Kings to sign Chris Johnson
March 26th, 2014
Tomorrow, the Sacramento Kings will sign former LSU Celtics, Blazers, Hornets and Timberwolves big man Chris Johnson. It is not known at this time whether it will be for the remainder of the season, multiple seasons, or a 10 day deal. Johnson has spent this season in China, averaging 20.0 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 29 games for Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. The 28 year old is known for his length, athleticism and shot-blocking. With a roster spot already open after the waiving of Jimmer Fredette, and with Orlando Johnson’s 10 day contract having expired, Sacramento has only 14 players under contract and will not need to make a move to accommodate Johnson. EDIT, THE FOLLOWING DAY – Johnson’s signing was cancelled the following day for unknown reasons. The Kings signed Willie Reed instead.
Mavericks to sign Gal Mekel to three year guaranteed deal
July 1st, 2013
It was actually three, but close enough. Looking to reinvent their point guard rotation, the Dallas Mavericks have looked to the overseas market, and will sign Israeli national team point guard Gal Mekel. Mekel has been named in NBA circles in recent times, as he has participated in a series of workouts and free agent camps for teams around the league, hoping to catch on. Recently, this culminated into accepting an offer to join the Milwaukee Bucks’ summer league team. Yet in signing a three year, fully guaranteed deal, Mekel has done much more than merely catch on. Mekel played for Wichita State between 2006 and 2008, establishing himself as a solid but unspectacular point guard who shot too much and had absolutely no NBA prospects. However, after leaving college after his sophomore season and returning to his native Israel, Mekel (who also has a Polish passport) has improved markedly and emerged as one of the best floor generals on the continent. In winning last year’s Israel Premier League MVP award, the 6’3 Mekel recorded per game averages of 13.3 points and 5.4 assists (good for second in the league), including a 21 point 7 assist 3 steal outing in the deciding championship game. Mekel commands games with passing vision, ball handling, high basketball IQ, genuine leadership skills and a deadly pick-and-roll game, and, while he’s not fast and lacks a good outside jump shot, he nonetheless brings a wealth of transferrable skills to the NBA. Last year, Mekel impressed the Utah Jazz so much that they extended him a training camp offer, one he was only prevented from taking due to visa problems. This year, he’s done a lot better than that. Mekel’s three year guaranteed minimum salary contract will pay him $490,180, $816,482 and $947,276 over the next […]
Summer Signings, Round 1
July 4th, 2011
In lieu of having any NBA transactions to talk about, we’ll look at the world at large instead. Of all the players to have finished last season on an NBA roster, six have already signed abroad. One of the first to go was Mustaka Shakur, who started the year with the New Orleans Hornets and ended it with the Washington Wizards. For whatever reason, the Wizards did not offer him a qualifying offer, seemingly moving on from Shakur’s prolonged tryout. He thus moved to France to sign with Pau Orthez, the fallen giant who continue to rebuild. Also signing in France was Hilton Armstrong, a somewhat forgettable inclusion in the Kirk Hinrich trade whose NBA days might now be numbered. In five years of trying, Armstrong has never demonstrated much NBA talent outside of having a long neck; given that he spent much of those five years in the New Orleans Hornets rotation, he can’t lament not being given an opportunity. When he signed with the Wizards, Armstrong said he wanted to be a starter. He may now be one, but it’ll be in France. (ASVEL have a strong youth regime that often churns out good prospects. Bangaly Fofana, whose starting spot Armstrong looks likely to take, was a draft-and-stash prospect in the most recent draft, albeit a faint one, and Edwin Jackson is a solid candidate for next year’s one. But if Jackson is a legitimate draft candidate, or if Fofana had been picked 59th this year instead of Adam Hanga, isn’t it a conflict of interest for them to be taken by the Spurs? After all, Tony Parker is the Spurs’s starting point guard, and also ASVEL’s Vice President of Basketball Operations with a 20% shareholding. Even if it is done with the very best of intentions, isn’t […]
Rockets sign Marqus Blakely to a multi-year contract
April 12th, 2011
The Houston Rockets exited the trade deadline with a full roster, but the subsequent buyout of Jared Jeffries opened up the 15th spot. Houston initially used this flexibility to sign multi-time Rocket Mike Harris to a 10 day contract, and later opted to offer him a second one when the first one expired last week. However, they will not sign him for the remainder of the season. Instead, with the spot opening up upon the expiration of Harris’s contract yesterday, the Rockets have used it to call up Marqus Blakely from the Iowa Energy of the D-League. Blakely, a combo forward from Vermont, began the season with the L.A. Clippers, with whom he had also played in summer league. He appeared in two preseason games with the team, and upon being waived, he went to the D-league, assigned to the Bakersfield Jam. Once there, Blakely averaged 13.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 0.6 blocks, before being traded by the Jam in late January to the Iowa Energy in exchange for a 2011 first-round pick. With the Energy, Blakely has averaged 17.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, shooting 70% from the floor. His 15 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in 28 minutes led the Energy to victory in their first playoff game last week, a 103-96 win over the Utah Flash. Blakely’s contract with the Rockets will run for the remainder of the season and through 2013, as does the contract of Marcus Cousin, signed by the Rockets yesterday. Additionally, as was not the case with Cousin, Blakely has not been assigned to Houston’s self-owned D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Yet.
