SB Nation - Jason Hart

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

Interview with NBA Agent Bill Neff: The Economic Downturn, Affiliations, and the Direction of the D-League (PART 1)

Aisander D — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:00:10 -0000

Recent occurrences in the D-League have made it abundantly clear that we are approaching a difficult time for both the NBA and Developmental League. The financial markets have begun to predicate many of the actions taken by major league and minor league franchises. Bakersfield recently announced their platinum club plan, charging exorbitant prices for D-League games. A quick scan of our transactions list reveals that a lot of well known D-League players are making the jump overseas. Many NBA teams have been cutting staff and signing players very cautiously, in an effort to guard the bottom line. Combined, all of this paints a painful picture, filled with tough decisions ahead.

In order to get a handle on the state of the D-League and the outer forces influencing it, we're going to be interviewing a series of people who can be considered "stakeholders" in the League. GMs, coaches, players, and agents will be the target of this effort, which will essentially try come to some understanding about where the D-League stands in the next year and where we are headed in the future.

Our first interview in the series is with well known agent Bill Neff, who works for Saga Sports and has over 15 years of experience with the CBA, NBA, and D-League. Bill graduated from the University of Michigan in 1980 and has represented mostly minor league players for much of his career. Mr. Neff's current client list includes the likes of well known player/blogger Rod Benson, Gerry McNamara, Jamaal Tatum, Kevin Ollie, Mike Wilks, Jason Hart, and Demetris Nichols. Bill was also representing Mike Taylor when he was the first player drafted from the D-League in the 2008 NBA draft.

Today's post is Part 1 of the interview, followed by Part 2 tomorrow morning.

AD: How long have you been representing players and how long have you been working with the D-League?

Bill Neff: I have been representing players for about 16 years now and have worked with the D League since its inception and the CBA before it. The essence of our firm [Ed. Note: Saga Sports], its DNA, if you will, is minor league players. We believe strongly in it. First, because of the kinds of players we get or try to get, where we do not do anything which violates NCAA or NBPA rules, they will not necessarily get drafted. However, they may be as good as a drafted player but not received the exposure that some of the draftees get. The minor leagues help that. Second, you have to play to get better. Sitting on an NBA bench as a younger guy is a waste of time. See Ramon Sessions. Third, all of my players go through the D League and prior to that, the CBA. It makes them so much better. It is graduate school.

All of my players go through the D League and, prior to that, the CBA. It makes them so much better. It is graduate school.

AD: Generally how have you seen the D-League grow or change over the course of your interactions with the League? What have been some positive and negative changes?

Bill Neff: The D League is a work in progress. Used correctly, it could be a great vehicle, as the Bucks did with a terrific coach in Joey Meyer for Sessions. They were lucky, in that regard. If the NBA sees the D League as an opportunity, it can be that. If you see it as an expense, it is an expense.

If the D League is about development, you can take a late second rounder and turn him into a mid level player. It happened for me with Troy Hudson who, by the way, looks great now that he is healthy. Younger players need to play. If you are like the Jazz and run the same system as the NBA team, that is a good way to go. Or, if you make sure your draft choice goes down and gets to play, it should be helpful.

Or, if you use it to give an incentive for players to come there. For instance, promise the players that they will be on your summer league roster. If you can handle it logistically, attempt to work out with the Players Association, an angle where D League players get practice time benefits, such as money, if they practice with the big club. Add that to the CBA. Tell your Personnel Directors if you find a Kevin Ollie, Mike Wilks or Jason Hart in the minor leagues, we will boost your pay. Have them work like Mark Warkentien (Dahntay Jones) and Carroll Dawson used to with Chucky Brown and Mario Elie and find championship pieces in the minor leagues. They are there.

The problem is too many NBA people look at the NBDL as a lesser place. It is not. Some really good coaches like Phil Jackson and George Karl toiled there [Ed. Note: both coached in the CBA in the mid-80's] and the recent generation of Dave Joerger, now with Memphis, Bryan Gates, now with Sacramento, and Meyer are every bit their equal. The view from the NBA has changed, unfortunately.

