Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 2

- Akin Akingbala

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



- Cenk Akyol

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



- Chris Alexander

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



- Cory Alexander

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



- Courtney Alexander

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

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

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



- Shagari Alleyne

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

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

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



- Lance Allred

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

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



- Morris Almond

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

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




- Alade Aminu

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



- Alan Anderson

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

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



- Derek Anderson

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

Summer league round-up: Orlando Magic

Don't tell me. I already know.

View the Magic summer league roster.

- Maurice Ager: The highlight of Maurice Ager's NBA career was when he cried on draft night after being taken at the very end of the first round. That was touching. Since then.........nothing. In three years with two teams, Ager has shot 33% from the field, put up more fouls than rebounds, and more turnovers than assists. He's a scoring specialist, yet he's never shown the ability to score on an NBA court. He's never demonstrated NBA three point range on his jumpshot, gets wild, and chucks in the few opportunities he gets. You can say, rightly, that he's never had an extended run in the NBA. Yet he's also been in it for three years now, fully healthy, yet still never seeing rotation time. He wasn't even any good on his D-League assignment. At some point, you're just not suitable.

- Lance Allred: Allred is now 28, but he's only been on the NBA radar for two years after averaging a double double with the Idaho Stampede in 2007/08. That landed him a brief stint with the Cavaliers down the stretch of the season, who waived him last October. Allred then returned to the Stampede and averaged 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last year; more importantly, he took his new found fame and fortune, and wrote a book about his professional basketball career. Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA is the title of Allred's book, and it's available for all good book stores, or by clicking the link there.

- Ryan Anderson: Yes, I saw how Anderson did in summer league. Yes, it was very good. Yes, he's probably a lottery selection had he been drafted in 2009 instead of 2008. Yes, I know that his rookie year PER was a solid 13.6. And yes, he's more than a throw-in to the Vince Carter deal. But he also had plenty of opportunities in his rookie year, starting 30 games and playing over 1200 minutes, just to shoot under 40% and rebound badly. He should be a nice player for the Magic, and a good fit for the system. But he's also not really a starter. Not yet.

- Brian Chase: Chase is a 5'8 score first guard. You don't need me to tell you that it's really hard to make the NBA as such a player. Nevertheless, Chase is good, and scores everywhere he goes. Last year was no different; Chase averaged 12.2 points and 2.5 assists for Le Mans in France, before moving to Dynamo Moscow to act as Jannero Pargo's replacement, where he passed more and averaged 10.7ppg/3.7rpg/2.9apg. The Magic could use a third point guard after trading away Rafer Alston, and Chase has at least a shred of NBA experience. But they'd rather have a second stringer and kick Anthony Johnson further down the bench. And even if they can't get C.J. Watson or whoever to do that, then Tyronn Lue is still a better option. Magic fans may now disagree with that.

- Ronald Dupree: He's like Courtney Lee, except he's a worse jumpshooter, quite a bit bigger, shoots every layup like Lee's game 2 effort, and has a bigger head. Doop is one of the better D-League players not to be in the NBA, and last year was the first year of his professional career that he wasn't in it for at least a bit. Hopefully we can buck that trend before it becomes a trend.

- Courtney Fells: If you watched Courtney Fells in summer league, you'll have gotten the idea of what he's like. He's a decently sized highly athletic two guard who shoots a lot, but often not very well. He's streakier than an old man's nappy after a fulfilling fry-up, and he has far from a complete all around game. For all his athleticism and occasionally brilliant shooting, he's decidedly normal, and never averaged more than 11.3 points per game in college. Why is that?

(Note: feel free to send in any "streakier than a....." similes. I'm starting to run out.)

- Levance Fields: Fields is pretty brilliant, if you like undersized point guards with little scoring talent. Good passer, though. The NBA probably isn't on the horizon, with maybe a few seasons on the fringes, but his European career has already begun; Fields has signed for Spartak St Petersburg, which is in Russia (not Florida).

- C.J. Giles: Giles was covered here. He played one game for the Magic's summer league team, playing 4 minutes and 36 seconds, scoring 2 points, grabbing 3 rebounds and recording 2 steals. A pretty solid 4 minutes and 36 steals.

- Richard Hendrix: I went on about Hendrix quite a lot during the Warriors round-up, as well as the Nuggets round-up. Unsurprisingly, he played well for Orlando in summer league, averaging 9.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He'll get signed by an NBA team this year. If he doesn't, then.......well, then Devean George, Ryan Bowen, Jason Hart, Jarron Collins, Kevin Ollie, Rob Kurz, Juwan Howard, Michael Ruffin, Malik Rose, Brevin Knight and Cedric Simmons had better not be in it either.

- Stevan Milosevic: Stevan Milosevic (often confusingly listed as Stefan) is a big old Serbian centre who plays in Germany. Last year for the Koeln 66ers, he averaged 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Hmm. 9/5 in the German league. It's not a lot, really. I realise that he's a big 23 year old 7 footer who's showing a modicum of offensive talent, and that such things are always highly regarded (as evidenced by Hamed Haddadi getting a contract similar to that of a late lottery selection last year), but it's not much of a resumé, really. Oh well. Duly noted. (By the way, in summer league play, Milosevic channelled his inner Chandler and totalled 7 fouls and 7 turnovers in 16 total minutes. Pretty hard to do.)

- Jeremy Pargo: Pargo is nothing like his brother Jannero, which is somewhat rare to find in brothers. He doesn't really have NBA talent, though. Being in a draft so heavy on point guards didn't help, just like it didn't help Fields, Dominic James and the rest. But he isn't a good shooter or a decision maker, and Jannero can at least do the first one.

- Kasib Powell: It's purely circumstances that have prevented Kasib Powell from having a solid 5 season NBA career so far. Ronald Dupree did, after all, and he's no better. He has the talent and a solid all around game, and has had a couple of looks. But the only NBA playing time he's ever gotten was 11 games down the stretch for the abhorrently tanking Miami Heat team of 2007/8, and that's not fair on anyone. Nonetheless, Powell has a chance here, because despite of Orlando's solid moves this summer, they could use some cheap wing depth. And personally I'm rooting for him.

- Milovan Rakovic: Rakovic was the last pick in the 2007 draft that the Magic bought off of the Mavericks. He hasn't really done anything since, averaging 8.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in the Russian league last year for Spartak St Petersburg, rebounding really badly for a 6'10 player and blocking only 2 shots in 26 games. However, next year, he'll have Levance Fields passing to him. So that should cheer him up.

- Jeremy Richardson: Richardson was with the Magic all of last season, despite them waiving him at one time. He barely played, appearing in spot minutes of 13 games and shooting 28% (including a 2-14 outing), and the Magic didn't extend a QO. His time in Orlando is especially over now that they've agreed to terms with Matt Barnes. Richardson might catch on with another NBA team next year, but that would mean he's been in the NBA for four straight years, and I'm not sure he's quite that good. He's all right, though.

- Russell Robinson: Robinson wasn't drafted in 2008, despite being the starting point guard on the national champion Kansas Jayhawks and after earning his third straight trip to the Big 12 All-Defensive team. Instead, he went to the D-League, and averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals for the Reno Bighorns (giggidy). He shot 45% from the field and 36% from the three point line, and had a far better second half to the season than the first one. If his offense keeps trending upwards and the defense doesn't waver, he might get a chance one day.

- Darian Townes: Townes started last in Poland, buggered off to the D-League, played there until the season finished, then went to Puerto Rico. He has already signed in Holland for next year. The most important thing here is that he won't be playing for the Orlando Magic next season.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 2

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.