SB Nation - Eddie Gill

Ridiculous Transactions: 11/9 - 11/15, Plus Trade Analysis

Jon L — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:36 -0000

by Darron Cummings - AP

The Houston Rockets said goodbye to Pops Mensah-Bonsu this week. Frowny face.

A few relatively big moves happened (in our world, at least), but before I get to those, I realized that I never discussed the D-League trades from a few weekends ago at any length, so here we go:

Fort Wayne Mad Ants traded 10 pick (Alade Aminu) to the Erie BayHawks; Erie BayHawks traded Rob Kurz to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants

At least as it stands now, before any games have been played, this looks like a pretty good trade for both sides. Fort Wayne returns Chris Hunter and Sean Sonderleiter in the middle, so as talented as Aminu is the team was already set at center. Sure, Aminu most likely would've been an upgrade over Sonderleiter, Hunter gets the bulk of the minutes there anyway, and since he's a very good D-League center the Mad Ants were able to flip their pick to address other issues. The team also has several other forwards back from last year, but they're mostly defense or rebounding specialists. Rob Kurz should allow the team to stretch the defense a little more, to use that cliche, and because I assume he's going to start, it will be interesting to see if his presence at power forward pushes Anthony Kent to the bench, or whether Kent moves over to the 3 and Ron Howard, last year's starting small forward but 6'5", heads to the backcourt. If the latter is the case, then Kurz's shooting skill will be even more of a necessity as Howard's not much of a shooter (or scorer generally, come to think of it). Fort Wayne also had been angling to get Kurz as a local allocation player because of his time at Notre Dame, so the team is hoping that bringing him in (along with other Notre Dame players) will help them at the gate as well as on the court.

For the Bayhawks, Alade Aminu seemed to be one of the most sought-after players in the draft, at least among teams looking for raw talent. Aminu didn't play a whole lot for Washington's Summer League team, though his defense was alright when he did, and the Miami Heat gave him a look during the preseason. Aminu was a bit turnover-prone in college and needs to develop some post moves (along with some strength), but he's very athletic and handles the ball fairly well for a 6'10" guy. Erie needed a center to replace the departed Erik Daniels, and as I wrote around the draft, bringing in actual centers like Aminu, John Bryant and Jeff Skemp is a step in the right direction. Erie already had some guys sort of like Kurz (Ivan Harris is a three-point shooting forward, Jarvis Gunter is an okay rebounder but doesn't do much else), so they didn't need to duplicate efforts there.

Los Angeles D-Fenders traded Earl Barron to the Iowa Energy; Iowa Energy traded Anthony Tolliver to the Idaho Stampede; Idaho Stampede traded Dar Tucker to the Los Angeles D-Fenders

I've given some brief comments on this one, but to recap, I like this trade for both Idaho and Iowa, but I'm a little baffled by what LA is doing. To elaborate, let's start with Idaho. Last year Bob MacKinnon's Colorado team liked to run, and they led the league in pace. Sure they had Joe Dabbert and Kentrell Gransberry in the middle, but each of those players' proclivity for fouling meant that Josh Davis saw a fair amount of time at center. Anthony Tolliver isn't the same player Davis is, specifically in the area of three-point shooting (Tolliver is okay but not great there), but he's a good passer, a pretty good rebounder and post defender, and he can score a little bit (in the D-League, anyway). Tolliver should be a solid anchor for the Stampede, at least for as long as he's around (he has a history of leaving the D-League either to play in Europe or the NBA).

Iowa-wise, Earl Barron is a solid center with some shot-blocking talent and NBA experience (specifically with Miami). Barron upped his per-36 minute scoring averages and lowered his foul rates every year that he played for the Heat, so he's been improving. He's 28 years old now, though, so this may be his last go-round in the D-League. The Energy drafted a lot of scorers and wing players, and while Tolliver is a good player (see above) he likely would've taken up a lot of possessions that can now be distributed a little more equally.

As for the D-Fenders, it's not that Dar Tucker isn't talented, it's just that his shot selection is shaky. He made less than 30 percent of his three-pointers last year at DePaul, which wouldn't be great even if he hadn't averaged more than six three-point attempts per game. He shot just 39 percent overall, so it's not like he was great inside the arc either. He also averaged more turnovers than assists and can't really go left. Tucker is athletic, does a decent job of getting to the rim and is a decent rebounder, but his offensive game has a lot of negatives. Plus there's the fact that he's a shooting guard, and that LA already has Joe Crawford and Charlie Parker, who are nominally point guards but are more scorers than distributor, Ryan Forehan-Kelly, who's a swingman who can do a lot of things but who also probably got accustomed to having the ball last year, Deron Washington, who's another (more efficient) slasher, and Jeremy Wise, a shooting guard. As for big men, let's see...how does Longar Longar strike you? It's entirely possible that Barron asked for this trade, but as it stands now the D-Fenders have a glut of shooting guards and/or backcourt scoring without a ton of guys who can rebound or defend the post. This team could be really fun to watch, or it could be a horrible mess.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers traded Marcus Hubbard to the Reno Bighorns; Reno Bighorns traded Haminn Quaintance to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Here's the thing about Marcus Hubbard - I make snide comments about his game, but he's a decent player. At least he could be. He certainly has his moments. He's athletic, he can rebound a little bit, he stays out of foul trouble. But, somewhere in his career (it may have been at the beginning, who knows) he started viewing himself as a mid-range/perimeter player, and he's not very good at it. He likes shooting threes, and he's about as good at it as Dar Tucker is. Now that the Rockets are running the show, he really didn't fit what they look for in a big man, so it wasn't a surprise to see him go.