In short, the D League has grown because of the assignment aspect of it but it is still hampered by the NBA's/NBDL's lack of creative thinking. Spend a touch more in salaries, which they won't, allow more freedom to go to Europe and you will have a great league. Relax the rules to allow players to choose which team they can go to but what has happened is because of the D League's byzantine rules, you must be very careful when you put your guy into the pool. Also, teams like San Antonio have tinkered with the rules to their advantage. The rules should be simple, allowing for the best players to enter into the League. They do not exist now. Only because I believe in the D League have I pushed my players there. I am in the minority of agents. So, the positive changes are some NBA teams' mild embrace of the league, its greater exposure but the negatives remain which hamper its development: an embrace by the NBA as an equal partner, unclear rules, low salaries, so it will continue to lurch along by fits and starts until it cleans up some of those things.

The problem is too many NBA people look at the NBDL as a lesser place. It is not.

AD: Over the past few seasons, but this season in particular, the global and regional financial outlook has been fairly grim. It's well documented that NBA owners are trimming the pocketbooks and preparing for rough times ahead. How do you think this affects the D-League? Are there fewer opportunities for players to be called up from the D-League, or will NBA teams be seeking more cheap talent than ever?

Bill Neff: The global economy has affected everyone and will affect the D League. There will be fewer callups. I wish it were different. The NBA should be seeking cheap talent but by the way they used the summer leagues and just promote their own players for the most part, they will not be looking to the D League, as they should. They should be encouraging cheap talent. The hybrid teams should attempt to encourage players to come by offering summer league spots but they do not. It is really a waste of a good product to some extent.

Stay tuned for Part 2 with Bill Neff tomorrow morning.

A Look at the Orlando Magic's Third-String Point Guard Options

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:00:10 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

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The Orlando Magic's search for a third-string point guard continues in earnest. The team must fill two roster spots to meet the league minimum of 13 players, and GM Otis Smith only has minimum deals at his disposal. Indeed, the Magic must now go bargain shopping after their early-summer spending spree, which included trading for Vince Carter's $16 million contract, matching Dallas' $5.8 million offer to Marcin Gortat, and splitting the mid-level exception on Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes.

C.J. Watson has the perfect combination of youth (he's 25), skills (a career 39% three-point shooter), and desire (he openly campaigned for the Magic to sign him), but the Magic's current financial state means they can't make him an offer Golden State wouldn't match. It's a bummer. Now, Smith has to dig deep. Remember, the Magic can only offer minimum deals. For comparison, the Magic used the $1.9 million bi-annual exception on Anthony Johnson last summer. Depending on the new point guard's NBA experience--minimum deals are based on years of NBA service--he could stand to make less than half of what Johnson does.

After consulting ESPN's list of this summer's free agents, I've come up with a handful of options, each with his own pros and cons. We'll take a look after the jump.

A brief note on methodology: first, I excluded D-League players, since Smith has never made a D-League call-up since taking over as Magic GM. (Orlando's last D-League call-ups were Desmond Penigar and Britton Johnsen, both in 2003/04). Second, I excluded Jason Hart and Mike Wilks, since their agent told the Orlando Sentinel the team has yet to express an interest in either of them.

I've listed these guys in alphabetical order. You can jump to a specific player's assessment by using the links below:

Carlos Arroyo:

The Good: Despite his less-than-stellar reputation in Orlando, which employed him from the 2006 trading deadline until last summer, Arroyo's a decent NBA point guard. He shot 34.5% on three-pointers in his only year under Stan Van Gundy, and is an above-average passer for a backup.
The Bad: He fell out of favor with Van Gundy late in the 2008 season, which resulted in his appearing in only 4 playoff games, for a total of 30 minutes. Losing the backup job to Keyon Dooling is nothing of which to be ashamed, but the abrupt manner in which it happened suggests that Van Gundy reached the end of his rope with Arroyo fairly quickly. Not much has changed, in terms of the offense, since Arroyo bolted for Israel last summer, which is to say the same challenges he faced two seasons ago are still in place.
The Verdict: Part of me thinks Arroyo would be a solid, safe choice. The other part of me recalls his at times poor decision-making--we're calling Hedo Turkoglu-esque levels of befuddlement here--and wonders if there's really a role for him in Orlando. After being top dog with Maccabi Tel Aviv for a year, would he happily settle into a backup role behind Jameer Nelson? And would Nelson react negatively to Arroyo's waiting in the wings? With Arroyo, there are more questions than answers, which leads me to believe Orlando would do well to look elsewhere.

Head back to the top.

