Summer league round-up: New Jersey Nets/Philadelphia 76ers

This one feels a bit weird, because I'm writing about how players are expected to perform in a competition that's already finished. Hmmmm. Oh well, for the sake of uniformity, we'll do it anyway. Not to self - plan in advance next year.

To save money, and to add purpose, the Nets and Sixers agreed to share a summer league team this year. It's not a practice I'm keen on, because I think the more spots given out to random nobodies, the better, and by having only one team that makes 12 less spots for random nobodies. So that's a shame. But at least they bothered at all, unlike some teams.

View the joint Nets/Sixers summer league roster.

- A.J. Abrams: Abrams's college career consisted of three things - decent defense for his size, running around endlessly trying to get open, and then shooting jumpshots. And a really bloody college career it was, too. However, Abrams is only 5'11. There are plenty of 6'6 guys who spend their entire careers trying to get NBA teams to notice that they specialise in exactly the same things, and (Kyle Korver excepted) they usually fail. So how likely is Abrams to do the same with his half-a-foot height disadvantage? He isn't, really. He's small even for a point guard, but the fact that he's an exclusive two guard counts heavily against him. Heavily. Abrams' only chance to become an NBA player is to develop a semblance of ball handling ability, and rework himself into a crude Jannero Pargo imitation. But Pargo isn't exactly a regular rotation player in the NBA himself, so A.J's chances are very slim.

- Jeff Adrien: Adrien was covered in the Grizzlies round-up. It's pretty industrious of him to have wriggled his way into the summer league rosters of three teams, which really maximises his options. It was also a damn good idea to get onto the Grizzlies and Nets rosters, the two teams with the worst power forward rotations in the league last year. That'll help his limited chances a bit. And, despite Adrien's limitations and damaged prospects as outlined in the other round-up, can he really be much worse than Yi Jianlian? Good luck to him.

- Blake Ahearn: Ahearn has had two shots in the NBA - once with the biblically crap Miami Heat 2007-08 team, and a small stint in the early part of last season with the San Antonio Spurs. He's played a combined 15 games and shot 27%, which is probably not brilliant. But it's also not an accurate depiction of Daniel [his real first name] is like as a shooter; he's a great one, really. This is evidenced in his D-League numbers of last year, when he scored 22.7 points and 5.0 assists per game for the Dakota Wizards, shooting 45% from the field, 42% from three point range and a typically Blake Ahearn-y 96% from the foul line. (For those unaware, Ahearn shot 95% from the foul line for his NCAA career.) Ahearn's problem is not with his scoring, but with his position; like so many others before him, he's not really a point guard, yet he measures at only 6'2 and 190. He's trying to make himself into a point guard, and is getting there slowly, as shown by those assist numbers. Unfortunately, those numbers were record in a hefty 39 minutes per game in an assist-heavy league, and also came along with 3.3 turnovers a game. (As an unrelated aside to the assists thing, Ahearn also only averaged 2.4 rebounds per game in that time, which isn't getting it done.) Playing alongside former NBA point guard Maurice Baker factors into those numbers, but Baker is far from a pure point guard himself. His great shooting stroke will keep him on the fringes of the NBA for a while, but his existential quandary will keep him out of the realms of guaranteed contracts. Probably.

- Dionte Christmas: I've not seen Christmas, and admit as much. (I had a Temple game from last year saved somewhere, but I think I accidentally recorded over it. Probably with some soft core pornography.) Everyone tells me, though, that Christmas would have been a fine undrafted signing. So here's what the numbers say; Christmas averaged 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists, shooting a mediocre 41% from the field and attempting 9 three pointers a game, which he hit at only 35%. Those numbers don't wow me. If you're going to be a specialist shooter, shoot higher than 35%. SO we'll see. (Or rather, "we have already seen;" Christmas scored 9.3 points per game on 44% shooting in 4 summer league games.)

