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Is This Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr's Last Stand?

Wil Cantrell — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:00:19 -0000

More photos » Ross D. Franklin - AP

Steve Kerr (far left) couldn't be getting much sleep.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

While we await the Amare Stoudemire verdict, I wanted to bring up another potentially vital decision the Suns organization must make this Summer: whether to extend Steve Kerr's contract.

First a little history on Steven Douglas Kerr as it relates to his position in front office management for the Phoenix Suns.

In 2004, Kerr was included as a cog in a potential group of buyers that would purchase the Phoenix Suns from Jerry Colangelo for approximately $400 something million. Kerr's front office career with the Suns began as part of management, with an official title of consultant. He still worked as a TNT commentator and writer for Yahoo at the time.

(Insert Cliff Klaven voice): It is a little known fact that Steve Kerr provided his voice to EA Sports NBA LIve 06-10 video games along with Marvelous Marv Albert.

In June of 2007, Kerr quit his TNT and Yahoo gigs, signing a 3 year deal taking over as Suns President and General Manager. On Kerr's clock, from 2007 to present, the team has compiled a 132-85 record. Below, you can peruse Kerr's detailed track record:

2007 Draft

Rudy Fernandez (Traded to Portland for cash)
DJ Strawberry
Alando Tucker

2007 FA Signings

2007 Transactions

Traded Kurt Thomas and 2008, 2010 1st round draft picksto Seattle (OKC) for future second round pick and cash

2008 Transactions

Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Shaquille O'Neal
Signed Gordon Giricek
Hired Terry Porter as head coach

2008 Draft

Robin Lopez

2008 FA Signings

2008 Transactions

Traded San Antonio for draft rights to Goran Dragic in exchange for Malik Hairston
Traded DJ Strawberry to Rockets for Sean Singletary
Signed Goran Dragic
Raja Bell, Sean Singletary, Boris Diaw traded to Charlotte for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a 2010 second round pick

2009

During Season

Fired Terry Porter, named Alvin Gentry head coach
Signed Strowmile Swift

Offseason

Signed Channing Frye
Re-Signed Grant Hill
Extended Steve Nash
Signed Jarron Collins

2009 Draft

Earl Clark
Taylor Griffin
Emir Preldzic (traded draft rights to Cleveland)

2009-2010 Season

Traded Alando Tucker, a second round pick and cash to Minnesota for Jason Hart (waived)
Signed Jarron Collins for the rest of the season

It's not an extensive body of work. Of course Kerr's tenure has only amassed two years and change. To delve further beneath the surface of these deals, here is a summary broken down into four different categories: Draft, Trades, FA Signings, and Coaching Hires and Fires.

Draft

Steve Kerr assumed GM duties on or around June 3, 2007. The draft occurred on June 28. I will not submit that Kerr had no say whatsoever, but it should be considered that while he was with the organization, he hadn't been on the GM job for that long. Nevertheless....

2007

The Suns had the 24th and 29th picks in this draft. With the 24th pick, Rudy Fernandez was selected and promptly shipped to Portland for cash. Obviously the fingerprints on this deal belong to Robert Sarver and Co.

With the 29th pick though, the Suns took Alando Tucker. Obviously that didn't work out so well. Tucker certainly had the college credentials that would lead one to believe he could work out at the NBA level. He broked Michael Finley's all time scoring mark at Wisconsin and collected a variety of awards including Big Ten Player of the Year in 2007 as well as first team All-American.

Looking back to see who the Suns could have selected in Tucker's stead, the biggest name I can find on the board is Carl Landry at #31 (first pick round 2). There are some other players that have stuck around the NBA-Glen Davis, Ramon Sessions, Marc Gasol. Of course Gasol may have been a gamble as he was playing in Spain and didn't make it to the NBA until 2008.

Tucker's time with the Suns was marred by injuries and ineffective play, all of which contributed to his lack of playing time, along with a sub-NBA game leaving him incapable of deseating any of the players ahead of him on the depth chart.

The next pick was D.J. Strawberry. He was touted as a defensive specialist. Unfortunately his offense was so bad, his defense never became much of a factor. Strawberry's choice was wishful thinking, but inevitably, like many 2nd rounders, a long shot to win a job and play in the NBA.

2008

The Suns had the 15th pick of the 1st round in 2008 which they obtained from Atlanta. Kerr went for the big man with an eye on defense, Robin Lopez. This was not a very popular pick at the time for a number of reasons. First and foremost was the fact that Kerr picked the least talented basketball player in the Lopez family. Brooke Lopez was the 10th pick for New Jersey. He had better collegiate numbers, he was better skilled, and posessed more upside than Robin.

Robin Lopez's college numbers were fair: 10 ppg, 5.7 rebounds, 53% FG, perhaps the numbers of a second unit role player, but was he worthy of a #1 pick? In addition, look at the names the Suns left on the board:

Marreese Speights
Roy Hibbert
Nicolas Batum
Darrell Arthur
J.J. Hickson
Kosta Koufos
Courtney Lee
George Hill
Donte Greene

Just to name a few. The jury is still out on virtually all of these players. That is, no one turned into a Kobe or LeBron immediately. Further, none of us know how things will play out from this draft. But we do know how Robin Lopez has been playing of late, and his development is very encouraging. If I have to rate the choice now, I give Steve Kerr a nice little golf clap for picking up Robin.

2009

With the 14th pick, Kerr selected Earl Clark, leaving names like Ty Lawson, Omri Casspi, Taj Gibson, and a large group of second rounders that have played well in their first season in the NBA. Again, the jury is still out on Clark. He's shown some flashes in limited minutes of being a valuable future cog in the Suns lineup. He's also played like a rookie, shooting at the wrong time and too often, becoming frustrated at the stress of learning two positions while dealing with very little game minutes.

While many of the 2009 picks have seen more court time: Tyreke Evans, Jordan Hill, Stephen Curry (just to name a few), Clark simply isn't ready to deseat Grant Hill or Jared Dudley at the 3 or Lou Amundson at the 4. I will say this: I understand why Clark was selected. He is very athletic, and he is freakishly long. If you have been watching every game this season, you can see the difference already, even though he plays very little. He is slowly becoming more aggressive, playing with more confidence. Once the IQ increases, along with the playing time and conditioning, (oh and the shot-let's stick with midrange for now, Earl), he could be a quality player for the Suns.

FA Signings

Kerr has had a fair amount of luck in this area. Grant Hill was an excellent pick up. Apart from being a high character, popular guy among his teammates, Hill has also enjoyed some good success on the court which is obviously a function of his health. Hill played in every game last season for the first time in years. The lauded Suns trainers and medical personnel can be credited to a high degree for Hill's health.

It looked as though Grant would leave the Suns last year after receiving numerous offers from serious title contenders. However, Kerr was able to come to his senses and extend him. This in turn helped in Steve Nash's extension. And with Goran Dragic still a question mark, and Jared Dudley a mostly second unit guy, it was the easy decision for Kerr to ink both Hill and Nash to reasonable deals.

Louis Amundson was a one dimensional journeyman in the NBA. His signing was a low risk endeavor, yet one that has produced high yield results. Pony boy has been a quality asset for the Suns, coming off the bench to crash the boards and play defense. He's the toughness the Suns typically lack, a high energy, consistent role player that rarely fails to accomplish his duties. Good signing, Steve Kerr.