Anthony Carter:

The Good: One of the best distributors and defenders on this list, even at age 34. He's heady and hardworking, and dished 4.7 assists to just 2 turnovers per game off Denver's bench last season. He'd also be willing to play for the minimum, which is the salary he earned last season.
The Bad: Expect to read the following sentiment often in this list - he's a bad three-point shooter, with a career conversion rate of 23.8%. About the best analagy I have for him is that he's like Anthony Johnson, without the range. And yes, it's totally reasonable for that sentence to turn you off a bit. We saw last season, particularly in the playoffs with Rafer Alston running the show, what happens to the Magic's offense when its point guard isn't a three-point threat. Carter, we think, would perhaps make the wiser play and drive the ball, rather than settle for the open trey--and thus play into the opposing defense's hands--as Alston frequently did.
The Verdict: There's something to be said for consistency, and Carter provides that. Orlando could do worse than to sign Carter, and all told he's probably the best option, poor shooting be darned.

Head back to the top.

Juan Dixon:

The Good: It's hard for me to get a read on him. His size (6'03", 164 pounds) indicates he's a point guard, but his career body of work suggests he's more of an off guard. Either way, about the best we can say for Dixon is that he's improved as a passer in each of the last two seasons, with assist rats of 23.3% and 22.7%. He's also a decent three-point shooter, with a career mark of 34.1%, and he shot 41.7% two years ago.
The Bad: Defense. A PER of 20.5 allowed to opposing point guards last season. As it is, his size makes him a liability on that end. Couple that with his declining athleticism--he'll turn 31 in training camp--and you have a small point guard who can't move laterally. A disaster defending the pick-and-roll.
The Verdict: Dixon doesn't bring much to the table, at least as far as the Magic are concerned. He was hardly good enough to take minutes away from Mike James in point guard-depleted Washington last season, which speaks volumes, given how bad James is. As I understand it, though, Dixon is a positive locker-room influence. So he has that in his favor too.

Head back to the top.

Royal Ivey:

The Good: Ivey's billed as a top-notch defensive specialist and a solid third-string point guard. He can also toss in the occasional three-pointer, with a career percentage of 33.6%, which is hardly great.
The Bad: It appears as though Ivey doesn't live up to his reputation. 82games says Ivey didn't even play 1% of Philadelphia's point guard minutes last season. Two years ago, with Milwaukee, he logged 22% of the Bucks' point guard minutes, and yielded a PER of 22.4 on 55.6% eFG%.
The Verdict: We know he isn't much of a passer. And if he's not a great shooter, and if he can't defend, then what does he bring to the table? Very little, which is why Ivey is little more than a last resort for many NBA teams.

Head back to the top.

Bobby Jackson:

The Good: Even after 12 seasons, Jackson has a little bit left in the tank. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game for Sacramento last season. His toughness has earned him respect throughout the league. An added bonus: his defensive rebounding rate of 12.5% would help him ignite fast breaks by himself. For comparison, Mickael Pietrus posted a DRebRate of 10.9% last season. And after spending last season in 17-win Sacramento, I'm sure he'd leap at the chance to join a contending team.
The Bad: It is entirely possible that Jackson's production would plummet. He'll turn 37 in March, and his respectable three-point shooting (35.4% career) took a huge dive last season (30.5%). As I said with Ivey: if he's not shooting, passing, or able to play defense, then there probably isn't a place for him in today's NBA. Then again, even with his poor shooting last season, he posted a Player Efficiency Rating of 12.4. Lowest of his career? Yup. Better than that of Anthony Johnson or Courtney Lee? Also yup.
The Verdict: If Smith is convinced that BJax has another productive season left in him, he'd be a nice addition to the end of Orlando's bench. There's very little risk involved with any minimum-salary player--not to put too fine a point on it, but they're only earning the minimum--but especially little with Jackson, given his track record.

Head back to the top.