Quaintance, on the other hand, does seem like a Houston-type guy. I don't know much about him, and called him a "three-point shooter" around the draft based on last year's EuroChallenge, but he's actually a power forward who was an excellent defender in college (he was MAC defensive player of the year as a senior) and gets steals blocks as well as blocks, plus he can score a little bit and passes pretty well for his position. Oh, and he's athletic. He profiles very well, so I'm curious as to why Reno gave him up. He likely wouldn't have gotten a ton of minutes behind Boom Tho Rod Benson and non-boom tho Cezary Trybanski, but he could've slid into the lineup in the event of a Benson call-up just as well as Hubbard can.

Moving on to this week's, uh, moves, after the jump...

November 10: James White - signed with Spartak SPB (Russia); Ronald Dupree - signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn (Germany)

Well, White said he wasn't coming back to the D-League, so this is just a guy keeping his promise. Spartak just signed Goran Suton last week, so they have a pretty solid (American) inside-outside combo now. The question becomes whether White will come back next year for Summer League and/or the preseason, or whether he's fed up with the entire enterprise. He may cool off after a year, but if the NBA isn't going to seriously invest in him he may not see the point. Dupree goes to Telekom Baskets, also the current team of former RGV point guard Jared Jordan. He's in a similar position to White (but without the relatively-modest NBA success) in that he's ready to move on with his career. As he said in that interview I linked to yesterday, there comes a point in every player's career (the D-League/marginal NBA players anyway) where he has to seriously consider playing in Europe, essentially for the money. This was a tougher year than most for a lot of these players, but if someone has plans, or has plans to have plans, to settle into some kind of routine, live comfortably, start a family, whatever, as it stands right now the D-League/Summer League/training camp circuit just doesn't provide that.

November 12: Washington Wizards - waived Paul Davis and signed Earl Boykins

My interest in this move (other than as a Wizards fan) is to see what Davis will do. He could make a pretty good salary in Europe, and do pretty well on the court leading to future pretty good salaries, but one doesn't go on the "Millionaire Matchmaker" show and talk about how you're looking for someone to settle down with your millions of dollars if you're then planning on leaving the country. Of course, that was a while ago, and he probably wasn't planning on barely making a roster on a nonguaranteed deal, and playing in the D-League definitely isn't what people on "Millionaire Matchmaker" have in mind (I'm guessing), but I could see Davis sticking around here for a few months and using his Clippers years as a way to get another shot.

November 13: Eddie Gill - signed with Base Oostende (Belgium); Toronto Raptors - waived Quincy Douby

I don't have much to say about Douby being waived, as from my read on the situation his position on the team was already somewhat tenuous even before the team drafted DeMar DeRozan (and, hopefully, traded for Sonny Weems). He could do extremely well in Europe, obviously, but he has enough of a name that another NBA team is likely to take a shot on him at some point (hi Memphis!).

Gill, though, is sort of a big deal because he represents yet another talented, high-profile player (D-League-wise) who the Springfield Armor took in the expansion draft and who won't actually be suiting up for that team. Gill may or may not have been looking to head overseas for awhile, but his leaving right before training camp would seem to put the team in a tight spot. They may not have been counting on him being there, but they didn't really bring in any strong point guards through allocation or the draft, so one would assume that they were. Oh well. This leaves JamesOn Curry as the team's starting point guard, I'm guessing, even though Curry's not much of a distributor.

November 14: Houston Rockets - waived Pops Mensah-Bonsu and assigned Joey Dorsey to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Goodbye, Pops. You were enjoyed. I have no idea if Mensah-Bonsu will return to the D-League, as he's in a similar position to Paul Davis (but without the whole "appearing on TV" thing), and also Earl Barron. Mensah-Bonsu is younger than I thought, but 26 years old is starting to approach the "maybe I should just go to Europe" age. His national team coach Chris Finch is in the D-League now, and with the Rockets' affiliate no less, so he could wait around until they're at the top of the list and join the D-League player pool, at which point he'll do so well (he was a monster for the Toros last year) that the NBA can't keep ignoring him (again).

I also thought Dorsey was older than he is, or at least had been in the NBA long enough not to be eligible for the D-League, but that probably speaks to the fact that I need to brush up on this stuff. Even without Mensah-Bonsu in the picture, frontcourt minutes are scarce in Houston at the moment. Dorsey posted some decent numbers in RGV last year, around 10 points and nine rebounds per game (11 and 11 per-36), but his free-throw shooting was so awful it actually dragged his True Shooting percentage down a fair amount. Dorsey played well in Summer League this year, and I expect him to do very well for the Vipers. Assuming, that is, that he and Kurt Looby find a way to both play in the middle. They'll probably both start, but Vipers fans should probably get used to seeing those guys fighting each other for rebounds.

Turnover at the Top

Jon L — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:44 -0000

Chris Hunter is one of only a few of last season's D-League leaders coming back to the league.

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I've made a few oblique references this offseason to all of the D-League three-point shooters who will be playing overseas this year, and it's true that there will be some unfamiliar faces jacking up perimeter shots next month. But it's actually even more remarkable than I thought. Heres is the list of last year's D-League award winners:

MVP - Courtney Sims
Defensive POY - Brent Petway
Impact POY - Eddie Gill
Rookie of the Year - Othyus Jeffers
Coach of the Year - Quin Snyder
Sportsmanship Award - Will Conroy

Notice anything? With the exception of perhaps Sims, all of the players listed above are playing overseas (and RU's Coach of the Year pick, Bryan Gates, is in the NBA now). True, one of them could come back midseason (and be in the running for the Impact award), but those are still some relatively big names missing. It gets even more drastic than that. Here are the All D-League teams:

First: Blake Ahearn, Will Conroy, Erik Daniels, Courtney Sims, Marcus Williams

I expect Williams to join back up with the Toros, and we're still waiting to see what Sims will do, but Ahearn, Conroy and Daniels are all overseas now.

