SB Nation - Bobby Jones

An Open Letter to Ed Stefanski

Jon L — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:01:02 -0000

An Open Letter to Ed Stefanski, GM of the Philadelphia 76ers

By Jon L, Sole Proprietor (Apparently) of Ridiculous Upside

Dear Ed -

May I call you Ed? No? Great. Look, Ed, I read the answer you gave to Liberty Ballers (and occasional RU commenter TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsMichaelBourn) regarding your attitude towards the D-League, and if you don't mind my saying so, there were so many things egregiously wrong with it that I felt the need to write write this blog post and pretend it was a letter to you.

You see Ed, you're a lazy man. I get that. You hired Eddie Jordan because you already know him and so you could hire a decent coach without doing any real work. You're bringing Dionte Christmas and Jared Reiner into training camp because they're familiar, not because they've done anything to inspire confidence. Like I said, I get it. I'm a lazy man myself, in fact. But I'm not in charge of running an NBA team.

You see, the thing about being involved with the D-League is that it requires you to pay attention to more than just "when will Elton Brand finally not be injured." And if you don't want any part of that, just come right out and say it. Don't blame it on the D-League, and paint the situation as something that's not worthwhile. Let's go through your answer point by point.

We have had the opportunity to go into a couple places, I don't see personally the advantage of owning your own team right now since you can always send down players you have on your roster for two years of service.

Here's the number of players the Philadelphia 76ers have sent down to the D-League since 2005: two. Bobby Jones and Louis Williams. Jones, who isn't with the team anymore, and Williams, who still has a ways to go to become a competant point guard. So when you say that "you can always send down players you have on your roster," let's not pretend that that's what's actually been happening. If you were operating more like the Utah Jazz, who sent three different players down to the D-League multiple times last year alone, then I'd have no quarrel with this. It's also not the case that Utah has had more assignment-eligible players. By my count, since 2005 you've had 11 players who could've been sent down, and that's not even including guys like Deng Gai who was waived after a handful of games. And sure, Kyle Korver or Andre Iguodala might not have needed to play in the D-League, but there are several players on that list who could've benefited. Guys like Rodney Carney and Shavlik Randolph and Willie Green. But Ed, you're not sending anyone down. So please don't pretend that you don't want to own a team because you're already assigning players as it is. Let's move on.

Until they change the rules where you can have some sort of farm system like baseball then I would maybe say that it makes more sense, but where it is right now I don't see the expense of having your own management team, your own trainers, your own coaches, and everything for one guy.

We've moved beyond lazy. This is just dumb, Ed. Really, really dumb. So as I understand it, you don't want to have your own D-League affiliate until there's a system in place by which NBA teams have their own D-League affiliates? How does that work? We all want the D-League to become "some sort of farm system like baseball," but that's probably not going to happen until enough NBA teams have their own affiliates. Which you don't want to do because not enough other teams have their own affiliates.

There's also the matter of your statement about "one guy." First, if you were sending down "one guy" per year we might not have a problem, but for that see above. The thing about owning or even just running your own D-League affiliate is that it's not just about "one guy," Ed. There's not just "one guy" on a team. Let's look at some examples of other teams that do own their own affiliates.

I've used this example several times around RU, Ed, but I'm going to assume you're not a regular reader. Consider the San Antonio Spurs. This year they're bringing three players to their training camp who played for the Austin Toros last season, two of whom weren't even under contract for the Spurs. But, they played well enough to warrant a call-up in the case of Marcus Williams, and the waiver of another player in the case of Dwayne Jones. Plus they have Ian Mahinmi, who played in the D-League the year before that, and likely would've played more than a game there last season if he hadn't gotten injured. So that's four players right there, or about a quarter of the players coming to training camp. Now let's look at the Thunder. They signed Shaun Livingston after the good work he put in with a few different D-League teams. They have several players who spent time in Tulsa last year, including D.J. White and Kyle Weaver. Even if a few of these players don't make the NBA roster this season, the team will have had a chance to evaluate them in actual game settings, away from the pressure of making sure that, say, Russell Westbrook gets his minutes. The point is that the D-League isn't just about making sure that "one guy" per team improves its game. It's about helping NBA teams manage their rosters more effectively and make the best use of the talent they have. Alright, final quote.

In essence, last year, Mo Speights would've been the only guy we would've sent down because we weren't going to send Thaddeus down.

Sigh. So you didn't send Marreese Speight down because you didn't want to send Thaddeus Young down? How does that work, exactly? I get that you used that example to justify your "one guy" statement, but it's only "one guy" because of choices you yourself made, Ed, not because of the system in place or any rules that were forced on you. Instead of having a solid backup center now, you have a guy who had one monster game in Summer League then was terrible the rest of the way. Terrible in Summer League.

Like I said up top, it's fine to be lazy. I'm lazy. But at least I own up to it, and when I don't get something done, I usually allow that my laziness was the reason. I don't try to blame "rules" and "systems" that don't exist, or cite misleading facts. Don't blame this on the D-League, Ed. It only wants to help you.

Ridiculous Transactions

Jon L — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:00:11 -0000

Hello! I hope you're enjoying your weekend. Today we debut a new (hopefully-) recurring series of posts detailing transactions for the previous week. What kind of transactions? I plan to mainly focus on, well, the type of players this site focuses on. That means a lot of D-League players and teams, but also players who previously played in the D-League but are now in Europe, players who saw some action at this year's Summer League, and maybe the occasional recent draft pick or player. This isn't meant to be comprehensive with the European signings (I'm not looking to compete with Ball in Europe), nor will the bulk of NBA trades and free agent signings be covered. Sorry, Andre Miller. I will, however, be providing some brief commentary below all (or most) of the transactions listed. This is a new feature, so any suggestions on what you'd like to see format- or content-wise is welcome. So here we go, with a look at "Ridiculous Transactions" for July 17-June 24.

July 17: Cartier Martin - signed with Treviso (Italy)

Martin played decently in Summer League for Golden State, doing a good job of getting to the free-throw line and not turning the ball over much, but he made only a quarter of his three-pointers, and needed one good game to get up to even that mark. Martin played for Iowa in the D-League last season, and since he can score, he should do well over in Italy.

July 18: Marc Salyers - signed with LeMans (France)

Salyers has been in Europe for a few years where he's a terrific scorer, and while he played for the Hornets' Summer League team, he never really got his shot to fall consistently in Vegas. He has a variety of offensive moves but little defense or rebounding, so Europe is probably where he belongs.

