SB Nation - Devin Green

Waive Goodbye, Part 2

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

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

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.

Wolves make cuts

Stop-n-Pop — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:18:47 -0000

From the team's press release:

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has requested waivers on guards Devin Green and Mustafa Shakur. The preseason roster now stands at 14 players.

Green and Shakur both signed with the Wolves as free agents on Sept. 28, 2009. Green grabbed one rebound and blocked one shot in five minutes during his lone preseason appearance. Shakur saw action in two preseason games, averaging 2.5 points in 5.5 minutes.

An updated preseason roster is attached. (Updated Wolves Roster...pdf)

Your Last Bit of Camp

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:28:46 -0000

It was a pretty uneventful evening scrimmage last night. The team looked a little tired and I'm pretty sure everybody in the building would have rather been somewhere else...like at Oktoberfest in New Ulm. A few items of note:

Ramon Sessions is a pretty good perimeter defender. Perhaps my saying this is simply a matter of perspective, as last year's team featured one of the worst group of perimeter defenders in recent NBA memory, but the guy has really gotten at it out there and if Corey Brewer can find enough of an offensive game to stay on the court, the Wolves can trot out a defensive backcourt that is miles beyond anything they had last year. Of course, the problem here is that neither Sessions or Brewer can shoot for you-know-what from the outside, but that's a question for another day.
In the comment section of yesterday's post I was asked what my starting lineup would be at this point. It would be Sessions, Brewer, Sasha Pavlovic, Kevin Love, and Al Jefferson. That being said, it will be interesting to see if Jonny Flynn gets the start from the beginning of the year. Sessions is the best guard and point on this team. My lineup would give the Wolves a team with decent size on the wing, the best defenders on the squad, rebounding, and a fair amount of league experience. We'll see what happens. Pavlovic vs. Ryan Gomes is close and is going to be a pretty interesting dynamic going forward.
Speaking of Mr. Gomes, he has looked pretty good putting the ball on the floor so far in camp. One of the big things I have noticed about the team's new Triangle-esque offense is that the weakside forward is going to need to be able to hit the open jumper of the swing pass or be able to take advantage of a rotating defense by putting the ball on the deck and heading towards the hoop. I think Gomes is going to get a stiff test on this front from Pavlovic. Sasha has some talent and a much better shot than Gomes. The kicker here is that Pavlovic is on a one-year contract while Gomes is operating on a non-guaranteed deal until 6/30/10. Both of these guys are, in a sense, playing for their next contract. Both of them are going to fulfill a similar role in the offense. Here's hoping that something good comes out of this competition.
Whatever happens with Pavlovic or Gomes, I think the early line on the Wolves cashing in their chips in the 2010 offseason for a wing player is a good one. My early bet is that Brewer is kept around to play either the 2 or the 3 and that Kahn finds the best player he can to fill in the other starting spot.
Camp favorite Devin Green spent the 2nd scrimmage on the trainer's table with a pack of ice on his left hamstring. Here's hoping it's nothing serious.
Jack McClinton is probably not a guy who can hold down the 3rd point guard spot. He just doesn't look that comfortable on the ball while initiating the offense or bringing the ball up the court and he appears to be a shooting specialist stuck in a point guard's body.
David Kahn once again wore shorts.
Papa Glen was nowhere to be seen.
Grown men once again wore all sorts of tracksuits.
Oleksiy Pecherov has graduated from 1/2-assed "sprints" up and down the sideline to sprints (quotations removed) up the Besnan Arena stairs.

Well folks, that about does it. Yours truly is off to Oktoberfest today and due to some prior plans I will be unable to attend tomorrow night's preseason game right here in my backyard of Mankato. If anyone out there is going to the game, feel free to put up a FanPost about your experience.

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.

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

Vegas Summer League Recap: Day 9

Jon L — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:00:30 -0000

Curtis Stinson running the point for the D-League Select team.

View full size photo »

Denver Nuggets 94, D-League Select 90

Jasper Johnson led the Select team with 21 points on 7-13 shooting. He shot 3-7 on threes, which means he actually shot 66 percent inside the arc. He also had four rebounds. Kurt Looby still has some work to do on the offensive end, as he shot 3-7 from the field and 4-7 from the free-throw line, but he also had 11 rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes. Only one rebound and one turnover, too, which is a positive. Gary Forbes has played very well the last few games, and yesterday he finished with a solid line of 19 points on 5-9 shooting, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Coleman Collins didn't have a great shooting night (3-8), but he had seven rebounds in just under 17 minutes.