2010 NBA Free Agency Movement, Part 1
July 2nd, 2010
It’s the first day of the 2010 free agent negotiation period, and already players are being overpaid. There follows news and opinions of all the signings so far. – The first signing of the season didn’t involve a free agent, but a draft pick. Minnesota signed their 2008 second-round draft pick Nikola Pekovic to a deal worth three years and $13 million, according to Chad Ford. This is a decent price for Pekovic, who may well start straight away if and when Al Jefferson is traded. Pekovic is one hell of a paint scorer, able to get position on anyone and with terrific touch around the basket. Per 36 minutes in the EuroLeague, Pekovic averaged 24 points; per 36 in the Greek league, that went up to 28.3. Pekovic shot a ridiculous 73% from the field in the A1 league, alongside 75% from the line, and while those numbers dip to 59% and 71% in the higher standard EuroLeague, they were still pretty beastly. Pekovic’s rebounding is a valid concern (grabbing a defensive rebound once every 11 minutes in EuroLeague play isn’t nearly good enough); to be sure, he’s a sub-par and disinterested defensive rebounder who does not cover ground well. Equally valid concerns are his average size and below-average speed for the centre spot at the NBA level – he won’t have the huge size advantages he often enjoyed against minnow opposition in Europe, and he’s a bit grounded regardless. But the offence, and that efficiency, is genuinely impressive. And that’s an interesting quality to have in any centre. If it sounds like I just described Eddy Curry, be comforted that the two aren’t comparable beyond that. Pekovic isn’t nearly the athlete Eddy is (was), but nor is he as bad of a defender. Or passer. Or economist. […]
Gallitos de Isabella waive Shaun Pruitt and Lee Benson for disciplinary reasons
May 8th, 2010
Puerto Rican BSN team Gallitos de Isabella yesterday released big men Shaun Pruitt and Lee Benson for “problemas de conducta.” The pair were released after Isabela’s 86-76 to the Arecibo Captains on Wednesday night, a game in which Benson had 9 points and 18 rebounds, and Pruitt posted 16/16. The team moved swiftly in replacing them, signing ex-NBA centre Jared Reiner and former La Salle player Reggie Okosa (mentioned at length here). Pruitt and Benson were first and second in the league in rebounding, at 13.5 and 13.4 rebounds per game respectively. Only two other players grab double-figure rebounds per game; Michael Sweetney of Santurce (12.3 rpg) and Manuel Narvaez of Ponce (10.4 rpg), so to release the duo is no small move. Teams around the world tend to be trigger-happy with their imports; Benson himself was a replacement for Alando Tucker, who was previously a replacement for Devin Green. Puerto Rican teams are no different in their treatment of their American players. Nevertheless, to release arguably your two best players due to their indiscretions, regardless of the calibre of their replacements, is a strong statement. This is one part of the worldwide basketball scene that the NBA will sadly never adopt. (“Gallitos de Isabela” translates as “the Cocks of Isabella”. Poor girl.)
Knicks sign Jonathan Bender…..wait, what?
