2014 Summer League rosters: Philadelphia
July 5th, 2014
Nerlens Noel – Noel will be the best player from the 2013 draft, barring more significant injuries. There is no reason why this as-near-as-is 7 footer with wingspan, athleticism, instincts, anticipation, body control and hustle should not average 10 points and 3 blocks per game at his peak. The offensive end is less certain, as is the fit alongside Joel Embiid, but that’s all stuff that can be worked out down the right. As of right now, the Sixers landed the two best talents in back-to-back drafts without a number one overall pick to do so. And the fact that both have been injured sufficiently to keep the tank open is even better. Casper Ware – Ware is signed through 2017 with the Sixers, although this being they, that does not mean much, as it is all fully unguaranteed from here on out. He squeaked into nine games with the team at the end of last season and did what he always does – score. He also defends well for his size, moving the feet well and being generally pesky, even when generally pesky. It is going to be a problem for Ware that the Sixers have obtained the draft rights to Pierre Jackson, because as good as Ware is for a 5’10 scorer with a merely adequate floor game, Jackson is a better. Ware, then, needs to win (or hold) his spot through this defensive pressure. Ronald Roberts – Roberts was one of the best athletes in this draft, or indeed in any draft. He has a decent frame, decent wingspan and decent strength, terrific leaping ability, good speed, and a LONG first step. His athleticism is magnetic and tantalising, because few can impact a game through their ability to jump alone in the way he can. There is […]
The amount of cap room teams actually have, updated
July 25th, 2013
The previous post attempted to explain how much cap room all NBA teams would (or wouldn’t) actually have in this upcoming free agency period. It was a bit presumptuous. It had to be. Now, we can be reflective. Here’s what’s left. All salary information is taken from this website’s own salary pages. All figures taken from the day of publication – if subsequent trades/signings are made, then adjust accordingly. No trades are assumed to be taking place here. Guesswork and speculation aren’t helpful. It is vital – VITAL – that you understand what a “cap hold” is before you read this. An explanation can be found here. Atlanta Hawks Committed salary for 2013/14: $53,314,578 (view full forecast) Possible cap space: $6,878,477. Committed salaries: Al Horford: $12,000,000 Paul Millsap: $9,500,000 Jeff Teague: $8,000,000 Kyle Korver: $6,760,563 Lou Williams: $5,225,000 Elton Brand: $4,000,000 DeShawn Stevenson: $2,240,450 Dennis Schroder: $1,348,200 John Jenkins: $1,258,800 Jared Cunningham: $1,208,400 Shelvin Mack: $884,293 Mike Scott: $788,872 Jeremy Tyler: $100,000 Cap holds: Lucas Nogeira: $1,419,200 Ivan Johnson: $1,250,854 Anthony Tolliver: $884,293 Total: $56,868,925 = $1,810,075 in cap room. This amount can be increased. Stevenson is unguaranteed with no guarantee date, as is Mack, and Scott can be waived for no cost before August 15th. Waive them three, renounce Johnson and Tolliver, and, after adding two roster charges, Atlanta now has cap space of $6,878,477. With a cap room MLE to spend after that. Note, however, that DeMarre Carroll is to be factored in. His signing is agreed upon but not yet finalised, and when it happens, figures are to be adjusted accordingly. Charlotte Bobcats Committed salary for 2013/14: $52,392,131 (view full forecast) Possible cap space: $6,222,408 Committed salary: Al Jefferson: $13,500,000 Ben Gordon: $13,200,000 Ramon Sessions: $5,000,000 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: $4,809,840 Cody Zeller: $3,857,040 Bismack Biyombo: $3,049,920 Josh McRoberts: […]
2013 Summer League rosters, Orlando Summer Pro League – Philadelphia
July 8th, 2013
