Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 71
May 30th, 2010
– 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 Turkish league. Last month, with Galatasaray out of the running in the Turkish league, Washington moved to Italy to join Lottomatica Roma for the last few games of the Serie A regular season, but didn’t play as much, and averaged only 5.0 ppg as Roma were swept 3-0 by Caserta. – Deron Washington Washington was drafted by the Pistons with the penultimate pick in the 2008 draft, and signed in 2009. Detroit then waived him before the season started in a move that made absolutely no sense on the surface. Washington subsequently went to the D-League – you can afford to do that when an NBA team is cutting you a $250,000 check – and was drafted third overall in the D-League draft by the L.A. D-Fenders. Only eight games later, though, Washington was traded to the Tulsa 66ers for backup big man Keith Clark; in 49 combined games between the two teams, Washington averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 26 minutes per game. He also shot only 30% from three point range, and also committed 1.9 turnovers per game, a high amount of turnovers for a man who doesn’t really dribble. – Darryl Watkins This was basically a gap year for Darryl Watkins. He started it in camp with the Cavaliers, and was one of their last cuts before moving to the D-League and being assigned to the Iowa Energy; however, he started to suffer from plantar fasciitis before the season began and never played a […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 55
March 14th, 2009
– Charlie Ward retired in 2004, and briefly became an assistant coach with the Rockets. However, he left that gig, and has instead found a place and a job that caters to his three biggest passions in life; basketball, American football, and Christianity. Ward is now the head football coach at Westbury Christian School in Houston, Texas, as well as an assistant coach on the basketball team. He also recently quarterbacked again, albeit only for a fun day. Question: if you were to ask Charlie Ward whether he regrets turning down an NFL career for his decent if underwhelming NBA career, what would he say? Genuinely intrigued by that. – Darius Washington signed with the Bulls for preseason, and played very well in one of the preseason games. He didn’t make the cut, though, and nor was he ever going to. Washington then signed with Ural Great Perm in Russia, where he is averaging 13.0 points and 3.6 assists per game in the EuroChallenge, along with 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in the Russian league. Did you know that Darius Washington is now a Macedonian citizen? Fun fact. – Pistons draft pick Deron Washington is averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for Hapoel Holon in Israel. He recently helped the team to win the Israeli Cup, but is only shooting 23% on the year from three-point range. So he still can’t shoot. But he’s also still an athlete who covers ground on both ends. – Darryl Watkins did not make the cut from the Spurs training camp, and then went to Tianjin in China. Everyone loves Chinese numbers, and a post on this subject may well be soon appearing, so until then wrap your lips around this […]
More Liquorice Allsorts
January 24th, 2009
1: The following YouTube video has done the rounds recently, showing an impressive double alley’oop in a highly one-sided high school game. That clip reminded me of this one, featuring the Los Angeles Clippers’ “overloaded with potential” era, specifically Darius Miles and Lamar Odom. (Also, is it Sean Rooks throwing that frontcourt pass? I think so.) “The Lob, The Jam” Since Kevin Calabro left us, Ralph Lawler has assumed the title of Best Announcer Of Any NBA Team. If ever you forget that, watch this clip. Great call, Ralph. Great call. 2: While looking for that clip, I also found this one. Portland Trail Blazers Miracle Minute I loved that so-called “Jail Blazers” team. Loved it. There was just so much talent on it, so much depth, and so much athleticism (which, not matter how much you appreciate skill, is something that makes the game more fun, as evidenced by this clip). That particular Blazers team also had Steve Kerr and Chris Dudley, two all-time favourites of mine. It was great times all around. But it’s a bit odd, when you think about it. All but one Blazer in this clip is now out of the league. Derek Anderson is unsigned. Bonzi Wells is in China. Ruben Patterson is unsigned. Scottie Pippen is kicking 50’s door down. (Not 50 Cent, but the age.) Kerr is the Suns’ General Manager now, and Chris Dudley is Kevin Love’s mentor. (Well, he was, briefly.) Rasheed Wallace is still with us, but not the same Rasheed Wallace as we see today, and the rest of the roster not seen in this clip (Damon Stoudamire, Dale Davis, Shawn Kemp, Erick Barkley, Mitchell Butler, Ruben Boumtje Boumtje, Rick Brunson) are all out of the league. The only ones that aren’t are Sheed and Zach Randolph, […]
Bonzi Wells signs in China
December 15th, 2008
If things had worked out slightly different, Bonzi Wells would be earning about $8 million this year from the Sacramento Kings. As it is, he’ll be earning about $40,000 in China. Bonzi, pictured here playing an invisible trumpet, famously was reported to have turned down a five-year, $38.5 million extension from the Kings on the advice of his agent, Williams Phillips. Phillips seemingly thought that Bonzi could get more money from elsewhere. He was wrong, though. He was very wrong, in fact, as Bonzi ended up getting only a 2 year, $5 millionish contract from the Houston Rockets, which expired this summer. Unable to get a contract from an NBA team this summer – which makes little sense, given that Bonzi’s a talented player, and only a year and a bit removed from being a key bench player on a 50-win team), Wells has now resorted to signing in China, for the Scrabbletastic Shanxi Zhongyu. Wells is expected to replace former Hawks swingman Donta Smith, as Chinese Basketball Association rules allow only two non-Asians per team. This seems a bit unfair on Smith, who is averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.5 steals on the season, but the other non-Asian spot on the Shanxi roster is taken up by Olumide Oyedeji. And Olumide Oyedeji is one of the best players in China, bizarrely, averaging 23.2 points, 17.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.7 blocks. No, I can’t quite believe it either.
Won’t somebody PLEASE think of Quinton Ross?
August 6th, 2008
There follows a list of the remaining unsigned NBA free agents, and what they’re currently rumoured to be doing about their jobless selves. Most of these players are marginal, because we’re over a month into free agency now. Yet this list may still serve as a useful resource if you’re sifting through the remaining chunks of free agency vomit, looking for gold dust and/or your brand new watch, relentlessly apologising for ruining the whole party and vowing never to mix Bourbon and Gaymers again. Maybe. NOTE – decent free agents from other leagues not listed partly because this is an NBA website, and partly because I don’t want to. Point guards: – Kevin Ollie: Recently anointed a role model for reasons other than just the moustache, that video is possibly the only thing on the internet that suggests that some teams want to sign Ollie. By the way, did you know that that’s how he spoke? I didn’t. I thought it’d be deeper than that. Ho hum. – Shaun Livingston: Still not cleared to play basketball. In spite of this, the Clippers have talked to him about re-signing anyway, and Miami and Phoenix both also showed an interest. And why wouldn’t they? – Sam Cassell: Said he intends to play one more year before becoming an assistant coach. “Expects” to stay with the Celtics, who don’t seem to be reciprocating quite as much. Cassell also recently either was or wasn’t a judge at a pole dancing competition, depending on whether you believe the Boston Globe or Sam himself. – Jannero Pargo: Apparently on the cusp of signing with the San Antonio Spurs, which seems like an odd decision. Firstly, they don’t have much money to give him, which is the reason why Jannero has opted out of contracts two […]
