ShamSports archive
Articles by Mark Deeks
Basketball writing, scouting reports and salary cap analysis from the archive.
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626 articles
Darren Collison Last year at this time about Darren Collison, I wrote this: Big fan of Collison. He's like Chris Duhon except with a mid range game and the ability to recognise when to shoot. And Chris Duhon with those things added to his game would be a…
Free agency is going on, and big names are moving all over the world. However, so are the little names. And since half of this website is devoted to the little names, there follows looks at the summer league roster for all NBA teams. These posts will be…
Thank you for your patience as we resolve the issues that have plagued this website in recent days. We're on top of it now. Sort of. The free agency season is upon us, and a lot of housekeeping had to be done before we could get going. Players…
Part One (that's a link) Due to the length of this post, I have included links so that you can skip to specific picks, if you want. Of course, you may want to read all of it. Or....none of it. 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 -…
Over the course of the last nine months, I have watched somewhere in the region of 700 NCAA games. I have done this partly because of a deep-rooted affinity for Jay Bilas, but also in anticipation of the NBA Draft. Draft Night ranks somewhere near Christmas Day and…
- Not everyone changes teams in the summer. It seems like they do, but some stay on where they are. Those who have signed extensions with their current clubs include Slovakian scoring machine Radoslav Rancik , who has signed a two-year deal with Galatasaray, and ex-San Diego State…
They're coming thick and fast; yet another American in Europe has picked up a passport of a minor European team in order to further their career ambitions. But unlike some of those that have gone before him, this one has multiple years of NBA experience. And that's because…
- In Italy, Bucks draft pick Szymon Szewczyk signed a two-year extension with Air Avellino. He ranked second the team in rebounds last year behind Chevon Troutman, was second in points behind Dee Brown , and also managed not to get arrested in a drunken car wreck unlike…
This is an update of the earlier post that detailed the amount of cap room teams will have . It is updated to reflect the Kings/Sixers trade that was just completed ( Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes for Sam Dalembert ), to reflect some exercised options, and to…
The South Korean basketball league [KBL] is a relatively new league, only thirteen years in existence, that unashamedly focuses on Korean national players. Part of that means heavily restricting the amount of imports that so heavily permeate all the other leagues around the world. Teams are allowed only…
- David Noel , who was mentioned in the previous post as leaving French team Roanne, has landed another gig in the same country. He has signed with Paris-Levallois. - In other French league news, Le Mans have released Marc Salyers , who had an uncharacteristically average season.…
One of the things we like to do here is monitor the ever-changing nationalities of players. Acquiring various passports can be highly useful for a professional basketball player, as they can be used to bypass various regulations regarding numbers of imports that most leagues enforce upon their teams.…
More than one person has asked me in the past for a definition of how basketball works in Europe. Those persons are always American. They see words like "domestic competition," "EuroLeague" and "Cup," and they panic. All of those are concepts alien to the NBA, an incestuous league…
Almost to a man, Bulls fans are shockingly reticent about the great opportunities that might befall them this offseason. They have maximum cap room, they have the man widely regarded as the league's hottest head coaching prospect, they have the league's best young point guard , and the…
Lots of people and lots of places are claiming knowledge of the cap space of various NBA team in anticipation of this summer's free agency bonanza. Most, if not all, have done so misleadingly inaccurately. Without wanting to sound too douchebaggy (sorry), let's try to get this right.…
Trade kickers are a salary mechanism that increase a player's salary when they are traded. They are both important and difficult to accommodate when formulating trade scenarios, and thus it's useful for them to be known. Kickers - technically known as trade bonuses, but colloquially as kickers, which…
- Maccabi Tel-Aviv declined their contract option on former Warriors draft pick Stephane Lasme . The Raptors are said to have been scouting him , alongside his Maccabi frontcourt teammate D'Or Fischer . Granted, the Israeli press are notorious for making things up, and the now-27-year- old Lasme…
Summer is here, and players are a-moving. The NBA free agency period has not yet begun - and should be pretty epic once it does - but this hasn't stopped players moving the world over. Here are some of the transactions that may interest you. - Teams in…
The Chinese Basketball Association is an area of particular focus on this website, because it's fun. Every season, the CBA plays host to many former NBA players, and plays them for the vast majority of their 48-minute games, resulting in huge statistics and thereby being more fun over…
On this website is a list of player nationalities . It's a pretty useful tool, partly for reason of trivia, but also because it lists some of the more bizarre citizenships that high-level basketball players have accrued in recent years. Two new additions can now be made to…
- Bracey Wright Ex-Timberwolves guard Wright got off to a late start this year, not signing anywhere until January. He eventually hooked up with Belgian team Oostende, and averaged 12.8 points and 1.6 assists per game. However, Oostende were knocked out of the Belgian playoffs at the semi-finals…
- Donell Williams Donell Williams was a training camp signing of the Clippers in 2007, who hasn't played anywhere of note before or since. A 6'3 guard, Williams spent his first two collegiate years at West Los Angeles Community College, before transferring to Fayetteville State for his final…
- Shawne Williams As mentioned in the previous post , Williams fell out of the league in January. Dallas knew they had made a mistake in trading for him, and knew they'd compounded that by exercising his fourth-year team option without doing their homework on his play and…
- Robert Whaley After about two years off the scene, Whaley re-appeared on it again in March.....but in a bad way. For a longer breakdown of the life and times of the Fail Whale, click here. - Davin White Former Cal-State Northridge guard White was once signed…
- Darius Washington Macedonian sensation Darius Washington stayed close to his homeland this season when he signed with Turkish team Galatasaray. He averaged 21.6 points (third-best in the league) and 4.5 assists (eighth-best) per game in the EuroCup, alongside 15.4 points and 3.0 assists per game in the…