Channing Frye was a surprise pick up to many. With many suitors milling about, Kerr swooped in to grab Frye, knowing his game was a nice match to the Suns up-tempo system. Through the first two months of the season, Frye proved a potent weapon from outside that opponents had a difficult time defending. But once the secret was out, defenses adjusted to Frye on the defensive end and attacked him and out-muscled him on the other end. As Frye continued to get pushed around, his shot began to falter. Frye has recently seen a bit of a resurgence in his game coming off the bench.

Still, Channing Frye came as advertised, so no one should be surprised that he can't rebound and he's soft on the defensive end. Still, an additional 120 3-pointers is a good addition to any team, especially for the Suns who have lost Leandro Barbosa's contribution from beyond the arc virtually all season. I give props to Kerr for the Frye signing.

There have been others: Gordon Giricek was a stretch run signing that would have worked better if Gordon would have made a few more threes. Stromile Swift was a also a roster filler in the absence of Amare. Brian Skinner was a nice, tough-guy-role-player for a season. His contribution wasn't significant, but neither was his playing time. Matt Barnes on paper looked like a good fit-3 point range, hard nose defensive specialist built in the Raja Bell mode. Of course by the end of the season Barnes was making us cringe every time he loaded up for an ill-advised three pointer. To my knowledge, no tears were shed after the season when he was not re-signed.

Trades

Here's where it gets a bit dicey for Steve Kerr:

Let's get to it so we can try to forget about the Kurt Thomas trade to Seattle for a future conditional second-round pick. The dump left Suns with an $8 million trade exception and one less big man (leaving them with uh, none).

Said Kerr after the trade:

"We feel good going forward having our core group of players under contract for several years, including the recent addition of free-agent Grant Hill. The bottom line is there are tough decisions to make, but we have flexibility and our core together. We really like the group of players we've assembled and feel we can make a legitimate run for an NBA championship next season."

Championship? That's good. Funny.

Next up: Shawn Marion. We loved him. We wanted him to stay. We even got a bit giddy several months back when we heard a rumor about him talking to Steve Kerr about a return to the valley. Of course he's a Maverick now. Shawn Marion for Shaq will go down in BSOTS history as the deal that established the Steve Kerr Moron Meter. If you weren't lurking around here to see it, you missed something very special....But let's get down to brass tacks here: Shawn Marion was ready to go. He wanted big money and he simply wasn't worth it. He was a great player, he was the glue that held the Suns together. The dirt worker who took on the toughest defensive assignments, and was left out of the play calling mix. Still, he was making great money and the fans loved him.

But Shawn got tired of it:

"I'm tired of hearing my name in trades. I love my fans in Phoenix but I think it's time for me to move on."

It was widely known that Marion pouted in the locker room and suffered from the "Whose the Man" syndrome. It was indeed time for him to go. Thing is, Steve Kerr traded him for Shaquille O'Neal. This was the moment many of us began to feel the cool Spring time breeze from the open window turn August hot then suddenly disappear. The window was closed, and the Steve Kerr hand print could be seen all over the Suns franchise:

"If it works, I'm a genius. If it doesn't, I'm a moron, I guess." -Steve Kerr

The trade marked the beginning of the sea change for the Suns. Soon Mike D'Antoni was out, Terry Porter in, and you remember the rest....

The clearest example of Steve Kerr's naivete as a general manager was assuming his team would respond to Terry Porter. Many people were interviewed for the Suns head coaching job, but Kerr was merely conducting his due diligence. Terry Porter was his pick and we all knew it early on. Porter was the hard ass who would whip the Suns into shape on D and instill that toughness designed to take out San Antonio once and for all not to mention any other WC softies in the way.

But the Porter hiring was a failure. The Suns were constructed of a veteran roster. One built to run and shoot. It was a team that liked their previous coach, the easy practices and his easy going demeanor. How would these guys go for a total philosophical change? From run and gun to toss it into the big guy and let him work. It was built to fail.

"It wasn't as exciting for the fans. It's not as fun for everybody (on the team). I'll always remember Phoenix with (previous coach) Mike (D'Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all."

-Boris Diaw

As perhaps a show of support for Porter, Kerr shipped out two of the most vocal critics of Porter and his ideas: Raja Bell and Boris Diaw. The return, from Charlotte, Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley, were seen as additions that could both revive a bit of the 7SOL fast paced excitement while also adding a scrappy, defensive edge the Suns were lacking.

I'm partial to call this trade a wash. Richardson has shown signs of offensive brilliance and has good size to defend a two. But he needs the ball more to create his rhythm from the field. He simply doesn't get it in Phoenix. Further, what the numbers fail to capture is Richardson's somewhat frail psyche. Dudley on the other hand is young, cheap, and plays both ends of the floor. Diaw continues to play like he did here-INCONSISTENTLY and Raja Bell has played 6 games this season, a shadow of his former self. The only huge problem with this deal as it stands now is Richardson's contract. Maybe Kerr can rectify that soon.

We can criticize Steve Kerr for some of his moves as GM, but we should also consider how he reacts once he realizes he's made a mistake. These go in no particular order:

Fired Terry Porter: That was a good day for many of us. No offense to Terry, but 28-23 and miserable players playing uninspired basketball sucks to watch and be a fan of.
Replaced Porter with player favorite Alvin Gentry-The player's choice who promised to open up the offense. A good day for many of us fans and Suns players
Traded Shaq for buyouts and a draft pick-The experiment didn't work. Shaq clogged the lanes and slowed up Nash from creating. Whispers spoke of a Shaq/Amare fued not to mention Nash's control over the Suns front office. Either way, Shaq had to go. Perhaps the Suns could have gotten more in return, but to rid themselves of O'Neal's presence and contract was worth a slightly dismal return.

Cut to now....This moment, whatever moment we happen to read this: Steve Kerr is now pondering what could be the biggest decision of his career as GM:

What to do with Amare Stoudemire?

Steve Kerr will not let Amare walk away for nothing. It's bad business. Part of GM: 101. If he has no choice but to trade him or let him walk, he must trade. With an aging roster with plenty of holes to fill, picking up young talent, draft pick(s) and creating space to go after some FA talent this off-season must be a priority in any deal. That means conceding the rest of the season. Many Suns fans will be very displeased at the prospect.

Many of us accept the fact that this team as constructed will be lucky to get into the playoffs. Even if the Suns could make a push or at least maintain they aren't going to go far. Yes the revenues generated by playoff sales is a nice bonus, but would it make a significant difference if the Suns didn't have home court advantage or if they went one and out? To the point, what does going to the playoffs actually do for the Suns this season other than keep some of us engaged a bit longer and give others delusions that this team has a chance to do some damage in the WC?

So, I put it to you Suns fans, what do you think of Steve Kerr?

Poll

Should Steve Kerr be Extended as Suns GM?

Yes-he'sguiding the franchise in the right direction

118 votes

No-let him walk

336 votes

Let's wait and see what he does with Amare

372 votes

826 votes | Poll has closed

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats vs. New Orleans Hornets

David Arnott — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:08:51 -0000

Pump Up Music: Rob Base and DJ E Z Rock -- "It Takes Two"

The Big Picture: We're going to miss seeing Chris Paul tonight, which, in the cold-blooded world of a playoff run is a good thing, but for basketball aesthetics is our loss. Paul had surgery on his injured knee, which will keep him out four to six weeks. This will cause the Hornets to lose games they otherwise would have won, no question, but they're not exactly throwing scrubs out there in Paul's place.

