to the chronic injuries that hampered his NBA career. He reappeared last January with his former team, Buducnost in Montenegro, for whom he played four games. He totalled 25 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds and 7 fouls, before not playing again after February after having yet another surgery. Cabarkapa is now 28 years old, still unsigned and still recuperating, but he hasn't given up yet.



- Justin Cage

Cage is with Dexia Mons-Hainaut, a Belgian team not keen to admit that they're actually Belgian. The team has a 10 man rotation, and yet employs only one German; youth player Alexandre Libert. (Former Idaho State forward Jim Potter is into his fifteenth season in Belgium, so I guess he counts too.) Dexia recently lost their American head coach - Chris Finch - to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League, and replaced him with an Israeli head coach and a Dutch assistant. It's a very international affair, just as long as that nation is not Belgium.

On the year, Cage is averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in the Belgian league, alongside 7.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in the Eurochallenge. He also totalled 10 points in his only Eurocup game of the year, but I watched that game, and he kind of sucked a bit. (Although his accidentally-banked-in three was kind of cool.) Indeed, the whole Dexia Mons-Hainaut team sucked in that game; after beating Valencia in the first leg by 15 points, all Dexia had to do was either win again, or lose by no more than 14 points. This should have been easy, even on the road, and Dexia actually led by double digits at one point. But then they pissed it all away in the second half, lost by 18, and were knocked out of the competition. Whoops.



- Nick Calathes

Calathes is playing for Panathinaikos, where his Greek passport helps the team bypass rules in non-Greek players. He played quite a lot to begin the year backing up Vassilis Spanoulis, but has seen less time since Sarunas Jasikevicius returned from injury. On the season, Calathes (or Kalathis to the Greeks) averages 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in the Greek league, along with 4.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in the Euroleague. Those numbers might not look too good, but as the third string point guard on one of the world's best and deepest teams, they're pretty solid.



- Pat Calathes

Nick's brother Pat is three years older and 8 times balder. Pat retains a strong hairline at the front, but the crown is starting to go and he's only in his mid 20's. I feel your pain, brother. Pat is also in Greece and playing for Maroussi, another Euroleague team. He is averaging 5.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in the Greek league, along with 2.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in the Euroleague.



- Earl Calloway

Calloway was announced as a signee of Khimki to start the summer, but apparently that was a lie. Instead, after doing fairly well for the New Orleans Hornets in summer league, he went to Spain and joined Cajasol Sevilla. Calloway is putting up his usual all-around numbers, averaging 10.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 28 minutes per game, shooting 41% from the field and 40% from three point range.

Also on that team is Maurice Ager, who we've already covered in part 1. I thought you might like to know that he has raised his shooting percentage since part 1 was written, from 22% to 26%.



- Elden Campbell

I can't find Elden Campbell. And believe me, I've looked. It wouldn't be a surprise if the man named the "Big Easy" is taking it Big Easy in his 40's, but it'd also be useful to find something. So if you know something, phone in.



- Marcus Campbell

D-League veteran Campbell has gone back there, rejoining his last team, the Anaheim Arsenal, who are now known as the Springfield Armor. (Arse to Arm. Giggidy.) The Armor aren't good this year, sporting only a 3-14 record, and part of the reason for that is their lack of size. It's not Campbell's fault, as he averages 9.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in only 20 minutes of 10 games. But their other main centre option is former Tennessee big man Major Wingate, who manages to turn it over three times a game in only 28 minutes. Not easy to do when you're not a big man scorer.



- Nik Caner-Medley

Caner-Medley was with Calloway's team Cajasol Sevilla last season, but it didn't end well. Caner-Medley drunkenly punched a team mate in the face at the club's end of season party, and was kicked out, ne'er to return. He's gone back to Spain anyway, joining up with Estudiantes Madrid and averaging 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Also on that team is British prospect Dan Clark. Clark won his fame as a prospecy in NBA circles back in 2005, but he's never done much with is since, toiling on loan in the Spanish minor leagues while Estudiantes held onto his rights. However, this season marks the first time he's gotten regular ACB time, and he's doing rather well with it. In 10 games this year Clark is averaging 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, shooting 50% from the field and 50% from three point range. As a 21 year old in the ACB, that's not bad.



Finally.....

- Jason Capel

Capel was briefly a member of the Bobcats back in 2005, thanks in no small part to the fact that his dad Jeff was an assistant there at the time. Capel was only there for training camp, though, and did not make the team. Indeed, his career only lasted two more years total before Capel had to retired with chronic back problems aged only 26. He then rejoined the Bobcats as a radio announcer, later switching to becoming an announcer for ACC games, and then followed family tradition by becoming a coach. He is currently an assistant coach at Appalachian State.




As always, if you want to keep tracks of the transaction of these players without having to wait until every January, use the transaction indexes for all three of the NBA, the D-League and the world at large. Every relevant transaction is in there. Even the Taiwanese ones.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 9

- Zarko Cabarkapa has not been signed since being let go by the Golden State Warriors about 18 months ago, at the end of the 2006/07 season. Zarko had not played that whole season, either, meaning that his last professional basketball game came nearly three years ago in April 2006. The reason for this is injury, as Cabarkapa has battled chronic back complaints for all this time, if not from before then. However, there's a light at the end of the tunnel - Cabarkapa has recently begun workouts with his former team, Budućnost, hoping to get back into the game. He has not signed a contract with anyone, but it's a start.

