Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 29

- Jason Hart

Hart first signed with the Timberwolves for training camp, and the depth chart alone was enough to help him beat out the other 470 competitors for the 15th man spot. However, despite the Wolves' lack of a third point guard, Hart played only 5 minutes and ended up being traded away, twice. Sort of. The Timberwolves first had a deal with New Orleans that would have seen them trade Hart (or rather, his unguaranteed contract) to the Hornets in exchange for Devin Brown and cash, and the deal was so close to being done that a press release even appeared on the Timberwolves' website. However, Phoenix snuck in at the last minute and offered Minnesota a better deal, giving them Alando Tucker and a second rounder for Hart instead.

Phoenix then waived Hart, and New Orleans eventually got their man when Hart signed a ten day cover with them as injury cover when Chris Paul first went down. Since then, however, Hart has been unsigned. He can often be seen in the crowd of Syracuse home games, although there aren't any more of them scheduled until November time now.



- Donnell Harvey

Harvey was covered in the 2010 CBA Season Round-up from last week. In his last two games, Harvey put up two of his three worst scoring outings of the season; 14 points, 15 rebounds against Guandong, and 8/9 in the regular season finale against Zhejiang Lions. Never mind, though. A fine season.



- Matt Haryasz

Stanford graduate and ex-Rockets signee Matt Haryasz moved from Belgium to Israel in the summer, but it didn't last long. After only 3 games with Bnei Hasharon, in which he totalled 17 points and 12 rebounds, Haryasz moved to Holland to play for Groningen. Playing in the slightly crap Dutch league (no offense) has done wonders for Haryasz's numbers; he's averaging 16.1 points and 8.5 rebounds in only 25 minutes per game on the season.

Holland borders both Belgium and Germany, and their basketball league shares the Belgian and German league trait for having far too many Americans in it. Haryasz is one of 7 on his team, and they also boast a Canadian called Steve Ross. It seems excessive.



- Kenny Hasbrouck

Siena graduate Hasbrouck was going to sign with the Miami Heat for training camp. He originally joined the team for their summer free agent camp - boringly, they didn't enter a summer league team - and he had the Heat staff raving about him. The contract looked - was - inevitable. However, Hasbrouck got injured just before camp started, and he never signed with the team. The injury was supposed to take about a month to heal, but actually took a lot longer than that, and Hasbrouck did not reappear until late January when he resurfaced in the D-League. From there, he was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, and in 10 games for them Hasbrouck has averaged 16.9 points and 2.9 assists on 50% shooting.

The Heat are going to call him up later today as a replacement for Rafer Alston, who has been suspended for the remainder of the season. Alston walked out on the team last week after the Heat told him he would be out of the rotation for the remainder of the season, and also after his sister attempted suicide. He is said to be contemplating retirement. The Heat are not said to be contemplating Mike James.



- David Hawkins

Temple graduate Hawkins moved to Montepaschi Siena in the summer, who went undefeated in Italy's SerieA last year. They're doing it again this year, too, with a 21-0 record and easily on course for their fourth consecutive championship. (Pepsi Caserta are in second place with a 15-7 record. They are seven games behind in the loss column with only 9 weeks left. It's over.) Hawkins is a big part of Siena's success this season, averaging 12.8 points per game in the Italian league and 11.2ppg in the Euroleague (from which Siena have been eliminated), while playing his usual brand of tough defense.



- Juaquin Hawkins

Former Rockets guard Hawkins turns 37 years old this summer, but was playing professionally until recently. But now he's not. While playing for the Australian team Gold Coast Blaze in January 2008, Hawkins suffered a stroke that pretty much ended his professional career. It certainly ended his season. Hawkins did return to the Blaze the following season to play again, but his stats were way down, and he left after 6 games. He's all right now, even playing on the freaking stacked Los Angeles Lightning IBL team last summer. But there's no more seasons in Australia in his future.

Now in retirement, Hawkins is an active youth leader and fundraiser in the L.A. area who runs this. He is also an ambassador for the American Stroke Association, for obvious reasons.



- Brandon Heath

San Diego State product Heath is in Cyprus, playing for APOEL Nicosia. Regular readers will be aware that there's no Cyprish domestic league statistics are avail, but APOEL are also in the quarter finals of the EuroChallenge, so we have Heath's stats from that. In 12 games, Heath is averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists, shooting 41% from two point range and 46% from three point range despite the squiffyness of his jumpshot release.