Second: Derrick Byars, Josh Davis, Chris Hunter, Trey Johnson, James White

Hunter's back in Fort Wayne, but Byars - gone; Davis - gone; Johnson - gone; White - gone.

Third: Lance Allred, Ronald Dupree, Eddie Gill, Dontell Jefferson, Cartier Martin

Jefferson is back with Utah but I would expect a call-up for him at some point this season (the defense is too good). Otherwise, they're all in Europe and elsewhere. And while I won't bother listing all of the honorable mentions, by my count less than half of them are with the D-League again this year.

So what's the point of this? Change, and lots of it. Sure it will be disappointing not to see these talented players, but I prefer to see it as a crisi-tunity. With training camps underway and the regular season starting in just two weeks, a lot of players will have a chance to make their mark on the D-League. Some of them we can probably guess - expect Marcus Williams to tear it up again until he gets called up, Garrett Siler should be one of the best big men in the league and Carlos Powell and Anthony Tolliver should both fill up the box scores. But just as likely is that we can't predict right now who's going to make those 2009-2010 All-D-League teams. It could be someone like Amara Sy, who started his career off promisingly in Europe; or Reggie Williams, who was a smart, crafty scorer in college; heck, it could even be Yaroslav Korolev (it probably won't be Yaroslav Korolev).

All this turnover at the top of the league, talent-wise, is both likely a little daunting for the league and a pretty exciting development for D-League watchers. Teams are busy right now sorting out who can play and who can't, then it will be our turn.

Bob MacKinnon Hired as New Stampede Coach

Jon L — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:00:21 -0000

New Idaho Stampede coach Bob MacKinnon, who won the D-League championship last season with Colorado (via www.nba.com)

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The Idaho Stampede hired Bob MacKinnon as their new coach yesterday, replacing Bryan Gates who is now an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. We briefly looked at MacKinnon's credentials on Saturday, but now that he's been hired a closer look at the work he did last year is probably in order.

If there's one thing the Colorado 14ers did last season, it was run. As the local CBS affiliate's news story notes, the team averaged 120 points a game last year, which is still on the high side even for the uptempo D-League. They relied on a bevy of athletic players including John Lucas, Trey Gilder, Sonny Weems, Dominique Coleman and James Mays as well as dependable veterans like Josh Davis, Eddie Gill and Joe Dabbert, and finished the season first in both pace and offensive rating. Small lineups were not uncommon to see, with Davis at center and Gilder playing power forward alongside three guards. In part this was due to the foul trouble that all three of the centers on Colorado's roster towards the end of the season were foul-prone, but it also made smart use of the team's personnel. The team also had several players leave at various points due either to injury or being called up by the NBA, such as Mays, Cheikh Samb and Sean Williams. As MacKinnon himself noted in this "A Day in the Life" piece, flexibility is a trait he prizes, so he is likely confident in his ability to adapt his style if need be.

Will MacKinnon be able to implement the same style in Idaho? At the risk of asking a question then immediately copping out, I'm not sure. Idaho finished 14th (out of 16 teams) in pace last season, but a few of the players on that roster who may have preferred that pace, such as Nate Jawai or Lance Allred, are no longer around. However, there are some players who may thrive in MacKinnon's offense, such as Coby Karl and Luke Jackson, who won't be back either. Should Mohammed Abukar return, however, I think he'd do well, and he has experience playing at a faster pace from his time in Austin. MacKinnon also will be without the services of lockdown defender Brent Petway, and while Colorado's defense was about average last year (8th in the league), Petway's absence, perhaps in conjunction with MacKinnon's running style, makes it unlikely that the Stampede will repeat as the D-League's best defense.

A few closing comments: one fun aspect of this hire is that the "feud" between MacKinnon and Utah Flash owner Brandt Andersen (which as far as I know may be completely one-sided, which is the best/most hilarious kind of feud) may be kept alive. This also means that Rio Grande Valley is the only D-League team without a head coach in place. Congratulations to MacKinnon on being hired, and to the Idaho Stampede for finding a solid coach for their team.

Expansion Draft Results & Analysis

Jon L — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:00:17 -0000

After cutting down the nets in Colorado, Billy Thomas will be playing for the Maine Red Claws this season.

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While RU had its mock draft on Tuesday, yesterday was the actual expansion draft with the Springfield Armor and Maine Red Claws picking from among the guys who finished last season with either Colorado or Anaheim, both of which are now no more (though Springfield is kinda-sorta the new Anaheim). The teams were actually drafting the D-League rights to these players, not the players themselves, so in some cases the teams were drafting guys who have already signed elsewhere, in the hopes that they're either cut by the NBA or come back from overseas during the season, in which cases the players would join whoever drafted them. A round-by-round list of the picks can be found here, but since there were only two teams drafting I'll just list the final "rosters":

Springfield	Maine
Marcus Campbell	James White
James Mays	Trey Gilder
Eddie Gill	Billy Thomas
Kentrell Gransberry	Noel Felix
Cedric Bozeman	John Lucas III
Jamar Brown	Kedrick Brown
Malick Badiane	Dominique Coleman
Marcus Taylor	Joe Dabbert
Cameron Bennerman	Josh Davis
Kirk Walters	Andre Patterson

Overall, the Red Claws bet heavily on the players I was talking about above, taking James White and Trey Gilder (who both have at least partially-guaranteed NBA contracts) with their first two picks, then followed up later in the draft by taking Dominique Coleman, who's going to play in Belgium, and Joe Dabbert, who's going to be in Korea. If these work out it was a good draft for them, but if not then they'd better hope to get some NBA assignees this season. The Red Claws also were able to pick up Josh Davis in the ninth round, though, which is crazily low, so that was definitely a good pickup.

