Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 6
January 6th, 2010
The Jazz signed Sundiata Gaines today. They needed an extra guard, and Sundiata was one of the best the D-League has to offer. For the Idaho Stampede this year, he was averaging 23.9 points, 6.9 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals, and no matter how much those numbers are inflated by the Stampede’s pace – and no matter how unflattering his measurements are to his score-first style – them’s is good numbers. Also note; 10-day contracts became available today, and today marks the 14th day after the Matt Harpring/Eric Maynor trade, meaning today was the day that the Jazz had to sign someone. The timing of that trade was not a coincidence. By waiting as long as possible, they saved as much money as possible. Because of that, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Sundiata played out his ten days and then went back to the D-League. Good luck to him, though. If Wes Matthews can do a Wes Matthews, then so can Sundiata Gaines. (Here’s a video of Sundiata’s reaction to being called up. Awww!) – Esteban Batista Far from being the minimum-salary steal that Celtics fans wanted him to be in the summer of 2007, Batista is out of the NBA and playing in Spain, after signing a three-year contract with Fuenlabrada this summer. On the season, he is being highly productive, averaging 16.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, shooting 54% from the floor and 76% from the line. It’s quite a good comeback year for Batista, who last year had a bit of a shocker. He started out with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, for whom he played in the 2007-08 season, but Maccabi had a regime change, and the new regime didn’t want Batista. They let him go midseason and Batista signed with […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 21
January 28th, 2009
– 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 […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 5
January 5th, 2009
– Esteban Batista was recently released by Maccabi Tel-Aviv by mutual consent, after barely playing for their new coach, Pini Gershon. His playing time was so sparse that he wasn’t even travelling with the team towards the end of his stay. Batista quickly became Nenad Krstic’s targeted replacement for Triumph in Russia, but never signed with the team (despite reports that he did) due to his dislike of the cold Russian weather. (Actually.) For Maccabi, Batista averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in EuroLeague play. – Former Grizzly Mike Batiste has fashioned a career as one of the better players in Europe. He is now into his sixth season with Panathinaikos, averaging team highs in points (12.6) and rebounds (4.), while shooting an amazing 74% from the field. Somewhere along the line, Batiste also managed to become a Bulgarian citizen. I have no idea how he did this. – Sixers draft pick Edin Bavcic signed this very week with the Koeln 99ers in Germany, thus halfway to proving that my tenuous no-return-to-the-NBA-from-the-German-league allegation is, once again, ill-founded and stupid. Unfortunately for E-Bav, the other half of that claim – getting to the NBA – is going to be a lot harder to achieve. – Lonny Baxter is out of jail and playing for Panionios in Greece. (Note: if a team name starts with P and has no E’s in it, it’s probably Greek.) He averages team highs in points (13.1) and rebounds (6.7). – Jerome Beasley has played basically everywhere since falling out of the NBA. Since being waived by the Miami Heat in late 2004, Beasley has played in the CBA, Turkey, Spain, Poland, the D-League, Australia, the D-League again, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Spain again, and Israel. Now, he finds himself in that most […]
30 teams in 36 or so days: Atlanta Hawks
September 12th, 2007
Atlanta Hawks Players acquired via free agency or trade: None Players acquired via draft: First round: Al Horford (3rd overall), Acie Law IV (11th overall) Players retained: None Players departed: Royal Ivey (unsigned), Slava Medvedenko (unsigned), Esteban Batista (unsigned) Bobbins: The Hawks got lucky, I think they would admit that. The Joe Johnson trade of 2005 left the Hawks owing two first-round picks to Phoenix. One of these had already been conveyed, and was used to select Rajon Rondo last year, whom Phoenix then stupidly sold to Boston. The other pick was still outstanding headed into this summer, and was only top three protected, meaning that Atlanta had to win a top three spot in the lottery. They did this, despite only having the fourth-worst record and thus only the fourth-most chances of moving up (I say “only”, but that’s enough to make it a statistical improbability). For that, they should be thankful – had they not done so, they would have had a mediocre roster, with only an MLE and the #11 pick to work with to improve it. And that would not have been fun. Ironically, the three teams with worse records than Atlanta – Milwaukee, Boston, Memphis – all failed to move up, thus proving the worthlessness of statistical probability in the face of blind luck. (Incidentally, the #11 pick itself was also subject to changes in the lottery – the pick was Indiana’s as a part of the Al Harrington deal last summer, and had top ten protection on it. Had Indiana moved up in the lottery, Atlanta would not have gotten it, and had Indiana moved up into Atlanta’s place moving Atlanta out of the top three, Atlanta would have had no first-rounder at all this year. Which would have […]