Darren Collison is doing what he did all along at UCLA, plugging away in someone else's shadow and mostly forgotten, but getting reasonably good results. In this Year of the Rookie Point Guard, Collison is forgotten, but he's better than a lot of the veteran alternatives floating around out there, like... Jason Hart, who's on a ten-day contract and the Hornets' backup PG. Did I say they weren't exactly throwing scrubs out there? I was right, because Hart is the only scrub, singular, they'll be throwing out there.

Secondly, if Tyson Chandler plays, please let him play only the minutes DeSagana Diop was getting. We do need him back, because he's much better than Diop, but it appears that, for now, an offense-defense platoon of Nazr Mohammed and Chandler would be best.

Key to Victory: The Hornets don't have a top-tier scorer who jumps out off their roster page, but at least with Paul in the lineup, there was an established hierarchy. With David West, apparently, now at the top of that hierarchy, I feel much more comfortable about the Cats' chances, and I'll be interested to see if the back off their trapping against the rookie and scrub PGs. Why? If the offense works because Chris Paul makes it work, and West, Emeka Okafor, Marcus Thornton, and Peja Stojakovic are all miscast as offensive finishers in a traditional offense, then let's see what they do getting fed by a human point guard against a solid half-court defense. Without the aggressive trapping, it will force someone to create, when I think they'd prefer to have more isolation moments.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Just in case you were wondering, Marcus Thornton is Al Thornton's first cousin.

Hart for Tucker+ Swap

wyn — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 22:50:04 -0000

More photos » John Raoux - AP

Browse more photos »

This is the type of deal David Kahn had in mind when he said during his introductory press conference that he'd look to take advantage of teams with poorer financial situations than the Wolves

Via Jerry Zgoda's Twitter account, here's the deal:

Alando Tucker, 2nd rounder in '10 and cash for [Jason] Hart.

For the Suns, it's purely a financial move. They'll likely waive Hart, given that his contract isn't guaranteed until next month. If they did so today, they'd still owe him about $306k. That's $766k less than Tucker's contract and since the Suns are in luxury tax territory, that difference is worth double to them. They did give the Wolves cash to cover the remainder of Tucker's contract (about $675k), but it still means the Suns can save up to $857k on the deal.

That, apparently, is worth losing a 2010 2nd round pick. No word yet on which pick the Suns gave up (they've got picks from Charlotte and Cleveland in addition to their own).

For the Wolves, Kahn and Rambis get a free look at a prospect. The Suns declined Tucker's option for next year, so there's no financial commitment for Minnesota.

There is a small concern with losing Hart in that if Flynn or Sessions goes down with an injury, the Wolves will have to scramble to sign a backup point guard. That shouldn't over-shadow Tucker's acquisition, though.

The 6'6", 200 lb. Tucker is in his 3rd year out of Wisconsin (Badgers, WHAT!) but has seen only 400 minutes of NBA action. His shooting hasn't been great in that time (.422/.294/.783) but with such spotty minutes on a contender, there's not much opportunity to find one's niche/flow/rhythm. He's a Bo Ryan product, though, so his ability to play a team-game and defensive abilities should be welcomed by the Wolves.

The really good news is that Tucker's played well in his D-League time. In 21 games over the last 2 seasons, Tucker posted averages of 28 points, 6 boards, 1.5 steals with percentages .526/.402/.849. Yes, it's the D-Leage. But it's a sign that Tucker has potential.

The Wolves backcourt and perimeter have been shaky to say the least. While Tucker is no surefire upgrade in talent, he'll get a chance to take minutes from Damien Wilkins, Wayne Ellington and Sasha Pavlovic. I vote for Pavlovic, who's with me? Judging by the comments so far today, almost everyone.

Now let's go pick-up Marcus Landry, Kammron Taylor, Joe Krabbenhoft and Brian Butch. Who's with me on that one? Fine, we can sign Spencer Tollackson too.

[UPDATE: Pick and cash details from Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic]

Phoenix traded Tucker and a conditional second-round pick to Minnesota for Jason Hart, a point guard with a non-guaranteed deal that the Suns will waive. Minnesota gets the Suns' second-round pick in the June draft unless it falls in the top 40. In that case, Minnesota would receive the Cleveland second-round pick that is owed to the Suns.

The Suns will pay the remainder of Tucker's $1.07 million salary and give the Timberwolves an additional $100,000. The Suns' savings come from how much less they will be taxed for being over the luxury tax threshold.

Waive Goodbye, Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:42 -0000

More photos » Nam Y. Huh - AP

Go ahead and smile, Derrick Byars. You made the team. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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Today we continue our look at the players waived or, occasionally, kept by NBA teams as the regular season begins. Next up we move into the middle of the country, or as I like to call it, "America's already-bloated snackhole." (I can say that because I live there.) That's right, it's the Central and Southwest Divisions. (Except that I was looking at the wrong division list when I wrote this and it's actually the Northwest Division. Deal with it, America.) And if you're just tuning in, don't forget to check out part 1.

Chicago Bulls

Who got cut: Curtis Stinson, Chris Richard, Steven Hill

Who got kept: Derrick Byars

Forget Stinson and Hill, this really came down to Byars vs. Richard for the last roster spot. And with all due respect to Richard, they made the right call. Richard played okay, although he averaged less than seven points per 36 minutes, and given that the team that already sports Joakim Noah in the frontcourt they really probably can't handle yet another guy who can't produce on offense. Not that Richard unequivocally can't, he just didn't demonstrate that sort of ability in the preseason, which is when he needed to demonstrate it. Byars helps the team in case Deng gets hurt again, or if John Salmons starts creaking (he turns 30 later this year). I won't discuss Byars in great detail here, because you can read this. It probably makes up for the Bulls cutting DeMarcus Nelson, maybe. Stinson and Hill are both probably headed to Europe, though I could see Stinson sticking around the D-League.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Who got cut: Luke Nevill, Andre Barrett, Russell Robinson, Rob Kurz, Darryl Watkins

Who got kept: Coby Karl

See Marge? These guys get it. Karl actually didn't play particularly well in the preseason, but he had a pretty good Summer League with Denver, and he's definitely talented. He's a nice multi-faceted player who can shoot (and make) threes, help distribute the ball, pick up some steals and rebound a little bit. So in other words he's exactly the right kind of guard for Cleveland. He's also worked damn hard, and he deserves another shot at the NBA. It never feels good to get cut (I'm assuming), but it's probably especially hard for Rob Kurz, who was starting for the Warriors just last season. He'd definitely be a prime call-up candidate should he go to the D-League, as he's a 6'9" guy who can make threes, although he could stand to pick up his rebounding and defense. He also profiles well as a Euroleague guy, so he could end up there. Russell Robinson also could pick either option. He played pretty poorly both in Summer League and the preseason, with turnovers being the major problem. Another stint in the D-League could help that, as he averaged just two and a half per 36 minutes for Reno last season. I'll mention again that I haven't been including Jawad Williams in this discussion because he was signed at the end of last season and has a partially-guaranteed deal, so while he theoretically could be waived later on, the team has been somewhat more committed to him than these other guys. I'm somewhat optimistic about Williams's playing time, since at this point he's more capable than J.J. Hickson or Darnell Jackson, but Leon Powe and maybe Jamario Moon are around to take most of the backup forward minutes.