Damon Jones:

The Good: An absolute assassin from long-range, Jones has connected on 39% of his triples, and is just one season removed from canning 41.7%. The man was born to shoot. And to wear goofy suits, apparently, but that's another matter.
The Bad: Jones isn't much of a passer or a defender, which would appear to relegate him to situational duty. That's what a third-stringer does anyway, sure, but he's such a defensive liability that coach Stan Van Gundy could ill-afford to play him for more than a few minutes at a time before other teams start running plays designed specifically to attack him. Another issue is Jones' ego, which may not let him accept a third-string role, even for a contender. It's a shame, since Boston's Eddie House has proven that scoring point guards can help championship teams, even if they don't play great defense.
The Verdict: Assuming Van Gundy--who coached Jones in Miami during the 2004/2005 season--could keep Jones' ego in check, he'd be a decent signing. Not great, or even good, but decent. Orlando's offense needs three-point shooting, and Jones can provide that above all else.

Head back to the top.

Brevin Knight:

The Good: Well, he can pass the ball on offense, and the can take it away on defense. His Pure Point Rating--John Hollinger's improved assist-to-turnover ratio stat--of 6.5 last season would have led the Magic.
The Bad: A complete and utter offensive zero. Here's Hollinger on Knight's 2007/08 season:

Knight led the league in the percentage of his shots that were long twos for a second straight season, with his total increasing from 62.0 percent last year to 69.2 percent this year.

Looked at another way, Knight was one of 10 players to take fewer than 30 percent of his shots from inside. The other nine all made at least 96 3-pointers -- Knight didn't make any. Layups and 3-pointers are the game's most rewarding shots, and he couldn't generate either, which helps explain his brutal TS% (which ranked 66th out of the league's 71 point guards).

Knight also rarely created shots -- he had the second lowest usage rate at his position. And while he ranked second in the NBA in assist ratio, it was largely because he couldn't create a shot for himself.

And if he's lost yet another step? Yikes.
The Verdict: If I'm going to discount Jones for being a defensive liability, I must also discount Knight for his offensive shortcomings. The idea of having arguably the best distributing backup point guard in the NBA might entice Otis Smith, but I'm not sure it'd be enough to offset Knight's inability to score. It's not like he's going to get hot from long range one night. In 729 career games--more than 18000 minutes--he's made exactly 16 three-pointers. What it boils down to is a calculated risk. Do you bank on Knight's veteran savvy compensating for his diminished physical skills? Or do you play it safer with another pass-first, shoot-second guard?

Head back to the top.

Tyronn Lue:

The Good: He spent half of last season on the Magic's sidelines, as Orlando acquired him two days after Nelson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Zach McCann says he's a good influence in Orlando's locker room, a sentiment with which I agree. Additionally, the man can shoot: 39.1% on three-pointers for his career, and he's getting better with age, connecting on 45.3% in his last two seasons combined.
The Bad: The Magic must not have seen much in Lue, as they traded for Rafer Alston at the deadline, thus relegating Lue to the end of the bench on most nights.
The Verdict: Apparently, the Magic don't think as highly of Lue as I do, as all signs here point to the Magic's letting him go. It's a shame, because his three-point shooting and intelligent play make him a better third-stringer than most, in my estimation.

Head back to the top.

Ronald "Flip" Murray

The Good: Murray just turned in his best professional season, scoring 12.2 points per game in a reserve role for the Atlanta Hawks. He matched franchise two-guard Joe Johnson in three-point shooting (36%, a career-high) and exceeded him in overall field-goal shooting (44.7%, also a career-high). And although he wasn't much of a playmaker for Atlanta (14% assist rate), he's just one year removed from a 27.5% assist rate in a season he split between Indiana and Detroit. Hooray for versatility.
The Bad: His percentages have "fluke" written all over them. Plus, after a great season in which he earned $1.5 million, he might seek a raise.
The Verdict: For the right price, he might be a decent pickup. Orlando could use some scoring off its bench.

Head back to the top.

Mike Taylor:

The Good: He's young (23) and athletic (dunk of the year). That athleticism helps him get into the lane, where he takes 42% of his shots, converting at a 45.9% clip while also getting blocked 14% of the time.
The Bad: Absolutely, positively, cannot shoot unless it's a layup. 32.5% on threes, 69.1% at the foul line, and a 41.2% mark from the field overall. His turnover rate of 19.4% would have been the worst mark on last year's Magic team by far, worse even than Johnson's 16.4% figure. And his playmaking ability leaves much to be desired.
The Verdict: Were it not for his age, we probably wouldn't even be discussing him right now. There's a chance that, with the proper guidance, he could turn into a fairly decent point guard. However, Orlando is in win-now mode, and doesn't have the time, in my estimation, to try to bring its third-string point guard up to speed.

