Curtis Stinson

Curtis Stinson - As ever, Stinson is in the D-League, his fifth consecutive year in the league and his fourth with the Iowa Energy. Stinson's production is about as distinct as it is consistent; every year he puts up enormous minutes, huge assists, very good rebounding numbers, good steals, decent scoring on terrible efficiency, and very little outside shooting. This year is no different; Stinson is averaging 15.3 points (nominally up from last year's 15.2), 8.4 assists (down from 10.9), 1.1 steals (down from 2.2), 4.5 rebounds (down from 5.6), and a whopping 5.4 turnovers (up from 4.2), all in 40.1 minutes per game (down from 42.4). Stinson shoots 47% from the field, which is healthy for a point guard, but it's a number that doesn't tell the truth; he has 0 made three pointers on the year, and rarely gets to the free throw lines, recording 245 total points on 223 total shots. His weaknesses are still present, his numbers are down from last year, and so is his stock. He also turns 28 next month. Nevertheless, if he can get his numbers back to where he is once again averaging a double double in points and assists, plus some big rebounding numbers for a 6'2 guard, then he'll be impossible to ignore.

- Curtis Stinson - Last year was Stinson's third in the D-League, and his second full season with the Iowa Energy. Just like in the first one, he played all 50 regular season games. He played 44.6 mpg in 2008/09, and 42.4 mpg in 2009/10; hardiness is definitely not one of his flaws. He also maintained his averages even with the slightly reduced minutes, going from 16.1 ppg, 8.4 apg, 7.0 rpg and 2.2 spg in 08/09 to 15.2 ppg, 10.9 apg, 5.4 rpg and 2.2 spg in 09/10, raising his scoring from 44% to 46%, and his free throw shooting from 74% to 81%. Stinson still can't shoot from outside, making only 11 three pointers all season on only 19% shooting. His PER of 15.7 was also pretty sedate. But the rest of the numbers were all there, again. Because of the fact that his numbers are so inflated by the minutes he plays, plus his lack of jumpshot, plus the fact that his strengths lie largely in the full court game, Stinson has not yet gotten in the NBA despite the stats. However, 10.7apg is significant in any league. Stinson went to summer league with both Orlando and Toronto, averaging 5.5ppg/5.0 for Orlando and 4/4 for Toronto. But neither seems to have any room for him.

Curtis Stinson

Stinson was covered in the Magic's SL roster breakdown. In the Orlando Summer Pro League, Stinson averaged 5.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and only 1 turnover per game. Considering how turnover heavy summer league tends to be, that's pretty impressive.

- Curtis Stinson

Stinson spent another year with the Iowa Energy in the D-League, still looking for his NBA call-up. He did sign with the Bulls for training camp this year, but didn't even last a week, being released before their preseason trip to Europe. So when the Bulls subsequently suffered some guard injuries, John Salmons and Lindsey Hunter had to split time at the point guard position. It was a weird time, a simpler time, a worse time.

This was Stinson's second full season with the Energy, and he again played all 50 regular season games. He played 44.6 mpg in 2008/09, and 42.4 mpg in 2009/10; hardiness is definitely not one of his flaws. He also maintained his averages even with the slightly reduced minutes, going from 16.1 ppg, 8.4 apg 7.0 rpg and 2.2 spg in 08/09 to 15.2 ppg, 10.9 apg, 5.4 rpg and 2.2 spg in 09/10, raising his scoring from 44% to 46%, and his free throw shooting from 74% to 81%. Stinson still can't shoot from outside, making only 9 three pointers all season only 18% shooting. His PER of 15.7 was also pretty sedate. But the rest of the numbers were all there, again.

In the D-League playoffs, Stinson averaged 44.6 minutes, 23.7 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game, going all LeBron-like when the season was on the line. However, it ended on a sour note. The Energy were tied 1-1 with the Tulsa 66ers in the three game conference finals series, but were facing elimination when down 5 with two minutes left. The game had (apparently) been badly officiated, and Stinson blew his top at a call that went against him. Stinson was ejected from the game by the ref, but rather than go, Stinson started after the ref and had to be restrained by Pat Carroll. The crowd (the Energy were at home) then also got into it, and some of them had to be ejected too. The game was postponed for several minutes while order was restored. And when play resumed without Stinson, the Energy lost.

Somewhere in that exchange, Stinson vomited on the court. After three straight seasons of D-League paychecks, it's entirely possible that he leaves the D-League for better money elsewhere next season. If he does, then that may have been his final D-League game. There's no better way to say goodbye than with a puke and a fight. A legacy is born.

And yes, there is a video. But not of the vomit.