July 20: Nick Lewis - signed with Roanne (France); Sergiy Gladyr - signed with Manresa (Spain)

Lewis effectively replaces Salyers, who played with Roanne last year. Lewis is late of the Bakersfield Jam, where he showed some decent if inconsistent rebounding ability. He fancies himself somewhat of a three-point shooter, and he made almost 38 percent of them last year, decent for a 6'10" guy I suppose, but that number was quite a bit higher than his career mark, and I have doubts as to whether he'll sustain it. Gladyr was a second-round pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the most recent draft, and he's a shooting guard with emphasis on the "shooting." Some have questions as to whether he's athletic enough for the NBA, though pre-draft reports were decent on that front.

July 21: Jimmy Baron - signed with Mersin (Turkey); Dakota Wizards - hired Rory White as head coach

We've already discussed White's hiring, so let's turn to Baron. Baron was a very good three-point shooting in college, though he's a bit like Blake Ahearn in that he's "point guard-sized" without having a lot of point guard skills (though Ahearn is obviously a bit ahead on that since he's had longer to work on them). Baron got invites to both the Orlando and Vegas Summer Leagues, though he didn't play much for the Jazz and Washington cut him before they actually got to Vegas. This is probably a case where he could go to the D-League and have a chance to work on the non-shooting parts of his game, but I'm sure he'll get a chance to get his shooting on in Turkey.

July 22: Christian Eyenga - had his contract with DKV Joventut (Spain) extended for three more years; Maine Red Claws - hired Austin Ainge as head coach

Again, we've covered Ainge's hire. Eyenga was the Cavaliers' first-round draft pick this year, and I find it interesting to think about his situation in the context of the Cavs' roster. Clearly Cleveland is trying to win as soon as possible - they made the conference finals this year, and LeBron James is under contract for just one more season. But what happens should James re-sign with Cleveland? I wonder if he'll allow Cleveland to keep drafting players like Eyenga in an attempt to adopt at least part of what could short-handedly be called the "Spurs model," or whether he'll keep saying "I've never heard of these guys, I want you to sign Joe Smith again." The Cavs aren't on the hook for Eyenga's salary or anything, but it will be interesting to see how they use the draft if James is under a long-term contract again.

July 23: Bobby Jones - signed with Banco Tercas Teramo (Italy); Gerry McNamara - named as Grad Assistant for Syracuse University

Remember when Jones was going to get called up by the 76ers? Whatever happened with that? Jones may feel that if he had gotten that close without making it in the D-League he has nothing left to play for here, but I do wonder how a primarily-defensive player such as Jones will fare over in Italy. Then again, I also wonder why I didn't see him on any Summer League roster. Jones is a decent scorer, so he'll probably be fine, but I do think he still could have made his mark in the D-League and gotten a call-up. Gerry McNamara was last seen being released from his D-League contract for "personal reasons," and whether it's related or not he seems to be headed for the coaching route.

July 24: Ryan Forehan-Kelly - signed with Scafati (Italy); Dominique Coleman - signed with Dexia Mons-Hainaut (Belgium)

Forehan-Kelly has been all over the place, playing in China, Venezuela, Mexico, Croatia and with the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Europe is probably the best place for him, as he's decent at several things (including three-point shooting) but wasn't really among the top few tiers of D-League players who could've seen a call-up. Coleman, well, this is slightly disappointing. Regular readers (which I think is TorosGirl and the people currently writing for the site) know that I was a big fan of Coleman's last year, and he does a lot of things very well, including defend and rebound. Hopefully he makes his way back to the States at some point, as I think he could develop into a solid NBA bench player.

ATS Summer League Microscope - DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:14:45 -0000

There are two real negatives to my seat behind the baseline. One, the chair is just killing my back. Two, the distractions. So many people are around, I end up spending my time seeing who I recognize and who is in the building than watching the games.

Tonight, with a third look at the Raptors and an uninspiring Blazers roster looming, I decided to focus on just one player. So, I grabbed my notebook, headed into the stands, and glued my eyes to DeMar DeRozan.

I was surprised by what I saw. Actually, I'm not surprised by what I saw, I'm surprised by conclusion. DeMar is a very good offensive player and he seems completely lost and disinterested defensively. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would not only like a player who plays like that, but that I would become a fan.

After watching DeMar for a game, I became a fan. Then, against all odds, I got to interview him. Join me. Become a fan yourself.

I'll admit right up front it took me awhile to develop the discipline to keep watching DeMar and not follow the ball. I have been following the ball for so many games here that it is a hard habit to break.

The Ugly - Defense

DeMar is not good defensively. I don't think this is really a surprise to anybody. He's played one year of college and is only 19 years old. The thing that first jumped out at me, though, was an apparent lack of defensive effort. The Raptors seemed to always put him on the least offensive of the Blazers wings. When I first tuned in, this was Bobby Jones.

For most of the plays, DeMar was on the weakside of the court (the non-ball side). His help defense was non-existent. He seemed content to be happy to watch. When shot would go up, he would take a step toward the basket and stand BEHIND the other teams big. He wouldn't help box him out. It was like he was loitering.

When a player drove he never stepped in. He would occassionally reach for a ball. Any defensive rebound he got was because it fell to him. He had 4 defensive rebounds and I remember two of them hitting the floor before he picked them up.

He didn't fight through picks and any screen resulted in open looks for his man. When his man did get the ball, he didn't hustle to contest shots. He seemed to content to only take away the drive.

All in all, this whole side of the court lacked effort. It wasn't the lack of knowledge or mistakes that stood out, it was almost an indifference.

The Bad - Offense

When the play wasn't being run to get him a shot, DeMar didn't really move. He was content to watch. While he usually did a very good job of getting back on defense, when he went cut back door for a failed alley oop, he didn't hustle back on the break and trotted up the floor.

Overall, I didn't think he did a good job of moving to the open spots on the floor to receive the ball. In the end game, when the Blazers were trapping the Raptors, he stood at the other end of the court with his hand up. He didn't make an attempt to lose his man and get the ball.

The Good - Offense

When DeMar does have the ball, he shows everything you want. He's silky smooth off the dribble with either hand. He occasionally over-penetrated, but usually got a foul and a trip to the line. He showed a very nice ability to get to the rim. He also could pull up off the dribble and hit the 17 footer.

