Summer league round-up: Indiana Pacers

Still nothing from the Cavaliers about their summer league roster. Don't act like you're busy, Danny Ferry.

This entry feels a little bit weird, considering that they've already played their games. But, still.

View the Pacers summer league roster.

- Will Blalock: The Pacers have been said to be looking for a point guard all summer long now. They kept Jamaal Tinsley inactive for all of last season, despite him being able and willing to play. Jarrett Jack is a restricted free agent, and even though he's expected back, he isn't really a point guard anyway. Neither is Travis Diener, and they seem to hate T.J. Ford more than it seems as though they should. (Must be because he's black.) But while Will Blalock is very much a point guard, I don't think the answer to the Pacers' point guard problem lies in a man who averaged 4.5 points and 2.1 assists in the German league last season.

- Derrick Byars: Byars was briefly covered in the Nuggets round-up, but here's a bonus fact about him.

Byars' three point percentage by month, last season:

November - 0%
December - 56%
January - 28%
February - 50%
March - 26%
April - 0%
Overall - 38%

It might be a coincidence that the two months he shot the most threes in were December and February. Or it might not.

- Tyler Hansbrough: Us Bulls fans discussed at length whether it would be a good idea to pick Tyler Hansbrough at #26. We eventually decided on "yes". (And, after what we wound up doing with the pick.......well, you know.) As draft day approached, we moved on to discussing whether it'd be justifiable to pick Hansbrough as high as #16. Opinion was split, but the majority said "no". Turns out it was irrelevant anyway, as Indiana went for him at #13. And, since it's the 2009 draft we're talking about, I think they can get away with that.

That earlier comment about T.J. Ford's race was uninspired satire, by the way. I don't care how vanilla the Pacers are. Neither should you.

- Roy Hibbert: Frank admission - Roy Hibbert is better than I thought he would be. He can score at the NBA level. Just can. He'd be better if he toned down the shot block attempts and focused more on the rebounding, and that foul rate is pretty ridiculous, but not many 22 year old rookie centres can score at that rate. Once he stops being Bargnani-ish on the defensive glass, he'll be goooood.

- Jared Homan: The Ho-Man played 16 games in the Euroleague last year as a member of Cibona Zagreb, which is a very high standard of basketball for any man to be playing. Unfortunately, he didn't play very well in them, averaging only 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds, along with 2.4 fouls. His size is still a virtue, but his size is also nothing special by NBA standards. And nor is his age (26). Still, Rasho Nesterovic is a free agent, which opens up a space on the Pacers for a new white centre.

(If I keep forcing this joke home, it might start being funny. Maybe.)

- Aaron Jackson: Jackson broke the freak out last year, averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game, with percentages of 55.4%, 40.5% and 80.9%. Those numbers are up across the board from the year before, and his scoring output was more than doubled from his junior to senior years. Learning to shoot can do wonders for a man's game. If he'd been in a less point guard heavy draft, or at a school more noteworthy than Duquense, then he might have gotten drafted. As it is, he's now fighting Will Blalock for a training camp spot, a fight that both will probably lose.

- Trey Johnson: Johnson briefly played in the NBA last season, signing a couple of ten day contracts with the Cavaliers. He only scored 4 points, all from the foul line, but it's an NBA career at least. When he wasn't at the big dance, he was in the D-League, living up to his first name with the Bakersfield Jam. Johnson scored 21 points per game in 41 minutes per game, shooting 46% from the field and 41% from the three point line. If he can be bothered to start playing defense, he might go down as the best player in the history of Jackson State. But until then, that title belongs to Lindsey Hunter. Or Purvis Short.

- Leo Lyons: I watched a lot of Missouri last year. It was hard not to, because they did pretty well. J.T. Tiller is my boy. But my opinion of Lyons isn't highly flattering. He has some touch, some athleticism, and his wild flails to the rim are effective. But he makes a crap load of mistakes, doesn't really have NBA size, and nor was his heart really in it defensively. If he was a sophomore, he would have been one to keep an eye on. But he wasn't.