Head back to the top.

Jamaal Tinsley:

The Good: He's a tremendous passer, with a career Pure Point Rating of 5.9 (Jameer Nelson's is 3.5). If nothing else, he can run an offense. And he's nothing if not in shape, having sat out all of last season as the Indiana Pacers, his then-current employer, banished him from the team and shipped the contents of his locker to his Atlanta home. He and the Pacers recently reached a buyout agreement, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Bad: Stop me if you've heard this before: he's a poor shooter, especially from three-point range. Although people who have seen him swear he's in great shape, sitting an entire year out, at age 31, means he might have some catching up to do in training camp no matter his destination.
The Verdict: If his character issues are indeed behind him--you'll recall his involvement in the 2004 Pacers/Pistons brawl, his participation in a barfight in downtown Indianapolis, and his being the target of a drive-by shooting (which in itself is not a crime)--if he's willing to play for the minimum, and if he's in shape, then he might be the best option on this list. You'll notice, though, the abundance of qualifiers attached to that statement. Smith is a risk-taker, sure, but he's yet to roll the dice by acquiring anyone with Tinsley's sort of reputation, which leads us to believe he won't start now. And he went on the record last year as saying Tinsley wasn't an option then.

Head back to the top.

Jacque Vaughn:

The Good: Vaughn is a tremendous passer with good offensive instincts, with a career assist rate of 24%, including 27.6% last year. And even at his advanced age--he'll turn 35 in February--he's a decent defender.
The Bad: He's coming off a season in which he shot 32% from the field in 292 total minutes. Even before that, he wasn't much of a scoring threat, as he's 8 years removed from his career-high scoring average of 6.6 points per game. The Spurs demoted him in favor of the rookie George Hill, which paid off fairly well.
The Verdict: He fits into the Carter mold as a pass-first, pass-second, shoot-third type. That San Antonio--an organization as worthy of emulation as any other in professional sports--essentially deemed him not worth playing much speaks volumes. Then again, he was last year what he'd be this year: an emergency point guard. He's not a great option for Orlando, but an okay one.

Head back to the top.

Jason Williams:

The Good: He was the starting point guard on the Miami Heat's 2006 championship team. And in spite of his reputation as a poor decision-maker--"too much French pastry," as Dick Vitale might say--he actually takes decent care of the ball.
The Bad: The man has practically nothing left to offer. I defer to Kelly Dwyer for more:

Don't try it, because I'm going to laugh in your face if you try to tell me he can make up for [his poor defense] on the other end, not when he's two years removed from shooting 38.4 percent from the floor. I'd love to see him try one more 45-foot bounce pass before riding off into the sunset, but the Knicks would be well-served to try the D-League first to round out their roster.

He's the most recognizable name on this list, sure. But if you didn't know it were him, but instead only knew that he'd turn 34 in November and that he can't shoot, you probably would dismiss him immediately.
The Verdict: With all that said, he's probably not the worst defender on this list, and is probably one of the better passers. Signing him to be the third-stringer wouldn't be an utter disaster, I don't think, but he's not the most attractive option.

Head back to the top.

It's become readily apparent that Smith won't find a perfect candidate. None of these guys is a home-run, even at a minimum salary. The ones who can shoot don't pass, the ones who can pass can't shoot, and very few of them play defense. Not a great situation, sure. Then again, Orlando's done quite well for itself this summer, and it's hardly the only team looking for point guard help. All Otis needs to do is to sign the one he feels is the best possible fit to a minimum deal. Then he can move on to that 14th roster spot, likely a big man, and call it a summer.

Liberty Links: Veteran point guards

jsams — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:41:25 -0000

Often times a general manger is praised and/or criticized for the "big" players he signs. See: Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Samuel Dalembert. But where would the Sixers have been without the additions of Donny-Ice, Theophilus Ratliff, or Royal Ivey last season?

Ed Stefanski inked Donyell Marshall to a contract worth the veteran's minimum last summer, and not only did Donny-Ice almost single-handedly win four or five games for the Sixers, but tutored the young guys as well. It is safe to say Ed got his monies worth.

Signing a player to the veteran's minimum is always a no-risk, high-reward deal. Sometimes they work out like Donny-Ice, and sometimes they ride the bench the entire season like Kareem Rush.