Denver Nuggets

Who got cut: James White, Kurt Looby, Keith Brumbaugh, Dontaye Draper

Who got kept: Joey Graham

Massive disappointment here, although there's nothing personal against Graham. There was just so much hope that this would be White's year in Houston, then the team decided it wouldn't be, then Denver decided it wouldn't be his year for them, either. Looby getting cut isn't a huge surprise, as he's still carpaccio-raw. But, White getting the boot on top of Sonny Weems being sent away is enough to make one question Denver's commitment to ~~Sparkle Motion~~ the D-League. That would be rash, of course, and unfair to Denver who is clearly trying to win soon. Graham's per-36 numbers are almost identical to White's NBA figures, but I guess there's still too much uncertainty over what White can do when there really shouldn't be. He's headed over to Europe now, I assume, since he's said he's done with the D-League, and who can blame him. If an NBA team says they're committed to your development, then semi-promptly gets rid of you, that would be disheartening for anyone.

Detroit Pistons

Who got cut: Maceo Baston

Who got kept: No one.

Sorry, Maceo. Have fun at your House Party. (Admit it, that's not the clip you were expecting.) (Also, note to self: when you get older, shave your head but leave the sideburns and add a mustache.) But hey, here's a crazy idea; the Pistons also waived their second round pick Deron Washington, who's a 6'7" small forward. James White is a 6'7" small forward. WHAT IF THEY'RE ABOUT TO SIGN JAMES WHITE? They're probably not, but they should be. While Austin Daye looked really, really good in Summer League, and Jonas Jerebko could be pretty good, it seems a bit crazy to rely on three rookies (remember DaJuan Summers) as key bench contributors, rebuilding or no rebuilding. And while James White doesn't have that much more NBA experience, he's been around for a few years and he can contribute. Come on, Joe Dumars. LET'S DO THIS.

Indiana Pacers

Who got cut: Rod Benson, Demetris Nichols, Lawrence Roberts

Who got kept: No one.

Rod Benson is probably going back to Europe this year, even though he didn't have the best experience there last season (although being injured didn't help). I'd guess Nichols goes the same route, and both of them are good enough to play in the NBA right now. (Roberts is already over there.) As for the biggest question, whether we'll seee a return of Boom Tho-ness, I have no idea. Personally I wouldn't expect too much except maybe a continuation of his posts over at Ball Don't Lie. If this website were FreeDarko I'd probably launch into a discussion about whether this year's return to (or first crack at) seriousness for Benson and Gilbert Arenas reflects some kind of "down to business" vibe given off by the Obama Administration, but I have neither the time nor the ability to get into that right now. Or who knows, maybe Benson could write a book that would probably be better than Paul Shirley's (which I haven't read, but Benson's a better writer than Shirley so it's pretty much a lock.)

Milwaukee Bucks

Who got cut: Marcus Hubbard, Mark Tyndale, Charles Gaines, Dominic James

Who got kept: No one.

This was bound to happen eventually, but I don't really have much to say about these guys. Hubbard could do with another season or two in the D-League and work on either a.) becoming a proper interior player, or b.) shooting better than .256 on his three-pointers. Because this in-between thing isn't working. Gaines played well for Austin last season, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes, and shot a good percentage with Maccabi Tel Aviv. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this season, but I'm not sure he's close enough to a call-up to make it worth his time. Let's see, what else can I talk about with these guys...uh hey, I think Ersan Ilyasova can be pretty good, but that's not really under the purview of this series. Three or four players likely going over to Europe. Whee.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Who got cut: Jack McClinton, Alonzo Gee, Jared Reiner, Devin Green, Mustafa Shakur

Who got kept: Jason Hart

I don't have much to say about Jason Hart since he's 31 years old now and last played in the D-League eight years ago. This is probably a stale comment by now, and the team waived Antonio Daniels so they haven't gone completely crazy, but what's the deal with Minnesota and point guards? Who are these people? Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one? I've already written about this, but whatever NBA team ends up with McClinton (and there will be one, eventually) is going to love having him, and kick themselves for not having him earlier. Reiner got a raw deal by getting cut right before the game in his hometown, sure. But Nate Jawai is in Minnesota now, and that's something, right? It's at least as much a something as Oleksiy Pecherov being there, certainly.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Who got cut: Michael Ruffin, Tre Kelley, Mike Harris

Who got kept: Ryan Bowen

I saw Kelley play a little bit, and he looked pretty good. He's very quick, and he can get to the basket. Of course, he was being guarded by Curtis Jerrells at that point so take it with a grain of bacon salt. He's almost certainly headed to Europe. Michael Ruffin, eh. I have a sort of personal animus against him through no fault of his, since Eddie Jordan overused him when they were both with the Washington Wizards, but he's already landed on his feet overseas. The question of what Bowen can give the team at this point in his career is a good one, as he's 34 years old and has been pretty inconsistent the last few seasons. I just have to keep telling myself that the Thunder still have D.J. White and Serge Ibaka, and be content with that.

Portland Trail Blazers

Who got cut: Ime Udoka, Jarron Collins, Donell Taylor, Quinton Hosley

Who got kept: No one.

I wonder what will happen to Udoka, as he's probably still good enough to contribute at the back of someone's rotation, but he's also 32 years old and most of the teams that would be interested in him are already full up. He's a solid candidate for a mid-season replacement in case some small forward somewhere gets hurt. He can shoot the three a bit, his rebounding has improved the past few years and he doesn't turn the ball over much.

What, you want me to talk about Jarron Collins?

Utah Jazz

Who got cut: Ronald Dupree, Alexander Johnson, Paul Harris, Spencer Nelson

Who got kept: No one.

Wes Matthews and draft pick Goran Suton aren't really included in this, but in the interest of full disclosure Matthews is in and Suton is out. Suton would be a solid big man in the D-League should he decide to go that route. You're probably expecting me to express disappointment at Dupree being waived, but the fact is that he didn't play well in the preseason. At all. Well, I suppose that's not completely true as he averaged about ten points per 36 minutes, but he's capable of much more than that, and he didn't really contribute much in the way of rebounds, assists or steals. He's really only had one good game, though, against the Clippers when he shot 4-7 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line, and in the rest he shot 5-13 overall. I'd like to see him in the D-League again this year, and maybe if he plays his normal solid, slashing game he'll restore some of his call-up-ability.