- Chris Douglas-Roberts: Douglas-Roberts is in danger of getting overrated. Fans of pretty much all other teams seem to want to acquire him as an under-the-radar pickup for their shooting guard spot. They rave about his instant scoring punch, and his ability to create on his own. And it's all true. But lost in that is Douglas-Roberts' scoring inefficiency; he doesn't shoot three pointers, and while he gets to the foul line at a decent rate, he has to in order to be a decently efficient scorer. He shot 54% in both his college seasons, which is terrific, and he shot 46% in his rookie season which is also very good. However, his eFG is is 47%, which isn't too good, and his 53% true shooting percentage is solid, but not brilliant in a largely one dimensional scorer. Chris and Douglas are both decent defensive players, but they don't rebound and can't create for others. They enter the game looking to score, and if they don't have a good shooting night, they don't really provide much. They should form a decent shooting guard foursome with Courtney and Lee next season, yet they (Chris and Douglas, not Courtney and Lee) are not really starting calibre. Desire them accordingly.

- Jason Ellis: Ellis is a 26 year old former Boise State graduate who is a veteran of the US minor leagues. (He also spent two years in Switzerland. Hard to come back from there.) Last year in the D-League, Ellis averaged 7.1 points and 8.7 rebounds in 24 minutes per game for the Idaho Stampede, and while I'm usually wary of players who have more rebounds than points scored, Ellis surprises me bys hooting 47% from the field and 81% from the foul line. Not bad, that. However, the market on undersized power forwards is pretty saturated, and even in spite of his rebounding rate, Ellis' 6'7 200lb frame isn't getting it done in the NBA. Chuck Hayes may be an inspiration to many, but he's also an exception to the rule.

- Gary Forbes: Forbes did the rounds last year. Undrafted, he joined up with the Wizards for summer league, and was drafted in the 4th round of the D-League draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He didn't make the Wizards roster, and turned down the league in favour of Italy, signing with Basket Napoli in Serie A. Unfortunately, Napoli went bankrupt before the season begun (you'd think they might have seen that coming, no?), and Forbes had to return to America where he joined up with the Skyforce. He averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 28 minutes per game, before being traded to the Tulsa 66ers, averaging 18.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 31 minutes of 30 games for them. After the D-League season finished, Forbes went to the Philippines, averaging 27.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in two games for the joyfully named Talk 'N' Text Texters of Tropang (the Philippines league has amazingly corporate team names), and then went to Venezuela to play with Trotamundos for a month. He's building himself an NBa resumé. Pay attention.

- Jrue Holiday: Finally got around to watching that UCLA game that I've been putting off. Got to say that my opinions of Darren Collison are higher than those of Holiday, who looked.....awkward. Not really a point guard, too small for a two guard, not a great shooter, average athlete....hmmm. Not sure of the tremendous upside potential, to be honest. Good defense, though (or so it appeared; it was hard to tell considering he was guarding an undersized chucker (Patrick Christopher) all night long). He didn't even play the point guard spot when Collison was out. So whatever it is that makes Holiday a #17 pick, I'm still waiting to see.

(Note: formulating opinions based on one game that you've watched is a dangerous proposition that isn't really advised. So always leave yourself a get-out.)

- Chris Johnson: Last year for LSU, Johnson averaged 7.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. He shot only 45% from the field, but the blocked shot and rebounding numbers are nice, and especially since they came in only 25 minutes per game. If he was a junior, we'd be saying how, with about 40 pounds more muscle and an improved post-up game, he'd be a future first round talent. But he's not. So now, he's an undrafted 190 lb positionless big man who turns 24 next week.

- Rob Kurz: Kurz was mentioned in the Minnesota Timberwolves summer league roster round-up thing. He hasn't gotten any better since then. But, if you like to see enthused if largely unskilled play featuring some retro one handed jumpshots, then Kurz might be your man. Or Ryan Bowen.