- Justin Cage is playing for Belgacom Liege, a team that unsurprisingly play in Belgium. Belgacom Liege employ a very strict 8 man rotation (the roster outside of those 8 players have a total of 30 minutes played in 13 games), and only one of those 8 players is a Belgian. As an Arsenal fan, I kind of know how this feels. Cage averages 16.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game, making himt he team's second leading scorer behind the man, the legend, Christopher Hill.

- Pat Calathes was not drafted, played on the summer league roster of all 30 teams, still didn't make it to training camp, and so he buggered off to Greece, having to temporarily postpone his plans to be the next Pat Garrity. For Marousi in Greece, Calathes is averaging 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting three pointers at a scintillating 22%.

- After being one of the best players in the D-League last year, Earl Calloway went in search of some slightly better money. Finding it with Cibona Zagreb, Calloway averages 11.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals a game, but his court time might be about to be superceded by recent arrival Alan Anderson. (Calloway's backcourt partner, Davor Kus, is a Croatin international and the team's leading scorer. So he's not getting benched any time soon.)

- Marcus Campbell was one of the better big men in the D-League last year, but he left late in the season to play in Italy. Obviously a fan of tideless seas full of shit and piss, Campbell stayed near the Mediterranean and signed in the Spanish second division with Los Barrios, yet he was quickly released. Returning to the D-League once more, Campbell is currently averaging 10.7 points and 9.9 rebounds for his former and present team, The Arse.

- Nik Caner-Medley started the season with Upea Orlando in Italy, but the team went bankrupt before the season started. Whether this was due to Nik Caner-Medley, I couldn't say, but I doubt it. C-Med then moved to Cajasol Sevilla in Spain, where he averages 10.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists, yet shooting only 11% from three point range. So his weakness is still there, then. (I quite like Nik Caner-Medley, having never watched a single moment of his college career. If he adds that jumpshot range, it's plausible that his career follows a path similar to that of James Singleton, someone else whose game I like. Maybe I have a thing for undrafted hustle players with sporadic mid range jumpshots. I'd like Louis Amundson too if he could just control his own hair-based urges.)

- Jason Capel is still retired, although his Wikipedia page doesn't seem to carry this information. In fact, it says the complete opposite. Nevertheless, as far as I can tell, though, he no longer broadcasts Charlotte Bobcats games on radio, like he did last year, having being usurped by Muggsy Bogues. He stil announces college games, though, and is an assistant coach for a high school team.

- Geno Carlisle seems to be having one more crack at the NBA, despite now being the wrong side of 30. Playing for The Arse (as does seemingly every player that this series has covered so far - even Malick Badiane just joined them), Carlisle averages 8.0 points and 1.8 rebounds.

- Alejandro Carmona is unsigned, after leaving his Mexican team in November.

- Pat Carroll recently changed teams, from the unsuccessful Spanish team Beirasar Rosalia to the more successful Spanish team of Tenerife Rural. Carroll averaged 13.7 points for Rosalia, and 15.5 points for Tenerife in his two games there so far.

- Finally, high scoring Jaycee "Cash Money" Carroll isn't letting a perceived lack of speed get him down, as he averages 17.8 points and 5.1 rebounds for the third placed Banca Tercas Teramo in Italy. That 17.8 points is good for fourth in the league. By the way, there is no particular reason why I just called him "Cash Money". It merely stems from a childish game that me and my friend played this weekend, in which we spent a good couple of hours watching football and thinking up really bad nicknames for all the players on show, before deciding that the nickname "Cash Money" works on pretty much everybody. The same applies to "Mad Dog" and "The Cat". This is how I live my life.

Summer signings, round 7

- In round 3, I set your collective minds at ease about the whereabouts of shaven headed corner lingerer, Jumaine Jones. I told you that he had signed in Italy. But apparently that's not the end of the matter. In a rather unique tale, Jumaine's two agents appear to have simultaneously agreed to two seperate contracts with two different teams in two different countries. Jones has seemingly agreed to sign with both Milano in Italy and with a team called Ural Great Perm in Russia. (Great name. A great name. Great perm, too.) I don't think there's any precedent for knowing quite what happens in situations such as this, so it's FIBA's problem now. Good stuff, though.

- On the off-chance that you can remember who Rashad Wright is - a Pacers secound rounder from 2004 who never made the NBA - then you'll be horny when you hear that he has signed with ALBA Berlin in Germany, after last played for Efes Pfilsen in Turkey. For those unaware....that's a backwards step. (No offense to ALBA Berlin fans. But it is. You know?)

- In news that I know will excite at least one reader of this website, former humoursly bad NBA player Reece Gaines has signed for Angelico Biella in Italy. I don't know who she is, but she sounds hot. I made that joke once before, and I shall continue to use it every time the name Angelico Biella crops up, because I'm unoriginal like that. (If you've never received a "hey, do you know what's happened to Reece Gaines?" email in your life, then you're missing out. Ask nicely and I'll write you one. Maybe.)

