Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 57
April 17th, 2010
My bracket: My NCAA tournament bracket had more than a dollop of fail about it, so hopefully this one will be better that. I have incredibly few upsets scheduled, as you can see. And sorry to Portland fans for being the only sweep victims pencilled in; it’s purely because of the Brandon Roy thing. With him, you might even take them. But without him, it’s problems. – Richard Roby Colorado graduate Roby has spent the first two years of his career in Israel. He spent his first year with Bnei Hasharon, averaging 9.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, and this year he moved to Maccabi Haifa. Roby is averaging a similar 8.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game there, but is shooting only 27% from three-point range and is turning it over 1.7 times per game (compared to only 1.3 assists). Here’s a little video about Richard Roby made by Bnei Hasharon, notable for its brief Cookie Belcher cameo. (He’s the other American in the clip.) Belcher is now into his fifth season with the team, and is averaging 12.1 points and 3.0 assists. – Leon Rodgers Rodgers has toured the world in recent years, scoring big wherever he’s gone. He averaged 21.3 ppg in his final college season for Northern Illinois in 2002. He averaged 19.4 ppg for Brandt Hagen in Germany in 2003. He averaged 20.8 ppg for Orleans in France in 2004. He averaged 19.9 ppg for Eiffel Towers Nijmegen in Holland in 2005, and 21.8 ppg for Eiffel Towers Den Bosch in 2006. (Not the same team. It’s a long story.) He averaged 22.6 ppg in 2007, again with Den Bosch. He averaged 13.1 ppg for Quakenbrueck in Germany in 2008, and then 2009 was his crowning glory, averaging 35.0 […]
A Review Of The 2009 NBA Trade Deadline
February 19th, 2009
If it wasn’t for the NBA Draft – that hotbed of prejudice that can see the entire prognosis of the NBA change in six short hours – then the trade deadline would be my favourite time of year. There’s nothing like it; you cancel every event in your social calendar, turn off your phone, ignore real life world events, and mash the refresh key for three straight days, waiting for any trades to come in, even those with the dreaded “conditional second” tag on them. (Well, that’s what I do.) Recent trade deadlines have been disappointing. Last season saw many of the biggest trades (Shaq to Phoenix, the Jason Kidd/Devin Harris swap, Pau Gasol, Mike Bibby) take place in the weeks leading up to the deadline, with only the 11-player Ben Wallace trade of any major significance. And 2007 was a complete washout, with the Primoz Brezec for Juan Dixon swap being the highlight of the entire month. No matter how much I pleaded for Pau Gasol to come to Chicago, it didn’t happen. However, this year, things went down rather well. Six trades were made, involving ten teams, and that’s not even including the trades in the run-up to the deadline. There were some slight anti-climaxes when Phoenix decided not to be insane and kept Amar’e Stoudemire, and Portland’s big plans to land everybody available with a combination of Raef LaFrentz and Travis Outlaw came to nothing. But most teams got involved, and here’s what went down. (Note: list includes trades done in the fortnight prior as well, because I felt like it and didn’t comment on them at the time.) – Boston Trade 1: Traded Sam Cassell and cash to Sacramento for a conditional second-round pick. Trade 2: Traded Patrick O’Bryant to Toronto for another conditional second-round […]