Michael Carter-Williams Criticisms of Carter-Williams include that he can’t shoot, and he can’t make contested shots at the basket either, as he’s too slender. He’s raw, he’s too turnover prone, he doesn’t use his left hand enough, and he makes poor decisions. All true enough, and all sound bad. But all can be worked at. What Carter-Williams does undeniably possess is size, a handle, the ability to score in isolation and in transition, a knack for getting to the rim more with guile than speed, passing skills and vision, and an innate skill for the penetrate-and-dish. If he needs to get bigger, tougher and smarter while developing a jump shot, that’s fine. So do most 21 year old guards. D.J. Cooper Cooper couldn’t have done much more for Ohio than he did, leading them to multiple NCAA tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16, and averaging 14.1 points and 7.1 assists per game. He did so while averaging 42% shooting, a marked improvement on his 34% the year before, and upped his three point percentage to 36%. A better jump shot is essential to the sub-six footer, who, no matter how good his passing and handles, and how blazing his speed, needs to be able to make shots to make the league. He’s both smaller and slower than Patty Mills, for example, so he needs to compensate. Micheal Eric Eric was signed to a substantially guaranteed contract with the Cavaliers last season – over 60% of it, in fact – and then was waived before the season started anyway. He then went to the D-League, and, although he played pretty well (8.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 22 minutes per game), he was nonetheless outplayed by Arinze Onuaku. Eric has shot blocking instincts, size, and effort both defensively and […]
Where Are They Now: 2009 NBA Summer League Teams Part 3
September 3rd, 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. New York Knicks – Wink Adams: Adams is signed with Oyak Renault Bursa in Turkey. – Alex Acker: Almost as soon as he was back in it, Acker is out of the NBA again. He is signed with Armani Jeans Milano in Italy. – Blake Ahearn: See Nets/Sixers entry. – Morris Almond: Almond is unsigned. I haven’t heard anything about him agreeing to a training camp invite anywhere, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it was with the Knicks. – Warren Carter: Unsigned. – Joe Crawford: Crawford is, and always was, under contract through 2010. So he’s going to camp. – Toney Douglas: Douglas shot badly in summer league, but passed for an impressive seven assists per game. If he’s going to try and reinvent himself as a playmaking guard in the up-tempo system, then that’s a pretty good start. However, the entire team shot less than 39% for the tournament, which is less complimentary of Douglas’s offence-running skills. – Patrick Ewing Jr: Ewing missed summer league with injuries. He is unsigned, and sounds like a training camp candidate. – Jordan Hill: Jordan Hill may well prove to be the second-best big man in this draft. This says more about the draft than Jordan Hill. – Ron Howard: Unsigned. – Yaroslav Korolev: For the Knicks to have thought they could have gotten anything out of Yaroslav Korolev was ambitious. Although not nearly […]
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 […]
30 teams in 36 or so days: Philadelphia 76ers
September 10th, 2007
Players acquired via free agency or trade: Jack diddly Players acquired via draft: First round: Thaddeus Young (12th overall), Jason Smith (20th overall, acquired in draft night trade) Second round: Derrick Byars (42nd overall, acquired in draft night trade, unsigned), Herbert Hill (55th overall, acquired in draft night trade, unsigned) Players retained: Louis Williams (exercised team option), Shavlik Randolph (exercised player option) Players departed: Joe Smith (signed with Chicago), Alan Henderson (unsigned, might yet return) Bobbins: Trivia question: Which player did Billy King either sign or re-sign this offseason for way too many guaranteed years and guaranteed money, as is his yearly custom to do at least once? Answer: No one. This is extremely unusual behaviour from the man who in recent years has given out or taken on the contracts of Aaron McKie, Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, Samuel Dalembert, Dikembe Mutombo, Todd MacCulloch, Greg Buckner, Kevin Ollie, Derrick Coleman, Marc Jackson, Keith Van Horn, Eric Snow, Steven Hunter, Jamal Mashburn, Glenn Robinson, Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson, George Lynch and Willie Green, amongst others. Years of piling on payroll and trying to manoeuvre his way out of previous personnel decisions have left his team with a big tab to pick up, and not much to show for it. This, it would appear, has stymied King’s spending habits, if only for a bit (next year, the Sixers’ payroll predicts to be about half of where it is now). The offshoot from this, though, is that King has not improved his team in any capacity via trades or free agency. And this leaves him with all his eggs in one basket, having to address his team needs via the draft. Historically, this is where King does his best work. Having not had much in the way […]