I really like what Springfield did in the draft, taking up the best center in the draft with the first pick (Campbell*) then surrounding him guys who can score like Bozeman and Mays. They also seemed to have cornered the market on available big men. Felix and Davis are the only two players Maine has right now who can play in the middle. There really were two different philosophies at work here, with the Armor taking guys who can contribute immediately and maybe keep fans coming to games once the novelty of having a new team wears off. Both teams will be filling out their rosters with players from local tryouts, of course, but at this point Springfield seems more ready to start the season.

* Thanks to an alert reader for reminding me that it was Marcus Campbell who was drafted, not Hubbard.

But that's just one man's opinion. What do you, the viewers at home, think?

D-League Expansion Draft Tomorrow; RU Mock Draft Today

Jon L — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:15 -0000

The D-League rights of John Lucas III are available in tomorrow's expansion draft.

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In case you haven't heard, the D-League's Expansion Draft will be held tomorrow, September 2, at 2 p.m. ET. There are only two teams participating, the Maine Red Claws and the Springfield Armor (even though I didn't think the Armor were an expansion team, since they're just the new Anaheim Arsenal), and the list of players available can be found here. It's basically just the players from last year's Anaheim and Colorado rosters. The draft will be done snake-style, where the team with the first pick in the first round has the last pick in the second round, etc., which seems a bit silly with just two teams, but I'm not the one in charge here. The draft will last ten rounds, and Springfield won the coin toss so they're going first.

We thought it would be fun to run a mock draft, so Aisander and I drafted players we thought would be good for the D-League's two newest teams. He had Springfield, I had Maine. At least, he had Springfield until he stopped e-mailing me his picks. We limited our player list to only those who haven't already signed contracts in Europe or the NBA (except in a few instances I'll mention when we get to them) - even though the D-League teams are drafting a player's D-League rights, so for instance if Maine drafts Joe Dabbert he could join the team once the South Korean season ends or he doesn't feel like playing over there anymore. But, we thought this would be a little more interesting, and it also gives us a chance to comment in players who don't get a lot of mentions around here.

Check out the RU Expansion Mock Draft after the jump. All the player comments are mine except where noted.

Round 1

1. Springfield - James Mays, 6'8" F

If I'm Springfield (or any franchise for that matter), I want to make sure I'm getting a quality big man who scores efficiently and can rebound. Mays fits that bill perfectly. He was an absolute beast for the 14ers last year, averaging 19.0 points and just shy of 9.0 rebounds a game. He was one of the more dominant players in the D-League up until he was injured mid-season. And really, his ACL is the only thing that gives me pause. But if James Mays is healthy, then I'm taking him first. -- AD

2. Maine - Cedric Bozeman, 6'6" G/F

I had planned on drafting Mays, who went to Clemson, to try and get Maine's affiliate the Charlotte Bobcats to pay attention to the team even though we're so closely tied with the Celtics. But Bozeman's a good consolation prize. He's a versatile swingman who rebounds well for his position and can distribute the ball a little bit as well, so he's the Maine Red Claws' first pick.

Round 2

3. Maine - Josh Davis, 6'8" F

The versatility theme continues, plus Scott would have a fit if Davis fell any lower than this. Davis is a really solid frontcourt player who can shoot threes, defend, pass and rebound, and he even played some center in Colorado's fast-paced offense last year. With Bozeman and Davis on board, I'm liking the roster already.

4. Springfield - Kedrick Brown, 6'6" G/F

Well I was dying to pick Josh Davis, aka Scott Schroeder's man crush, but lo and behold you've snapped him up. So instead I'm going with a solid NBA-caliber swingman. Brown was originally drafted by the Boston Celtics, but has played the last two seasons with the Arsenal. He's been a solid player, averaging around 15 points and 6 boards a game. Brown is capable of scoring big numbers when he's hot, blowing up for over 30 a few times last season. He's a seasoned vet at this point in his career, which is something any new franchise/coach could use. -- AD

*It should be noted that Brown has signed a contract to play overseas this season, which I didn't realize until I was putting this post together. I'll leave him on Ais's roster as a penalty for his not finishing this thing. I also should tell you that Aisander was responsible for cutting out all of the players who had already signed elsewhere, so it's possible that he was trying to pull a fast one on me.

Round 3

5. Springfield - John Lucas III, 5'11" G

I was going to go with Eddie Gill here, but John Lucas really was solid off the bench for the 14ers last season, stepping it up when Gill was struggling. I like Lucas primarily because he's younger and a little bit quicker. As a point guard, he is a good, not great floor leader, who runs the offense smoothly and shot a blistering 45% from three last year. He's solid as a scoring and passing PG, averaging about 15 points and 4.5 assists last season. I also like Lucas because his assist-to-turnover ratio was 4:1, because hanging onto the ball is an important part of the game, no matter what Will Conroy might tell you. -- AD

6. Maine - Eddie Gill, 6'1" G

Lucas may be younger and quicker, but I like Gill to run the point for my team. It's true that he's had some stints with the New Jersey Nets, who the Armor are affiliated with this year, but I think first-year head coach Austin Ainge will appreciate having a savvy veteran running his offense and getting everyone in the right place. Gill sometimes settles for three-pointers a little too often, but he finished third in the D-League in assists last season both on a per-game and per-season basis, and there's the added bonus of him being a decent midseason call-up option for the Celtics should their search for a backup point guard prove fruitless.