- Josh McRoberts: McRoberts finally got some PT last season, and in doing so he put up an almost identical PER to that of Marquis Daniels. He's also grown a brilliant beard, and either is or was plugging Lauren Conrad from MTV's The Hills. Not a bad year for McBob, all told. He's a restricted free agent, but he'll return.

- A.J. Price: If drafting three straight seniors out of big programs wasn't enough of a clue (Hibbert, Rush, Hansbrough), then the Pacers picking Price in the second round this year ought to have alerted you to the fact that Larry Bird watches the NCAA tournament. More importantly, if the Pacers really are serious about getting an extra point guard regardless of how many options they already have, I would imagine that Price has a beeline on that spot right now. But that's only if they do. (By the way, I just spent ten minutes trying to think up a plausible Jamaal Tinsley trade scenario. But I couldn't do it. Is there not room for him in Indiana to rebuild his value just a little bit?)

- Brandon Rush: Rush's rookie year wasn't good, scoring inefficiently and ranking last on the team in plus/minus rating. But he has an opportunity here; Marquis Daniels is an unrestricted free agent, Mike Dunleavy's knee is reportedly all kinds of haggard, and new signing Dahntay Jones is a not-very-good defensive specialist. There's minutes available for Rush, then, if he can figure out how to get to the foul line more than once a week.

- Anthony Smith: Smith averaged 17.6 points and 6.5 rebounds for Liberty last year. And here's a Googled factoid:

As a junior, Smith was the only player in the nation during the 2008 season to attempt at least 200 three-point field goals and succeed on at least 40 percent of his three-point field goal attempts (41.0), while also hitting over 50 percent of his field goal attempts (51.5). Only four other players in the nation accomplish the same feat while attempting at least 100 three-point field goals, including Mario Chalmers (Kansas), Lee Cummard (BYU), Malik Hairston (Oregon) and James Harden (Arizona State).

Despite the apparent brilliance of his jumpshot, though, he never shot over 66% from the foul line in his four year NCAA career. And that's all I've got.

- Scott VanderMeer: It's difficult to find out information on Scott VanderMeer, since I've seen his surname spelt 4 different ways; VanderMeer, Vander Meer, van der Meer, and Van De Meer. Really helps things along, that. But here's what I've got anyway: VanderMeer is a 7 footer who just shot 40% in the seminal Horizon League. If that doesn't put the shits up you, then it jolly well ought. The best part of his NCAA resumé is probably his shot blocking, to the tune of 2.1 blocks per game last year, an output which he'll have to roughly treble to trouble an NBA roster. Nevertheless, here's a 7 minute highlight video.



He's white. So he has a chance.

Summer signings, round 23

- Previously, I had theorised immaturely that Mario Kasun had left Barcelona after a fight with Andre Barrett. This is because I'm not funny. The actual reason, though, was because Kasun had agreed a deal with Efes Pilsen in Turkey, and therefore he and Barcelona terminated the remainder of his contract by mutual consent. ShamSports.com - the home of childish banter that you could definitely do without.

- Horace Jenkins or Alex Scales might sign with Crvena Zvezda in the Adriatic League. It's a tempter, isn't it? Do you want the 30 year old NBA rookie or the man with the 9 second career? Tough choice. Either way, both are able to write "NBA" on their resumé, which guarantees them work for life. Hopefully, one day, I can do the same.

- Daniel Ewing is going to Poland, for a team named Asseco Prokom. You might not have heard of Prokom, despite their chart topping single "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" from a few decades ago, but you might have heard of some of Ewing's new team mates. Ronnie Burrell, Koko Archibong and David Logan? Anybody? Ch'yeah, you've heard. You don't forget names like Koko Archibong and David Logan in a hurry, let me tell you.

- Yuta Tabuse has decided to enhance his NBA dream by leaving America. After three years of barely playing in the D-League, Tabuse has gone home to Japan, to play for a team by the wonderful name of Tochigi Brex. Tabuse will be the highest paid player in Japan, and his contract contains an NBA escape clause, for he believes this move to be an important step in his long-awaited return to the NBA.