- Alan Henderson

Henderson last played in 2007 with the Philadelphia 76ers. After being salary dumped by them onto the Jazz at the 2007 deadline, Henderson was instantly cut by the Jazz, waited the prerequisite 30 days, then rejoined the Sixers for a meaningless last few games. It was reported that Henderson would re-sign with the Sixers for the 2007/08 season, but he didn't. Nor did he ever sign anywhere again, ever.

Henderson maintained throughout his NBA career that he'd like to go onto medical school once it finished, but he changed his mind when the time came, deciding that it was too late. He now lives in Florida, and now studies business at Indiana University through an online program. Henderson also used to be involved in the Alan Henderson Golf Invitational, but pulled out in a row about how the funds that were raised were being distributed. Therefore, the Alan Henderson Golf Invitational now no longer involves Alan Henderson. Which seems a tad strange.

Alan Henderson's middle name is Lybrooks. That's pretty unique.



- Dick Hendrix

Hendrix has moved to Spain for this season, playing for C.B. Granada. He is averaging 14.0 points and 7.2 rebounds in 26.2 minutes per game on the season, shooting 67% from the field and 57% from the foul line.

The Warriors have finally been able to replace him with Chris Hunter, but why a team that was outrebounded in 55 of their first 64 games would so undervalue the rebounding abilities of someone like Hendrix is mindblowing. It's not that Hendrix is brilliant; it's instead that they seem not to know or care that their way of building a team with zero power forwards is not working out. Do the Warriors' braintrust deliberately not get it, or are they all just simultaneously overlooking the obvious?



- Walter Herrmann

Herrmann is in year one of a four year contract that he signed with Caja Laboral in the ACB this summer, but year 1 isn't going too well. Hermann is averaging only 14.1 minutes, 5.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in the ACB, alongside 12.9/4.3/2.1 in the Euroleague. He has played no more than 21 minutes in any Euroleague game thus far, and had played only 49 ACB minutes all season through January 24th. He did however play all 40 minutes in Vitoria's last game against Estudiantes, totalling 22 points and 8 rebounds. However, the rest of the team combined for only 36 and Vitoria lost by 16.



Finally....

- Axel Hervelle

Former Nuggets draft pick Axel Hervelle started the season with Real Madrid, his sixth season there. He totalled 82 minutes, 13 points and 18 rebounds in seven ACB games, but was the subject of transfer rumours the entire season, including rumours of a trade between Real and Efes Pilsen that would have seen Hervelle swapped for Boki Nachbar. That particular deal never happened, but Hervelle did eventually leave, moving to Bizkaia Bilbao in January. In 9 ACB games for the team Hervelle is averaging 24 minutes, 8.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, shooting 73% from two points range and 11% from three point range.

His rights are now owned by the Houston Rockets, who acquired them as the suitably arbitrary returning piece in the deal that saw Denver acquire James White. White never played for the Nuggets. Hervelle will probably never play for the Rockets either.

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.

Summer league round-up: Denver Nuggets

Since Cleveland and Dallas haven't announced their rosters yet, and Charlotte aren't having one, we'll advance list this along to Denver, whose summer league effort this year is a strange one. Their roster is only small (for not, at least), but they've made a decent effort nonetheless.

View the Nuggets summer league roster.

- Derrick Byars: Byars survives as a testament to the reign of Billy King as Sixers general manager. The Sixers acquired the 30th pick in the 2007 draft as a part of the Allen Iverson to Denver trade, but they decided that they didn't want the guaranteed contract that it necessitated. Therefore, on draft night, the Sixers traded the pick to the Blazers for the number 41 pick and cash, using the 41st pick on Byars. They then waived Byars in training camp, and wound up with just the cash. Nice return on a first round draft pick, that, particularly one which featured a second round with Marc Gasol, Ramon Sessions, Glen Davis and Carl Landry in it. Byars' only other NBA flirtation came when he signed with the Thunder in training camp last year, but he didn't make the team. He then went to the D-League, and averaged 17.7ppg and 4.9rpg for the Bakersfield Jam, but there's a guy elsewhere on his list who has taken any potential roster spot that Byars may have had. (Clue: it rhymes with "creams".)

