2015 NBA Summer League Rosters – Brooklyn
July 4th, 2015
Darius Adams A 6’2 scoring guard, Adams is trying to emulate David Logan and go from Division II Indianapolis right to the highest levels of professional basketball. And he’s doing a bloody good job of it. In fact, he’s already done it. A scoring machine, Adams has worked his way to the Spanish ACB in three short years after graduating. He led Division II in scoring as a senior with 23.2 points per game, followed it up with 18.9 points per game with Guaiqueries in Venezuela, followed that up with 19.3 points per game in the Ukraine with Kryvbasket, followed that with 18.0 points per game with Bremerhaven in Germany, and followed that up with 18.3 points per game with Nancy in France. There aren’t many more levels to go up after that – Nancy were a EuroLeague team this year – and after a mid-season move to the ACB and Laboral, Adams is now knocking on the NBA’s door. Adams is not just a scorer – he’s also a high assist guy, a very good rebounder for his size, and a decent defender with great hands. He’s streaky as a shooter and takes some bad ones, but such hot streaks can be extremely hot, and although he is small and does little at the basket, his energy and dynamicism make him a pest on both ends. Adams is fast, athletic, energetic and relentlessly aggressive, and he is becoming one of the better American point guards not in the NBA. Be prepared for a LOT of turnovers, however. Cliff Alexander From this year’s NCAA power forwards list: An out and out post player, Alexander was something of a disappointment as a freshman, which is a little unfair given that no one ultimately can control the expectation of others but which […]
The Truth About “Parity” in the NBA
May 8th, 2014
[Originally posted on Hoopsworld, 5th November 2013.] In February 2010, NBA commissioner David Stern spoke ominously of the league’s forecasted $400 million loss that financial year, as well as hundreds of millions more in losses over the previous few seasons. His words were one of the earliest warnings of an impending lockout, a threat that became a reality 16 months later. Financial inequalities and a broken system supposedly saw 22 out of the 30 NBA franchises losing money, and something had to be done to install some parity. Three months after Stern spoke, the NBA ratified the sale of the New Jersey Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov. Parity, it is said, is supposed to level the playing field between the large- and small-market teams. The reality of this market inequality is an unavoidable one, founded in socioeconomic factors far outside of the NBA’s control. It is what it is. The NBA’s self-imposed duty is to level the playing field within its control as much as possible. They do this in various ways. The draft, of course, is one – parity is not just financial remuneration, but also the opportunity for all teams to compete on the court. There is also, as of the new CBA, a new revenue sharing system ostensibly designed to make big brother pay for little brother, a significant development in the NBA’s hitherto limited revenue sharing history. And there’s the concept’s most public weapon – the luxury tax. Since its inception in 2001, $923 million has been spent in luxury tax by 24 franchises. Of that $923 million, some $568 million has been spent by only four of those franchises – the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. That is one seventh of the teams spending three fifths of the money, […]
It’s official – Keith Bogans will earn $5,058,198 next year. All guaranteed. Keith Bogans.
July 15th, 2013
Happy? You should be. Keith Bogans has an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time. He has become throughout his NBA career the archetypal three-and-D wing role player, the kind of piece you want around star point guards or big men (or both), who’ll defend opposing stars for a few pesky minutes a night and not risk anything more offensively than taking some open threes. Yet despite not being significantly above average at either, and in no way any more of a stand-out talent in relation to the dozens of other suitable candidates for the role, Bogans’s medicority is nonetheless a sure thing, a known commodity, a risk-free contributor who’ll neither say nor do nothing confrontational. Teams like that, and, because of this, he has time and again landed starting roles, often on competitive teams. In a talent vacuum, he’s not worth this opportunity or luxury, yet by continuing to land these gigs, Bogans is doing something right. Normally, of course, this role doesn’t earn very much. Keith has mostly been a minimum salary player throughout his career, only rarely exceeding it, and this reflect his minimal contributions. None of this is meant pejoratively – Bogans plays a role, plays it fairly well, and yet the role is small and replacable, so so is its salary. This, however, is all change in light of Keith’s new contract. The rebuilding Boston Celtics insisted upon Jason Terry (and, primarily, his salary) being included in the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade with the Nets. Either he or Courtney Lee. Brooklyn could afford it and were prepared to pay it, but, in light of all their recent roster turnover, they didn’t have the necessarily medium-size expiring contracts that are so useful in trade scenarios that would have facilitated it. In […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Brooklyn
July 8th, 2013
Keith Benson Benson has spent the past two summer leagues and training camps with the Hawks, but seemingly that well has dried up. He briefly played in the NBA, managing nine minutes with the Warriors late in 2011-12, but didn’t make it back last year. Benson spent most of last season in the D-League, averaging 10.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in only 23 minutes per game in two stints with the Erie BayHawks, bookending a stay in the Philippines, where he averaged 23.6 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game for Talk’N’Text in the Commissioners Cup. However, import big men ALWAYS put up big numbers in the Philippines, as there are very few domestic big men to compete with them. And so despite the ostensibly gaudy numbers, Benson was released for being “ineffective”, and replaced by Donnell Harvey, who was acquired to bring the “toughness, interior defence and communication” that Benson just didn’t. Therein lies the story with Benson – he’s tall, athletic, fluid, and fairly skill, but he’s just not tough enough, and shot blocking is not the same as defence. Jamelle Hagins Hagins just graduated from Delaware, where he was a three time CAA All-Defensive Team selection, and last year’s Defensive Player of the Year. As a senior, he averaged 11.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, on an efficient 55% FG and 74% FT. Hagins was an invite to the Portsmouth Invitation Tournament, where he played extremely well in all facets of the game, demonstrating both his skills and his athleticism. In addition to this athleticism and fluidity of motion, Hagins has a strong frame, good rebounding instincts, hustle, a hook shot with both hands, and a mid range jumper. He rotates well, plays strong post defence, and, whilst not being a […]
New Jersey……Toronto…….London.