More Camp

Stop-n-Pop — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:12:13 -0000

It was night two for yours truly at Wolves training camp. A few thoughts:

Al Jefferson sat out the late scrimmage with two gigantic bags of ice taped to his knees. According to Kurt Rambis, this was simply a precaution for Al's knees and that he had shown no signs of limping or favoring the injured leg. Rambis also said that Al participated in the earlier scrimmage game and was able to practice during the day. Whatever the case, Al looked a little ginger after everything was all said and done.
The 2nd scrimmage saw Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions share the court for a couple of minutes. Not much to report on this front other than that I was witness to a fantastic showing of Small Sample Size Theater against a bunch of training camp reserves. When asked about the amount of time that Flynn and Sessions shared the court together so far, Rambis answered that they have been working together but that it will be a process for them to not force things and simply learn to play together. I'm not really sure what that meant but I nodded anyway.
The last game of the night featured a black team of Jonny Flynn, Ryan Hollins, Ryan Gomes, Ramon Sessions, and Devin Green against a white squad of Corey Brewer, Kevin Love, Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic, and Jason Hart. I have no idea who won as I stopped paying attention to the scoreboard about 23 seconds into the action.
Flynn looked much better tonight than he did during last night's session. He was beyond confident, vocal, and he was able to get pretty much wherever he wanted with the ball.
Flynn and fellow former Syracuse Orangeman Jason Hart seemed to be having a blast guarding eachother. It was pretty obvious that they each wanted to get the best of one another. I would say they went after one another a'la Syracuse Style but it was man d.
Corey Brewer looked great running the floor. I caught up with Fred Hoiberg after the practice and he said that Brewer is in fantastic shape and that fans should look to see great improvement in his transition game. Like I mentioned last night, Brewer is going to have all types of open court opportunities in this new offense. His combination of length, athleticism, and speed is pretty rare and if he can ever develop a moderate handle and a moderate jumper to go along with his athletic gifts, he's going to be a solid pro. It is also pretty obvious that Brewer is going to be a defensive stud. The guy is all over the court. I think he has a fairly legit shot at guarding the 1, 2, and 3...which is a good thing if you are thinking about playing Flynn and Sessions together.
Speaking of my fellow Amesian Fred, NBA rules prevent him from commenting on the guy who supplanted him as the best player from Ames (Harrison Barnes) but he did have several nice things to say about Ryan Gomes and there seems to be a fairly open feeling within the team that this is going to be an important year for a guy who has a non-guaranteed contract that turns guaranteed just after the season ends.
Hoiberg also said that despite the basketball operation cutbacks of other franchises the Wolves will maintain their regional scouts.
The last interesting bit of Hoiberg-related news was that he singled out Jack McClinton and Devin Green as the free agents who have caught his eye in camp. McClinton looked much better during today's scrimage, hitting a few open shots and not looking lost with the ball in his hands. I'm rooting for him to make the squad as I really enjoyed watching him play at Miami and I had a chance to chat him up in Little Rock during the NCAA tourney 2 years ago as I was staying at the same hotel as Miami and Mississippi State. I also heard a lot of nice things about Green from other folks throughout the facility.
David Kahn once again wore shorts.
After getting run over by Ryan Hollins while sitting in the front row during a previous session, Papa Glen caught this practice from about 10 rows up.
Brian Cardinal was in mid-season form in terms of attitude, as he jawed at the refs about their lack of calls. Perhaps the janitor has a strictly pro-union stance and was merely against the scabs that were overseeing the scrimmage. Interesting side-question: Does the Players' Union have solidarity with the refs? Is it something of a dick move if they don't support the refs? Moving on...\
Kevin Love got a brief and mild tongue-lashing/correction from Kurt Rambis about making good passes. Beyond that, Love really showed off his mid-to-long range touch. I can't repeat it enough: Love will be the team's best player this year. He is going to present massive matchup problems and he will put up huge numbers in the gaps of the offense. Even in a short scrimmage, I counted 4 possessions that he kept alive with offensive boards, taps, positioning, etc. He dove after loose balls, made slick passes from the top of the key to wide open outside shooters, and forced the defense to play him honest whenever he had the ball. Best of all, he did something we haven't seen for a long, long, long time with the Wolves: he ate up space in the paint on defense. Throughout the session, Love showed a fantastic ability to absorb contact, remain straight up and down, and alter shots. His lateral movement has clearly improved and he doesn't get caught out of position nearly as much as he used to do. Last year the Wolves had a single functional two-way player: Ryan Gomes. This year I'm pretty confident in saying that they have Gomes, Love, and Sessions.
Speaking of Ramon, he's a cool customer and he should be in the starting lineup on opening day.
The following easily qualifies as one of the weirdest things I have heard in a long time: Billionaire owner to front office employee concerning where they would meet for supper: "Just head on up the hill and take a left at the McDonalds." Say what you will about Papa Glen but the guy still has a fair amount of small town guy in him. As something of a neighbor, the guy has kept it local and pumped a ton of money into the community in which I live. It's a good thing.
Funniest part of being around an NBA team = the number of 40 year-old+ men in tracksuits. It's like a condensed trip to the Jersey shore. If only they could bring an old Camero out onto the court the stereotype would be complete.

Well, that about does it in terms of notable items from practice. I would like to write a few words about blogs and media access before I call it a night...

To put it as simply as possible, Wyn and I do not have the resources to run a truly full-time news operation that covers the Wolves. Between significant others, jobs, and families, this is still a hobby and while we like to think we have passed the legitimacy test in the eyes of the Wolves' excellent PR folks, we simply do not have the manpower or time to do what folks like Jerry Zgoda or Jon Krawczynski do very well: build meaningful behind-the-scene professional relationships with the folks we cover. Actually, that's not completely accurate. Let's throw in a "in a time-sensitive manner" at the end of that sentence. I'm not saying we can't do that sort of thing; it will just take us a lot longer to do so.

Where am I going with all of this?

I understand the importance of verifying legitimacy when working with folks in the new media. My point here is that it is going to take some time for us to build a solid "blog plus" relationship with the team and with the folks on it who we want to get information from. We have started that process and we are grateful to the team for allowing us to do so, but we also want to let our readers know that we still place a big premium on creating content that is focused on opinion, fan-perspective, and as little behind-the-scenes sausage-making as possible. We have made it passed the "dirty blogger" stage but we still have a lot of work to do. We hope you stick with us.

Until later.

Campy

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:49:08 -0000

I had the good fortune of attending the last part of the Wolves' Wednesday night practice session at Bresnan Arena in the Taylor Center at Minnesota State University. I got to catch about an hours worth of action where the team scrimmaged for 2 curtailed quarters. It wasn't the cleanest of practices and you could definitely tell that these were a bunch of guys just learning to play with one another under a new coach but there were a few notable things that I would like to pass on to all y'all:

The scrimmage started out with a white team of Corey Brewer, Jared Reiner, Kevin Love, Ramon Sessions, and Wayne Ellington going up against a black squad of Al Jefferson, Jonny Flynn, Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic, and Ryan Hollins. For those of you keeping track at home, the white team took home braging rights for the night.
Ryan Hollins has a ridiculous combination of length and athleticism. On the down side, it is pretty obvious that he lacks advanced ball skills and is probably not someone you want on the ball for a great deal of time. That being said, the guy is a bundle of energy and even in a scrimmage it was apparent that he is the most athletic big man the Wolves have had in a long, long time. Long time readers of this site know that we have long called for the Wolves to round out their Jefferson/Love frontcourt with a Joakim Noah/Jason Thompson type player and while we'll need to see him in game action, Hollins fits the physical bill and he will be one of the most interesting story lines heading into the season. Oh, I also caught a peak of Tuesday night's scrimmage during which Hollins put down a slam on...well, the entire opposing squad. BTW: Over at the Strib Jerry Zgoda just put up a good article on Hollins and his potential in the front court.
David Kahn likes shorts