Round 4

7. Maine - Marcus Campbell, 7'0" C

Marcus Campbell, 7'0" C - I guess someone has to draft a center, and Campbell's the best available. He was third in the D-League last year in rebounds per minute (just ahead of Kentrell Gransberry) and he's a decent shotblocker as well. He's 27, so this is probably as good as it gets for Campbell, and he doesn't get to the line quite as often as you'd like your big man to, but he'd give the Red Claws a solid inside game to go with their skilled perimeter players.

8. Springfield - Kentrell Gransberry, 6'9" F/C

Well it's official, the pickings are getting slightly slim. But I'll go ahead and take Gransberry, who is your typically undersized center with some weight issues. But there is some upside with Gransberry. If he can shed some weight and work on his footwork I think he's got a shot at being a decent bench rebounder/garbage scorer. He did not exactly light up the D-League last year, but he's a solid rotation player at this point. -- AD

Round 5

9. Springfield - Billy Thomas, 6'5" G

Thomas is a vet, and will give you some solid play as either a starter or off the bench. And it can never hurt to have a guy with NBA experience and a nice shooting touch. Thomas is not always a consistent scoring threat, but when he's on he can be a great asset to any team. I think he's a nice catch at this point in the draft. -- AD

10. Maine - Marcus Taylor, 6'3" G

Taylor was a high school All-American; that's how far back we have to go with some of the players left in the draft. Taylor played only three games with the Arsenal after signing with them in February, but he scored 28 points in those three games and had some decent per-minute numbers. Hopefully with some more playing time he can serve as a solid 2-guard.

Round 6

11. Maine - Ray Reed, 5'11" G

Reed was a combo guard at Cal State-Fullerton, and while he's been transitioning to more of a straight point guard that versatility may come in handy. He was also supposedly the Titans' best backcourt defender (according to the team's website, which is why I say "supposedly"), which is nice, though with his size I don't expect a ton of that in the D-League. Reed led the Arsenal in assists on a per-minute basis and doesn't turn the ball over too much, so I think he'll be a nice bench player for my Red Claws team. I have to say, I'm really starting to like this team I'm putting together.

12. Springfield - Malick Badiane, 6'10 C

This is where Ais dropped out. Badiane still has a lot of work to do on his game, but I'm not sold on Gransberry as a player who can give a lot of minutes at this point so Springfield needs another center to share time. Hopefully Badiane can continue to develop his athleticism (he'll occasionally spring for double-digit rebounds) into consistent production.

Round 7

13. Springfield - Noel Felix, 6'8" F

In case Badiane doesn't work out or Gransberry can't stay out of foul trouble, Noel Felix should step in as a solid interior defender. He's not a great rebounder, but he can block some shots and his scoring has improved over the last two seasons.

14. Maine - Jamar Brown, 6'9" F

Jamar Brown was the third-string center for the 14ers last season (or maybe fourth-string, depending on whether you call Josh Davis the backup), and he has as much propensity for foul trouble as Gransberry does, but Brown also grabbed more rebounds per-minute last season than guys like Erik Daniels or Jasper Johnson, and the fact that I can draft that kind of rebounding ability this late in the draft shows how much I'm dominating this thing.

Round 8

15. Maine - Andre Patterson, 6'8" F

I was trying to decide between Patterson and Ronald Allen, since the Red Claws as I've drafted them could use someone to fill in at small forward, and their stats are pretty similar. Eerily similar, in fact, at least on a per-minute basis. Patterson has a better field goal shooting percentage, though, so I'll take him. It looks like I win this round as well.

16. Springfield - Geno Carlisle, 6'3" G

Springfield needs a bench scorer and a backup shooting guard, so this is an easy pick. Carlisle doesn't do much besides shoot, and while his .375 three-point shooting percentage is good but not great, it's still pretty decent for the eighth round of an expansion draft.

Round 9

17. Springfield - Ronald Allen, 6'9" F

While I made it seem like taking Patterson over Allen is a big victory, I should reiterate that they're very similar numbers-wise, and Allen got more starts last year. He's inconsistent, but still solid enough to be a contributor for this Springfield team.

18. Maine - Dabo Kabov, 6'5" F

I have no idea what kind of player Kabov is. He played in 10 games for the Arsenal last year and never made more than one field goal, and shot only five total free throws. If there's an upside he also never turned the ball over more than once in a game. But, it was around this time that I realized there weren't enough players to fill out ten rounds, so while Kabov doesn't look like a contributor at this point, I'm sure that Austin Ainge's legendary teaching skills can mold him into a useful player.

Round 10

19. Maine - Dominique Coleman, 6'3" G

Yep, I went ahead and did it. Like I said, I needed to find a few more players, and Ais drafted a guy headed overseas a lot earlier. So the Red Claws will draft Coleman's rights as a longshot in hopes that he doesn't take a liking to Belgium and comes on back to the US. My crush on Coleman's game is well-documented at this point, but in short he can rebound, shoot threes, distribute the ball as needed, pick up some steals, and he made RU's All-Defensive team last year to boot.

20. Springfield - Kirk Walters, 6'11" C

Walters is a center who doesn't rebound particularly well, but Springfield needed another backup big and this is the last pick. Walters has decent size for a center, so despite the fact that he wasn't much of a rebounder at the University of Arizona either, perhaps there's some potential in there that just needs to be tapped into.

