SB Nation - Kosta Koufos

Utah Jazz Halloween Pics

Basketball John — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:19:11 -0000

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UPDATE FROM CJ's FB Pic

Korver - Zach Morris

CJ - Kanye

Ronnie P - Taylor Swift

Wes Matthews - Hancock

Fess - Beetle Juice

Kosta - Harry Potter

Maynor - Batman

Ronnie B - Wolf

Millsap - T-Pain

Deron - Bob from Martin (Wikipedia),

Bob: A white man who worked in the marketing department of Gina's company who is best described as a stereotypical surfer-dude-cum-redneck. He spoke in a Southern Californian accent mixed with a Southern twang and often used words like "dude" and "man" even in professional settings. Lawrence achieved his appearance as this character with stage make-up and a prosthetic nose attachment to make him appear white, as well as wearing a long, blond mullet wig to complete the look. He only appeared in the first two seasons.

More pics after the jump...

(orig)

So we have Korver as ...? CJ as Kanye and Fesenko as Beetle Juice.

And we have this pic of Kosta Koufos as Harry Potter

Any guesses on the rest of them? Ronnie P? Deron???? Wes Matthews? Millsap in the wolf/grandmother clothing? Is that suppose to be Lil Wayne? And is that white face?

Looking at some of the other pics on Facebook, it looks like Maynor is Batman and Millsap is Lil Wayne. Can't tell if Brewer is the Wolf then.

That has to be Deron and Ronnie P up front, right?

Here's Fess up close,

And one more

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:47:49 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

2 months ago: Los Angeles Clippers forward Craig Smith, center, goes after a loose ball ball as Utah Jazz center Kyrylo Fesenko, left, and center Kosta Koufos look on during the first half of their preseason NBA basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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Sorry this is late getting up, folks. My computer started making a loud noise as I was writing it last night, which I took to mean "turn off the computer now." But anyway, I also attended last night's Spurs vs. Thunder game, which was played in Austin but which was considered a Thunder home game. It was very odd, and I can only guess that they did it because Kevin Durant went to UT, and they thought people would root for Oklahoma City just because of that. I saw maybe one OKC jersey, the rest were all silver and black. Or maybe they just didn't care and wanted the gate money, which is fine. Whatever the case, it got me ready for the season to start so that I can write about games after watching them, and not just write "so-and-so grabbed three rebounds in three minutes." Not that you shouldn't read that if I write it.

San Antonio Spurs 119, Oklahoma City Thunder 102

So let's talk about this one first. Most of what I saw has to do with players this website doesn't really care about, so I won't bore you with them here, but Shaun Livingston, Curtis Jerrells, Tre Kelley and Malik Hairston all got some playing time, and they looked okay to varying degrees. Livingston had a hard time keeping up with George Hill, but he was decent on the offensive end (he finished with four points on 2-4 shooting). Jerrells played pretty good defense when matched up against Livingston, but his biggest issue was fighting through and/or getting around screens. The Thunder ran him threw several of them and he got lost on all of them. Tre Kelley also was able to take him off the dribble several times, and Kelley made both of his field goals, which came getting to the basket for layups or dunks. Hairston probably played the best of the group, though he took a few minutes to settle down. He made two of his three shots, picked up an assist and generally looked good within the flow of the Spurs offense.

Utah Jazz 108, Portland Trailblazers 97

Kyrylo Fesenko had a solid game, with eight points (though it came on eight shots), six rebounds and three blocks...except he also fouled out in 13 minutes and turned the ball over four times. Oh Kyrylo. Kosta Koufos gave the Jazz the solid rebounding and no turnovers but also no offense. Five boards in a little over 14 minutes and zero points. Oh Kouf. Ime Udoka was okay, 11 points on 3-7 shooting in 16 and a half minutes, although he didn't have any of the rebounding or assists/steals that he'll probably need to regularly produce in order to make the team.

Charlotte Bobcats 94, Milwaukee Bucks 87

Dontell Jefferson didn't have a great night last night, 0-2 shooting with two turnovers in six minutes, but the big story was Raja Bell spraining his wrist. Now, I never root for guys to get hurt, because I'm not a monster. But certainly the opportunity is now there for Jefferson to get more playing time as a lockdown backcourt defender, particularly on a Larry Brown-coached team, and I hope he's able to take advantage of it.