This decision might surprise some people, but there is one thing I can say for certain: I have not changed my mind on taking on the challenge of playing in the NBA,"

Yeah. Good luck with that.


- Universitet Surgut signed both Lionel Chalmers and Akin Akingbala, thereby earning themselves some coverage on this, the NBA's most scrub focused website whose URL begins with an S. So here's some Universitet Surgut information, because they earned it:

1 - They're a Russian team.
2 - Kyle Davis used to play for them.
3 - They sucked last year.

That's all I've got.


- Miami signed Jamaal Magloire, apparently blissfully unaware of how staggeringly crap Jamaal was last season.

- Cleveland signed Lorenzen Wright, also apparently blissfully unaware of how staggeringly crap Lorenzen was last season. Speaking of, I've been known to defend former Hawks General Manager Billy Knight in the past, but let's remind ourselves of something - in the summer of 2006, Knight was armed with maximum cap room. He needed a centre and a point guard. He signed Lorenzen Wright and Speedy Claxton. He signed them for a combined six years and $31.14 million. Since then, the two players have combined to play 142 out of a possible 328 games, with combined totals of 394 points on 461 shots, along with 361 fouls. Wright has long since left the team, after one and a half shocking seasons of play led to him being mere salary filler in the Mike Bibby trade. Claxton's been even less helpful, playing a dire first half of his first season, then missing the next year and a half due to injury. In the unlikely event that he returns this year, he'll be fourth on the Hawks depth chart, all while earning over $11 million guaranteed over the next two seasons.

Defend that if you can. Hint - you can't.

- Cleveland also lost a player, sort of, after reserve guard Billy Thomas agreed to sign with a Greek team named Kavala/Panorama. However, the Cavaliers haven't actually waived Thomas at any point, and he remains under contract to them for next year, albeit an unguaranteed minimum salary. This remains true even though the Panoramic news broke a few days before I write you this post. It's unlikely that Cleveland would stiff Kavala over this and refuse to cut him, given that it's only Billy bloody Thomas and that they clearly gave him permission to get other offers, but it would be funny if they did. Let's make it happen.

- Herbert Hill signed with Le Mans a hundred million years ago, but his contract has since been terminated, because Hill still hasn't recovered from the knee surgery that caused him to miss all of last year. A knee injury that prevents him from playing basketball, clearly. But not one that prevents him from driving. Hill was replaced in Le Mans by J.P. Batista, the forward Gonzaga forward once told by Dwayne Bruce that he wasn't cut out for professional wrestling.

- James Thomas has been loaned from Upim Bologna to Erdemir in Turkey. For those American fans unaware of the concept of loaning a player, it's exactly what it sounds like.

- And finally, some amateurism. Somehow, somewhere, I had some news on Trey Johnson. He was going to sign somewhere, and I forgot to write down where it was. So that was clever of me. However, it may work out for the best anyway, because since this booboo occurred, it's been reported that Johnson will go to training camp with the Phoenix Suns, alongside former Heat guard Robert Hite and some tall white guy.

I think I got away with that one.

Where Are They Now? Part 20

Keeping up with the Jones's.

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Arthur Johnson is playing for Pepsi Caserta in Italy's second divison, alongside Guillermo Diaz and perennial also-ran Randolph Childress. Johnson averages 13.9 points and 6.5 rebounds a game.

Trey Johnson is averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in only 27 minutes a game for the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League.

Bobby Jones has tied an NBA record this season, after playing for 5 different NBA teams - Denver, Memphis, San Antonio, Miami and Houston. Jones was also on the Sixers roster before the season, but he was traded as a part of the Reggie Evans/Steven Hunter deal that nobody was interested in. He has just today returned to the Denver Nuggets, obviously wanting to settle down now.

Dahntay Jones played well for the Kings earlier this season, before being waived to accomodate the players acquired from Atlanta as a part of the Mike Bibby trade. One of those players - Tyronn Lue - was subsequently waived, but still the Kings didn't bring Dahntay back, nor Justin Williams, the other guy waived concurrent to the trade. As a result, Jones is stuck with plying his trade down in the D-League, where he shits on the league with a 24.4 points per game average.