- Loukas Mavrokefalidis remains in Greece, going from Olympiakos to Maroussi Costa Coffee, where he'll join none other than Andreas Glyniadakis. Try spelling that frontcourt while shitfaced on Mescaline. Can't be done.

- Jorge Garbajosa did indeed sign with Khimky, as thread in a previous blog post. I guess the leg's better now, eh?

- Just In Cage has signed with Belgacom Liege in Belgium (or, specifically, in Liege in Belgium). This news may interest you if you are a Bulls fan - Cage played mediocrely for the Bulls summer league team last season, but was invited to training camp anyway, where he didn't last for very long. However, at some point between the two events, David Thorpe (who was working with Cage in some capacity) wrote a glowing commendation of Cage's hero-like basketball abilities. Certain Bulls fans bought into that, and began planning the franchise's entire direction around the formidable Justin "Magical" Cage. So news of hsi signing in the Belgian league will piss on those people's chips.

- Another Bulls summer league and former Spur, Keith Langford, is on the cusp of signing for Bologna in Italy. That's all I have to say about that. And now onto news about actual NBA players.

- The Spurs re-signed Kurt Thomas, and also signed Creighton's finest Anthony Tolliver. It has to be said that, while everyone's talking about the potential juicy goodness of the 2010 free agency class, no one has talked about the Spurs's potential impact on it. They do, after all, have only two players under contract that summer, and even though Manu Ginobili will be a free agent that summer, the Spurs have enough room to give him an extension and still be able to throw an arseload of cheese at a big name player. They'll have only the merest bare bones of a squad, but an aging foursome of Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and, say, Dirk Nowitzki....well, you'd have to respect that, even if the other 9 players are on minimum salary contracts. Which they'd probably have to be. (Note: given the way things work in the NBA, this scenario will prove to impossible within next to no time. Either Dirk will sign an extension, the salary cap won't increase as expected, or the Spurs will spend money on multiple lesser players. Or the franchise will fold. Or all four of those things. This is why I don't make predictions any more - they suck and are hard. Giggidy.)

- Sebastian Telfair re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, after a 'breakout' season in which he shot 40%.

- The Detroit Pistons are to sign Will Bynum, which could be amusing if Lindsey Hunter sticks around for another season. Imagine looking down that bench for a point guard who can hit a jumpshot. Good luck.

- Ricky Davis is the latest reasonably big name NBA player to be offered a disproportionally huge amount of money from Greek club Olympiakos as a replacement for Loukas Mavrokefalidis...........

- .....And Josh Childress did go to Olympiakos after all. Good on you, sir.

Where Are They Now? Part 7

Derrick Byars is playing for Chorale de Roanne of the French league. He has also recently changed agents, which is something that was brought to my attention via email by a Mr (or Mrs) B.D. Byars. So thank you, whoever you are. And if you have any idea how much guaranteed money Derrick got to go to training camp with Philadelphia last year, and wish to share that with me too, that'd be good.

Will Bynum is playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, where he was recently arrested and charged with a hit and run. Even more recently (Sunday), he was acquitted, after the judge ruled that his actions were the only reasonable ones that he could have taken in order to get away from the situation (Bynum and his car were being pelted by rocks by a large group of people who obviously didn't like him very much, and Bynum clipped one while speeding away). Strange times. Even stranger, none of the people doing the rock throwing got charged either.

Rashid Byrd, one of the greatest all time Random Training Camp Signings Of Seven Footers Who Happen To Play In A Gym Next To An NBA Team And Who Get Signed To Keep The Numbers Up, has gone back to the oblivion from whence he came. He is playing for the mighty OC Gladiators of the ABA.

Zarko Cabarkapa has not played professionally since leaving Golden State. Whether this is due to apathy or injury, I could not say. But if I remember rightly, he had a problematic back complaint. So maybe it's that.

Justin Cage is playing for the Colorado 14ers in the D-League, and still isn't as good as his agent says he is. (What, by the way, is a 14er?)

Elden Campbell is long since retired, and was recently honoured as a "Clemson Legend".

Marcus Campbell is playing for Avellino in Italy after transferring from The Arse just this week.

Nik Caner-Medley is playing for Gran Canaria in Spain.

Jason Capel has quit playing professional basketball and is now a colour commentator. He's only 28, but apparently doctors told him to "shut it down". This story has movie potential. (That is to say, it has crap movie potential.)

Geno Carlisle's world tour of everywhere continues, and he is currently playing for Karisyaka in Turkey.

Bimbo Carmona is playing for Carolina in his native Puerto Rico, and still isn't someone that you've heard of. (Dammit, you should pour over summer league and training camp rosters some time. I do this often. Great fun. So many nobodies.)

Pat Carroll is playing for Alicante in Spain, and is also still entirely comparable to his brother Matt in every way. Except Matt has six years of guaranteed salary coming to him, and Pat is playing in Spain throwing lob passes to Martynas Andriuskevicius.