Two things really turned me on to DeMar. One, his shot selection was damn near immaculate. He isn't a chucker, at least not in this game. He didn't force up shots as much as a lot of young guys do. He seemed to do a great job of taking what was there. Another thing most young guys his age do is become infatuated with the 3-point shot. He has only taken two in three games and he made one of them. Two, was his unselfishness. On a couple of fast breaks he had the opportunity to attack the basket to pad his stats or go for the highlight-reel play. Instead, he made the right pass to a trailer or guy filling the other lane.

The Conclusion

Yes, I realize I have not painted the most flattering portrait. I can't name one player who has done what I have described on the defensive end and away from the ball that I would like. Part of this is because whenever I hear of a player who plays this way, I also add in some other traits. Lousy body language. Selfish. Prima donna. Clueless. Pampered. Poor shot selection. Ball hog. Etc. DeMar showed none of these.

His attitude is fantastic. He never sulked. He never got down. I didn't like the effort so much, but I like the attitude. I liked the unselfishness. I liked the teamness he brought. I think he has a pretty good basketball IQ and that it will get much better as he learns to apply himself.

After watching him play, I got the impression that he isn't an explosive player. He didn't wow me with his hops or his quickness. However, I think it may be because he is so strong and smooth, he's listed at 6' 7" and 220 pounds, with the ball that you don't realize that how quick he is. Kind of like the way Eric Dickerson used to run the ball for the Rams. He didn't look fast or explosive, but he got through holes and nobody ever caught him.

My after game interview helped to explain some of what I saw. He said the coaching staff hasn't given him things to focus on. They want him to go out and play, then they would figure out what to work on. It isn't a hell of a lot to go on, just one game, but I really liked what I saw from him. He's got a long way to go, but I think he has what it takes to do it and I will enjoy watching him get there.

Listen. DeMar DeRozan

Raptors Outlast Blazers for First Vegas Win

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:52:04 -0000

More photos » by Mark Duncan - AP

Anthony Parker is now a Cav and Franchise doesn't see many options so far from Summer League who can take his place...

Browse more photos »

In their best game yet, the Toronto Raptors defeated the Portland Trailblazers in Summer League play moving them to 1 and 2 so far. Franchise breaks things down on his final day in Vegas...

Elvis has left the building.

Yes, it's time for me to head back to the T-Dot.

Howland returned on Sunday morning but I wanted to stick around Las Vegas to get a third Summer League game in, and a chance to see some of the other young rookies get their first taste of NBA action so to speak.

That was all accomplished last night as not only did I take in the Raptors' win over the Blazers, but I also got to see a bevy of other future stars, from Blake Griffin to Stephen Curry.

Let's start with the Raptors though shall we?

A 92 to 87 victory gave the Dinos their first win in Las Vegas and frankly, I didn't see this coming. Toronto didn't play that well in their first two matches, and on paper didn't seem to have the talent to match up against the Blazers.

However this was Portland's first Summer League match and it showed.

The club had 19 turnovers in the match, took some questionable shots, especially in transition, and seemed to be getting used to each other. Oh, and it doesn't help when your starting shooting guard (Thomas Gardner of Missouri fame), goes 0 for 8.

The Raptors however got some very solid play in the back-court once again from Quincy Douby and DeMar DeRozan who combined for 35 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Add in some production from Roko Ukic and Brent Petway and Jerryd Bayless' 22 points and seven assists just wasn't enough for the Blazers.

But beyond the box score, was there anything that really stood out last night for me?

Well for starters, Portland has about four guys on their Summer League roster who look like good bets to make an NBA club next year. Dante Cunningham, Jeff Pendergraph, Bobby Jones and of course Bayless all played at a very high level and the former three should find niche roles in the league. I'd love to see Toronto steal away Jones in particular, a hard-nosed gritty player who shared the back-court in college with Brandon Roy. He wouldn't be a top 7 guy for sure, but he'd be an upgrade off the bench over both George and Banks. Cunningham and Pendergraph are second-round picks by Portland from the most recent-draft and look to be keeping the Blazers' cupboard stocked with young talent.

The same can't be said about the Raps unfortunately. Even though they got the W, there's still precious little to be seen from this group outside of DeRozan and Douby, both of whom I expect to be factors in Toronto's top 10 rotation next season. With Anthony Parker now officially a Cav, the Raptors are going to need to find someone who can step in and provide a solid defensive presence at the 2.

-The O'Bryant experiment should be laid to rest asap. With his size and length he should be dominating in these settings and he's not even close to doing so. He's got almost nothing in terms of a low-post game, is a horrific shot-blocker, and is most effective when trailing the play to pull up for long-range jumpers - not exactly what Toronto needs from a back-up big. Right now he only seems to be taking up a valuable roster spot.

-Roko still shows flashes, but I think everyone is well-served by having him become the third-string point guard off the bench next season. He's still very tough to stop off the bounce, and has great vision when drawing in defenders on the way to the rim, but his shot doesn't seem to have advanced at all and he still takes unnecessary gambles defensively. In fact watching him up close in Summer League, it's a little tough to imagine how any of Toronto's brain-trust felt that he was a good option to back-up Jose last year.

-Brent Petway is an incredible athlete...but that's about where things end. He's provided numerous highlight reel plays, as you can see in the warm-up video below, but the rest of his basketball skills just aren't at the NBA level. If Toronto is looking for a freak athlete who can occasionally come off the bench for an energy boost, I'd rather they looked at someone like Deron Washington who's currently playing for the Pistons.

Raptors Summer League Warm-Up

-And finally, Smush Parker. Smush didn't see the light of day in last night's win and with the Jack offer now official, I'd say that puts a nail in his coffin in terms of playing for the Dinos next season. I'd still say he's an upgrade over Roko, but Ukic obviously has the greater upside so Mr. Parker will probably be plying his trade somewhere else come next fall.

Other than those four, there isn't much else to discuss. Demetris Nichols, who started last night and who I expected to be one of Toronto's top options, has been essentially invisible, and others like David Doblas (who at one point last night started yelling obscenities at the refs due to his perceived lack of calls) haven't shown they'd even belong in the D League.

That means we'll all have to wait and see where BC turns to fill out the roster.

Talking with Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski last night post-game, it sounds like there's still a good deal of moving and shaking to go on in the league so Colangelo may be best served to wait now for a bit to see who falls through the cracks.

FRANCHISE

NBA Summer League Rosters Taking Shape

Scott Schroeder — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:00:21 -0000

UPDATED - check after the jump for everything updated in the past three days.

Alright, we got all of the personal mumbo-jumbo out of the way - let's begin with the Summer League coverage!