This summer the Sixers are being very frugal with their cash, and rightfully so. However; it is absolutely essential for them to find a point guard, preferably a veteran, to play alongside Lou and Jrue. Signing the "right" veteran could be huge for the Sixers success, both short-term and long-term. And I don't think Ed can go wrong with any of these no-risk, high-reward guys.

Courtesy Dei Lynam:

Jason Hart

Hart has never been a guy who is careless with the basketball, averaging less than 1 turnover for his career in almost 16 minutes of playing time. He's 31 years old, which would be a nice addition to a young team. Like Royal Ivey did last season, Hart would get after it on the defensive end.

Carlos Arroyo

Arroyo has made 113 NBA starts. He battled with Jameer Nelson for the starting spot in Orlando two seasons ago and could provide the perfect competition for Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday.

Brevin Knight

Five years ago, Knight tied Steve Nash for the NBA's assist leader. He has had his fair share of injuries over the years, with his 80 games played in his rookie season, the highest total of his 12 year career.

Tyronn Lue

But Lue has had a fine career that began with the Lakers, where he won two NBA titles. He had his best years with the Hawks, for whom he started 76 games of the 189 that he played in. Over his career, he has averaged just 3 assists per game - but he's also a 39 percent three point shooter.

Juan Dixon

Juan Dixon is the familiarity free agent. Dixon played for Eddie Jordan in Washington, where he got his NBA start after an outstanding college career at the University of Maryland.

Bobby Jackson

[Jackson] can play either guard position, which would be appealing to the Sixers with Jordan's offensive scheme. He can make a three pointer and he has defensive skills, even at his age.

Luther Head

Head spent the first three-plus years of his NBA career in Houston, before being waived this past February. But in his second year with the Rockets, he shot 44 percent from the three, and averaged 11 points.

I prefer Arroyo, Knight or Hart.

----------

Miscellaneous Links

BDL ranks Andre Miller as the second best restricted free agent, just ahead of Ike Diogu. Yikes.

The Sixers rank 17th in the Hoop Doctors early power rankings.

Brian breaks down where the bigs should play, and for how long.

Chad Ford says the Sixers have had the 26th best off-season.

Ed Stefanski on how the Sixers compare to the rest of the Eastern Conference powerhouses.

"We have to get to where those teams are," Stefanski said. "Right now, they're in the right position as far as playing for championships, and they're adding pieces. We have a plan we're following, and we feel we're heading in the right direction. It's not going to happen overnight."

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.

2000 NBA Draft Second Round Re-draft Part 1

Jon L — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:00:25 -0000

Michael Redd is well known for being a second-round steal from the 2000 draft.

View full size photo »

So it's come to this. The 2000 NBA Draft. The Kenyon Martin draft. The Kenyon Martin-Stromile Swift-Darius Miles-Marcus Fizer draft. Internet expert Wick E. Pedia calls it "the worst draft since the 1986 NBA Draft." FreeDarko wrote about what a black hole this draft was in their Macrophenomenal Almanac. For some reason, unless I hear otherwise, this will be our final look at past second rounds. Remember, this exercise is to try and demonstrate that even "weak" drafts have quality players in them later on, when the deputy commissioner is calling the names. Part 1 is after the jump, but I warn you: don't look directly at it. I recommend one of these.

30. Los Angeles Clippers (original pick - Marko Jaric)

First of all, congratulations to Jaric and his hot wife on their first child. Unfortunately, Jaric won't get to celebrate by being our first pick. Instead, that honor goes to Michael Redd, one of three All-Stars to come out of this draft. The other two are Kenyon Martin and Jamaal Magloire. Let's move on.

31. Dallas Mavericks (original pick - Dan Langhi)

Langhi was traded for Houston's second-round pick, Eduardo Najera. Najera had a few decent years in Dallas and in Denver, so we'll take him here since the Mavericks apparently wanted him so much.

32. Chicago Bulls (original pick - A.J. Guyton)

This was back when playing basketball at Indiana meant something, namely being overrated by NBA front offices. Chicago has three straight picks in this draft (they obviously wanted to get in on all the talent available), so to a certain extent looking for positional fit doesn't matter. Eddie House has become a solid rotation player with the Celtics, even though he's a point guard who can't handle the ball, he's still turned out better than Guyton.

33. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Jake Voskuhl)

Apparently the Bulls front office that year only scouted the NCAA tournament and thought they were done. We know better, though, and will draft Ime Udoka. Even though Udoka's a late bloomer, to say the least (I hadn't realized he's 32 years old), he's developed into a solid wing defender with the Spurs.

34. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Khalid El-Amin)

See what I mean about scouting the NCAA tournament? Also, I'm sure Guyton had a lot of confidence after his competition was drafted two spots after him. We'll do pretty much the same thing to House, though, and draft Eddie Gill. Gill was actually a shooting guard originally, but as we've seen in the D-League, his offense-running skills are better than his three-point shooting, and he'll complement House well.

35. Washington Wizards (original pick - Mike Smith)

Fun fact time! The Wizards already had a player on their roster named Michael Smith. This Wizards roster was a mess. The team had recently traded Chris Webber to the Kings for Mitch Richmond, who was pretty much done (it still hurts to type that). Also featuring Richard Hamiton, Hubert Davis, Cherokee Parks, Christian Laettner, Calvin Booth, and Tyrone Nesby. Chris Whitney! Jahidi White! Popeye Jones! Laron Profit! Basically, WizzNutzz couldn't have existed without this roster. Let's face it, though, anyone we pick here would likely be traded eventually for not doing what Michael Jordan wanted. Point guard is a slight need, so we'll go with Jason Hart, who had a decent year or two with Sacramento.

36. New Jersey Nets (original pick - Soumaila Samake)

Center was a huge need for this team, what with Jim McIlvaine, Jamie Feick, Vladimir Stepania, and Evan Eschmeyer all getting at least a handful of starts. There are only five centers available, though, and unfortunately they don't get much better than Samake. Maybe we can trick the Nets into thinking they drafted Samaki Walker.

37. Miami Heat (original pick - Eddie House)

This is a roster without a completely obvious need. I guess they could've used a backup power forward better than Cedric Ceballos. I'm not sure Dan Langhi is better, but he's available, and he had a solid college career.

38. Houston Rockets (original pick - Eduardo Najera)

Well Najera's gone, as is the guy they traded him for, Langhi. This team definitely could have used some better forwards, and while he's not much of an offensive option, Yakhouba Diawara has become a solid defender.

39. New York Knicks (original pick - Lavor Postell)

This team made the playoffs, and it's a solid roster, though Marcus Camby was their starting center, with Luc Longley and Travis Knight as the backups. Given Camby's injury problems, we'll sigh a deep sigh and draft Jake Voskuhl here.

40. Atlanta Hawks (original pick - Hanno Mottola)

Same deal as Houston, they need an upgrade over Chris Crawford, Roshown McLeod and Cal Bowdler. Mottola wasn't it. And, much like what happened with the Rockets pick, we'll take defense-first Malik Allen.

41. San Antonio Spurs (original pick - Chris Carrawell)

I'll be honest with you, I had no idea who Chris Carrawell was. Apparently he played on the same high school team as Jahidi White and Loren Woods, so...yeah. The Spurs lost in the Western Conference Finals this year, but they were still pretty set for awhile. Igor Rakocevic was/is an intriguing European prospect, though the Spurs did acquire him at one point then released him. Still, he was the Euroleague's leading scorer in 2006-2007, which should count for something.

42. Seattle SuperSonics (original pick - Olumide Oyedeji)

How unsuccessful was Oyedeji? His Youtube mix doesn't even contain video, it's just still pictures. This was a top-heavy Seattle roster with a pretty much uniformly mediocre bench. Into the void steps Marko Jaric. He's not great, but he's an average player who's shown some staying power, and he's pretty much the best available, better than several players we've drafted so far.

43. Milwaukee Bucks (original pick - Michael Redd)

A great pick for the Bucks, obviously, but our job is tougher. A guard was even somewhat of a luxury for them, as they already had Sam Cassell and Ray Allen, plus Rafer Alston. Like Jaric, Brian Cardinal is better than some of the other guys we've drafted so far, so the Bucks will take him.

44. Detroit Pistons (original pick - Brian Cardinal)

It took me a while to figure out the difference between Cardinal and Brian Scalabrine. Cardinal became a frequent trade throw-in, but Detroit already has a lot of forwards. I'm not sure Richie Frahm would've stuck either, but he's become a solid shooter in Europe and the D-League.