Let's review the draft:

Aisander Arsenal	Jon Red Claws
James Mays	Cedric Bozeman
Kedrick Brown	Josh Davis
John Lucas III	Eddie Gill
Kentrell Gransberry	Marcus Campbell
Billy Thomas	Marcus Taylor
Malick Badiane	Ray Reed
Noel Felix	Jamar Brown
Geno Carlisle	Andre Patterson
Ronald Allen	Dabo Kabov
Kirk Walters	Dominique Coleman

I think it's pretty clear who "won" this draft (hint: me). The Arsenal ended up with some talented players like Mays and Lucas and Badiane, but even without Dominique Coleman, I think the Red Claws ended up with a really solid roster, one that would have a chance at seriously competing in the Eastern conference. But we'll see how the real teams do tomorrow.

IC Cold Links: Larry Birds Talks About New Players, Hibbert Skips Broad Ripple

spstevenson — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:48:41 -0000

In what the Indiana Pacers organization refers to as an "advertorial", the team released a statement from Larry Bird regarding the team's future and the additions to the roster he made this summer. The article titled "Passion. Pride. Pacers." is obviously slanted toward the positive as its intended to boost ticket sales, but if you want to hear it from the horses' mouth then here you go.

Bird hypes up rookie Tyler Hansbrough by comparing him to the Legend himself: "He sort of reminds me of when I came out. There was always this skepticism that we wouldn't be able to play in this league against these players. His future is going to be filled with nothing but accolades." I'll assume that he's guaranteeing at least three MVP trophies and three NBA Championships for the former UNC star. I could live with that.

He also hammers home how each new addition to the team this summer has two characteristics: defense and energy. "I like energy guys. I like guys that play hard and get after it on defense because when they come to practice they raise everybody's intensity. As competitive as we were last season, we should be even more so this year and hopefully we'll come up with some more stops in those clutch situations. In Indiana, young kids grow up and play the game the right way. They leave their hearts on the floor and they have a passion for the game. That's the kind of team we're putting together."

Just reading the advertorial makes me want to pick up the phone, upgrade my season tickets and slip in a DVD of Hoosiers. Kidding aside, it's good for Bird to get his (or whoever wrote it) statement out there in the community reminding people what he's building toward and exactly why the team signed players such as Solomon Jones, Dahntay Jones and Earl Watson. Defense. Defense. Defense. More links after the jump.

The Southeast Missourian writes about Hansbrough's recent trip to Poplar Bluff where he was presented with a key to the city. Story includes quotes from Tyler, Pacers coach Jim O'Brien and UNC coach Roy Williams.
Apparently the report that Roy Hibbert would attend and play in the Broad Ripple Summer League series Friday night didn't come true. IndyStar reporter Mike Wells tweeted from the game and noted that Eddie Gill and George Hill showed up, but no Hungry Hungry Hibbert. If any of you went to the game, please provide your thoughts and insights.
Eight Points, Nine Seconds looks at the Pacers cap situation, giving us the information on exactly how much money is left in the bank and which exceptions have been used this summer.
Bill Benner of the Indianapolis Buisness Journal writes about Lucas Oil Stadium and the effect it's had on the Pacers and the rest of the city.
And in other NBA free agent news, the Nuggest have resigned Anthony Carter, Joe Smith signed with the Pacers season-opening opponent Atlanta for the veteran's minimun, and Jason Williams was a "shadow of his former self" in a tryout for Memphis.

IC Cold Links: The Solomon Jones Edition

spstevenson — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:54:36 -0000

No need for too big of an introduction today as the signing of Solomon Jones dominated the Indiana Pacers news waves yesterday. So let's get right to the links so you can get your fill of the newest Pacers member.

Jeff Rabjohns writes about how much Jones loves talking (and hopefully playing) defense. Rabjohns also has an interesting story in the Indianapolis Star today about a new summer league just for NBA players that takes place in Broad Ripple every Friday and Saturday. Players such as Fred Jones, Eddie Gill and Rod Wilmont have participated in the event. It is open to the public.
While the other Indy news networks were too busy covering the U.S. Senior Open yesterday, Fox News showed up to interview Jones about the Pacers rebuilding for the future.
On 1070 The Fan, Dan Dakich talked with Atlanta beat reporter, and former Pacers writer, Sekou Smith about Jones' strong work ethic and great potential for becoming a strong post presence on the Pacers.
Tim Donahue at Eight Points, Nine Seconds put together a great column about waiting for the Pacers to do something big this summer to turn around the team's fortunes. He preaches the virtue of patience. Do I need a prescription for patience or is it over-the-counter? Because I'm about out of it.
Eight Points, Nine Seconds also interviews a member of the Daily Thunder to gain some perspective on new Pacers player Earl Watson.
Since Larry Bird and Danny Ainge can't figure out this complicated sign-and-trade between the Celtics and Pacers, add your input by developing your own trade scenario with SHaFF87's fanpost.
Celtics Blog is wondering when stuff is going to happen with the Daniels trade.
It's only fitting that Jamaal Tinsley is probably going to two of the least favorite teams of Indiana Pacers fans. He met with the Knicks yesterday to feel out their mutual interest in one another, and he's scheduled to meet with Miami soon.
Finally, former Pacer player Ike Diogu signed a contract with the New Orleans Hornets yesterday.

