2014 Summer League rosters – Miami
July 7th, 2014
Ivan Aska – Murray State graduate Aska has played two professional seasons, splitting last one between Greece and Puerto Rico. He averaged 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4 fouls in 29.9 minutes per game for Ikaros, then averaged 6.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 fouls in 13.8 minutes per game for Santurce. The 6’7 power forward never really developed at Murray State, saved for an improved free throw stroke he has subsequently lost again, but he brings plenty of athleticism to the table, easily his most alluring quality. There are occasional post ups, straight line dribble drives and mid-range catch-and-shoots in there, but the athleticism doesn’t seem to make him a shot blocker, and there are no NBA calibre skills other than it. Danilo Barthel – In his first significant season of playing time at the highest level of German basketball, the 6’10 Barthel won the Bundesliga’s Most Improved Player award. A 6’10 face-up power forward who does a bit of everything, Barthel is a very good athlete for his size, and uses it to put the ball on the floor. He shoots jump shots from mid and long range (albeit not especially well yet), plays the pick-and-roll, can get up to throw down, and handles it very well for one so large. He is also a good passer of the ball with good vision, and who knows how to get open for others, a high IQ offensive player and a very real prospect who has started to realise that potential. Barthel has more to do to put it all together – he makes mistakes at times, forces the issue at some, being too passive at others, and needs to toughen up defensively. But he would have been a high to mid second-round pick had he done what he did […]
Why NBA Teams Sign Players They Don’t Want
May 8th, 2014
[Originally posted on Hoopsworld, 29th October 2013.] The vast majority of players signed for training camp are signed to contracts without any guaranteed compensation on them. This, certainly, is no surprise, as it has long been known that most players signed for training camp are not expected to make the team. A few players have fairly nominal guaranteed portions – for example, Dee Bost received $50,000 from Portland, Dewayne Dedmon $25,000 from Golden State, and Trent Lockett $35,000 from Sacramento. Most, however, do not. Teams are not involved in bidding wars for the Trey McKinney-Jones and Carlos Morais types, and thus there is no incentive to give any guaranteed money away. Not all unguaranteed contracts are the same, however. Some utilize a contract provision called Exhibit 9. Unless you’re an agent, it is a little known device of potentially huge importance. Exhibit 9 of the Uniform Player Contract is applicable only to those summer contracts fully unguaranteed and for only one season in length. Its purpose is to reduce a team’s liability in event of injury to a player it intended to sign only for training camp. It states thusly: if the player is injured as a direct result of playing for the team and, accordingly, would have been entitled but for this Exhibit 9 to compensation, the team’s sole liability shall be to pay the Player $6,000 upon termination of the Player’s Contract. The operator ‘sole liability’ is vital here. Without an Exhibit 9, the Uniform Player Contract normally calls for teams to pay any ‘reasonable hospitalization and medical expenses’ for players injured whilst directly participating in team activity, whilst also guaranteeing the payment of their compensation, however unguaranteed it was, until such time as they are fit to return to play, up to a maximum of the end […]