December 14th, 2009
I like to think that I keep my ear pretty close to the ground. If you’re going to know about such perfectly useless things as Kevin Burleson signing in Romania, then you kind of have to. Yet I had absolutely no idea that the Knicks were considering signing Jonathan Bender, nor that they were even able to. Quite literally shocked to see that headline today. Bender retired in February 2006 after being assumed to have been retired for a long while prior. He had begun to break out in the 2001-02 season when he averaged 7.4 points in 78 games for the Pacers, but not only was that the best he’d ever play, it was also the most he’d ever play. Bender’s games played total plummeted from there on out; from 78 in 2001/02, to 46 in 2002/03, to 21 in 2003/04, to 7 in 2004/05, to only 2 in 2005/06. He suffered from a degenerative knee condition that caused chronic pain due to the destruction of the knee’s cartilage, and there was no way back from that, forcing his retirement. There still isn’t, really, which is why I wrote this when we last covered Bender back in January: Jonathan Bender is still retired, and probably always will be. Apparently that was not true, though. Bender is now back, joining up with the general manager that traded for him and gave him the $28 million with which he built his business empire. The league once again has a seven-foot shooting guard, and not the Primoz Brezec type of seven-foot shooting guard. In his time away from the game, Bender has become a successful entrepreneur. He owns a charitable organisation – the Jonathan Bender foundation – as well as Jonathan Bender Enterprises, a real estate development and property management company. Both […]
David Monds replaces John Edwards at Kolossos Rhodes
December 2nd, 2009
John Edwards spent two years in the NBA. He signed as an undrafted free agent out of Kent State with the Pacers in 2004, played spot minutes in 25 games, and the Hawks signed him to a two-year, $2.08 million contract in the summer of 2005. After one year with Atlanta – in which he totalled 70 points, 48 rebounds and 76 fouls – the Hawks traded him back to the Pacers as filler in the Al Harrington deal. The Pacers then waived him, and after a training camp contract with the Timberwolves in 2007, that was it for John Edwards in the NBA. Edwards has spent two of the last three years in the D-League, seemingly aware that the knock on him is his “rawness.” Last year for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, he averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 21 minutes per game, fairly sedate numbers for a centre-starved league. Those numbers are particularly sedate when you consider that Edwards is now 28 years old. You can’t be raw forever. He did not return to the D-League this year, instead signing with Kolossos Rhodes in Greek’s AI League. In theory, he was going to provide an NBA-calibre frontcourt along with recent Heat draft pick, Robert Dozier. In practice, though, he’s not been a stand-out. Edwards has played only 36 minutes on the entire season, totalling 12 points, 5 rebounds and 8 fouls. Now entering his physical prime, Edwards has never been able to stop fouling, has never dragged up his rebounding rate, and even though he’s offensively inclined, he still can’t score without a size advantage. Therefore, Kolossos have released him in favour of recent Lakers camp invite and another D-League veteran, David Monds. Monds doesn’t have Edwards’ height, but he has strength, athleticism and poise. Poise counts […]
Domen Lorbek returns to Slovenia…..briefly
December 2nd, 2009
Slovenian international swingman Domen Lorbek has signed back in his native country with Helios on a one-month contract. Until last week, Lorbek was with Cajasol Sevilla in Spain’s ACB, averaging only 2.9 points in eight games. He signed there only on a two-month contract and it was not renewed when it expired, which doesn’t seem surprising with that scoring average. Last year for Benetton Treviso, Lorbek averaged 8.8 points per game in the EuroCup and 6.0 ppg in SerieA, but he was replaced for this season by Cartier Martin. More on that in a moment, though. Lorbek now signs with Helios to stay in shape and earn some money while he looks for a more lucrative gig. It’s a win-win situation, because he becomes Helios’ best player by some way, and they need some help. Helios are currently second last in the Adriatic League with a 3-7 record, and are only fifth in the Slovenian league with a 4-3 record. So any reinforcement would be welcome right now. Domen Lorbek is the young brother of former Pacers draft pick, Erazem Lorbek. The two are nothing alike in their style of play, though. Erazem is a scoring big man, with a post game, a mid-range jump shot and the ability to drive the ball, and one of the better big men scorers on the continent. Domen is a decently-sized wing player who is best as a catch-and-shoot specialist. Erazem is better.
