Kings to sign Chris Johnson
March 26th, 2014
Tomorrow, the Sacramento Kings will sign former LSU Celtics, Blazers, Hornets and Timberwolves big man Chris Johnson. It is not known at this time whether it will be for the remainder of the season, multiple seasons, or a 10 day deal. Johnson has spent this season in China, averaging 20.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 29 games for Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. The 28 year old is known for his length, athleticism and shot-blocking. With a roster spot already open after the waiving of Jimmer Fredette, and with Orlando Johnson’s 10 day contract having expired, Sacramento has only 14 players under contract and will not need to make a move to accommodate Johnson. EDIT, THE FOLLOWING DAY – Johnson’s signing was cancelled the following day for unknown reasons. The Kings signed Willie Reed instead.
2013 Summer League rosters, Vegas – D-League Select
July 13th, 2013
Zach Andrews Since graduating from Bradley in 2007, Andrews spent four years touring the world’s lower leagues, then joined the reformed L.A. D-Fenders in 2011. He spent a full season with the team, averaging 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, then left last summer to go to Italy with Montegranaro. However, Andrews disappointed there, and was released after posting 6 points and 6 fouls in 28 minutes. He then returned to the D-Fenders and posted a further 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in the final 32 games of the season, Andrews has a good frame (6’9, 230lbs), hustles, and is athletic. But he’s not offensively skilled and defends via the foul. At 28, the D-League is the highest standard he has ever played to, save for the time in Italy, in which he looked highly overmatched. He’s a D-League role player, not an NBA one. Brian Butch Butch remains just outside the NBA, and just did his fourth stint in the D-League, hoping to bridge the final gap. In 47 games with the Bakersfield Jam, he averaged 12.7 points and 10.9 rebounds in only 29.7mpg, shooting 44%, 33% and 68%. More importantly, he stayed healthy for the full season. It is true that he can’t be a stretch big of all that much effectiveness when scoring so inefficiently, but it’s also true that that’s one hell of a rebounding rate. He doesn’t need athleticism to do it in the D-League and he won’t need it to do it in the NBA either. Nick Covington 27 year old Covington started his professional career in, of all places, Ireland. Having started at the absolute bottom of the pro basketball ladder, he slowly made his way up it, going via the ABA, Estonia and Romania to being a seventh round pick in the 2011 […]
2009 NBA Summer League round-up: New Jersey Nets/Philadelphia 76ers
July 13th, 2009
To save money, and to add purpose, the Nets and Sixers agreed to share a summer league team this year. It’s not a practice I’m keen on, because I think the more spots given out to random nobodies, the better, and by having only one team that makes 12 less spots for random nobodies. So that’s a shame. But at least they bothered at all, unlike some teams. – A.J. Abrams: Abrams’s college career consisted of three things – decent defence for his size, running around endlessly trying to get open, and then shooting jump shots. And a really bloody college career it was, too. However, Abrams is only 5’11. There are plenty of 6’6 guys who spend their entire careers trying to get NBA teams to notice that they specialise in exactly the same things, and (Kyle Korver excepted) they usually fail. So how likely is Abrams to do the same with his half-a-foot height disadvantage? He isn’t, really. He’s small even for a point guard, but the fact that he’s an off-ball guard counts heavily against him. Heavily. Abrams’ only chance to become an NBA player is to develop his ball-handling ability, and rework himself into a crude Jannero Pargo imitation. But Pargo isn’t exactly a regular rotation player in the NBA himself, so A.J’s chances are very slim. – Jeff Adrien: Adrien was covered in the Grizzlies round-up. It’s pretty industrious of him to have wriggled his way into the summer league rosters of three teams, which really maximises his options. It was also a damn good idea to get onto the Grizzlies and Nets rosters, the two teams with the worst power forward rotations in the league last year. That’ll help his limited chances a bit. And, despite Adrien’s limitations and damaged prospects as […]
