Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 43
April 8th, 2010
– Amal McCaskill A-Mac has been doing the D-Lang tour for a while now, and this year’s installment of it saw him wind up in South Korea to play for Inchon Black Slamer. (If that’s not a sex toy, I’ll be shocked.) In 27 minutes of 48 games, the 36-year-old McCaskill has averaged 11.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting 57% from the field and 73% from the line. – Ben McCauley NC State graduate B-Mac went to summer league with the L.A. Lakers, where he duly impressed all watchers who didn’t know he could make shots. He averaged 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds, yet did not sufficiently impress with his defence (there’s something about being an under-athletic 6’9 that doesn’t wash in the NBA). So he went to France, where no one plays any defence anyway. For Strasbourg, McCauley has averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 22 minutes per game in the French league. – Jack McClinton Spurs draft pick J-Mac signed with the team for all of nine days, and managed the rare achievement of being waived before training camp even started. This happened because McClinton asked for it to; knowing he wasn’t going to make the Spurs roster, and sensing that a Malik Hairston or Marcus Williams-like ferrying between the Spurs roster and the Austin Toros roster was probably not going to benefit him much, McClinton asked out of his deal to pursue other opportunities. The Spurs granted him that wish and McClinton instead went to camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, he didn’t make that roster either, losing out on a roster spot to Jason Hart. McClinton then went to Turkey to play for Aliaga Petkim. In 25 games there, he has averaged 16.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and […]
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 […]
Sham’s unnecessarily long 2009 draft diary, part 3
June 26th, 2009
Part One Part Two 03.30: Discussion is taking place about why DeJuan Blair continues to fall, and about how not having any ACLs is no doubt the cause behind his falling draft stock. I’ve got news for you, analyst’s panel – intercourse his knees. He didn’t have any ACLs last year, and he rebounded better than all but one other player in the draft. This isn’t an ability he’s going to lose any time soon. He might not have a very long career projection on those pins, but it’s not like DeMarre Carroll and Taj Gibson are going to have ten-year careers, is it? Just draft Blair and end the charade. 03.30: Also, before you go on about how he’s merely a rebounding specialist, may I remind you that we just witnessed a shot-blocking specialist get picked second overall. Teams need specialists. Teams don’t need Taj Gibson. (I’m still a bit mad about this, as you might be able to tell.) 03.31: Adam Silver comes to the stage to a far bigger cheer than anyone before him. It’s a beautiful thing. Incidentally, why does the number #31 pick get five minutes to decide and not the two minutes that second-round picks should get? 03.32: At #31, Portland picks a power forward, and it’s not DeJuan Blair. Despite needing a physical power forward after a season of LaMarcus Aldridge, Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw, and despite their rebounding being almost solely reliant on the genius of Joel Przybilla (so says I), they pass on Blair for another finesse power forward in Jeff Pendergraph, who gives them nothing that they don’t already have. In fairness, Portland were the best rebounding team in the league last year, so it’s not like they need a prolific rebounder. But they could still use a physical […]