One of the most interesting things about watching training camp ball is seeing how hard the free agent invites work to make the team. The most vocal hard worker of the night was former Syracuse guard Jason Hart, who really got after it on defense while being the only guy on the court without a number. The guy wants a roster spot and he's working like hell to get it. Hopefully he can get a number before it's all said and done with.
In a full arena filled with piped-in music, cheerleaders, screaming fans, and a whole host of other noises, it's pretty remarkable to watch an NBA squad from a few rows up in an empty arena. Watching on TV or from the upper level of the Target Center makes it easy to forget just how vocal and physical of a game professional basketball is. It was especially interesting to hear the interaction between the coaching staff and the players. It was also kind of cool to see a coaching staff that includes Hang Time's Coach Fuller, a Detroit Bad Boy, and the guy who wore the best basketball glasses of the 80s. Note to the Wolves' PR staff: every night at the Target Center needs to be 80s night. If Hungry Like the Wolf isn't played at tip off in about a month I'm going to be pissed.
Oleisky Pecherov spent the practice jogging up and down the sidelines and talking to the training staff. He also gave out a big cheer to Sasha Pavlovic when he made a three. Perhaps it is a Eastern European thing.
Jonny Flynn is going to be a very good player but I think he's going to be in for a long rookie season. On several possessions he looked like a seasoned pro; getting to whereever he wanted to go with the ball, making shots, and expertly facilitating action. On others, not so much...to the point where I'm not sure how he could start over Sessions. Assistant coach Dave Wohl spent a lot of time talking to Flynn about his game inbetween plays. Wohl is the 70s bookend to the 80s Rambis/Theus/Laimbeer sandwich (JB Bickerstaff represents the 90s).
A lot has been made of Al Jefferson's lost weight. I'll just say this: it's pretty striking.

Kevin Love also looks like a new man. He hit a few mid-range jumpers as well as a nice corner three. As always, he controled the boards and he appears to have focused on defense over the summer. As many of you already know, I'm pretty high on Love and I think he has the potential to be something of an evolutionary player at the 4/5. With his combination of ball skills, shooting touch, and rebounding, I think he has the rare opportunity to be something we don't often see in the NBA: an upper level role player who is effectively unguardable while operating in the gaps of the offense. I honestly think he sees an All Star game before Al Jefferson. Scrapping, getting opponents out of position, crashing the boards, keeping possessions alive; Love is going to dominate these aspects of the game and the better the Wolves get, the more these things are going to be apparent and matter.
With the new up-tempo offense in place, Corey Brewer is going to have all the chances in the world to prove that he does or does not belong in the NBA. As the weakest offensive link, he will have no shortage of transition opportunities, 3 point shots, and 15-18 foot jump shots in the 1/2 court. The big question for Corey will be this: Does he have a good enough handle to thrive in transition and can he make as close to 40% of his jump shots as possible? He could be the best defender in the Western Conference but if he can't catch a hot pass from Flynn in traffic, dribble effectively in transition, or be a modestly effective jump shooter, he won't be able to balance his net +/- and be of great use to the club. In this context, Brewer was a mixed bag during the scrimmage. His shot looks dramatically better and he has a much more fluid release than last season. When he hit a 15 foot jumper from the corner, he got a big rise out of his teammates. You can really tell guys are pulling for him. He was also very active in transition, using his length and speed to get out well ahead of the defense. On the down side of things, you never know if he's going to cleanly catch a pass in transition and even when he was able to put together a solid drive into the lane he was unable to get to the rim to finish in what you could call a coordinated fashion. I'll say it again: Brewer is going to get a big chance to shine this year. It could work in his favor or it could be quite awkward. Here's hoping for the former.
Ryan Gomes, Ryan Hollins, and Brewer will get all of the open mid-range jump shots they can ask for this year.
Get used to seeing a lot more cuts in the new offense.
I'm pretty sure I heard Jared Reiner tell Al Jefferson to warm up the bus about 20 seconds before the scrimmage ended in Reiner's team's favor. I'm not sure Big Al took too kindly to that.
Papa Glen was in attendance and he looked pretty good for a guy who, according to the newest Forbes list, lost $1.1 billion dollars last year.

Well, that about does it. If my schedule permits it, I'll be back at the Taylor Center for Thursday and Friday night's practices. If there are any questions you want me to ask to the folks on the team, please leave a message in the comments section.

Until later.

Give Me Your Hungry, Your Eager, Your In-Search-Of-A-Roster-Spot

wyn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:21:48 -0000

In case you missed it the other day, the Wolves invited six non-roster players to training camp. These are the guys hoping to make enough of an impression on some team (Wolves, NBA or otherwise) to get paid to play basketball this year.

The Wolves have 14 guaranteed contracts, two of which aren't even at training camp and are most likely to be bought out (to other teams, few scenarios beat waiting until the Wolves buy out Blount and Daniels). That mean's there's a good chance one or two camp invitees to catch on with the team, whether it's a veteran or prospect. With most teams looking to carry only 13 or 14 players this season, expect training camp invitees to push those guys with guaranteed money.

Jason Hart has by far the most NBA experience among all the invitees, having played 8 seasons for 7 teams. The career backup, journeyman point guard averaged 9.5 points on 45% shooting, 5 assists and 1.4 turnovers in his busiest season, but that was five years ago with the Bobcats. There would absolutely be some value in having a steady veteran hand behind Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions at the point, but just how much is debatable since the Wolves will want Flynn and Sessions to get as much learning time as possible. Although it will likely end up being insignificant, Hart has the same alma mater as Flynn (Syracuse, but you should've known that).

Jared Reiner has played spot minutes in 2 NBA regular seasons (even some playoff minutes with Chicago a few years back), but is a fixture in summer camps and training camps. The South Dakota native and Iowa product will give contracted front court players a big body to bang against for camp, but given the number of guards invited the team appears more interested in contracts 13 and/or 14 going to guards and swingmen. That said, Reiner's got lots of NBA practice experience and may be able to help Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Ryan Hollins get their reps in between games this season.

Devin Green is the last invitee with NBA regular season experience, playing for the Lakers in 05/06. No doubt the 6'7" swingman made a good impression on Kurt Rambis, and at the very least has some idea of how Rambis's schemes are taught. After yesterday's scrimmage, Green's experience may prove valuable to the coaches. If he sticks, it won't because of any flashiness as Green is know more for solid fundamentals and defense. He Tweets.

Jack McClinton appears the most likely invitee to make the roster, despite his mediocre Summer League performance. The 6-1 guard is more scorer than distributor, but as an efficient jump-shooter (1.08 PPP) he brings something the Wolves aren't likely to have many of. Even if he ends up spending a bunch of time in the D-League the Spurs draft pick may be worth keeping to see if he can develop into an offensive spark for the Wolves' bench. He also Tweets with a fury and once punched a Buckeye.

Mustafa Shakur was signed by Sacramento in 2007 as an undrafted free agent out of Arizona. After spending a few seasons in Europe, the 6'3" scoring guard was invited to Summer League with the Lakers. He didn't show much in Vegas, despite starting 4 games and averaging 18 minutes. Unless you consider 5.6 points on 39% shooting, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 turnovers as 'much,' which we don't. It's true that success at Summer League doesn't mean anything, but failure there does mean something.

