Eddie Basden

- Eddie Basden

Basden played last year in Turkey for Mersin. He didn't play especially well, however, averaging 8.1 points, 4.7 points, 2.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game. The all around numbers are pretty good, but Basden shot only 24% from three point range, taking three threes a game. He took 174 two pointers, 84 three pointers and 56 foul shots, and ended up totalling 244 points on 258 shots. That's not good.

This year, he waited until December before joining the D-League, acquired by the Austin Toros. The result have been much the same, however; through three games, Basden has averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals, but is shooting only 35% from the field, with 24 points on 26 shots. That's pretty much how he rolls. He has his uses defensively, but offensively, he doesn't have very many at all.

Eddie Basden is another ex-Bull, who was quickly snapped up by the team after going undrafted in 2005, and about whom much excitement was generated by the Bulls' PR Machine. We didn't have a draft pick that year, so we pretended Basden was it, and took some great solace from predicting his greatness. However, Basden appeared in only shreds of 19 games, and all he showed was an ability to gamble on defense and an inability to shoot. We felt let down somehow.

Apart from the Bulls, Basden has had training camp stints with the Cavaliers in 2006 (being traded for Martynas Andriuskevicius in one of the best pointless trades of all time) and the Miami Heat in 2008, but he didn't make the team either time. He spent last season in Turkey, averaging 7.9ppg and 4.6rpg for Mersin, but on the unhealthy percentages of 37% FG, 23% 3PT FG% and 61% FT. This is a defensive specialist we're talking about, by the way.