Making A List (and Checking It Twice)

Jeff Clark — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:12:11 -0000

More photos » by Thearon Henderson - AP

One Grant Hill please.

Browse more photos »

Here's a very handy list of all the free agents that will be hitting the market in July. They even have a page sorted by position.

Why don't we pool our collective wisdom and start picking some favorites? As you make comments, I can update this list.

So far I've just tried to narrow the list down to guys that interest me and start lumping them into vague groupings.

(r = restricted | eto = early termination option)

We Want You Back!

Glen Davis
Leon Powe

Probably too rich for us:

Jason Kidd
Allen Iverson
Shawn Marion
Mike Bibby
Lamar Odom
Rasheed Wallace
Ron Artest
Ben Gordon
Paul Millsap - r
Carlos Boozer - eto
Hidayet Turkoglu - eto

Will He Take The MLE?

Trevor Ariza
Ramon Sessions - r
Marvin Williams - r
Raymond Felton - r
Charlie Villanueva - r
David Lee - r
Josh Childress - r

Already on the CelticsBlog most wanted list

Grant Hill
Chris Anderson
Marcin Gortat
Antoino McDyess

Hey, he sounds familiar - can he still play?

Andre Miller
Radoslav Nesterovic
Drew Gooden
Bobby Jackson
Chris Wilcox
Jason Collins
Desmond Mason
Joe Smith
Anthony Parker
Zaza Pachulia
Brevin Knight
Jason Hart
Rodney Carney
Juwan Howard
Jacque Vaughn
Quinton Ross
Donyell Marshall
Matt Barnes

He's Tall, That's Worth Something, Right?

Robert Swift - like a bad penny...
Shelden Williams
Jamaal Magloire
Jarron Collins
Calvin Booth
Jake Voskuhl
Michael Ruffin

Been There, Done That (no thanks)

Stephon Marbury
Gerald Green
Darius Miles
Patrick O'Bryant
Theo Ratliff
Wally Szczerbiak
Raef LaFrentz
Justin Reed
Mikki Moore
Chris Mihm

These guys are restricted - so who knows?

Channing Frye
Ike Diogu
Sean May
Rashad McCants
Joey Graham
Hakim Warrick
Nate Robinson
Jarrett Jack
Luther Head
Johan Petro
Linas Kleiza
Aaron Gray
Brandon Bass
Jamario Moon
Carlos Delfino

Who did I miss? What would you change? Talk to me.

(note: I left out most of the ETO guys)

Jason Hart - Gone

Basketball John — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:20:58 -0000

UPDATE: From the Clippers site

"We are glad to have Jason back with us," Baylor said. "He played an important role for us when he was here previously, and we think he will be a valuable component this time as well."

Thanks Elgin!

Link to the Clips Nation thread about the trade.

=================================================================

Wow. I didn't think we would be able to get this done. Jason Hart has been traded back to the Clips for Brevin Knight.

Good move for the Jazz. Hart never could get the offense going. Maybe heading back to LA will allow him to play a bit better in a system he did okay in.

This move also shows that the Jazz FO is basically admitting that the Jason Hart experiment was a disaster. Hart unfortunately never seemed to fit in at Utah from the beginning. He was named the backup PG out of training camp because of Hard Work (TM). But even Hard Work (TM) can't make up for lack of skill.

So in comes Brevin Knight who is on the last year of his deal. He's making $2M (about what Hart was getting). The Jazz will be Knight's 10th team in 12 season! I'd like to be his real estate agent. He's a terrible shooter, but he's a very effective passer. He'll give Price some good competition for the backup spot. It should be Price's job, but it's good to know that if Price goes down, we have a competent replacement.

Knight has worn #22 for most of his career. We already have a #22 (provided he doesn't give it up).

So it's out with one journeyman and in with another. Hart never really seemed to warm up to the fans or to Utah. He wasn't a jerk, but he didn't seem like he wanted to be here. The Jazz must have been the only team that gave him a guaranteed two-year deal. What a waste. We still could have had Dee.

And let's hope this signifies some more moves to come.

Get those Jazz Hart jerseys before they're gone!

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
2007 - Brevin Knight	74	22.6	1.9	4.6	40.4	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.8	1.0	87.3	0.2	1.7	1.9	4.4	1.0	1.4	0.1	2.2	4.6