Spencer Nelson and Gary Wilkinson sign with Peristeri, who release two others
December 2nd, 2009
Despite a solid 3-2 start to the season, Greek A1 team Peristeri Athens announced that they were releasing former Illinois big man and Golden State Warriors camp invite Shaun Pruitt, as well as Rhode Island forward Will Daniels, to be replaced by Utah natives Spencer Nelson and Gary Wilkinson. Nelson has not signed anywhere this season after being released by the Utah Jazz in training camp. It was rumoured that he was to sign with an unnamed Belgian team as of only last week, yet that’s not going to happen now. Nelson played in Greece last year with Aris Thessaloniki, and averaged 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds on the season. He’s a tweener forward without any distinct position, but wherever he goes he rebounds, passes, and scores a bit with an inside/outside game. This is Wilkinson’s first professional season at the ripe old age of 27. (The reason for that is described here.) He had spent the season to date in the South Korean KBL, after being made the 11th overall pick in their draft this summer. He was averaging 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16 minutes per game for Dongbu Promy, splitting court time with their other American import, Marquin Chandler. (A silly KBL rule says that each team can have only two Americans, but the two can’t play on the court at the same time.) Peristeri haven’t had much luck with their imports this year. They first signed Cedric Simmons, but had to release him in preseason after deciding he was not up to par. Three of their other four American players – Jamie Arnold, Marcus Faison and Michael Bramos – all hold European passports (Israeli, Belgian and Greek respectively), which absolves them of being counted as Americans. And the fourth (Cliff Hammonds) is doing OK, averaging […]
As far as I can tell, this is China
December 2nd, 2009
Last year, we focused at length on the joy that is the Chinese Basketball Association. It’s a quirky beast; the standard of China’s own domestic players is poor in the grand scheme of things, with the exception of the occasional halfway-decent (or truly fantastic) big man. Knowing this, the CBA have decided to try and replicate a more American style of play in order to improve their national team product. They’ve changed some rules and structure to match the NBA’s – for example, playing 48 minutes a game, and playing far more games than most leagues – and they’ve tried to increase the physical nature of the play. And a large part of doing that is attracting top tier American imports. They’re able to do this for the simple reason that they can compete financially. With salaries ranging from about $25-40 thousand a month – and sometimes more – CBA teams are able to sign fringe, former and future NBA talent where other leagues are unable to do so. If you were a fringe NBA player, would you rather earn $32,200 for an entire D-League season, or earn that for one month in China? It’s clearly the latter, and that’s how China is able to land such relatively premium talent consistently. The exposure isn’t bad, either, as Leon Rodgers demonstrated by getting a training camp contract with the Grizzlies based on his work in China last year. American players playing in the CBA are essentially guaranteed mahoosive statistics – as Rodgers demonstrated with his 35 ppg scoring average last season – and mahoosive statistics tend to talk, no matter what the competition. So it befits them to go there. Having all these imports is not met with universal applause from the Chinese fans, many of who object to the often-selfish […]
Bonzi Wells signs in China
December 15th, 2008
If things had worked out slightly different, Bonzi Wells would be earning about $8 million this year from the Sacramento Kings. As it is, he’ll be earning about $40,000 in China. Bonzi, pictured here playing an invisible trumpet, famously was reported to have turned down a five-year, $38.5 million extension from the Kings on the advice of his agent, Williams Phillips. Phillips seemingly thought that Bonzi could get more money from elsewhere. He was wrong, though. He was very wrong, in fact, as Bonzi ended up getting only a 2 year, $5 millionish contract from the Houston Rockets, which expired this summer. Unable to get a contract from an NBA team this summer – which makes little sense, given that Bonzi’s a talented player, and only a year and a bit removed from being a key bench player on a 50-win team), Wells has now resorted to signing in China, for the Scrabbletastic Shanxi Zhongyu. Wells is expected to replace former Hawks swingman Donta Smith, as Chinese Basketball Association rules allow only two non-Asians per team. This seems a bit unfair on Smith, who is averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.5 steals on the season, but the other non-Asian spot on the Shanxi roster is taken up by Olumide Oyedeji. And Olumide Oyedeji is one of the best players in China, bizarrely, averaging 23.2 points, 17.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.7 blocks. No, I can’t quite believe it either.