- Marreese Speights: If any team doesn't need Marreese Speights, it's the team with Elton Brand on it. I'd love Marreese Speights on my team; even though he never passes and puts forth scant little defensive effort, Speights is an explosive and athletic finisher, who has soothing and sensual touch inside the paint (giggidy) and from mid range. He can't be bothered to rebound, despite having all the athletic requirements for the job, and that's a pity. But off the bench, he can be a highly valuable scoring big man. And Lord knows my team could use one of them. So, Philadelphia; if you want Kirk Hinrich, then find a deal that starts with Speights, and somehow work it into a three way deal that gets us a defensive minded big two guard. Then he's yours. But Willie Green is not getting it done, and neither is Samuel Dalembert. So don't even go there.

- Terrence Williams: How is Williams going to score in the NBA? He's not much of a shooter, he's never really had to play without the ball in his hands, he tends to get wild, his 43% FG last season was the highest of his four year career, and the highest FT% he ever shot was the 61% in his freshman year. That's as a forward. His passing vision and skills are nice, but he's not going to be a primary ballhandler in the NBA, and that nullifies them slightly. No, his best chance in the NBA will be as a defensive specialist and a disruptive influence, using his athleticism and energy to piss off the opposition all night and force some turnovers. It's something he could be very good at, too. And if he ever gets the complimentary jumpshot that still evades him, then he'll be reet.

But do you really take someone like that eleventh overall?

Summer league round-up: Minnesota Timberwolves

View the Timberwolves summer league roster.

- Corey Brewer: Brewer was awful his rookie year. Like, really awful. His offense was enthusiastic, but it was also several kinds of bad, and thoroughly undeserving of a number 7 pick. Brewer started to make some strides, though, with a good summer league last year and a fine opening 5 games to last season. Unfortunately, he then popped his knee badly, which has undone all the good work. Minnesota's forward spots are crowded, but the shooting guard spot is wide open, and if Brewer can show something then he might win the spot as a very tall two. But if he doesn't, he'll be fighting Ryan Gomes for small forward time.

- Bobby Brown: Bobby Brown is a testament to the point of summer league. Most players turn up to summer league to win spots in other leagues, but Brown beat the odds and played so well in summer league that he earned himself a two year guaranteed contract with the Kings. He was traded to the Timberwolves at mid season, seemingly only as a money saving venture (the three other players in the deal are all now UFA's), and now he finds himself as the second of two incumbent points guard on a team that just drafted 12 more of them. So that's a bugger. Nevertheless, his contract is guaranteed, and if Minnesota decide they don't want him, some other NBA team should do.

- Pat Carroll: When talking about Pat Carroll, I always feel compelled to compare him to Matt Carroll. Maybe I'm just not that imaginative. Either way, Matt Carroll has four years left to run on his guaranteed deal with the Mavericks, and Pat Carroll just spent a year in the Spanish second division. So you tell me who has the best chance of being in the NBA next year. By the way, be it an irony, a coincidence, or just an uninteresting fact, the Mavericks were also the team that gave Pat Carroll his sole NBA shot, a training camp contract in 2006. They also signed Samo Udrih in 2005, challenging the 2009 Phoenix Suns for "most inferior brothers that you can get on one team at a time that their superior brother is still in the league" award. But Phoenix wins because they've got two at the same time.

- Wayne Ellington: The next Voshon Lenard. Mark it down.

- Jonny Flynn: First of all, the Timberwolves should have picked Stephen Curry. Second of all, Flynn is way too flawed to be a number 6 pick, with questionable outside shooting, a tendency to get wild and poor perimeter defense, and it's only the upside that comes with his athleticism and the weakness of the draft that gets him drafted that high. Thirdly, Jonny Flynn kills kittens. I haven't finished with that joke yet.

- Devin Green: Green started last year with the Spurs in training camp, but didn't make the team even after playing pretty well in preseason. He then went to Belgium, and later moved on to the Ukraine, averaging 17.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists for Dnipro. If the Timberwolves can't or won't bring back Rodney Carney, then Green makes for a pretty good replacement. He has a chance of making this roster, since it's not deep on the wings right now.

- Paul Harris: Paul Harris reportedly flew up draft boards in the very final run-up to the draft after a series of impressive workouts. In fact, he flew up them so far that he went from being an undrafted talent, to being undrafted. Oh no, wait, he didn't move up at all. Sorry.

