2010 Summer Signings, Part 2
June 11th, 2010
– Maccabi Tel-Aviv declined their contract option on former Warriors draft pick Stephane Lasme. The Raptors are said to have been scouting him, alongside his Maccabi frontcourt teammate D’Or Fischer. Granted, the Israeli press are notorious for making things up, and the now-27-year- old Lasme is coming off a bad year and has hardly added the missing dimensions to his somewhat one-dimensional game. But then again, Amir Johnson becomes an unrestricted free agent in three weeks time. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. – Other guys not being invited back include Steve Burtt Jr, who will not stay with Ukrainian team Ferro-ZNTU. French club Roanne are not retaining ex-Bucks draft pick David Noel, and another ex-Bucks player Jiri Welsch is leaving Unicaja Malaga after four seasons. Malaga simultaneously exercised a contract option on Omar Cook, which was always going to happen. – Two players who left their clubs midway through last season, only to return, have now left them again. Australian international Brad Newley left Besiktas towards the end of last year as the team had fallen more than the allowable amount behind on his payment schedule – it is customary for teams to be allowed to fall a certain amount behind on payments before a player is allowed to break the contract with all obligations, both future and outstanding, still owed to them. Newley did this once the team had fallen several thousand dollars behind on his pay, and agreed to sign with AJ Milano for the remainder of the Serie A season. However, due to paperwork errors, FIBA blocked the transfer and Newley had to return to Besiktas for the remainder of the season. With it now over for good, Newley has left the team again and signed in Lithuania for Lietuvos Rytas (who, incidentally, elected to keep Milko Bjelica […]
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 33
February 12th, 2009
– Darrick Martin was waived by the Raptors midway through last season, and chose that moment to retire. Martin then stuck with the team anyway, in a sort of informal consultancy capacity. Maybe he consults with Will Solomon on how to take more shats. Martin recently has a court dedicated to him, news which would have been funnier if they’d named it the Derrick Murray Court instead. (Inside jokes all!) – Torrell Martin started the season with Kepez BLD Antalya in Turkey, averaging 13.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, before upping sticks and moving about 20 feet to Greece. In three games for Kavala/Panorama, replacing Billy Thomas, Martin averages 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds. – Jamal Mashburn now does studio work for NBA Fastbreak, and is quite good at it, too. – Chet Mason started the season in the powerhouse known as the ABA, playing for the Cleveland Rockers. Thankfully, he then stepped it up a notch, and was acquired by The Arsenal. Mason averages 11.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. – Tony Massenburg is the stuff of dreams. After shocking the world by signing with the Wizards for 2007 training camp, despite having been out of the game for two years and 40 years old by that time, Massenburg didn’t stop there. Perhaps unsurprisingly waived by the Wizards, Massenburg kept up the Tony Massenburg basketball legacy, by signing in Puerto Rico. In three games with Capitanes de Arecibo, Massenburg averaged 14.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg and 1.7 apg. Unfortunately, Massenburg is currently unsigned, and the dream of a thirteenth NBA team might be over again. But give it 18 months and he should get another shot. – Bryant Matthews is out of prison and in Romania, which is probably […]