The Orlando of the NBA Summer League schedule (July 6-10) is here, the Vegas portion of the NBA Summer League schedule (July 10-19) is here and the NBA Summer League roster of your favorite team (so far) is... After the jump!

I was all drafted out, so sorry for the lack of posting going on this weekend - I sincerely apologize to all thirteen of you that were disappointed. As a show of goodwill, I worked feverishly throughout the weekend to scour my sources, google the news, and do anything and everything I could to start piecing together an accurate view of what your team will look like this Summer.

Granted, it's probably not likely to expect much out of some of these players, but each year there are players that pop up from nowhere in Summer League and impress enough to earn a spot on an NBA roster. The most recent example would be Bobby Brown from last season, though there are plenty more (and we'll look at them throughout the next week heading into the Orlando portion of NBA Summer League's).

After the jump, I've put together a list of which players I've (all but) confirmed. If you're aware of anymore, let me know in the comments! If you're unsure of one of the players, click on the link - it'll either take you to their SBNation page or, if they're a bit more obscure, whichever source linked them to said Summer League team.

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/29/09 9:21 AM CDT ] Added Wink Adams to New York

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/29/09 11:15 AM CDT ] Added Daniel Artest to Houston

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/29/09 9:34 PM CDT ] Added Paul Harris to Minnesota, from Cleveland

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 12:02 AM CDT ] Added Kevin Kruger to Utah

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 12:48 AM CDT ] Added Acie Law to Golden State

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 8:58 AM CDT ] Added Lee Cummard to Phoenix, Luke Nevill to New Orleans

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 10:27 AM CDT ] Added Alex Ruoff to Washington

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 12:59 PM CDT ] Added Trent Plaisted, Deron Washington, Will Bynum, Dwayne Jones, Clay Tucker, Ibrahim Jaaber and Matt Freije to Detroit

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 1:42 PM CDT ] Added Mohamed Tangara to Milwaukee

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 06/30/09 8:50 PM CDT ] Added Rod Benson to Houston, Demetris Nichols to Toronto

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 12:19 AM CDT ] Added Dar Tucker and Kevin Rogers to Dallas; Jaycee Carroll to New Orleans; completed Minnesota, Golden State and Utah

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 11:54 AM CDT ] Completed San Antonio, Orlando and Boston roster

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 2:08 PM CDT ] Added Phoenix roster, Robert Swift to Boston

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/01/09 2:50 PM CDT] Added Jim Baron to Washington

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/01/09 5:00 PM CDT] Completed Chicago, Sacramento and New Orleans rosters

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 6:40 PM CDT ] Completed Indiana, Milwaukee, New York, Oklahoma City, LA Clippers

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/01/09 8:02 PM CDT ] Completed Washington

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/02/09 4:05 PM CDT ] Completed Houston

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/02/09 5:31 PM CDT ] Completed Portland, Memphis

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/02/09 8:10 CDT ] Completed Philadelphia/N.J. roster

[Note by Scott Schroeder, 07/03/09 11:12 AM CDT ] Completed (?) Denver roster

[Note by Jon Lewallen, 07/07/09 7:45 PM CDT ] Completed Dallas, Detroit and D-League Select rosters

2009 ORLANDO SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTERS

Boston Celtics

Bryan Mullins, Lester Hudson, Chris Lofton, Gabe Pruitt, Bill Walker, J.R. Giddens, Michael Sweetney, Coby Karl, Darius Washington, Bryce Taylor, Kevin Rogers, Robert Swift,

Indiana Pacers

Aaron Jackson, Leo Lyons, Tyler Hansbrough, Brandon Rush, Josh McRoberts, A.J. Price, Roy Hibbert, Will Blalock, Trey Johnson, Anthony Smith, Derrick Byars, Courtney Sims, Scott Vander Meer,

Philadelphia 76ers/ New Jersey Nets

Blake Ahearn, Jrue Holiday, Marreese Speights, Dionte Christmas, Chris Johnson, Rob Kurz, Gary Forbes, Marcus Slaughter, Terrence Williams, Chris Douglas-Roberts, AJ Abrams, Jeff Adrien, Jason Ellis,

Oklahoma City Thunder

Serge Ibaka, Shaun Livingston, BJ Mullens, James Harden, Robert Vaden, DeVon Hardin, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver, D.J. White, Marcus Dove, Moses Ehambe, DeAngelo Alexander, Richard Roby, Kyle Hines, Doug Thomas, Keith McLeod,

Orlando Magic

Ryan Anderson, Levance Fields, Richard Hendrix, Russell Robinson, Darian Townes, Maurice Ager, Lance Allred, Brian Chase, Ronald Dupree, Courtney Fells, C.J. Giles, Steven Milosevic, Jeremy Pargo, Milovan Rakovic, Jeremy Richardson

Utah Jazz

Eric Maynor, Gary Wilkinson, Goran Suton, Kosta Koufos, Kyrylo Fesenko, Wesley Matthews, Kevin Kruger, Kevin Lyde, Andre Ingram, James Augustine, Cedric Bozeman, Justin Reed, Josh Duncan, Jim Baron, Reyshawn Terry and Larry Turner

2009 VEGAS SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTERS

Chicago Bulls

Luke Zeller, James Johnson, Taj Gibson, Bryan Mullins, Tyrell Biggs, Mario Austin, AD Vasallo, Anthony Roberson, Linton Johnson, Chris Davis, Taurean Green, Lorenzo Mata-Real, DeMarcus Nelson, Julius Hodge, Brandon Costner, James Augustine, Nick Lewis

Cleveland Cavaliers

Maureece Rice, Christian Eyenga, Danny Green, Jawad Williams, Darnell Jackson, Tarence Kinsey,

Dallas Mavericks

Aaron Miles, Rodrigue Beaubois, Ahmad Nivins, Curtis Jerrells, Dar Tucker, Kevin Rogers, Quinton Hosley, Damjan Rudez, Luke Jackson, Henry Dugat, Nick Calathes, Mickael Gelabale, Herbert Hill, Shan Foster, Trent Strickland, Andre Owens, Alfred Aboya, Moussa Seck, Bryson McKenzie

Detroit Pistons

Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, Jonas Jerebko, Walter Sharpe, Trent Plaisted, Deron Washington, Will Bynum, Dwayne Jones, Clay Tucker, Ibrahim Jaaber, Michael Bramos, Andre Owens

Denver Nuggets

Richard Hendrix, Ty Lawson, Derrick Byars, Ronald Dupree, CJ Giles, Coby Karl, Kareem Rush, Cedric Simmons, Sonny Weems

Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Jermareo Davidson, Acie Law, Connor Atchley, Lawrence Hill, Joe Ingles, Jared Jordan, Cartier Martin, Quan Prowell, Lawrence Roberts, Jamal Sampson

Houston Rockets

Garrett Temple, Will Conroy, Jermaine Taylor, Chase Budinger, Rod Benson, Hassan Adams, Marcus Cousin, Joey Dorsey, Charles Gaines, Mike Green, Brad Newley, Maarty Leunen, Darryl Watkins, James White

Los Angeles Clippers

Kyle McAlarney, Kevinn Pinkney, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Mike Taylor, Sean Banks, Dionte Christmas, Marcellus Kemp, Nik Caner-Medley,

Los Angeles Lakers

Tony Gaffney, Chinemelu Elonu, Alan Anderson, Aron Bynes, Dominique Coleman, Terrel Harris, Justin Hawkins, Ben McCauley, David Monds, Adam Morrison, Taylor Rochestie, Luke Schenscher, Mustafa Shakur,

Milwaukee Bucks

Brandon Jennings, Salim Stoudamire, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Joe Alexander, Jodie Meeks, Dominic James,Mohamed Tangara, Will McDonald, Juan Palacios, Chris Richard, Szymon Szewczyk, Lorrenzo Wade

Minnesota Timberwolves

Ben Woodside, Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, Paul Harris, Oleksiy Pecherov, Bobby Brown, Pat Carroll, Devin Green, Gerald Henderson, Steven Hill, Rob Kurz, Garrett Siler,

Memphis Grizzlies

Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll, Sam Young, Darrell Arthur, Hamed Haddadi, Daniel Ewing, Greg Stiemsma, Erik Daniels, Trey Gilder, Longar Longar, Brion Rush, Donta Smith, Marcus Williams

New Orleans Hornets

Marcus Thornton, Terry Martin, Darren Collison, Julian Wright, Luke Nevill, Jaycee Carroll, Earl Barron, Earl Calloway, Bryan Cusworth, Larry Owens, Marc Salyers, Courtney Sims, Anthony Tolliver, Quinton Watkins

New York Knicks

Jordan Hill, Blake Ahearn, Toney Douglas, Alex Acker, Wink Adams, Morris Almond, Warren Carter, Joe Crawford, Patrick Ewing Jr., Ron Howard, Yaroslav Korolev, David Noel, Mouhamed Sene, Rashaad Singleton, Nikoloz Tskitishvili,

Oklahoma City Thunder

Phoenix Suns

Earl Clark, Taylor Griffin, Goran Dragic, Robin Lopez, Lee Cummard, Alando Tucker, Micah Downs, Zabian Dowdell, Josh Carter, Kaspars Berzins, Jiri Hubalek, Geary Claxton, Chris Rodgers, Carlos Powell

Portland Trail Blazers

Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham, Jerryd Bayless, Patrick Mills, Thomas Gardner, Pooh Jeter, Bobby Jones, David Padgett, Deji Akindele, Matt Freije, Dwayne Mitchell, David Moss

Sacramento Kings

Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Donté Greene, Jason Thompson, Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Spencer Hawes, Robert Battle, John Bryant, Pat Calathes, Marcus Landry, Brian Roberts, Victor Stowes, Ryan Toolson

San Antonio Spurs

James Gist, Jack McClinton, DeJuan Blair, Eric Dawson, Malik Hairston, George Hill, Romel Beck, Nando de Colo, Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson, Antonio Anderson, Marcus Vinicius, Ian Mahinmi, Alonzo Gee,

Toronto Raptors

Brent Petway, DeMar DeRozan, Nathan Jawai, Demetris Nichols, Quincy Douby, Roko Ukic, Patrick O'Bryant, Carl English, Ekene Ibekwe, David Doublas, Paul Davis, Smush Parker

Washington Wizards

Tyrese Rice, Nick Young, Javaris Crittenton, JaVale McGee, Alex Ruoff, Jim(my) Baron, Alade Aminu, Ryan Ayers, Jon Edwards, Josh Heytvelt, James Lang, Dominic McGuire, Tywain McKie, Jason Rich, Diamon Simpson, Kyle Spain, Brandon Wallace

NBA D-League Select

Coleman Collins, Walker Russell, Will Frisby, Gary Forbes, Marcus Hubbard, Othyus Jeffers, Jasper Johnson, Trey Johnson, Kurt Looby, Curtis Stinson

D-League Elite Camp

Jon L — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:18:16 -0000

Walker Russell will be among those participating in the D-League's pre-NBA Draft mini-camp

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Is that enough hyphens for you? The D-League has apparently put together a group of players to workout and scrimmage in front of NBA teams this weekend. These are players who weren't called up and/or currently don't have NBA contracts for next season. As I understand it, the D-Leaguers will be running through some drills as well as playing some games, though I'm not sure whether they'll be 5-on-5 or 3-on-3. Here's who was invited to the D-League "mini camp":

Point Guards

Walker Russell

Maureece Rice

Curtis Stinson

Russell Robinson

Brandon Heath

Shooting Guards

Lanny Smith

Ron Howard

Denham Brown

Mark Tyndale

Small Forwards

Brent Petway

Bobby Jones

Ivan Harris

Taj McCullough

Keith Brumbaugh

Trent Strickland

Power Forwards

Chris Ellis

Will Frisby

Mohammed Abukar

Marcus Hubbard

Antonio Meeking

CJ Giles

Centers

Rod Benson

Dwayne Jones

Coleman Collins

Joe Dabbert

Eric Dawson

Longar Longar

On the whole, I think this is a really smart idea on the D-League's part, giving some exposure to some of their top players. Some individual teams have already looked at groups of players, but hopefully doing it this way will get the players and the league some wider exposure and help get these guys invited to training camp. There are some players I'd expected to see but don't, though I assume that's because they've maybe already gotten Summer League/training camp invites and I haven't heard about it (it really feels like I was out of town for closer to a month than a week). I'm also assuming that any of these players who don't get subsequent NBA invites have a good shot at being on the D-League's Summer League team. I hope they games are 5-on-5, as that's what NBA teams seem to prefer, and it might give these players a leg up on some more marginal college draft prospects who are only playing 3-on-3. Some position-by-position thoughts are after the jump.