2009 NBA Draft Coverage: In Sam Presti We Trust (Thunder GM)

Mr Pappagiorgio — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:00:21 -0000

As we inch closer and closer to the 2009 NBA Draft, I thought it would be fitting to make very clear of one thing, In Sam Presti We Trust. The moves he's made since joining the organization have been cold and calculated as he attempts to completely rebuild this team, for the long haul, and from the ground up. He hasn't been afraid to trade superstars (Ray Allen), walk away from pricey re-signings (Rashard Lewis), or even walk away from completed trades involving stud players because his future became a little cloudy after Thunder trainers evaluated him (Tyson Chandler). He did all that and more, much more, in just 2 years since being hired by the Sonics. Its a pretty long list that you'll see after you make the jump.

Sam Presti became the General Manager of the Seattle Sonics on June 7, 2007 and since then, not only has he made those tough decisions/big deals listed above, but he's also turned over nearly the entire roster. Just take a look at these names: Ray Allen, Andre Brown, Desmon Farmer, Danny Fortson, Mickael Gelabale, Andreas Glyniadakis, Rashard Lewis, Randy Livingston, Johan Petro, Luke Ridnour, Mo Sene, Chris Wilcox, and Mike Wilks. In addition to those guys, Earl Watson, Nick Collison, and Damien Wilkins were also on the roster when Sam Presti took over the club, however, before the end of the summer, or before the trade deadline next year, its not out of the realm of possibilities for one, two, or even all three of those guys to be moved. Of the three remaining Pre-Presti players, only Nick Collison figures to be around past next year, at least in our estimation.

We've all been exhausting ourselves discussing what the Thunder will do with their #3 pick in next weeks draft, and while all the possibilities are intriguing, one thing we can bank on is that Thunder General Manager Sam Presti will undoubtedly make the smartest move for Oklahoma City with respect towards building this team for the future. He and his staff are looking at all sorts of players, and discussing potential moves with all sorts of teams. By the time the Thunder officially make/trade their pick come draft day, you can trust that the staff will have done their homework, carefully plotted out their move, and figured out the best way to make the most of our draft choice. It could come by using the 3rd pick to select a guy like James Harden (Which we love), Hasheem Thabeet, or even a guy like Tyreke Evens (whom you'll likely be hearing from, fictitiously of course, this week in our continued "My Name Is Series"). Or perhaps it could come by trading that third pick away, possibly with expiring contracts (Earl Watson anyone....please?), or with draft picks, and could be used to add a veteran player from another team in addition to dropping down a few slots and drafting a player like Stephen Curry to help maximize the value of our 3rd overall pick.

Whatever the case, In Sam Presti We Trust, and In Sam Presti You Can Trust. If you don't believe us, just take a look at the entire history of moves he's made since joining the club. Its quite a long list, especially when you consider he only took the job just a little over two years ago, but one thing is for sure, he isn't afraid of wheeling and dealing. So take a few minutes, look over this list, form your opinion about any/all of the moves he's made, and let us know if you Trust in Presti as much as we do.

Also, it's recently been announced that the state of Oklahoma will be releasing a limited edition State specific Nickel for use in the state of Oklahoma only, as part of an advertising campaign to raise awareness about our professional basketball team. The tails side is of course the Thunder logo, but the heads side features our very own Sam Presti, with the words In Sam We Trust. You can see the head side of the Nickel below Presti's transaction history on this post. Of course this is all complete malarkey and isn't actually true, I just had to make something up so that my post header made more sense, or cents. I mean not everybody would have made the connection between In Sam We Trust and In God We Trust which is most commonly found on all forms of American Money. And no, in no way does this post, or post title have anything to do with God or Religion, its just my new catch phrase for anytime someone posts or makes comments in reference to our wunderkind general manager.

Sam Presti's Transaction History (2007-09) Seattle Sonics / Oklahoma City Thunder

(Transaction History From HoopsHype, although any links contained inside stay in the SBNation Network)