March 10th, 2011
Antiphon With apologies to their combined 34-87 record, the Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey Nets had not played an interesting game all season heading into last weekend. It was known in advance that the two teams would struggle this season, and any optimism to the contrary has been roundly denounced. Both teams are building for the future, and rightly so. But it comes at the expense of the present. Right now, they suck. At this point in any season, there are many meaningless doldrums games. With the trade deadline passed, almost all player movement cemented, and the title contenders obvious, most teams now know who they are. Many of the games in March and April are frankly rather boring – if the teams concerned are not putting forth their best effort to win, you’re invariably going to reciprocate with a half arsed level of interest. In light of everything that has transpired this season, the Raptors and Nets can both equate to this. However, these particular doldrums games had a resonance and magnitude not afforded to their counterparts. These games were played in London, England, at the O2 Arena. And that single caveat brought a hitherto unprecedented level of excitement to what would otherwise be two of the most arbitrary games of the season. (The ambitious accompanying television ad campaign pitched this games as “crucial games leading up to the NBA playoffs,” bringing “all the fun and excitement of the NBA.” It was a slightly generous pitch, but as we’ll see later, not entirely fictional. Apart from the bit about “crucial”.) If nothing else, half of it was faintly true. Entertaining if not especially high standard of game could have happened; after all, the half-game difference between their respective records showed the two teams to be evenly matched. Furthermore, […]
Finances of the Terrence Williams/Sergei Lishouk trade
December 16th, 2010
The only picture of Joe Smith ever taken in which he is not smiling broadly. Yesterday, a three way trade went down between the L.A. Lakers, Houston Rockets and New Jersey Nets that saw four picks, three players and one set of redundant draft rights get rehomed just in time for Christmas. – Houston dealt: Lottery protected first-round draft pick to New Jersey; draft rights to Sergei Lishouk to L.A.– Houston received: Terrence Williams from New Jersey. – L.A. Lakers dealt: Sasha Vujacic and their 2011 first-round draft pick to New Jersey. – L.A. Lakers received: Joe Smith, New Jersey’s 2011 second-round pick and Chicago’s 2012 second-round pick from New Jersey; the rights to Sergei Lishouk from Houston. – New Jersey dealt: Terrence Williams to Houston; Joe Smith and the two second rounders to L.A.– New Jersey received: Sasha Vujacic and the two first rounders. All teams arguably profit from the move, which is how trades should be. The Lakers saved money, and somehow snagged two second-round picks in the bargain when they probably would still have been quite happy to do the deal without them. Houston gained a player probably better than the one they would have drafted with that pick, and New Jersey freed themselves of a problematic backup while piling on two first-round picks, which they can now either use as trade bait or use to acquire yet more backups. Everyone was a winner, except for Vujacic. Many people have questioned, however, how the move was legal under the terms of the soon-to-be-obliterated Collective Bargaining Agreement. Trade calculations are a confusing process at the best of time, and even more so when talking about three team deals involving mismatched salaries. But because of the inclusion of Smith, the finances just about work. And I do mean just […]
The amount of cap room teams will actually have, updated, again
July 8th, 2010
This is an update of the update of the earlier post that detailed the amount of cap room teams will have. It is updated to reflect everything that happened at the draft, including, in the case of the Kirk Hinrich trade, things that haven’t happened that soon will. More importantly, it is updated to reflect the fact that we now know where the salary cap is going to be; with the calculations all down, the NBA has announced that the salary cap for the 2010/11 season will be higher that expected, coming in at $58,044,000. After all that, it went up from last year. Other than those things, this is a carbon copy of the initial post. In this edition, there are no entries for teams irrelevant to cap space, because I can’t be bothered. If those teams make moves to become relevant, they will get mentioned later. Chicago Bulls Committed