Point Guard

Russell and Rice have been talked about a fair amount on this site, with Rice providing some scoring punch and Russell being more of a distributor, with occasionally too many turnovers. Stinson is a solid all-around point guard, being a decent rebounder for his position and collecting double-digit assists in six of his last seven games this past season (and got 9 in the other game). Neither Robinson nor Heath will give you assists on a consistent basis, but both averaged over 33 percent on three-pointers this past season and Robinson is a solid defender. Teams will definitely see some different looks at this position.

Shooting Guard

Lanny Smith has been recovering from injuries the last few years, but he's definitely talented. Howard's a good defensive player, though he's kind of in between a guard and a forward. Denham Brown had an up-and-down season, though he showed flashes of being a solid contributor. Not much of a three-point shooter, though. Of all the players on this list, I probably know the least about Mark Tyndale. He was apparently a decent bench contributor for Dakota last year.

Small Forward

Petway's apparently signed on with Toronto, at least for the Summer League, so I'm not sure if he'll still be participating here. Ivan Harris can definitely shoot the three. I'm not really enthralled with McCullough, though you have to admire the fact that he's not giving up. Jones and Strickland are both solid players, though for different reasons. Bobby Jones is a good defender who was almost called up by the 76ers last year, while Strickland's more of a scorer, though not a very efficient one. And I'm not really sure why he's listed as a forward but Howard is a shooting guard, when Strickland shoots more threes. And okay, I lied. Of all the players on this list, I probably know the least about Keith Brumbaugh. He apparently averaged 35 points in (community) college, though.

Power Forward

Abukar can fill it up, though he missed some time last season due to injury. Ellis is a good rebounder and a decent all-around forward. Frisby is definitely talented enough to make the NBA, though he might be slightly undersized for some teams' liking and occasionally gets into foul trouble. I feel the same way about Meeking as I do about McCullough. Giles and Hubbard are both probably best described as projects. Hubbard in particular needs to work on his post defense.

Center

Boom Tho Rod Benson will get a chance to show off his increased commitment to weight training in addition to his usual rebounding and shot-blocking. Dwayne Jones is another good rebounder and shot-blocker, though his post offense needs a lot of work. You can think of him as the D-League Dwight Howard, if that helps you. I'm kind of surprised to see Dabbert listed, though when he's not getting into foul trouble he's a decent rebounder and has some post moves. Collins I had figured as more of a power forward, but whatever helps him make the NBA, I guess. His playing time was inconsistent last season, though he's an efficient scorer who put up decent numbers when he got minutes. I'm not a huge fan of Eric Dawson, though he spent a fair amount of time playing out of position and had some nice moments last season. Longar Longar has been making the rounds of recent team tryouts, though he's kind of slow with bad hands, and is already 26 despite being only a year out of college.

Philadelphia 76ers to call-up Bobby Jones? Replace injured Thaddeus Young

Scott Schroeder — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 04:10:15 -0000

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UPDATING THIS AGAIN: Bobby Jones will be called up to Philly. Confirmed second handedly.

The Philadelphia 76er's Thaddeus Young is out until at least the playoffs after trying to block a shot, landing awkwardly and spraining his ankle. Bad for the Sixer's, great for the D-League.

According to 76ers GM Ed Stefanski, the Sixer's had been looking at D-League options all season, and it looks like they are finally getting a chance to use this knowledge.

"If Thad is out for any kind of period, it probably would make sense to bring someone in who is at that swing position," said Sixer's GM Ed Stefanski. "We've been scouting the [D-League] all year. Guys are out there. We have a lit that we keep reviewing."

Their 'lit' apparently led them to Sioux Falls' Bobby Jones, as numerous sources have confirmed that Philly will bring Bobby Jones in by Monday, presumably to be chillin' out, maxin', relaxin all cool, along with shootin' some b-ball outside of the school. They may even let him play with just 11 healthy bodies. Jones has had many call-up's, but actually started his career with the Sixers, where he played 45 games during the 2006-07 season.

Bobby Jones, the 6'7" swingman out of Washington, is going to be on his way to Philadelphia to take the place of Young. Most recently in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings this preseason, he has been playing small forward for the Sioux Falls Skyforce since being released. With Sioux Falls, Jones was averaging 16.1 points, eight boards and shooting 48% from the field, known as one of the better defenders in the D-League.

Had I known they were looking for perimeter defense, I would have sent a player with more upside - either Brent Petway or Othyus Jeffers. If they were looking for experience down the stretch, Josh Davis should have been given a look. It does seem that Bobby Jones is the best option to combine both defense and veteran savvy.

While Jones' defense is hard to quantify, he's from Compton - seems to scream to me that this fact alone should equal great defense. it's easy to tell that the NBA realizes that's what he bring to the table as well. Since coming out of the University of Washington in the 2006 draft from a team that also included Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson and Will Conroy, he's played with roughly 1,052 teams (Transactions broken down after the jump).

Overall, I like the move as it utilizes the D-League, but there are players that are having better seasons that haven't been given the opportunity to showcase their talents at the NBA level.

Here's the career path he's taken thus far:

Jones was drafted by the (1) Timberwolves but traded on draft day to the (2) 76ers. With the Sixers for rougly a year and 3 months, he was traded along with Steven Hunter to the (3) Nuggets in September 2007. He "played" with the Nuggets through December, but was cut January 6th. Four days later, Jones signed with the (4) Memphis Grizzlies. After two ten-day's with the Grizzlies, he came to the D-League and started with the (5) Sioux Falls Skyforce on February 9th. After playing with the Skyforce for almost 2 and a half weeks, he was called up to the (6) Houston Rockets on February 26th. On March 12, after taking a six day break, he got another 10-day with (7) Miami, though got cut a day before his contract was up, on the 21st. He then re-signed with the (8)Skyforce before getting called-up again by the (9) Spurs on April Fools day. After his 10-day with the Spurs was up, he signed with the (10) Nuggets again for the remainder of the season. After being with the same team for over 3 months, he was traded to (11) New York with Taurean Green for Renaldo Balkman. One day later, he got released. Then, two weeks later, he signed with (12) Miami again, though they cut him ten days later. He then signed with the (13) Kings the first of October, and as history would show, it didn't last for long.

JamesOn Curry, His Afro, and the night that was in the D-League

Scott Schroeder — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:00:10 -0000

Last night Iowa won a close game, 109-107 over the division rival Fort Wayne Mad Ants. I think. President Reed, President Potter: I think we're going to have to look at instant replay in the D-League. Some sort of instant-archive system at least.

