– Marcus Haislip An established and productive forward in the EuroLeague these last couple of years – if kind of disliked by certain sections of the European audience who abhor athleticism when it comes at the expenses of pick-and-roll defence – Haislip left Unicaja Malaga this summer after two seasons to return to the NBA to play for the Spurs for the minimum salary. This represented about a 75% paycut for Haislip, yet he did it anyway, because American citizens like playing in America. It didn’t work out for him, though – in three months with the team, Haislip played all of 10 games and 44 minutes. Then in early January, Panathinaikos came in for him, looking for a short-term injury reinforcement. Haislip negotiated a buyout with San Antonio (which wasn’t difficult; “you can forget what you owe me if you let me leave”) and signed with Pana, for whom he is averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the Greek league. – Mike Hall Former Wizards forward Hall is with Armani Jeans Milano, a team based in Milano that are sponsored by Armani Jeans. He is averaging 8.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in Serie A, alongside 6.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague, shooting 29% from three-point range between the two. He had a nice game-winning dunk in a EuroLeague game recently, but YouTube doesn’t seem to carry it. Or if it does, it’s in Italian. – Yotam Halperin Sonics/Thunder draft pick Halperin is a member of Olympiacos, averaging 7.4 points and 1.8 assists per game in the Greek league, alongside 7.0 points and 1.1 assists per game in the EuroLeague. His minutes have been inconsistent, as have those of all Olympiacos players, but perhaps more so than the others. Halperin didn’t […]
– I was first alerted to the presence of Blake Griffin about 18 months ago, when an Oklahoman resident told me he was brilliant. Apparently this has become a widely-held opinion, as Griffin is the unanimous #1 pick on both of the draft websites that I look at. (I really ought to start following the draft more, you know. But it’s hard. I can’t watch the games. And that, to me, is an important part of knowing about someone. Oh well.) Griffin averages huge numbers of 22.2 points and 13.8 rebounds for Oklahoma, despite being only 19 years old, and his PER is a staggering 38.1. And that’s….a lot. – Rashard Griffith is in Romania. Where else? In his second season with Asesoft Ploiesti, a team that currently lead the Romanian league with a 14-2 record, Griffith averages 10.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists, but those numbers dropped to only 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in EuroChallenge play. So, just to confirm, Rashard Griffith’s NBA window is shut, and has been for about seven years. Other players on the Ploiesti team that you may have heard of include Carl Krauser (former Pittsburgh standout who I seem to recall had a try-out with the Pacers once, although I can’t be sure of this) and Tyson Wheeler (who tried out for every team at some point, and who signed very briefly with the Nuggets back in the last millennium). – Anthony Grundy is playing for Panellinios in Greece, where he is actually doing some passing. Grundy averages 10.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in EuroCup play, along with 16.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the Greek league, playing the point guard to Brad Newley’s shooting guard. Grundy is about to turn 30, however, which lowers the […]
Players acquired via free agency or trade: Morris Peterson (four years, $22.4 million) Melvin Ely (two year minimum) David Wesley (acquired from Cleveland, to be waived) Ryan Bowen (one year minimum) Trey Johnson (two year minimum) Players acquired via draft: First round: Julian Wright (13th overall) Second round: Adam Haluska (43rd overall) Players retained: Jannero Pargo (re-signed, two years, $3,806,400) Players departed: Brandon Bass (signed with Dallas) Devin Brown (signed with Cleveland) Marc Jackson (signed in Greece) Linton Johnson (signed in Spain) Desmond Mason (signed with Milwaukee) Cedric Simmons (traded to Cleveland) Bobbins: It’s hard to see quite what New Orleans planned to do going into this offseason. If their intention was to surround Chris Paul with shooters, as it probably was and definitely should have been, then it’s a job well done. In retaining Jannero Pargo while bringing in Morris Peterson and Adam Haluska to replace Devin Brown and Desmond Mason, the Hornets’ outside shooting takes another step forward. And when combined with the returning Rasual Butler and Bobby Jackson, as well as the return from injury of Peja Stojakovic, the Hornets’ outside shooting will be a strength this upcoming season. The backcourt depth in general is pretty strong. The frontcourt depth, however, is another matter. New Orleans seems content to roll with only four recognised big men, two of whom are Hilton Armstrong and Melvin Ely. Ely’s pretty bad despite one season of decency (and a contract season at that, how coincidental), whereas Armstrong is coming off of an incredibly raw rookie year. This seems to me as though it should be more of a pressing concern to Hornets management, given that the two players they’re backing up (Tyson Chandler and David West) haven’t exactly been the poster boys for health at any point […]