One could argue, though, that with so many D-League players on Denver's roster this was a win for them anyway. Ronald Dupree was excellent for the Nuggets team, shooting 10-15 and scoring 23 points, with four rebounds and only one turnover. Coby Karl wasn't bad in Orlando, but to me it feels like he's improved since then, or at least put together some all-around solid games. Yesterday was one of those, as he shot 5-9 and added nine rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Richard Hendrix played only six minutes (anyone out there know why?), but he had four rebounds in those six minutes along with four points.

The rest of the games are after the jump.

New Orleans Hornets 100, Minnesota Timberwolves 96

Anthony Tolliver shot 100 percent in this game. For serious. He made all of his threes, all of the rest of his field goals and all of his free throws. Yet another Anthony (in addition to Randolph and Morrow) who's had a scoring achievement in Vegas. He ended the game with 20 points on five shots, four rebounds and two assists. Jonny Flynn's been playing well for awhile, and he had 24 points on 10 shots, including shooting 4-5 from behind the arc, and he had four rebounds and four assists, though also six turnovers. Julian Wright had a solid game with 19 points on 12 shots, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Darren Collison also played well, with 18 points on eight shots (in a little under 16 minutes), though he only picked up one assist. Devin Green didn't have a great shooting night, going 2-5 (for seven points), but he had six rebounds in 20 and a half minutes, which is decent for a guard.

Washington Wizards 74, Los Angeles Clippers 64

JaVale McGee was fantastic in this game, particularly on defense against DeAndre Jordan. McGee never bit on pump fakes and ended up with seven blocks, along with 19 points on 9-11 shooting, though only four rebounds. Dominic McGuire did most of the rebounding for the Wizards with 11, and he added three steals, two assists and a block of his own. Blake Griffin's final line looks okay, with 19 points on 16 shots, 10 rebounds and four steals, though Washington essentially made it their business to stop him, and Griffin got most of his points in transition and off of broken plays. Nik Caner-Medley played fairly well once again (it's happened a few times in Vegas), with 13 points on eight shots, eight rebounds two steals and a block. Nick Young had an okay day, with 19 points on 14 shots, though he made only two of his eight three-pointers

Chicago Bulls 90, New York Knicks 84

Brandon Costner had a good game off the bench, with 21 points on 11 shots, including going 3-5 from behind the arc, and he had three rebounds as well. DeMarcus Nelson had a nice game of his own 14 points on 5-8 shooting, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jordan Hill has struggled with his shot in Summer League, but yesterday he straightened it out somewhat and scored 14 points on eight shots,. He had nine rebounds and two blocks as well, but also nine fouls. Nikoloz Tskitishvili had a game that was mostly positive, with 14 points on eight shots, seven rebounds and two blocks, though he also missed all four of his three-pointers. Ron Howard had a rough game a few days ago, though his scoring improved in this one with 11 points on seven shots.

Memphis Grizzlies 97, Phoenix Suns 60

Sam Young's had an up-and-down Summer League, but he was up yesterday with 20 points on 7-12 shooting. Trey Gilder had a nice game, shooting 4-5 for 10 points and grabbing four rebounds in 16 and a half minutes. Hamed Haddadi grabbed six rebounds in 10 minutes. Goran Dragic hasn't been very consistent, and some have even said that Zabian Dowdell may have made a case to usurp his backup role once the season starts (though Dowdell hasn't shot the ball particularly well), but yesterday Dragic had 17 points on 6-11 shooting. Only two assists, though. Marcus Williams didn't have a great game scoring-wise, though he picked up nine assists and six rebounds. Jiri Hubalek came down to earth a little bit from the other day shooting-wise, though he did have seven rebounds in 17 minutes. Erik Daniels finally got some Summer League run, and he shot 2-3 for four points with three rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes.

Portland Trail Blazers 91, San Antonio Spurs 74

Jeff Pendergraph ended the game with 14 points on six shots, 10 rebounds and three assists, and he played fairly solid defense throughout, particularly on DeJuan Blair. Blair, by the way, grabbed 11 rebounds in 25 and a half minutes, though he shot only 6-16. Pooh Jeter played solidly again, with 19 points on 8-13 shooting, four assists, three rebounds and only one turnover. Jerryd Bayless had 18 points on nine shots and five assists, though he also turned the ball over seven times. San Antonio's problem in this game (or one of them, anyway) was that they didn't share the ball. George Hill's three assists were a team high.

Dallas Mavericks 73, Oklahoma City Thunder 54

Roddy Beaubois hasn't played very well the last few games for Dallas, but he bounced back yesterday with 23 points on 9-12 shooting, including 4-6 on threes. Ahmad Nivins shot a perfect 4-4 from the field and added a free throw for nine points, and he also had four rebounds and two blocks. Oklahoma City has been scuffling in Vegas. I believe it may be fatigue from playing in both Summer Leagues (and the absence of Russell Westbrook), but I haven't been watching the games so there may be something else going on. They had only two players score in double figures yesterday. The best performance on the team was probably DeVon Hardin's, with 10 points on four shots, eight assists, two steals, an assist and a rebound.