- Dontaye Draper: Draper is a 5'11 guard out of the College of Charleston, who was also on the Nuggets 2007 summer league roster. He split last season between France and Belgium, averaging 20.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the EuroChallenge for Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket (the French half of that split). Draper has been trying to reinvent himself as more of a pass first guard over the years, which is kind of necessary when you're 5'11, but while the assist numbers have continued to go up, so have the turnovers (he averaged 5.1 assists in the French league last year, but against 4.5 turnovers). He also doesn't shoot well, shooting poorly from the foul line and inconsistently at best from three point range. As quick and explosive as he is, it's difficult to play in the NBA if you're a 5'11 shoot first player who's prone to turnovers and not the best shooter. Although maybe it's not all about the NBA.

- Ronald Dupree: Dupree was in camp, too, but with the Cleveland Cavaliers. If you're willing to count that, he's now been in the NBA for parts of the last 6 years, which is not bad going. Dupree spent last year in the D-League, averaging 19.8/6.6/3.7 for the Tulsa 66ers, and 17.3/7.2/3.9 after a midseason trade to the Utah Flash. That's not half bad from a guy who's better on the defensive end, and if the Nuggets decide they can't be arsed to overpay Dahntay Jones, then Dupree is a minimum salary replacement waiting to happen. But then again, Captain Creams might be in his way, too.

- C.J. Giles: Giles went to summer league with the Raptors last year, and played sufficiently well for them to get a training camp contract with the Lakers. If that makes sense. His only real skill is his athleticism, but then again, the same can be said of DeAndre Jordan, and people love him. Giles spent last year in the D-League, averaging 12.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 4.5 fouls per game for the L.A. D-Fenders, and 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks and 2.8 fouls for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He then buggered off to the Phillipines in May for the Asian Club Championships, where he totalled 73 points and 46 rebounds in four games. Giles has no significant NBA resumé to speak of, having been kicked off of two college teams, having only one professional season under his belt, and having highly underdeveloped skills. But he's tall and jumpy, and people like that.

- Richard Hendrix: Last year, the Warriors drafted Hendrix 49th overall, and signed him to a three year contract. They then waived him in December when Monta Ellis returned from the suspended list, choosing to do so over waiving Rob Kurz (who just left as an unrestricted free agent) and Marcus Williams (who they waived later anyway). Williams never appeared in a game for the Warriors, yet he got paid a guaranteed salary anyway, and is even going to get $100,000 from the team this season as well. His situation is kind of symptomatic of the Warriors management last season. It was shite.

Hendrix then went to the D-League, and averaged 11,6 rebounds in 31 minutes per game for the Dakota Wizards. If he sounds like a man who has NBA talent to you, that's because he has.

- Coby Karl: Karl was covered in the Celtics round-up, but he features on the Nuggets roster as well because his dad is the head coach. And that makes it easier to make rosters. Walker Russell was once briefly a Knick because his dad is a scout for the team, and Jason Capel was a Bobcat for a couple of weeks because his dad Jeff was an assistant coach at the time. It's all very incestuous, this NBA thing.

- Tywon Lawson: I want it on record that I don't think Ty Lawson will be much worse of an NBA player than Jonny Flynn, the man taken twelve places ahead of him. I will accept the shellacking if I'm wrong, but take your time in reminding me of that, since one of them has Chauncey Billups for company next year, and one of them have Sebastian Telfair.

- Kareem Rush: Rush is still a one-dimensional scorer, and he's still not a very good one. He scored 54 points on 58 shots last year with the Sixers, lowering his overall career numbers to 2,204 points to 2,178 shots. The Sixers appear to have realised that they, as the less than proud owners of Willie Green, are the last team that needs another shooting guard like that. And they're right. But then again, no one needs Kareem Rush. And that goes for the Nuggets too.

- Cedric Simmons: If you're an optimist, you'll look at Cedric Simmons' age and his draft position, and think that he's a worthwhile prospect for your team to take a flyer on. "There must be something there", after all. Well, there isn't. He is one of the worst offensive players in the game, is a sub-par rebounder, doesn't move too well, hasn't NBA size, is clumsier than a wolfhound in slagboots and has all the polish of a schoolyard bundle. He is good for one or two poster blocks a year, and that is it. He shoots worse from the foul line than Ben Wallace or Chuck Hayes. Just don't go there, I'm telling you.

