2010 Summer Signings, Part 1
June 10th, 2010
Summer is here, and players are a-moving. The NBA free agency period has not yet begun – and should be pretty epic once it does – but this hasn’t stopped players moving the world over. Here are some of the transactions that may interest you. – Teams in Australia’s NBL tend to sort out their rosters nice and early, and so even though we’re several months away from the 2010-11 season tipping off, many rosters are all but complete already. Despite him winning the NBL MVP trophy last season, the Townsville Crocodiles have released Corey “Homicide” Williams, and have not named a replacement import, although they have brought in former St. Mary’s big man Ben Allen (who is also currently trying out for the Australian national team.) The Melbourne Tigers have brought home from America another big Aussie centre (Luke Nevill), and have signed Eric Devendorf to score from them after his hugely successful offseason in New Zealand (at least, basketball-wise; Devendorf managed to get arrested for breach of the peace in there). And the Sydney Kings are returning to the NBL after a season out due to financial difficulties, bringing with them Taj McCullough, who had previously been in Latvia with VEF Riga. – Arvydas Macijauskas, the star Lithuania shooting guard whose NBA career was a short-lived failure, has retired aged only 30. Macijauskas was an All-EuroLeague first teamer in 2004-05 while playing for Tau Ceramica, which led to a big money three-year contract with the New Orleans Hornets; however, he was barely used, and when he was used, it was only as a third string point. Since that time, Macijauskas has spent the last two seasons on the shelf, rehabilitating an assortment of injuries including left Achilles and calf injuries, as well as a spinal hernia. Macijauskas has […]
Where Are They Now, 2010; Part 41
April 7th, 2010
– Demond Mallet Former McNeese State guard Demond Mallet is playing with Turk Telekom Ankara. He averaged 12.3 points and 3.2 assists per game in their EuroCup campaign, and averages 10.2 points and 3.2 assists per game in the Turkish league. He does this while taking two three-pointers for every one two-pointer, and yet shoots them at a relatively sedate 35.6%. When he’s hot, he’s hot. When he’s not, he’s not. This is the level of analysis you come here for, no doubt. Demond Mallet is Shaq’s cousin. They play differently. – Jackie Manuel Jackie Manuel is much the same player that he ever was; a good-sized strong defensive-specialist perimeter player with sedate offence. He’s scoring more than usual this year, averaging 13.9 points per game in 44 contests for the Erie BayHawks of the D-League, but he’s played a whopping 42 mpg to do so. He is also shooting only 29% from three-point range, 44% from the field, and 62% from the line. If Manuel was two inches taller, better at rebounding in traffic, and had the lure of being a foreigner, someone might think he was the next Thabo Sefolosha. But, now aged 27, a growth spurt doesn’t seem too likely. – Stephon Marbury Marbury was the best player in China this year. I know, I didn’t believe it either. Shanxi’s season has already ended, and Marbury is now a free agent again. The ACB team Xacobeo Blusens have been rumoured as pursuing him all week; it certainly has helped fuel the story that Xacobeo suspended American forward Jeremiah Massey earlier this for “threatening behaviour” (whatever that involves). However, the latest word is that the Marbury talks have broken down. And it also probably doesn’t help that Xacobeo yesterday completed the acquisition of former NBA forward […]
Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 32
February 11th, 2009
– Erazem Lorbek’s weird route to the NBA continues with CSKA Moscow. Lorbek is averaging 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in only 17 minutes per game in the Russian league, alongside 11.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 21 mpg in the EuroLeague. Lorbek is shooting 46/65 combined from the free throw line, for an average of 71%, which shows that he’s working on his flaws. He’s also a combined 7-14 from three point range, which is a welcome bonus. – John Lucas III began the season with the Thunder, and actually made the team out of training camp. However, he was waived after about a week so that the team could bring in Steven Hill, unhappy as they were with their other nine big men. Lucas hasn’t signed anywhere since, and didn’t get into any games with the Thunder either, thus taking his points total for the year to 0. However, the Rockets are still paying him, and he hasn’t been there for donkey’s years. So life isn’t too bad. – Kevin Lyde could only be in one place right now, and that place is Estonia. For the seminal starlets known as BC Kalev/Cramo Tallinn, Lyde averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 38% FT in the EuroChallenge, as well as averaging 12.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 1.4 bpg in the Baltic League. Bet the parties must be wild. (I’m not kidding, either. Tallinn is THE new place for stag weekends, and all manner of holiday debauchery. Naturally, I’ve never been.) – George Lynch is currently working for Southern Methodist University in some capacity, as an advisor or something. However, right now, he could feasibly be starting for the Hornets. – Speaking of former Hornets, they could perhaps use Arvydas Macijauskas back there right now. […]