salary for 2010/11: $31,850,976 (view full forecast) Projected cap space: $19,420,366 The projected figure is based around the as-yet-uncompleted trade that will send Kirk Hinrich and the #17 pick to Washington, in exchange for pretty much nothing. That trade will leave the Bulls with only five players under contract – Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, James Johnson, Taj Gibson – with no cap holds from draft picks. If we assume that that move goes down unchanged and that all free agents are renounced, the Bulls salary situation then looks like this; Luol Deng = $11,345,000Derrick Rose = $5,546,160Joakim Noah = $3,128,536James Johnson = $1,713,600Taj Gibson = $1,117,680 Seven roster charges = $473,604 * 7 = $3,788,832. Total = $26,166,204 Cap space to $58.044 million cap = $31,877,796 The Bulls have already agreed to sign Carlos Boozer to a deal reportedly worth $75 million. How they will structure that […]
Where Are They Now: 2009 Summer League Teams Part 2
September 2nd, 2009
It’s been roughly two months since summer league started, and most of the players involved have been rehomed now. The following is a list of where everybody currently is, or where they might be going. This list gets a bit long, so if you want to just skip to your favoured team, you can do so. I’ll allow that. Indiana Pacers – Will Blalock: Blalock is unsigned. But he averaged more points (6.2) and assists (2.8) in summer league than he did last season in Germany (4.2 & 2.1). So he’s got that going for him. – Derrick Byars: See Denver entry. – Tyler Hansbrough: Hansbrough is signed, and weirdly. – Roy Hibbert: I said it before, but I’ll say it again; Hibbert is better than you thought he was going to be. – Jared Homan: The Ho-Man signed in Greece with Costa Cafe Marousi to replace Andreas Glyniadakis, who signed with Olympiacos. – Aaron Jackson: Jackson may or may not have signed in Turkey. – Trey Johnson: Johnson didn’t pick the best summer league team to be on. He might have made an NBA team with a better showing and a better opportunity. As it is, he’s now signed in France with BCM Gravelines Dunkerque Grand Littoral, a team that really needs to truncate its name. – Leo Lyons: See Cleveland entry. – Josh McRoberts: Despite having a fully guaranteed $1,000,497 qualifying offer, McRoberts re-signed for a guaranteed minimum of $825,497, with $250,000 guaranteed for the following season. I guess he just wanted to get out of restricted free agency as soon as possible. – A.J. Price: Price hasn’t signed with the Pacers, but now that they’ve bought out Jamaal Tinsley, he must have a chance. The Pacers don’t especially need four point guards, but this doesn’t usually […]
The Assassination Of Devean George By The Coward Donnie Nelson
August 2nd, 2009
February 13th, 2008. Wednesday. Raining. The Dallas Mavericks are tootling along with a 34-17 record. They’re pretty good, and perhaps they know it, because they’re suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to do something drastic. A veteran team with only one good young player decides on a plan to get older. The Mavericks decide that Jason Kidd is a significant upgrade over Devin Harris, and work out a variety of scenarios that see them trade Devin and two future first-round draft picks for Kidd. They’re probably wrong, but they work hard at it anyway, determined to obtain a player that two years ago would have been a steal. But not so much now. Eventually, they stumble upon a scenario that both they and the Nets can agree upon. Dallas agrees to trade Harris, the picks, cash, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George to the Nets in exchange for Kidd and Malik Allen. The fillers are largely meaningless; outside of Harris, only Diop is a significant player for the Mavericks. The core of the deal is Harris for Kidd, and both teams seem pretty happy with that. The fundamental pieces are together, peripherals of the long-awaited deal are finally in place, and everyone’s a winner. Things then get a bit weird. Through a hitherto little-known technicality, one of the lesser components of the deal – backup forward George – has the power to veto the trade. George re-signed with the Mavericks in the previous offseason to a one-year contract, and Dallas will have early Bird rights on him when his contract expires. However, if George gets traded, the recipient team will lose his Bird rights if they trade for him, which reduces George’s chances of getting handily paid next season. [Let’s pretend for a minute that such chances existed.] […]
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 […]