- Sonny Weems: Weems is partially guaranteed for next season, to the tune of $174,284, a seemingly arbitrary amount the logic behind which I can't figure out. Nevertheless, he should make the team easily enough, and might even get an expanded role if Dahntay doesn't return. Weems spent most of last year in the D-League, where he averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 28 minutes per game for the Colorado 14ers. Pretty bloody good, that. And that's why the first two players on this list need to turn Buddhist.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 24

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- Richard Hendrix is in the D-League, after being waived by the Warriors earlier this season, despite signing a guaranteed contract in the summer. I don't really understand why, considering that they waived him while preferring to keep Rob Kurz and DeMarcus Nelson, whom they then waived three weeks later to avoid guaranteeing his contract, but whatever. Hendrix is still there if the Warriors want him, and apparently they don't. Hendrix averages 13.6 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.9 blocks in 32 minutes a game for the Dakota Wizz, in, their pants.

- Axel Hervelle is still with Real Madrid in Spain, and will be for at least two more years after this one. I got in trouble last time we talked about him, when I said that he hadn't really gotten very far, so I'll instead cop out this time and just give you his numbers: 6.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.7 bpg in the Spanish league, and 5.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.4 bpg in the Euroleague.

- Tyrone Hill is now an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks.

- Kyle Hill is playing for Lucentum Alicante Costablanca in Spanish second division, alongside Taylor Coppenrath. Hill averages 12.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg and 1.6 apg, yet is also about to turn 30; I don't think the NBA beckons any more.

- Herbert Hill is unsigned, after a tryout with Le Mans in August showed only that he hasn't recovered from his knee surgery yet.

- Steven Hill is back with Tulsa in the D-League after being waived by the Thunder. Hill averages 7.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in total, but here's the thing; as intriguing as Hill is as a prospect (and he is - athletic 7 footers with shot blocking instincts like that are always worth tracking) there are some far better big men in the D-League. Rod Benson, for example, can't seem to get a shot in the NBA outside of one training camp spot. Courtney Sims got a ten day contract with the Suns, but it was one and done. Pops Mensah-Bonsu can't seem to get another shot in the NBA. Et cetera. These fellas are outproducing Hill in the D-League, so why is Hill the one who got the lengthy run on the Thunder's roster, even if he did spend most of it on assignment? I dunno. Basically this is just a long way of saying that I just want Pops back in the NBA. Let's make it happen.

- Kyle Hines is signed with Prima Veroli in the Italian second division.
In keeping with tradition, Hines is putting up beastly numbers, averaging 16.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.1 blocks in 31 minutes a game. Here's the thing - outside of a mere dollop of summer league action, I've never seen Kyle Hines play. I admit that. NCAA is not my thing, and although I'd like to know a bit, I don't. But what I do know is this - he absolutely beasted in college, and while UNC Greensboro isn't the biggest name school in the world, the list of names that feature on the 2000/1000 list is predominantly good NBA talent. Now in Italy (admittedly the second division) Hines again continues to beast, with simply awesome defensive statistics. My question, then, is this - a training camp spot somewhere? Yay? Nay? Pops Mensah-Bonsu? Who cares how short you are, when you can flat out produce. (Giggidy.) Height factors, sure, but when you're good, you're good. And Kyle Hines looks to be good.

- Robert Hite started the year with Tau Vitoria in Spain, totalling 2 points in 2 games. He then left (Tau didn't need him; they lead the Spanish league comfortably anyway), and later joined BC Oostende in Belgium, for whom he has totalled 40 points, 11 rebounds and 0 assists in two further games.

- Julius Hodge, the Jules of Harlem, was on his way to stardom in Australia earlier this season, averaging 26.3 points, 8.0 points and 6.0 assists (albeit 1-6 from three point range) in 8 games for the Adelaide 36ers. However, he then walked out on the team before a game, and there's not been a real reason given as to why. Either way, it ended ugly, and the team only agreed to let Hodge out of his contract once he agreed to refund a sum of roughly $30,000 AUS that the team had forwarded him. Why they did this, I am not sure, but since Hodge had previously claimed that the team was behind on its payments, I guess he was wrong. Hodge was replaced by former Wizard, Rod Grizzard (it rhymes!), and Julius has since signed with Besancon Basket Comte Doubs, but hasn't played a game for them yet.

- Fred Hoiberg is still an assistant general manager in Minnesota's ever-confusing hierarchy of executives.

- Randy Holcomb hasn't played since leaving his team in the Phillipines in July.

- Jared The Ho-man is signed with Cibona Zagreb, averaging 4.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in the Euroleague, along with 6.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in the Adriatic league.

- And finaly, Antoine Hood is just as out of basketball as the last time you asked. It's been roughly two years since he was last in the D-League with the Colorado 14ers, and he hasn't signed anywhere since. I don't know why.

