Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 21
February 12th, 2010

In order to spice things up a bit, the next few players will be addressed by anagram only.   – Mend Arse Form Desmon Farmer is in the D-League, trying to find one more NBA call-up from somewhere. In 29 games for the Reno Bighorns, Farmer is averaging 41 minutes, 24.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, so those numbers certainly support his candidacy. However, his manner of doing so is less so; Farmer tends to dominate the ball, is not especially efficient at it (3.7 turnovers per game), shoots too much (42%) and has been seen to pout when he doesn’t. In trying to prove that he’s more than just a catch-and-shoot player, he has inadvertently proved that he’s mainly a catch-and-shoot player. Still, it’s a hell of a lot of points. And on the plus side, after initially not winning a spot despite his numbers, Farmer has been named as an injury replacement to the D-League All-Star game. He, Romel Beck, Brian Butch, Joe Crawford, Curtis Jerrells and Diamon Simpson replace Alexis Ajinca, Anthony Tolliver, Dontell Jefferson, Antonio Anderson, Sundiata Gaines and Joey Dorsey.   – I Faze Knacks Nick Fazekas is signed with Dijon in France, where he has averaged 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in 25 minutes per game for Dijon. However, he has not played since the end of November due to injury. Sports24.com has more: Coup dur pour Dijon. Touché à une cheville, Nick Fazekas est out pour trois mois. L’intérieur américain va devoir passer sur la table d’opération. Ancien de Dallas et des Clippers en NBA (26 matches, 4,1 pts), Nick Fazekas est arrivé cet été en Bourgogne. La JDA s’est mise en quête d’un pigiste médical pour pallier son absence. Indeed.   – Herpes Feet A lot of people didn’t […]

Posted by at 5:20 PM

Thunder acquire Eric Maynor and Matt Harpring for PETER FEHSE
December 23rd, 2009

I have only 48 things to say about this deal. 1) As his profile suggests, I have long regarded Peter Fehse as a yardstick for a person’s NBA knowledge. If a fan knows who Peter Fehse is, they are hardcore and deserve your respect. Short story short, Peter Fehse is a lanky German with lots of hair, who was drafted in the second round in 2002 as an absolute longshot based on his combination of height and athleticism. He never amounted to anything NBA-calibre, partly because he never had NBA calibre to begin with, but also because of constant injuries. It has been over seven years since Peter Fehse was last heard of in NBA circles; indeed, he’s barely even heard in German basketball circles either. Fehse has not played this season, played in only two games last season, and did not play in 2007/08, all of which is due to injury. As long shot projects go, he was about as long-shotty as a 49th pick can be, and is even more of a throw-in than Andy Betts was when he was traded for Peja Stojakovic in July 2006. Gotta love that.   2) Oklahoma City were able to make this trade because they had roughly $9 million’s worth of cap room. As documented here, Oklahoma City had about as much cap room as anyone this summer, and could have bid on a number of quality players that filled a need (including Utah’s very own Paul Millsap, whose new contract is ironically the reason for the need to salary-dump in the first place.) They didn’t do this, though, instead choosing to sign two of the most marginal players to have ever had ten or more year careers; Kevin Ollie and Ryan Bowen. Reasons like this are partly why; they maintain […]

Posted by at 5:54 PM

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 16
January 19th, 2009

– Semih Erden – recipient of the funniest NBA forum thread title that I’ve ever seen, “Semih Erden is finally in the NBA” – never left Turkey. In his fourth year with Fenerbache, Erden is averaging 9.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in Turkish league play, along with 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in EuroLeague play. And yes, I’m fully aware that that thread title isn’t actually very funny, if at all. It’s funnier when you’re overtired and have just eaten some very strong continental cheese.   – Ebi Ere is signed in Australia. And perhaps he’ll never leave – he’s a legend there. Playing for the third place Melbourne Tigers, Ere (pronounced ‘Ear’, at least by Rick Kamla) averages 22.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists, which is one of the highest points per game averages that this list has seen so far. Ere’s teammates include former NBA centre Chris Anstey, and a man by the name of Stephen Hoare, whose mother must have had it tough. (Note: while looking up Ere’s averages, I was looking up the Australian league (the NBL) on Wikipedia, to see how it was that Ere had played only four games. Turns out that he had actually played 23. While I was there, though, I chose to look up the New Zealand Breakers, another NBL team, and try to figure out why there was a New Zealandolian team in the Australian league. It was then that I noticed that the Breakers’s former coach was called Frank Arsego. Best name ever.)   – Evan Bruce Eschmeyer – whose nickname ought really be “Almighty”, given that name of his – gave up basketball many moons ago, in late 2004, due to chronic injury. Since then, he has founded an online recruiting service, gone back to Northwestern and […]

Posted by at 8:32 PM