Alonzo Gee rounds out the camp invites and, like McClinton, spent his first Summer League with San Antonio but played only 35 minutes in 5 games. The 6'6" swingman spent four years at Alabama but wasn't drafted this summer. The scouting report from DraftExpress makes it sound like Gee has the body and tools to be a good role player eventually, but time in the D-League might do him some good:

Gee did a good job showing off his strengths here at Portsmouth, playing unselfishly with a high motor and really making good use of his physical tools (measured in at 6‘6.5 in shoes with a 6‘10 wingspan).

Offensively, Gee has shown flashes of skills in all areas for awhile, but he’s yet to put it all together to create a complete package

Q&A with Kevin Pelton

Stop-n-Pop — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:00:16 -0000

If Daryl Morey is, as Bill Simmons calls him, Dork Elvis, Kevin Pelton is Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley. From his statistical analysis primer to APBRMetrics Central to the APBR forum to his current work at Basketball Prospectus Kevin is responsible for a fairly large chunk of what has inspired a great deal of content on this site.

After reading some of his work with fellow SB Nation sites Blazer's Edge and Third Quarter Collapse, I thought I'd contact Kevin to see if he could give us any insight on the current state of the Wolves and he was kind enough to provide the following responses:

1- David Kahn has repeatedly cited the defensive potential of Jonny Flynn as being a primary reason for selecting him over Stephen Curry with the 6th pick in the draft. Unfortunately, Flynn doesn't seem to have a college record that would suggest him becoming a terrific on-the-ball defender in the NBA. Is there anything on his stat sheet that would indicate development into the type of defensive player that Kahn is talking about? Are there any historical precedents for a player in a 2-3 zone putting up similar numbers in college before becoming a solid NBA defender?

I glanced at the numbers for a handful of Syracuse players to come into the NBA the last few years, and I don't see a lot of evidence that playing in a zone held back their numbers. Hakim Warrick ended up a better shot-blocker than you would have predicted based on his college statistics, but he and Carmelo Anthony both underachieved a bit in terms of their steal percentage. As far as guys playing at the top of the zone, the best comparison would be Jason Hart, who was a terrific thief in college (averaging better than three steals per game as a junior) and kept that up in the NBA.

These being defensive stats, a lack of them isn't necessarily damning. Amongst guys with similar college defensive numbers, you find a pretty good defender in Delonte West and a stopper in Kirk Hinrich (who did block more shots in college). What those guys had that Flynn doesn't is height and strong defensive reputations in college. It's hard to find much evidence backing up Kahn's optimism about Flynn's potential at the defensive end.

2- The Wolves currently have a massively unbalanced roster with 9 bigs, 4 points, Corey Brewer and Wayne Ellington. While they appear to be serviceable at the 1 and the 4/5, they are headed towards disaster at the 2/3. What undrafted free agents or cost-conscious veteran free agents would provide value to the Wolves at the 2/3?

The Timberwolves are already ahead of the game with Paul Harris on their summer-league roster as one of the better wings who went undrafted. As you guys have mentioned, Lee Cummard is another undrafted player who would make sense, and I'd add the Marquette duo of Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. As for as veteran free agents, there's not a whole lot out there on the wings. It seems like the best Minnesota can hope for is a reclamation project along the lines of Kirk Snyder and Rodney Carney the last couple of years. Unfortunately, that group includes Carney, Rashad McCants and Gerald Green, guys the Timberwolves have already given a shot. Besides them, you're looking at Morris Almond and Luther Head. The chances of finding a real contributor are low, but then so is the cost.

3- Setting aside any opinion on whether David Kahn is serious or not with his desire to play Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn side-by-side, do you think that this is a duo that could work together at the NBA level?

Yeah, I think it could work. With the modern NBA emphasizing speed over size, I think it's possible to get away with a smaller duo like Flynn and Rubio. The bigger question is whether you're maximizing talent, and that's where a Flynn-Rubio duo would fall short. Ultimately, you're keeping one or both of them from exploiting their ability to create with the ball in their hands if you play them together. That's why people have rightfully criticized the Wolves.

4- One of the biggest arguments against the selection of Jonny Flynn with the 6th pick is that the Wolves left each and every single non-Harden/Evans shooting guard/wing on the board while taking a second point guard. The team then picked up Wayne Ellington at 28 instead of taking players like Jermaine Taylor, Marcus Thornton or Jodie Meeks. Did the Wolves get good value at 28 with Ellington? Was there any shooting guard/wing worth taking at 6 instead of Flynn?

Given the Timberwolves' need for a shooter, I think Ellington was about as good of a value as they could have gotten at 28. I'm not a huge fan of any of the other shooting guards who went early in the second round, and the available small forwards other than maybe Chase Budinger were more 3/4 types, not guys who would space the floor.

I didn't love the wings on the board at pick six either, unless you count Stephen Curry in that group (and even Curry I felt was somewhat overrated). Neither Demar DeRozan nor Gerald Henderson put up strong numbers at the NCAA level, and anyone else would have been a reach. If the Minnesota front office didn't want to take a chance on DeRozan making good on his potential, I don't think you can blame them for that.

END

Thanks again to Kevin Pelton for taking the time to answer a few questions. We encourage our readers to make Basketball Prospectus (especially the Unfiltered blog) a daily stop.

Good Knight

Basketball John — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:56:51 -0000

View full size photo »

The post you've been waiting for all off-season, Brevin Knight.

Outside of Deron Williams re-signing with the the Jazz last summer, there wasn't much going on with the team. A little tweak came last July though when the Jazz swapped PGs with the Clippers.

The much maligned Jason Hart was sent back to LA from whence he came in exchange for the much traveled Brevin Knight.

For whatever reason, Hart never worked well in the Jazz system. That's weird because normally backup PGs have pretty decent seasons under Sloan. But his terrible shot clock management at the end of quarters, not to mention his terrible shot, drew the ire of many Jazz fans.

In comes Brev Brev. The Jazz would be his 9th team having lasted no more than three years with any one team in his 12-year career. It was a welcome trade because he was a solid vet that would compete with Ronnie Price for the backup position to Williams.

Shums was prophetic in his statement:

Seems like a wash

(unrelated, but from the same post comes clarkpojo's foresight )

When Deron went down in the pre-season, Sloan went with Price as the starter and Knight came off the bench. It was more of a platoon though as both averaged right around 20 minutes a game.

Once Deron came back, playing time slowly went to Knight over Price. By the end of the season, it was pretty much all Knight. Even in the months from Dec-Feb when Knight couldn't make a shot, at all, really. He went 0-18 at one point. And these were just normal, mid-range jumpers. Over those three months he put up a barely Mendoza-like .230 going 18/78.

So did we gain anything by trading Hart for Knight? Barely. Personality-wise, good guy-wise, and chemistry-wise we won hands down. As far as the stats go, well, it was pretty much sixes:

Brevin had a slight edge in PPG and he beat Hart pretty handily in assists and FG%. Okay, so we got the better of the deal, but at times during the season it seemed like Hart incarnate out there.

You can see that Price might have been the better option overall especially when the second team seemed to struggle on offense. We saw in the last game of the year against the Lakers what kind of spark Price could give us. Given Price's age, it seems like a no-brainer.