Summer signings, round 8

- The Knicks signed Anthony Roberson, which is the sort of move that I'm usually sceptical of, but which in this instance I'm rather pleased with. The Knicks guards, basically, are all terrible. Only a Knicks fan, or someone who likes contradicting my sweeping generalisations, could really disagree with that. But within that, they all share a common drawback - they don't shoot too well. Chris Duhon passes up more threes than he hits. Quentin Richardson may have once held the all time record for three pointers attempted in a season, but that doesn't mean he's a good three point shooter. Mardy Collins is worse at it than both. Stephon Marbury has never had good range, and he probably won't be there to open the season anyway. Jamal Crawford is a good shooter, but inefficient due to his own misguided idea of quite how good at it he is. (86% of Crawford's field goal attempts are jumpshots, which is a freakin' huge number.) This leaves only Nate Robinson, who shot a meagre 33% on three pointers last season. Roberson, if nothing else, provides them with a second decent shooter from the guard spots (or third if you count Nate, which you might want to, if you hate me and everything that I represent). So at the very least, Donnie Walsh appears to have spotted a flaw in his current roster, and found a small remedy for it. That's a start.

- Herbert Hill, renounced by the Sixers as a part of their devious cap room plan, signed with Le Mans in France. Earlier this month, Hill was arrested for DUI, and when you combine that with the fact that he didn't play a single minute in the NBA last season due to knee surgeries, you can see why he might have not seen a return to the NBA as being immedate.

- J.R. Reynolds also signed in France, with Asvel Basket. Fun fact - we bought our house from a man called J.R. Reynolds. He didn't go by "J.R.", sadly, but if I'd mentioned that before the fact, then it would have made it less spectacularly fascinating. And no one wants that.

- The Denver Nuggets are the kind of team that trades away their better players in salary dumps, carry only 13 players on the roster, and pay as many people the minimum as possible. So, true to form, they've filled out their bench with two more minimum salary players in Chris Andersen and Dahntay Jones. Having said that, a minimum salary bench foursome of Anderson, Dahntay Jones, Bobby Jones and Anthony Carter is actually quite good, so I'll shut up now. (By the way, they'd better not start Carter this year. Chucky Atkins is hardly a better alternative, but....Anthony Carter?? Seriously? Trade for a point guard or something. Jesus. Or, alternatively, keep your first round picks and draft one. I'm theorising wildly now.)

- Bobby Brown signed with Sacramento, and not Golden State as I mentioned in an earlier post. The lesson, as always - visit this website every day, but don't come here for news. Just for, you know, scathing views and pictures of Sam Cassell touching himself and salaries and stuff. Also, I'm never trusting anyone again.

- Speaking of the Warriors, they've been the busiest team in the NBA this offseason, but in one fell swoop, they pretty much finished up their business. After Kelenna Azubuike signed an offer sheet with the L.A. Clippers last week, the Warriors began negotiating with Orlando free agent guard, Maurice Evans, with whom they agreed a three year contract. However, Evans then changed his mind, and held out for more money. Golden State, rightly not willing to play silly buggers with an inconsequential player, countered by matching Azubuike's offer sheet, something which they weren't originally going to do. They then tidied up A.O.B. by trading for Marcus Williams to fill the back-up point guard spot (this actually happened beforehand, but play along), re-signed Monta Ellis to a big money long-term deal, and signed second round draft pick Richard Hendrix. A good couple of days for the Warriors then. Their only remaining drama on an otherwise completed roster is the re-signing of Andris Biedrins, which hasn't happened yet. True to form, rumours abound that a European team is about to offer Biedrins a highly competitive if not superior rate of pay. That comes to you from the incorrigable Fannation.com


- Speaking of the Clippers, a few hours before losing out on Azubuike, they made the sort of the trade that I absolutely love when they dealt Brevin Knight to Utah for their own former starlet, Jason Hart. I LOVE trades like this. Love them. How can you not? It's fantastic. It's a trade so wonderfully, awesomely pointless, that the right adjective simply does not exist. Great stuff. I've always wondered who initiates trades like this. Who picks up the phone first? Did they ring each other at the same time? What roster holes do the teams think they are filling? Did Utah, recognising their need for improved perimeter shooting, mistakenly identify Brevin Knight as the solution, inadvertently obtaining one of the only point guards in the league that shoots worse than Jason Hart? Or were both teams just in "anyone but him" mode? Good stuff. Plus, if you're a Bobcats fan, there's the added bonus of the two players involved once forming a two headed Bobcat point guard monster, and now they're being irrelevantly traded for each other. Good times all around. Stupid, but fun.