Mark Jones - a former Magic guard, so obscure in his formerness that only the truly hardcore will remember him - has not played professionally for two years, and I have absolutely nothing further to say about him. That's how obscure he is. It'd be quite the mysterious and evocative act if it wasn't so irrelevant to everyone and everything.

Alvin Jones, who this summer became the ultimate random "oh shit yeah, I remember him!" signing of any training camp ever when he signed with Denver for three whole days, is playing for a Turkish team that not even people in Turkey have heard of - Mutlu Aku Selcuk Universitesi Konya. It is here that Jones puts up the other-worldly numbers of 4 total BL's and no ASS. Make your own assumptions as to what those abbreviations form his team's website represent. Jones is also, I shit ye not, a Luxembourgian passport holder, and this is the kind of information that I NEED to bring the world. (Question: which former Net is now a member of the Qatarian national team? We'll find out, after these messages. And about 30 more blog posts.)

Jumaine Jones is averaging 18.2 points and 8.6 rebounds for Napoli in Italy, alongside another former Net, Jamel Thomas. Speaking of Jamel Thomas, Jamel Thomas is Stephon Marbury's cousin. And Jamel Thomas is writing a book. And Jamel Thomas isn't nice about Marbury on this book, or so he implies in a Youtube video that he made. In this video, Jamel Thomas wears sunglasses indoors, complimented by a pink tank top, ranting somewhat incoherently (the room has ropey acoustics) about how angry he is about Marbury-related things, doing so with a loosely enforced rhyme scheme in place. In the unlikely event that you haven't seen this video, given that every NBA blog in the world seems to have carried it recently, here it is:



I'm buying that, despite my almost-total lack of interest in the subject matter. You've sold me, Jamel Thomas. By the way, Jamal has two A's in it.

Jared Jordan is playing for Lietuvos in Lithuania, alongside (or rather, behind) the mighty Hollis Price. Jordan averages a mere 6.1 points and 4.0 assists for the team. Nevertheless, I remain steadfast in my opinion that this player that I have never seen play is destined for good things, because people who I trust rather well keep telling me this. And frankly, that's all that I need. It's the fundamental principle that this website was based on. Maybe I shouldn't have just said that.

Federico Kammerichs averages only 7.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for Murcia in Spain. The old unwritten rule which states that dual German/Argentinian nationality players with massive beards drafted in the second round of the NBA draft never go on to international basketball superstardom, claims another victim. Maybe one day, we'll break this unholy cycle of woe.

Sergei Karaulov - one of those tall young European second round draft choices that the Spurs make, that you've never heard of, yet you are convinced that they could one day start on a championship winning Spurs team purely because te Spurs drafted them - will never start on a Spurs championship team. Because he's crap. Karaulov, 26 tomorrow, averages only 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds for Lokomotiv Rostov in the Russian Superleague. Thus, it's official - the Spurs cocked one up. And when we get to Viktor Sanikidze, you'll learn how they cocked two up.

Mario Kasun had his restricted free agency renounced by Orlando when they renounced everybody except Fran Vazquez to open up the room to sign Rashard Lewis to as much as they physically could, for no freaking reason whatsoever. As a result, Kasun is now fully detatched from the NBA, and now we have something else to blame Rashard Lewis for. (Let's overlook for a minute the fact that Kasun doesn't want to play in the NBA.) Kasun, now 28, averages 7.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for Barcelona, and if I could read Spanish I'd be able to tell you if he has stopped his prolific fouling or not. But I'd wager not. (Vazquez, coincidentally, is his teammate.)

Viktor Khryapa was bought out by the Bulls just before the trade deadline so that he could return to the Motherland to resurrect his career. It hasn't really worked out yet, as Khryapa averages only 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds for CSKA Moscow, which isn't terrific. Khryapa's team mate in Moscow is Trajan Langdon, who tears things up with an 11.8ppg scoring average, which is highly terrific. I may have an agenda here, but don't tell anyone.