The Brevin Knight era in Utah has likely ended. I could see the Jazz re-signing Price and drafting a PG this summer as well as bringing in some other FA.

So good night, Mr. Knight. Someday you'll be a Jazz trivia question on a desktop calendar. Good luck on your next team:

View Brevin Knight in a larger map

Dontell Jefferson Headed to the Charlotte Bobcats

Scott Schroeder — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:23:23 -0000

UPDATE: I wrote this yesterday, and today, it seems as though the Charlotte Bobcats needed a guard and defense, as they called up RU's favorite point guard, Dontell Jefferson. Currently, Jefferson is averaging 18.6 points, 5.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds, widely known as the best defender in the D-League. I had him ranked as the fourth best player in my D-League call-up rankings, behind current NBAer's Pops Menshah-Bonsu and James White, along with Jawad Williams. This couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Need Defense? Need A Guard? NEED Dontell Jefferson!

With so many teams needing defense or a guard, I decided to help them out. Here is everything you need to know about the man in the D-League best suited to do both!

Dontell Jefferson, a 25 year old 6'5", 195 pound point guard out of Arkansas, has, over the past three seasons, shown why the D-League is such a wonderful opportunity for players to develop their skills. Jefferson played alongside Ronnie Brewer, Steven Hill, and Darian Townes, all with much higher NBA prospects than himself coming out of college. Jefferson however might be the next one to join the NBA, joining former teammates Ronnie Brewer and Steven Hill on the list of teammates with big league experience.

Jefferson came out of Arkansas with sub-par numbers, but a great body for a point guard and the athletic ability to match. As a Razorback, Jefferson averaged under four points in 62 career games, nothing to write home about. However, after being a fifth round draft pick of the Dakota Wizards, he has improved immensely during his three seasons.

During Jefferson's first season, he played behind Maurice Baker, a former NBA call-up himself, and Corey Williams, the AND1 street baller who is better known by the name "Homicide". Still Jefferson was able to average nine points, four assists, and over three rebounds in just 23 minutes per game. With Coach Dave Joerger kind of using a backcourt by committee with both guards handling the ball, Jeffeson was able to get himself in the flow of the game while learning from veteran point guards. "I learned a lot from them. I think one of the big things I learned at first was how to rub my defender off of screens using the pick and roll to get a little bit of separation," Jefferson said. "I also picked up some veteran pointers... Some things defensively that have helped me to improve."

The Wizards won the D-League Championship, and Jefferson was on his way to the NBA Summer League, ready to show the NBA just what they were missing. Unfortunately, after getting an invite from the Miami Heat, he was released before getting into a game. His former Wizards Coach, Dave Joerger, saw ridiculous upside in him though, as he was added to the training camp roster of Joerger's new team, the Memphis Grizzlies, though was once released before seeing any minutes.

Last season, his second in the D-League, Jefferson came in as a starter in Coach Duane Ticknor's system, playing the two-guard alongside Mo Baker. Again, even though Baker started at point guard, both got plenty of action handling the ball. Jefferson averaged 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists, before heading overseas in March to sign with a team in Latvia. "I don't think as many people were talking about me like they are this year, so it came to a point where I had to make a choice for what I thought would put me in a better situation far as life goes not just basketball," Jefferson says. "I enjoyed my Time in Riga, Latvia. The city was beautiful, I had great teammates and I was able to help the team win its first Latvian League Championship, so it was a very good experience."

After returning stateside from his stint overseas, he was headed to Summer League with the LA Clippers, but once again was released before any games were played. The Clippers apparently saw something in him during the short time he was with them though, as they invited him to vets camp this fall. They already had 14 guaranteed contracts and seven other guards on the roster though. Jefferson only played in one game before being released, but he was grateful for the opportunity. "Being able to go against an all-star point guard like Baron Davis, I had no choice but to get better and learn," Jefferson remembered. "There were also other veteran guys like Cuttino Mobley and Jason Hart who would push me in practice and want to see me get better."

Once he was released by the Clippers, he signed on to come back to the D-League. With the Wizards returning three starting-caliber point guards (Jefferson, Baker, and Blake Ahearn), Jefferson was traded to the Utah Flash for Denham Brown. Even though he had spent his first two seasons with the same D-League team, it seems that he took the trade in stride. "Actually, I was surprised when I first heard bout it. But after really thinking about it, I realized that it was the best thing for me. I was just ready to get the season started."

One thing that may have helped was being closer to college teammate Ronnie Brewer. "Ronnie and I are like brothers that come from different famlies, so to speak. We are roomates in the summer time where we both workout back in Arkansas," Jefferson says. "I think he is a big factor in the success I'm having now. To have somebody with his character and support in my corner is a great feeling."

So Ronnie helped, but I bet the weather didn't hurt. "Haha, I haven't had to wear a coat all winter!"

This season, Jefferson is putting up all-star numbers, averaging 18.8 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.9 rebounds along with over a steal per game. When looking at the talent around him, it's surprising he's been able to put up those numbers. Jefferson's teammates this season have included Bill Walker, J.R. Giddens, Kyrylo Fesenko, Ronald Dupree, and James Lang, all of which are either playing in the NBA or have played in the NBA for a considerable amount of time. "I've just been trying to pick their brains to see how the vet's on their teams have played the point in the past, trying to pick up some pointers from them whenever I can."

Yes, I did say All-Star numbers, but for some reason, Jefferson was left off of the D-League All-Star roster. Since I'm clueless as to why this was, I asked Jefferson, but he didn't really know why either: "That is one question I really have no answer for. I thought with my team winning and me having the season I've had so far, that would have helped me be picked, but it didn't work out that way."

I'm assuming between guys currently on NBA rosters and the season-ending injury to Chris Richard, justice will prevail and Jefferson will make it to Phoenix. That is, if he doesn't get a call-up himself before. When I asked one D-League coach who the best defensive point guard was in the D-League, he quickly texted back, "DJ (Jefferson) no question." With Jefferson improving his all around play this season, along with the hard nosed defense, I don't think it'll be long before he gets to the NBA.

Since I don't see why an NBA GM hasn't given him a chance, I asked him to see what he's been hearing. Jefferson told me, "I think, originally, it was a lack of being seen playing the point. I had a good year at the two during my stint with the Wizards, so it was said that i need to be seen playing the point more."

Well, DJ, it seems like you've got that part down. What's next? "Now that I have done that, I think it's just a matter of me being a consistent point guard, making good decisions, playing good defense, and being a leader out there." In the games I've watched, he's got that covered as well. Has the NBA at least been calling? "I let my agent handle that stuff, I just go out and play ball."

Jefferson just goes out and plays ball, but is there a certain team that he might want to play for more than the others? "Well, I think being a basketball player I have to adapt to the situations that I'm put in. I think with any system I'm put in, I will be able to take advantage of it. Once I learn a system and become comfortable with the guys I'm playing with, it becomes a lot easier."

Jefferson is a great guy off the court, a great player on the court, and sounds like he's ready to help any team interested the rest of the season. Now, NBA GM's, you've got the easy job. If you have a spot on your team for a big, athletic, defensive minded, pass first point guard who can play at the off-guard if needed, CALL HIM UP!