Alexis Ajinca After giving up a pick with very lax protection to get him – in the end, it became the one used on Luke Babbitt – Charlotte have spent two years not playing Ajinca. Jinx played 182 minutes only on his rookie season, and topped that in his sophomore season with only 30 minutes played all year. He spent a lot of the year on assignment in the D-League, averaging 14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 3.0 turnovers and 3.9 fouls in 26 minutes per game, showing some signs of scoring and shot-blocking ability while committing far too many mistakes and not defensive rebounding much. However, entering his third year, the D-League is now no longer an option. If Ajinca is going to do anything Theo Ratliff-ish, he’s going to have to do some of it in his third year. If he doesn’t, there might not be a fourth. Alade Aminu Despite doing little in four years at Georgia Tech, Aminu was drafted 10th overall in the D-League draft. And despite doing little in the D-League, Aminu managed to get a 10 day call-up from the Heat last year. The oft-banded about comparison for Aminu is Chris Andersen, and however raw he is right now, he’s got more offensive talent than Andersen had when his raw untattooed self stumbled into the Nuggets rotation once upon a time. But whatever Aminu is going to be, he’s a long way from it yet. He’s too inconsistent, and just not especially productive as a shot-blocker or rebounder right now. Antonio Anderson Anderson signed with the Bobcats in training camp last year, but did not make the team. At the time, with Ronald Murray and Raja Bell at shooting guard alongside D.J. Augustin and the recently drafted Gerald Henderson, and with Raymond Felton […]
The Bulls just waived Jerome James and signed Rob Kurz (or, as Vinny Del Negro will no doubt call him, Rob Kirk.) Goodbye, Jerome. Chicago traded Larry Hughes to the Knicks last trade deadline in exchange for James, Tim Thomas and Anthony Roberson. Roberson is long gone, and Thomas and James played a combined 0 minutes for the Bulls this season while being paid $11.2 million. So, would they rather have had Larry Hughes instead? (Probably not.) – Chris Mihm Mihm was a member of both the Lakers and Grizzlies last year, but played only 105 minutes. He played only 279 minutes the year before that, and missed the whole 2006-07 season, all because of his chronic ankle problems. What started out as a sprain turned into four years of torture, a breakdown of which can be found here. And check the date that that was written; despite the feel-good nature of the final stanza, it was nearer to the beginning of the ordeal than the end. Mihm has not played anywhere this year. – Aaron Miles Miles is signed with Aris in Greece, winding up there after failing to make the Hawks’ regular season roster out of training camp. He is averaging 8.4 points and 3.5 assists per game in the EuroCup, alongside 6.8/3.0 in the Greek league. He still can’t shoot from outside, but Aris have enough of that from elsewhere. Just being in the Aris backcourt for the whole year has been quite an achievement in itself, for Aris have turned over quite a bit of their backcourt this year (Matt Walsh in, Juan Dixon out, Ivan Paunic in, Quinton Day out), and have been linked to about 400 other players (Rob Kurz and Vuk Radivojevic being the only two I can remember at the moment, […]
I like to think that I keep my ear pretty close to the ground. If you’re going to know about such perfectly useless things as Kevin Burleson signing in Romania, then you kind of have to. Yet I had absolutely no idea that the Knicks were considering signing Jonathan Bender, nor that they were even able to. Quite literally shocked to see that headline today. Bender retired in February 2006 after being assumed to have been retired for a long while prior. He had begun to break out in the 2001-02 season when he averaged 7.4 points in 78 games for the Pacers, but not only was that the best he’d ever play, it was also the most he’d ever play. Bender’s games played total plummeted from there on out; from 78 in 2001/02, to 46 in 2002/03, to 21 in 2003/04, to 7 in 2004/05, to only 2 in 2005/06. He suffered from a degenerative knee condition that caused chronic pain due to the destruction of the knee’s cartilage, and there was no way back from that, forcing his retirement. There still isn’t, really, which is why I wrote this when we last covered Bender back in January: Jonathan Bender is still retired, and probably always will be. Apparently that was not true, though. Bender is now back, joining up with the general manager that traded for him and gave him the $28 million with which he built his business empire. The league once again has a seven-foot shooting guard, and not the Primoz Brezec type of seven-foot shooting guard. In his time away from the game, Bender has become a successful entrepreneur. He owns a charitable organisation – the Jonathan Bender foundation – as well as Jonathan Bender Enterprises, a real estate development and property management company. Both […]
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, […]
Sports Illustrated: Blazers threaten to sue anyone who signs Darius Miles. “Team Presidents and General Managers, “The Portland Trail Blazers are aware that certain teams may be contemplating signing Darius Miles to a contract for the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers Salary Cap and tax positions. Such conduct from a team would violate its fiduciary duty as an NBA joint venturer. In addition, persons or entities involved in such conduct may be individually liable to the Portland Trail Blazers for tortuously interfering with the Portland Trail Blazers’ contract rights and perspective economic opportunities. “Please be aware that if a team engages in such conduct, the Portland Trail Blazers will take all necessary steps to safeguard its rights, including, without limitation, litigation.” Now, I’m no lawyer, nor even a taxpaying member of the state. But if I understand anything, I understand this: The whole concept of doctors declaring when a player’s career is over due to injury is entirely speculative. It has to be, unless Nostradamus knows how to use a stethoscope. The doctors predicted Darius’s career would be over, but it wasn’t, and you can see that it wasn’t by the fact that he’s STILL PLAYING. Therefore, Portland’s whole claim of “his career is over, can we have our money back please?” is somewhat invalidated. And all this silly posturing helps nobody. As far I can tell, Portland has little, if any, legal footing. If Darius was out there in a wheelchair, or as a quadriplegic with a terminal case of lumbago, then they’d have a point. But he’s not. Darius is not the player that he once was, but he can take an NBA court on merit. Caught up in all this, though, is the most important point. Darius Miles never got much of a fair […]
Grizzlies sign Darius Miles Free agent forward Darius Miles arrived in Memphis early Saturday morning and signed a nonguaranteed contract with the Grizzlies following a physical examination. I’m hungry. Anybody in the position I’m in, and has been through what I’ve been through the past two years, if he’s not hungry he shouldn’t waste anybody’s time,” Miles said. “I’m hungry. I ain’t quitting. I feel like I can still do this. I wouldn’t even waste the Grizzlies’ time if I felt like my career was over.” “We got very good reports from Boston that he was really getting close to what he used to be,” Griz coach Marc Iavaroni said. “We’re taking a shot to see if he’s a guy who can resurrect his career and help us,” Griz general manager Chris Wallace said. “We need to find more veterans not just so much for leadership but for production on the court. We need guys who have been there a little bit.” Everyone’s saying the right things, at least. And the Grizzlies do indeed need veterans, as well as just more talent. But the cynical side of me thinks they might have an ulterior motive. The point of that whole draft day deal with Minnesota was not just to trade up to get O.J. Mayo, but also to create some cap space. With the contracts of Antoine Walker and G-Buck not guaranteed past this season, Memphis took on the extra year of Marko Jaric’s salary in order to open up $6 million in cap space next summer, a saving afforded by moving the salaries of Mike Miller and Brian Cardinal for the two aforementioned unguaranteed deals. Mike Miller isn’t the kind of player you gift away, but when doing so gets you a valuable trade-up and $6 million more in […]