JamesOn Curry And His Afro was thrown a cross court lob from Othyus Jeffers with 1.2 seconds left in the game. JOCAHA leapt to catch the pass over his head, landed, tripped while taking a couple steps, got his feet semi-set, and hit a fading jumper. This game was in Iowa, but I'm not going to blame the clock guy, as he may have started it in time - just seems that there's a better than average chance that the play either took more than 1.2 seconds or that he traveled.

Iowa was led by Demetris Nichols, who wasn't even listed on the D-League Transactions page pre-game. Lucky he made it though, because without him, Iowa wouldn't have had the firepower to compete. If we know one thing about Demetris Nichols, it's that he just got done costing the New York Knicks roughly $200,000 (his salary + luxury tax) for being on their roster 20 days and not getting an opportunity to show what he could do, even while former D-Leaguer dropped 35 on his Knicks. If we know two things about him, the second thing is that he can shoot the 3-ball. Last night was no different, as he hit 6-of-7 of his 3-pointers, finishing with a team high 33 points.

Other notable players for the Energy include Curtis Stinson, who continues to put up Magic Johnsonesque numbers, with 24 points, seven boards, seven assists and five steals,but a disappointing six turnovers; The Great White Hype, John Edwards, who finished with 14 points, nine boards, and big and-one dunk to put Iowa ahead in the last minute of the game; and Curry's huge shot, despite finishing with just 10 points on seven shots in 38 minutes of action. Othyus Jeffers struggled, scoring just 14 points and turning the ball over six times. Also, Iowa, you need a bench.

Fort Wayne was led by Chris Hunter, who abused TGWH Edwards to the tune of 29 points and 11 boards. I'm going to assume he was motivated by the fact that I picked him as the heir-apparent to Tyson Chandler's regular season throne, but he's been capable of putting up those numbers all season.

Other notables for Fort Wayne include Taj McCullough, who had 35 points on 26 shots along with five steals (majority from Jeffers) and Walker Russell, who had 20 points, 12 assists and six (6) (SIX!) steals, but committed five turnovers as well. Also, Fort Wayne, you're out of the playoffs, so a bench won't be necessary, but it could have helped tonight.

In other news from this game, Marty Tirrell went wild. When not cursing up a storm, he's actually an exciting guy to listen to - I was impressed. Also, Steve Newman didn't play. He did play poker in Reno the other night though, and responded to me after tonight's game on Twitter regarding his luck with a somber "didnt go to well man my pocket aces got cracked by J 9". So that sucks for him.

Continue on for more expert analysis on the games from the D-League last night.

SIOUX FALLS 98, Austin 87

I was watching the Iowa game (it's too hard to play Day 1 of March Madness and deal with the buffering issues of switching between games), but somehow this game had seven technicals, all in the four quarter, with six of them coming two at a time. The surprising part? Marat Kogut was in Utah! Looking at the box score, there were only two officials, so maybe that was the problem - they just let it get out of control.

Sioux Falls was led by Bobby Jones, who really doesn't get enough credit for his defensive efforts. If my mancrush wasn't firmly entrenched with Jeffers, Jones would be getting a lot more love on this site. For the majority of the night, or at least the parts of the game that I watched, Jones had the assignment of defending Marcus Williams, which is no easy feat. In the box score, Jones finished with 25 points, nine boards, two steals, and drew a charging foul which led to a technical foul on Williams.

Other notables for the Skyforce include Frank Williams, coming off of his one game league suspension from the league, which means it was something that he really shouldn't have been doing. Williams finished with 26 points and, yuck, one assist from the point guard spot. Kasib Powell also hada nice all-around game with 18 points, eight assists, and eight boards, on eight field goals and eighteen shot attempts. Lots of 8's. Sean Singletary missed another game, due to injury.

Austin was led by Malik Hairston, who was just assigned by the Spurs. Hairston finished with 23 points and little else. I'm most impressed with his 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, as that wasn't really something I ever noticed from him in college. If he can add that consistently, he'll end being a second round steal.

Austin didn't mesh well from all accounts, which may have led to the non-impressive notables. Regardless, here they are: Dwayne Jones had 15 points and 12 boards, but 10 of his points came in the first half and he hit just 5-of-11 from the charity stripe; Marcus Williams finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and just three assists, turning the ball over six times - he also shot 6-for-18. Yikes!

RIO GRANDE VALLEY 114, Bakersfield 101

For the record, I felt this one coming.

RGV was led by a team effort. When that happens, I profile my favorite player on the team - Kurt "My Favorite" Looby. Looby, who was a darkhorse candidate in my Chandler-replacement post, did what he does last night, apparently making life a living hell for opposing big man Nick Lewis, who finished with 2 points. Looby himself finished with 10 points, 15 boards, and a disappointing one block.

Other notables for RGV include Jeff Trepagnier with 18 points including four 3's; Jawad Williams who had 23 points and eight boards, but shot just 9-of-22 from the field; and Jared Jordan, who finished with nine points, 12 assists and four turnovers.

Bakersfield was led by Terrance Thomas off the bench, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Thomas is from Baylor and has played two seasons in the D-League - the other being the '06-07 season with the Fort Worth Flyers. Since I don't know much else about him other than him being the garbage man for the Jam, I checked his college bio so you felt you got the most out of this post. Highlights include his favorite movie being The Color Purple (WHAT!?) and person in history he'd like to meet being Michael Jackson.

Other notables for the Jam include Trey Johnson, who finished with 21 points, six boards, and four assists and Mateen Cleaves, who finished with 18 points, five assists, and four turnovers, which isn't good, but deemed notable nonetheless.

UTAH 103, Anaheim 100

Anaheim didn't distribute the ball, Utah had Ronald Dupree finish with 29 points and 10 assists. This game didn't interest me and it's getting late. The end.

Idaho 108, RENO 104

Idaho was missing Luke Jackson and Roberto Bergesen. The Reno recap wasn't as funny as it has been in the past (read that - I should not be jobless if someone got paid for writing that) and it didn't include any mention of these two, so Reno gets an 'F' on the night.

Idaho was led by Lance Allred. I've profiled him quite a bit, so if you don't know anything about Lance Allred, the title of his upcoming book will get you a good synopsis - Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA. (Note to publicist - send me an early copy - would love to review early). Allred had a monster game with 21 points and 18 boards, but also turned the ball over six freakin' times. Gotta limit the turnovers, big man.

Other notables for Idaho include the fact that every other player except Jason Ellis got into double figures in scoring. Good team effort fellas, but I thought you only played for yourselves. Nate Jawai, as I've reported here before, must have been wrong.

