2010 Summer League Rosters: San Antonio Spurs
July 13th, 2010
DeJuan Blair I really don’t think DeJuan Blair needs to be here. Summer league is designed for players who need to prove something; those barely on a roster, those looking to make it onto one, draft picks trying to prove their worth, and also-rans looking to use the opportunity for good European gigs. But the only thing DeJuan Blair has to prove is the long term health of his knees. And unnecessary playing time is not the answer for that. Michael Cuffee Cuffee turned 27 yesterday (happy birthday!), and joins the Spurs for his second summer league stint. He was also with the team in 2008, easily the two highlights of his career. The rest of Cuffee’s CV reads Middle Tennessee State, WBA, Denmark, Finland, USBL, D-League, Lega Due (Italy) Turkey, and then the Lega Due again; last year for UCC Casalpusterlengo, Cuffee averaged 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. Those are rather average numbers from the below average Italian second division, and it’s hard to see what the Spurs see in Cuffee other than his tremendous athleticism (which isn’t worth a lot unless you turn it into production). Bryan Davis I have written before about the Spurs’s constant attempts to keep young players that they are interested in around their roster, if not strictly on it. By doing things such as owning their own D-League affiliate (thereby ensuring generous assignments) giving Curtis Jerrells $75,000 to attend training camp even when he has absolutely no chance of making the team (and subsequently having him assigned to the Toros for that reason), signing Marcus E. Williams at every possible opportunity, and using part of their MLE on signing Alonzo Gee and Garrett Temple when there’s a matter of days left in the season, the Spurs bypass the maximum roster size while keeping […]
Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 24
February 25th, 2010
– Alex Garcia Brazilian guard Garcia has toured the world over the years, including a couple of stints in the NBA. He is now back in his native Brazil, playing for Universo/BRB Brasilia, a team seemingly sponsored by a l33t speak manufacturer. Brazilian league statistics are hard to come by, but Garcia must be doing well, as he was an All-Star this season. As far as I can tell from the NBB website, Garcia averages 18 layettes (presumed to be points) and 3.6 assistances (presumed to not be rebounds) per game. A layette would be a great name for a hooker. – Thomas Gardner Gardner spent his third consecutive October in his NBA training camp when he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, but he was an early and quiet cut. He then moved to Belgium in January where he is playing for the Antwerp Giants. Gardner hasn’t shot well in his first three Belgian league games, averaging 9.7 points on 35% shooting, but in five EuroChallenge games he is averaging a much healthier 14.2 points on 46% shooting. I did not mention any other statistics of his because, true to form, there are very few of them. The guy is a shooting specialist. – Pat Garrity Garrity retired from basketball after the 2007-08 season. Now in retirement, he is pursuing a business MBA at Duke’s Fuqua Business School. He also worked for Credit Suisse during the summer, a financial services company. – Alonzo Gee Gee went undrafted out of Alabama, and made his way to the Spurs summer league roster. From there he made his way to the Timberwolves training camp roster, and after being waived he was the sixth overall pick in the D-League Draft by the Austin Toros. This cheers me up because in July, […]
2009 NBA Summer League round-up: San Antonio Spurs
July 25th, 2009
– Antonio Anderson: Anderson was Tyreke Evans’s ill-fitting backcourt team mate last season. Like Evans, Anderson is 6’6, athletic, and a good passer and playmaker for that height. Like Evans, he’s not ideally suited for guarding the point and has no significant jump shot. But unlike Evans, Anderson is not carving up defences off the dribble. And unlike Evans, Anderson is 24. The dribbling and shooting flaws haven’t gone away yet, and time is running out for it to happen. – Romel Beck: Beck is a 27-year-old former UNLV grad whose four-year professional career has included his native Mexico, the CBA, the D-League, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Italy and Croatia. Last year in 16 games for the Dakota Wizards, Beck scored a blindingly efficient 15.9 points in 27 minutes per game, on percentages of 50.9%/49.2%/90.2%. Beck pretty much only scores; he doesn’t much rebound, make plays for others, or play much defence. But even though he’s thin, he’s very tall for a shooting guard. And he’s definitely got the scoring talent. Here’s a video of him crossing over Kobe Bryant before making a step-back four-oint play; (Note: that really is him. His full name is Romel Roberto Beck Castro.) – DeJuan Blair: Should be a Bull. Dammit. – Eric Dawson: Dawson is a 25-year-old big man who’s only had one season of note. He attended Midwestern State, a Division II school that you’ve probably never heard of, and since leaving has spent two years with the Austin Toros of the D-League. Last year he averaged 10.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 fouls in 24 minutes per game. They’re not bad numbers, certainly, but in the D-League, but he’s also 25, which limits his upside. Still, he’s come far. – Nando De Colo: I’m not going to pretend […]