Everyone seems to like Harris for his athleticism. And he does have every athletic advantage in the book; he's quick, strong and a huge leaper, even if he tends to lose his leaping ability and front rim dunks at the 58 minute mark on the second game of a back to back. However, he's only 6'4, without much of a slashing game, and with next to no jumpshot. He could be a defensive stopper, but he tends to drift around on that end, and as such he isn't. He also has a criminal history, which doesn't work in your favour when you're on the fringes. Harris initially agreed to join the Cavaliers summer league team, but changed his mind and is now reunited with Syracuse team mate Flynn. Maybe he thinks this will help. I'm not convinced.

- Gerald Henderson: The Bobcats don't have a summer league roster this year, so they're letting Henderson play for the Wolves so that he doesn't miss out on the experience. It's a pretty cool idea, but not as cool as ponying up for your own damn team. Pussies.

- Steven Hill: Hill is about as one dimensional of a shotblocker as you can get. He doesn't rebound much, and he doesn't score; he's all just blocked shots and hair. I like him a lot. But read the Bucks round-up, specifically the bit about Chris Richard, and then tell me why Hill has chosen this team to play with. I just don't get it.

- Rob Kurz: Kurz was signed by the Warriors for training camp, then waived, then almost immediately brought back when Monta Ellis was suspended. He managed to survive the whole year, with even Richard Hendrix being waived before him. Christ knows why, though, because Kurz sucks. Last year, he totalled 157 points, 82 rebounds and 78 fouls, shooting 39% in 40 games. The Warriors then finally realised his mediocrity and didn't extend him a qualifying offer. What kept them?

- Oleksiy Pecherov: Pecherov also chugs quite a lot of balls. He's a tall jumpshooter with a solid rebounding rate, but that's pretty much it. There's scant little defense and no interior offense, and somehow he managed only 2 rebounds and 2 assists all of last season. That's got to be hard to do. Still, for as long as Pecherov looks like Stewie Griffin during his unheralded needle drug period, I think we'll all continue to like him.

- Garret Siler: If you're 6'10 and 305 pounds, yet playing in NCAA Division 2, then there's something wrong with you, really. And Garret Siler's problem is that he's only played basketball for a scant few years. Siler averaged 16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks for the mighty Augusta State Jaguars last year, on percentages of 66% and 79%. However, contrary to usual practice, that's 79% from the field and 66% from the line, a total of 566 points on 285 shots. If you don't believe me, read this. Pretty impressive, although given that he probably played mostly against 6'6 210lbs opposing centres, it's not entirely without context. Siler is fat and slow, which hampers any NBA prospects, but if he can find a similar level of professional competition to that of Augusta State's schedule, then he'll have himself a career. Might I recommend China?

- Ben Woodside: Similarly, if you are both one of the leading scorers and assist makers in all of Division 1, and you don't get drafted, then there's something wrong with you too. And that's what just happened to Ben Woodside, who averaged 23.2 points (8th in NCAA) and 6.2 assists (joint 5th) in his senior season for North Dakota State. He scored big, he scored efficiently, and he racked up the assists to boot. He even had a 60 point, 8 rebound and 8 assist outing, where he shot 35 free throws and his team lost anyway. Good times, sort of. However, Woodside's problem is that he's small. He's listed as 5'11 and 185 pounds, and isn't physical or strong. And rightly or wrongly, that doesn't get you in the NBA. Woodside might hang around the NBA fringes for a while, but a career in Europe is probably best suited to him anyway.

Come Back, Baby Come Back

As you might presently yourself fully be aware of, my grammar sucks. Also, you might have noticed that nothing has happened around here lately. Well, it's OK, I'm here.