Also, speaking of the Clippers being stupid......well, the Clippers are stupid. If you take my salary figures as being entirely correct - a dangerous proposition at any time - then this is how the current Clippers salary situation looks:

Baron Davis: $11,200,000, ish.
Marcus Camby: $10,000,000
Chris Kaman: $9,500,000
Cuttino Mobley: $8,925,000
Tim Thomas: $6,049,400
Eric Gordon: $2,623,200
Jason Hart: $2,484,000
Al Thornton: $1,776,240
Nick Fazekas: $886,517 (qualifying offer/caphold, restricted free agent)
Josh Powell: $854,957
Mike Taylor: $442,114
DeAndre Jordan: $442,114

Total: $55,183,542


That, against a salary cap of $58,680,000, leaves the Clippers with just under $3.5 million to finish up their roster. It's not an exact figure, because Baron Davis's salary is not guaranteed accurate (it's within $100,000 of that, at least.) It is, however, near enough to make my point.

The reason I mention this is that, if it were for slightly better cap management, they could have even more cap space. I shall explain.

As you probably know, the salaries for first round draft picks are set by the rookie salary scale, a scale of pre-determined numbers that dictate the salary for each first round draft slot, for every year of the current CBA. There does remain a bit of room for negotiation, though - players can sign for up to 120% of the amount outlined by the scale, or for as little as 80%. It is standard for all teams to sign their players to the full 120% of the scale: it is very rare for anyone to take anything differently. (The only two players in recent years to do otherwise were Sergio Rodriguez, who took 100%, and Ian Mahinmi, who took 80% in the first year of his rookie deal to help the Spurs avoid the luxury tax. Whether he did this magnanimously, or because the Spurs wouldn't offer differently, is unclear.) Eric Gordon, as is the custom, signed for the full 120%.

However, in the window between drafting a first rounder and signing them, the draftees have a cap hold for 100% of the rookie scale only. Thus, by signing him to the 120% of the scale while still under the cap, the Clippers just lost $437,200 in cap room. ($437,200 is the difference between 120% and 100% of the rookie salary scale for the 2008 7th pick.)

This may seem inconsequential, but it might not be. If you take that $437,200, add it to the $484,000 difference between the salaries of Jason Hart and Brevin Knight, add that to the $854,957 cap hold of the completely unguaranteed salary of the completely inconsequential Josh Powell that could easily be done without, add that to the $884,228 that could have been saved by not signing Mike Taylor and DeAndre Jordan already (unsigned second round picks do not have a cap hold), add that to the $886,517 that would have been opened up had Nick Fazekas been renounced, add the $3,496,458 of cap room from the maths outlined above, and subtract $1,768,456 for the four roster charges that would be charged for only having 8 players under contract.....

.....and you get $5,274,904. That's the cap room that the Clippers COULD have right now.

As mentioned above, it's not an exact figure, but the point it demonstrates remains valid. Right now, the Clippers have just a fraction less than $3.5 million in cap room remaining, but if they'd thought about it a bit more, they could have nearly $5.3 million. It wouldn't have cost them a significant player, either: Gordon, Jordan and Taylor would still have been signed, but just a bit later. And the idea that Fazekas and Powell would have been snapped up in the mean time - or the idea that it would have mattered in any way if that had happened - is extremely far-fetched.

The Clippers could have one and a half times their current cap space.
The difference between $3.5 million and $5.3 million in cap space over the span of a 5 year contract is $10.44 million dollars. A contract starting at $3 million over 5 years with maximum raises totals $20.3 million, and a contract starting at $5.2 million with maximum raises totals $30.74 million.

To put it another way, it is potentially the difference between Hedo Turkoglu and Eduardo Najera.

But, alas, it's too late. They can still renounce Fazekas and waive Powell, but it won't be optimum. The Clippers could have traded for Marcus Camby, signed Baron Davis, and still have had as-near-as-is an MLE left over. But they won't now.

The lesson, as always - screw Danny Ainge. (No, wait, sorry - I'm just stuck on loop saying that. I mean, screw Elgin Baylor. Yeah, that one.)





- And finally, speaking of Sam Cassell touching himself, here is Sam Cassell touching himself.



That will never stop being disturbing.