NBA Summer League Rosters Taking Shape

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2009 ORLANDO SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTERS

Boston Celtics

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

Indiana Pacers

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

Philadelphia 76ers/ New Jersey Nets

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

Oklahoma City Thunder

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

Orlando Magic

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

Utah Jazz

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

2009 VEGAS SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTERS

Chicago Bulls

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

Cleveland Cavaliers

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

Dallas Mavericks

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

Detroit Pistons

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

Denver Nuggets

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

Golden State Warriors

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

Houston Rockets

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

Los Angeles Clippers

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

Los Angeles Lakers

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

Milwaukee Bucks

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

Minnesota Timberwolves

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

Memphis Grizzlies

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

New Orleans Hornets

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

New York Knicks

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

Oklahoma City Thunder

Phoenix Suns

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

Portland Trail Blazers

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

Sacramento Kings

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

San Antonio Spurs

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

Toronto Raptors

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

Washington Wizards

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

NBA D-League Select

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

2005 NBA Draft Second Round Re-draft: Part 2

Jon L — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:00:13 -0000

Dwayne Jones went undrafted in 2005. You can bet that we're not letting that happen again.

View full size photo »

We're back for another day of re-drafting the 2005 second round. As part 1 showed, there were some quality players available who were either drafted lower than they should have been (Monta Ellis, arguably Andray Blatche) or not at all. If there's a theme I picked up on, it's that it's definitely possible to find quality players all throughout the second round. All you need is a little luck and a good scouting department (hindsight doesn't hurt, either, nor does an honest assessment of roster needs even with the 55th pick).

The takeaway from this should be that while the 2005 draft is currently regarded as fairly weak, and I don't necessarily disagree with that assessment, "weak" can still equal NBA players. Here in part 2 we're working the back half of the second round, and while it may not be as star-studded as part 1, there are still some quality players to be found. See you after the jump.

46. Indiana Pacers (original pick - Erazem Lorbek)

As you've seen, there were a lot of European players taken this year that either didn't come over to the NBA at all or only stayed for a short time. Lorbek has some skills, but if the Pacers were looking for a center who needed to develop for a few years, might I suggest Martynas Andriuskevicius? It may seem like an odd pick, but if Andrius. (yes, I abbreviated it; you write that name twice in a row) hadn't been punched in the head by Awvee Storey, it's possible the Pacers could've drafted the next Rik Smits.

47. Minnesota Timberwolves (original pick - Bracey Wright)

Wright was a three-point shooter coming out of Indiana University, but the Timberwolves were lousy with guards that year, including current D-Leaguer Richie Frahm (and also Marcus Banks. I told you they were lousy). The only centers they had on their roster were Michael Olowokandi and Mark Blount. We're also running out of quality centers. Fortunately Dwayne Jones is still available.

48. Seattle Supersonics (original pick - Mikael Gelabale)

Gelabale had his career sidetracked by an ACL injury and by playing behind Rashard Lewis and Kevin Durant, but he was an interesting prospect when he was drafted. Seattle's backup point guard that year were was Mateen Cleaves, so maybe they should have looked in that direction. My pick is Roko Ukic

49. Washington Wizards (original pick - Andray Blatche)

This was the Wizards' only pick in the 2005 draft, and they did pretty well with it. After a few off-court incidents his first few seasons, Blatche has developed into a solid, if occasionally bone-headed, front-court player. Coach Eddie Jordan had/has a strange affinity for weak veterans, so Michael Ruffin and Etan Thomas both got more playing time that year than they should have. The Wizards were a little thin at shooting guard, though (sorry Billy Thomas), so Ronnie Price is right. (I'm so, so sorry)

50. Boston Celtics (original pick - Ryan Gomes)

Gomes was another decent player who got put in a situation where he had a lot of guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Boston's guards that year? Tony Allen, Delonte West, Ricky Davis, Orien Greene, Marcus Banks (yes, again. Again. Again.) and Dan Dickau. The Celtics would eventually trade for Ray Allen and draft Rajon Rondo, but for now I think we can safely call that an "area of need." The Celtics take Devin Green, who saw time at both guard spots for the LA D-Fenders before heading to Europe. He's not always efficient, but he's solid enough and has some rebounding ability as well.