Thanks to those of you who showed genuine concern as to whether I was maimed, imprisoned, dead, or worse. You're very compassionate, kind-hearted and sincere, traits that will inevitably lead to a joyful existence on the heavenly half of the afterlife. Conversely, fuck off to those of you who showed anger and resentment at my lack of posting and/or site updates, as if I was in some way contractually obliged to do what you want, when you wanted it. May I remind you that this is a free website, with no adverts, greatly superior to every comparable website on the internet (particularly with regards to the colour scheme) run by a man who frankly you should spend a good 90 minutes of every day praising, rejoicing, and fellating. You'll get what you're given, as and when I choose to give it. You hell-destined bar stewards.

The actual answer to the age-old question of "where the hell were you?" is that I was on holiday. I went to the Costa Del Sol, in November, escaping the classic British grey of November time. So you can see why that was more fun than calculating Rob Kurz's salary for the remainder of the season.

Do you want to see my holiday photos? Ch'yeah you do! Here are some of my holiday photos!

The Sun. It was hot. I burnt.

My burn.

A fat woman whose arse seemed to have no seam. (Identity concealed, expertly.)

The mighty Grunkel television that kept us entertained with German versions of Remington Steele and soft core pornography all week long. No, I don't know why all Spanish television is German either.

A dog curling one out.

A dead fish.

Now that I've been sufficiently self-effacing and boring in equal measure, here are my thoughts on stuff, for all those who struggled to go a full week without my aggressive and misguided thoughts on stuff.

1: I didn't initially know who I liked the Denver/Detroit deal for most when it happened, if either. But in the week or so that I've spent lying on beaches not thinking about it, I've decided I like it for both teams. Detroit gets the better player and the best salary in Allen Iverson, which can never be a bad combination, while Denver switches up a core that was never going to work anyway, almost getting under the luxury tax in the process. (After Antonio McDyess's buyout, Denver is now no more than a small dollop over their eternal enemy, the luxury tax threshold. If they waft a pick Memphis's way, they should be able to dump Chucky Atkins, whose salary for next year is only $760,000 guaranteed, thus not affecting Memphis's 2009 cap space plan much. This move gets Denver under the tax, finally, and it need only cost them the pick that they got from Charlotte for Alexis Ajinca to do it. Also note that I'm just an ideas man, not a soothsayer. Houston would be sensible to do much the same with Steve Francis, who is entirely surplus to requirements in both Memphis and Houston, and whose salary is keeping the Rockets in the tax territory. But his expiring is tolerable for the Grizzlies with apt sweeteners. With those two deals, Memphis could gain two picks without changing their long or short term plans, while Houston and Denver save lots of money on players and picks that they don't need. To me, this makes sense. Does that mean it will happen? No. But, between now and February, I'd place a call. Boy, this bracket got a bit long.)

(Oh, by the way - the combined $34 million in expirings that Detroit can now offer up with Iverson and Rasheed Wallace makes that Kwame Brown deal look even worse. Whoops.)

2: I forgot to post my Houston and Phoenix previews before going away. If you want them, send an email. Enclose money.

3: I really can't stand Bob Ortegal. In the years that I've listened to him, I can't remember one single insightful or interesting comment. Now, history tells me that when you question a team's announcing duo, fans of that team will then try to kill you with words and insults, so I expect Dallas fans to now do much the same. But, seriously. Take a step back and reanalyse. He's awful. There's no chemistry, no humour, no insight and you know for a bloody fact that he's never watched a game that he hasn't commentated on. (For example, take Dallas's preseason game versus Chicago. Ortegal admits he's never seen Derrick Rose play before, concludes after two drives that Rose only goes to his left, and then spends the rest of the night finding excuses for every time Rose went right. That's so dumb, I should have said it.) There exists only a dull, repetitive retelling of what the replay he's "analysing" depicts. And any old bastard can do that. I just wanted to vent this.

4: The Bulls suck in a variety of ways, which is a shame. Good luck John. (By the way, last night I dreamt that Paxson unretired and filled the Bulls current backup point guard void, proof if it were needed that I didn't have any fleeting holiday romances. After having seen they signed Lindsey Hunter, I kind of wish it had come true.)

5: In keeping with this website's continued attempts to be better than everybody else, here's next year's free agents.