Reno was led by David Noel, who is quickly moving into the lead for being the better player in the dumbest trade in the D-League (for Antonio Meeking) along with my favorite swingman deserving a call-up soon. Noel flirted with a second straight triple-double, scoring 24 points, dishing 11 assists, and grabbing nine rebounds. I assume he probably could have had 10, but I texted Rod Boom Tho Benson before the game and told him if he's going to stand out, he's got to limit teammates triple-doubles.

Other Notables for Reno included Rod Benson with 19 points, five boards, five steals, and two blocks; Russell Robinson, whose Kansas Jayhawks lost yesterday, but he still finished with 13 points, 12 assists and a big, fat, juicy ZERO in the turnover column. Boom Tho.

Also, I listened to the Notorious B.I.G.'s Juicy while writing these recaps, in case you were wondering.

Tonight In The D-League

Scott Schroeder — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:07:23 -0000

Colorado @ Albuquerque

Alby's got a lot of work to do to make the playoffs, and a win tonight could go a long way. They play Tulsa four times, RGV once, and have a trip to the Central Division along with two more games against Colorado after this. If they can overcome Colorado tonight, my pick for the best team in the league, they've got a chance to make a good run to end the season.

Matchup to Watch: Will Conroy Vs. Eddie Gill/John Lucas: Conroy had a triple-double, including 35 points, but I'm assuming that Coach MacKinnon will want to change that tonight. Gill and Lucas were held to a combined 8-of-23 shooting, ten assists and five turnovers. Should be interesting to see what changes each team has made. One thing I'm assuming won't change? A Colorado victory.

Rio Grande Vallley @ Idaho

Idaho should win this one, and I don't think it'll be much trouble. Idaho looked great last night and RGV looked terrible against Colorado recently.

Matchup to watch: Brent Petway vs. Jawad Williams - I'm not sure how Idaho's going to matchup with, particularly Williams. Idaho's been starting Jawai and Lance Allred at the posts, but RGV's been playing Williams at the four technically, but he hasn't had his back to the basket often. Considering Petway's known as an excellent defender, and Williams is the only piece of RGV that's really going to put the ball in the basket, this will be interesting. I'm assuming Williams will defend Jawai on defense, which should be just as interesting. If Jawai gets the task of defending Williams as well, don't expect Jawai to play more than 30 minutes and not foul out.

Sioux Falls @ Utah

The Skyforce have lost four of their last five, but it could be turned around tonight if Utah doesn't get good play from the point guard position.

Matchup to watch: I'd like to see Skyforce Coach Nate Tibbetts unleash Bobby Jones on Mo Almond, but instead I'm going to guess a shootout between Frank Williams and Mo Almond. Neither are known for their defense, but I wouldn't be surprised of both have at least 25 points this game. If Jones is on Almond, though, Utah could be in trouble.

Timberwolves Trading Entire Roster for a D-League Team

Scott Schroeder — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:45:09 -0000

I think. Or at least he's gotten close. That's what I get from this item written by Jerry Zgoda at the Star Tribune:

The Los Angeles franchise in the NBA Development League played a game before Friday's Lakers-Wolves game. That preliminary game featured Longar Longar, the power forward who played his high-school ball at Rochester, Minn., John Marshall and who the Wolves summoned for a pre-draft workout last summer after he played four seasons at Oklahoma.
Asked if his team has come close to signing a D League player this season to compensate for their lack of healthy bodies, McHale shook his head no and said, "Sioux Falls, that's the closest we've come." The Sioux Falls Skyforce is the Wolves' affiilate in the D League. The Wolves' have had a full 15-man roster all season, even though Friday night three of those players were out injured.

I, as you're well aware, would be a strong advocate of this. Since the Wolves are obviously trying to get the first pick in the draft, why not take a look at some talent in the D-League. While I wouldn't normally advocate making a whole team of D-Leaguer's, it would be fun to see how they do. Since the Skyforce have ten players, I'd say the Wolves keep Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer, Rodney Carney, Randy Foye, and Kevin Love, add the 10 Skyforce players, and let's see how it pans out. Maybe they'll be able to get an injury exception for Jefferson and Brewer, in which I'd say they keep Craig Smith around too.

This works out on all fronts. Sioux Falls gets local legend Mike Miller, Minnesota presumably gets the best chances to win the lottery, and you and I get to see how the D-League would fare against the NBA teams. I'm fairly certain this team wouldn't do much worse than the pathetic performance against the Lakers I watched the Wolves turn in last night.

Sioux Falls has an excellent coach in Nate Tibbetts, who helped coach their Summer League team down in Vegas last season. They also have Tony Fritz, whose resume includes this gem:

Fritz has coached several players that went on to the NBA including: Raja Bell, Mitchell Butler, Anthony Carter, Tremaine Fowlkes, Anthony Goldwire, Art Long, Anthony Miller, Darrick Martin and Ronny Turiaf.

If he contributed to Mitchell Butler, Tremaine Fowlkes, and Art Long's NBA careers, you know he's doing something right. They also employ a coaching intern, whom I can't find a name for, though I believe it's Tanner something. Regardless, this is my application to intern with them next season. (Fellas, seriously. I'll even help Mr. Brett Hansen out when you don't need me, at least with inputting names into the online box score.) They also have these guys:

Frank Williams, a first round pick by the Nuggets in 2002 that's played in 63 NBA games, Williams is averaging 23 points since the all-star break, including a 10-for-17 3-point shooting clinic he put against Iowa on his way to 39 points.

Kasib Powell, the D-League MVP last season, but finished the season with the Miami Heat when they tried doing something similar to this. Powell averaged 7.6 points and four rebounds in 11 games with the Heat, including a 3-game outburst in the middle when he averaged 14.7 points and five boards. Since returning from a recent injury, he's come off the bench the last four games to average 18.8 points in 23.3 minutes.

Bobby Jones, who had approximately 63 call-ups last season, has played with 61 (again, approximate) NBA teams, playing 91 games with seven starts over the past two seasons. He's a great defender, he's young, and is currently averaging 16 points and 8.3 boards for the Skyforce.

CJ Giles may also be able to make some noise for the Wolves, as he has potential. Loads and loads and loads and loads of potential. Seriously, at least four loads. Enough potential to play on the Lakers this preseason. He's also playing alright in the D-League, averaging 12 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in nine games as a starter. However, the D-Fenders never really understood him, so he was just recently acquired by Sioux Falls.

All four have a future in the NBA, so I like that McHale wants to give them that opportunity together.

P.S. 5'4" David Bailey would also be fun to watch in the NBA.