51. Utah Jazz (original pick - Robert Whaley)

Another repeat drafter. Utah continued its love affair with ineffective centers, though in Whaley's case his struggles came off the court. I don't think Ryan Gomes would've fallen far, though, and he posted some decent rebound rates his first few years in the league. His work ethic would've appealed to Jerry Sloan as well.

52. Denver Nuggets (original pick - Axel Hervelle)

If this was a Sports Guy column I'd make a Beverly Hills Cop joke, but it's not, so let's just all sit here quietly. In all seriousness, Hervelle was the first Belgian player drafted by an NBA team. Unfortunately, there still has not been a Belgian player who's actually played in the NBA. Since Denver was looking at forwards, we'll give them Josh Powell, who has turned into a solid bench contributor in Los Angeles after a stint where? That's right, the D-League. You could flip the Gomes and Powell picks and I'd probably be okay with it.

53. Boston Celtics (original pick - Orien Greene)

We've established that Boston needed guards, even after drafting Green and even if we include Greene (that's not confusing at all). We're at the bottom of the second round now, though, where it's slim pickings. Travis Diener had a good college career playing next to Dwyane Wade (and even on his own after Wade graduated), and Diener would fit in well in Boston. You know why.

54. New York Knicks (original pick - Dijon Thompson)

If this was a Sports Guy column I'd make a mustard joke, but it's not, so let's just all sit here quietly. Again. Thompson ended up being traded to Phoenix and then assigned to the D-League, where he averaged 20 points a game before needing microfracture surgery on his right knee. He was mentioned as a solid option earlier, so I'll draft Mikael Gelabale while the Knicks hopes his ACL holds up better this time.

55. Seattle Supersonics (original pick - Lawrence Roberts)

If the Knicks hadn't snagged Gelabale I would've taken him here. It might be a bit of a reach, but I think Roger Powell would have been worth a look. Powell bounced around for a year before ending up in the D-League in 2006, where he lead the league averaging about 22 points a game. He's also not a bad rebounder.

56. Detroit Pistons (original pick - Amir Johnson)

There's not really anyone of Johnson's caliber left, and again, Detroit's frontcourt was pretty full. One guy I like is Turkish guard Cenk Akyol. He never left Europe, and he's not very quick, but he's a pretty creative scorer. Why his highlight reel includes footage of him missing free throws is a question I can't answer.

57. Phoenix Suns (original pick - Marcin Gortat)

Erazem Lorbek has some solid offensive skills, including a nice mid-range shot. That sounds exactly like Mike D'Antoni's Suns, doesn't it? Lorbek is pretty slow, though, and pretty poor defensively, even for Mike D'Antoni. But it's pick number 57, what do you expect? The added benefit is that the Suns could've kept him in Europe for a year or two and not have to pay him for awhile (I believe this was the start of Phoenix's refusal to keep any draft picks out of money concerns).

58. Toronto Raptors (original pick - Uros Slokar)

Toronto went point guard earlier with Will Bynum, but I don't think Orien Greene is out of the question here. He and Bynum could have formed a nice offense-defense backup tandem and again, Toronto didn't need forwards.

59. Atlanta Hawks (original pick - Cenk Akyol)

The Hawks' guards that year were Joe Johnson, and, well, Tony Delk, Tyronn Lue, Royal Ivey, should I keep going? Because I could keep going. Anthony Grundy. It's a good thing the Hawks drafted a point guard...in...the...first...oh well. We're just about fresh out of guards, though, unless you think Daniel Ewing is worth Atlanta's time. Either Akyol or Devin Green would've been decent picks here, but they're both off the board. I'll pick Alex Acker, somewhat grudgingly, because while he was/is pretty talented, he's bounced around a little bit in part because of a tendency to coast, a tendency that was known before the draft. Still, talent is talent, and this is the second-to-last pick in the draft. Acker was considered somewhat of a triple-double threat, which along with Johnson would've given Atlanta a formidable backcourt.

60. Detroit Pistons (original pick - Alex Acker)

We've finally come to the end. Two parts and 30 picks. Well, 29 picks, this is the 30th. Uros Slokar is available, and even though he only lasted about 20 games with the Raptors, he has some skills. He's a good passer, and while he wasn't considered a great shooter in 2005, his mechanics are solid, the kind that can easily lead to improvement. Detroit had enough big men at that time that they could draft Slokar and let him develop a little more and add some muscle, and maybe turn into the player they thought Darko Milicic would be.

We've come to the end now. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see more of these second round re-drafts.

Poll

Which second round should we re-draft next?

2000 (Michael Redd draft)

2 votes

2001 (Gilbert Arenas draft)

6 votes

2002 (the, uh, Carlos Boozer draft)

12 votes

2003 (Maciej Lampe draft)

11 votes

31 votes | Poll has closed