TRANSACTIONS:
SEASON 2008-09
March 31 2009 Signed guard Shaun Livingston. March 1 2009 Waived forward Joe Smith. February 20 2009 Waived center Saer Sene. February 19 2009 Traded forward Chris Wilcox to the New York Knicks for forward Malik Rose and cash. Traded a conditional 2009 first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for guard Thabo Sefolosha. February 17 2009 Traded forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to forward DeVon Hardin to the New Orleans Hornets for center Tyson Chandler. The trade was voided the following day. January 7 2009 Traded center Johan Petro and a second-round pick to the Denver Nuggets for guard Chucky Atkins. December 31 2008 Signed center Nenad Krstic. December 30 2008 Waived center Steven Hill. December 22 2008 Signed center Nenad Krstic to an offer sheet. November 22 2008 Fired head coach PJ Carlesimo and assistant coach Paul Westhead and named Scott Brooks interim head coach. November 4 2008 Signed center Steven Hill. November 3 2008 Waived guard John Lucas. October 21 2008 Waived forward Derrick Byars and center Chris Alexander. October 16 2008 Exercised the contract options on forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green through 2009-10. September 29 2008 Signed guard John Lucas, forward Derrick Byars and center Chris Alexander. September 11 2008 Re-signed center Robert Swift. August 27 2008 Signed guard Kyle Weaver. August 20 2008 Waived forward Donyell Marshall. August 13 2008 Traded guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard Desmond Mason from the Milwaukee Bucks and forward Joe Smith from the Cleveland Cavaliers. August 11 2008 Traded a second-round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for the draft rights to guard Kyle Weaver. July 18 2008 Signed guard CJ Miles to an offer sheet. July 4 2008 Signed guard Russell Westbrook and forward DJ White. June 28 2008 Tendered a qualifying offer to forward Robert Swift. Draft 2008 Selected guard Russell Westbrook (4th overall pick), forwards Serge Ibaka (24th overall pick) and Walter Sharpe (32nd overall pick) and centers Trent Plaisted (46th overall pick), Devon Hardin (50th overall pick) and Sasha Kaun (56th overall pick). Traded the draft rights to forward Walter Sharpe and center Trent Plaisted to the Detroit Pistons for the draft rights to forward DJ White; traded the draft rights to center Sasha Kaun to the Cleveland Cavaliers for cash. May 8 2008 Named Troy Weaver assistant general manager.
SEASON 2007-08
April 13 2008 Signed forward Ronald Dupree for the remainder of the season. April 3 2008 Signed forward Ronald Dupree to a 10-day contract. March 24 2008 Signed guard Eddie Gill to a 10-day contract. March 11 2008 Signed guard Mike Wilks to a second 10-day contract. February 29 2008 Signed guard Mike Wilks to a 10-day contract and waived forward Ira Newble. February 21 2008 Traded guards Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forwards Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble and forward Adrian Griffin from the Chicago Bulls; waived guard Brent Barry. February 20 2008 Traded forward Kurt Thomas to the San Antonio Spurs for guard Brent Barry, center Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round pick. October 26 2007 Exercised the contract options of centers Johan Petro and Saer Sene through 2008-09. October 22 2007 Waived guard Jermaine Jackson. October 1 2007 Signed guard Jermaine Jackson. September 27 2007 Named Paul Westhead assistant coach. August 29 2007 Named Bill Branch director of pro player personnel and Gerald Madkins and Frank Ross scouts. August 23 2007 Named Scott Brooks, Mark Bryant and Ralph Lewis assistant coaches and Brian Keefe player development assistant. July 20 2007 Traded a future conditional second-round pick and cash to the Phoenix Suns for forward Kurt Thomas and the first-round picks of 2008 and 2010. July 11 2007 Signed forward Rashard Lewis and traded him to the Orlando Magic for a conditional second-round pick and cash. July 5 2007 Named PJ Carlesimo head coach. July 4 2007 Signed forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Draft 2007 Selected forwards Kevin Durant (2nd overall pick) and Carl Landry (31st overall pick overall pick), center Glen Davis (35th overall pick). June 28 2007 Traded guard Ray Allen and the 35th overall pick to the Boston Celtics for guards Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and the 5th overall pick.

Like this post? 2009 NBA Draft Coverage: Hello, My Name is series (Click on a player card to view article)

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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.

Q&A: Ridiculous Upside (Part 2 of 3)

Atma Brother ONE — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:15:10 -0000

If you thought we were ridiculous in Part 1 wait till you see what we've got here.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): In relative terms how good are the teams in the NBDL? Where would they finish in the NCAA tourney?

Ridiculous Scott (Ridiculous Upside): North Carolina was pretty good this season, and I'm not sure the best D-League team could beat them. Not in terms of talent, as there were more talented teams, but it's difficult to get any sort of roster continuity in the D-League, as they only carry 10 players, and thus, if a player isn't doing what he's supposed to be doing, he's going to get cut (this includes injuries as well). If a D-League team was together for three seasons, they'd be head and shoulders above any NCAA Team. The Colorado 14ers, this season's D-League champions, started Josh Davis (52 NBA games), Eddie Gill (187 NBA games) and Billy Thomas (53 NBA games), bringing John Lucas (60 NBA games) and Nuggets Rookie Sonny Weems off the bench. In January, Sean Williams (Nets) and Cheikh Samb were also assigned to Colorado. I would have no qualms taking them all the way in my bracket, though that doesn't mean much, as my wallet would tell you after this seasons Madness that happened in March.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): In your estimation is it better to send a young player who is riding the pine in the Big Leagues (ahem, Patrick O'Bryant) down to the Minors for "development" or keep him practicing with his NBA team? What can young NBA players gain from playing in the NBDL that they can't from practicing with their respective teams?

Ridiculous Scott (Ridiculous Upside): In my opinion, I'd prefer players to play in the D-League rather than riding the pine, and not just so the millions of GSoMer's start to read RU. Getting in NBA practices is great, but toward mid-season, NBA teams aren't regularly practicing, leading to the bench warmers basically turning into donut getters. In the D-League, players can gain confidence and, more importantly, real live playing time. Guys can learn a lot in practice, but executing in game situations is a whole 'nother ball game.

Atma Brother #1 (Golden State of Mind): Which D-League players in particular should NBA junkies be following closely? Who are we foolishly sleeping on right now? More specifically the biggest weaknesses on the 2008-2009 Golden State Warriors were passing and defense. Are there any hidden gems in the NBDL that can help the Dubs out in these areas?

Ridiculous Scott (Ridiculous Upside): Actually, the Warriors apparently nearly called-up Othyus Jeffers, who was, in our opinion, the best defensive player in the D-League this season (number 4 here). Other great defenders include, at the SF, Brent Petway (probably best remembered for winning the NCAA dunk contest), F/C Kurt Looby (rookie out of Iowa that averaged 2.5 blocks in 25 minutes per game), SF Renaldo Major (former GSW call-up) and PG Dontell Jefferson, if he isn't re-signed by Charlotte. As far as passing, options include Walker Russell or Jared Jordan. Both are short point guards, which I've learned you guys aren't interested in judging from the comments on my mock draft, but that's about all the D-League has to offer in terms of pure point guards.

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Can you believe we still have some more ridiculous in the pipeline? Don't forget to stop on by Ridiculous Upside for all your 2k9 NBA Draft needs.

Poll

Would Patrick O'Bryant be a much better player if the Warriors didn't send him down the D-League several times?

YES: The Notorious P.O.B. would be a much better player if he wasn't sent down

65 votes

NO: He's a bust, moving on...

365 votes

430 votes | Poll has closed