6: When it happened, I nearly wrote something in this blog about the Pau Gasol trade. In contrast to the opinions of everyone else in the world, I was keeping to leap in and defend the Grizzlies' end of the trade. But I didn't, because I couldn't be bothered. I've rued that laziness for a while, so let me go on the record now, despite it being a bit late since the secret of the awesomeness of Marc Gasol got out: Memphis did all right. When your mandate is to make a salary dump, and you wind up getting the second biggest expiring contract in the league, you're off to a good start. But in addition to that, the Grizzlies got good young talent that people don't acknowledge. As well as Kwame Brown's salary, the Grizzlies got back Javaris Crittenton (good young guard, with emphasis on the "young" - he's still only 20), and the rights to Marc Gasol (a starting calibre NBA centre, whether you knew of this in advance or not). The Grizzlies also two first round picks from the Lakers, one of which has become Darrell Arthur, their 20 year old starting power forward formerly thought to be a high lottery pick. They still have their other pick to come, along with almost double maximum cap room, while taking back not one bad contract or inconsequential player in the deal. That's a good return on a one-time-All-Star power forward, particularly when you only wanted to dump salary.

What we may have witnessed here is a win-win trade, where both teams get what they wanted and improved as a result. This should be the result of every trade, and we shouldn't try to find only one winner to the deal. The Lakers clearly benefitted greatly from the deal, but Memphis won too. Yes, such a conclusion is entirely possible.

There. The balance is redressed. Now take out the bits about Darrell Arthur, and pretend I wrote that in February.

Summer signings, round 24

- As the old saying goes, no news is good news, except when there's no news about Alain Digbeu. But thankfully, there now is some! Huzzah! Digbeu has signed with Kavala Panorama in Greece, the team that also just signed Cavaliers guard Billy Thomas from off the street. Insert flippant comment.

- Speaking of the Cavaliers, the guy that Cleveland signed at the same time as Thomas - forward Kaniel Dickens - has signed with Napoli, where he'll sign heads and flavour bounces with the best of them.

- Still speaking of the Cavaliers, they also signed their second round pick this year, Darnell Jackson. The latest season of the British version of Big Brother featured an albino black guy named Darnell and, for those who can't imagine it, here's what an albino black guy looks like:


Thus marks the first and only time Big Brother will be referenced on this website. Christ it's bad.

- Sebastiani Rieti is another Italian team, apparently one with problems getting Americans to like them. In recent months, the club signed both Donnell Harvey and Tim Pickett, but both players have already been dumped by the team. Pickett's contract was voided by the team after he twice told them he had arrived in Italy when he hadn't, and Harvey was kicked off the team for "disciplinary" reasons before even playing a game for them. Donnell Harvey also failed to turn up for the Bobcats summer league team this year citing a "family emergency", so things haven't gone quite right for him of late. To replace either or both of these players, the team has already signed Roderick Wilmont, and is (or was) expected to sign Ricky Minard, which is great news if 2004 Sacramento Kings second round picks is your thing.

- Arvydas Macijauskas was waived by Olympiakos after breaking his foot. Man. They're strict in Europe. Hurt yourself? You're off the team. Tough break. Tough on injuries, tough on the causes of injuries.

- Marcus Slaughter has signed with Bremerhaven in Germany, a team not named after J.R. Bremer's pubes, despite how it may appear.

- And finally, the Golden State Warriors remain busy. After drafting Kosta Perovic back in 2006, the Warriors then waited a year before signing him to a three year contract that ranged somewhere between 5 and 6 million dollars last offseason. Twelve months and ten points later, that experiment has already ended, as the Warriors waived Perovic so that he can sign a three year contract with Pamesa Valencia of Spain. Once again, Chris Mullin gets away with his own mistake, and us salary people are excused from making excuses for Kosta's weird salary. In addition to this move, the Warriors signed two scrubs for training camp named DeMarcus Nelson (because Marcus is never enough) and Rob Kurz.

They also signed Dion Dowell, but you knew that already.