New York Knicks 108, Boston Celtics 103

All J.R. Giddens does is rebound. 0-3 shooting in a little over eight minutes, but he also grabbed five rebounds, including four on the offensive end (who knows how many of those were off his own misses). I have no idea what it's going to take to get him to find a passable offensive game on the NBA level, but if he's given a shot in the NBA I think he could be the greatest rebounding guard ever.

Denver Nuggets 129, Minnesota Timberwolves 100

Jared Reiner finally got some playing time, and while the offense wasn't good (two points on three shots), the rest of it was decent, as he grabbed three rebounds and picked up an assist in eight minutes. No fouls, either.

2009-2010 Season Preview - Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:16:18 -0000

More photos » by Daniel Ochoa de Olza - AP

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First, thanks to Jeff at CelticsBlog for coordinating all this and setting it up.

Team Name: Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Record: 48-34

Key Losses: Golden State at home (4/11), Minnesota at home (4/3), Morris Almond, Jarron Collins (key?), and soon to be Matt Harpring

Key Additions: Eric Maynor (drafted), Wes Matthews(?), Deron Max + AK Max + Opt Ins + Portland Hosing = Luxury Tax

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

The Jazz were in wait-and-see mode all off-season. They had three players, Kyle Korver, Mehmet Okur, and Carlos Boozer that could have opted-out. In the end, all of them ended up opting in for various reasons.

Korver decided that the This is The Place Heritage Park reminded him of his home state of Iowa too much to leave.

Okur decided that launching threes in the thin mountain air while making $10M per wasn't such a bad proposition.

And of course Boozer, he who was opting out and getting a raise, regardless. Then, as young people who try to move out of their parents' house find out, things are not as easy financially as they seem. Having no suitors willing to give him a raise with a long-term deal, Boozer opted back in and then went on his nationwide tour of radio stations to drum up interest for a trade.

When that didn't pan out, Boozer headed back to Jazz camp and has so far kept quiet.

The Jazz also didn't make an offer up front for Paul Millsap, though he was their number one priority to re-sign over the summer. They were content to let the market set the price. Due to market conditions, the Jazz were poised to re-sign Millsap for much less than the $8-9M he was looking for. After OKC, one of the last teams with cap space, apparently dropped out of the bidding, it looked like the Jazz were home free. And they would have got a big break too if it hadn't been for those darn kids up north. Portland made a large front-loaded offer for Millsap that looks like it was designed more to adversely impact the Jazz than it was to sign Paul.

The Jazz made two draft picks with Eric Maynor in the first round from VCU and Goran Suton from Michigan State in the second.

Maynor projects to be a third-string backup to Deron Williams and Ronnie Price.

Suton probably would have been signed in any other year, but with the Jazz already over the luxury tax and having enough big men, he will probably not be offered a contract.

Should the Jazz sign anyone else, it would be either Wes Matthews or Ronald Dupree. With CJ Miles out the first 6 weeks or so and Matt Hapring already in the studio, the Jazz are in need of another wing player. Right now, Matthews is the favorite to get the job.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Jazz still have one of the best offenses in the league. Three seasons ago when they went to the WCF, they had the third-best offensive rating. The year after that they were first in that same category. And last season, with injuries littering the Salt Lake valley, they were still a respectable 8th.

While it comes at a very, very high cost (almost $50 M), the Jazz have one of the best front-courts in the league in Okur, Boozer, Millsap, and Andrei Kirilenko. That gives you three former All-stars and at least half of them play respectable D.

As for the logjam at PF, if and when Boozer gets traded, it looks like Sloan will find a way to play both him and Millsap 30+ minutes. There has been some experimentation with Paul at the SF in the pre-season. He won't play significant minutes in that spot, but in some matchups, he could be there. Also, Kirilenko can play SF, PF, and even some C. Millsap and Boozer playing together, mass hysteria.

What I think will be the biggest strength for the Jazz this year is the team chemistry. Most of these guys came into the league around the same time. They've all played with each other for around 3-4 years. They know each other. Whether it's only words, the team has said they've moved on from the Boozer distraction. While I don't have anything to back it up, I believe locker room conflicts was a big cause of the team's stumble down the stretch last season. What I'm hoping to see is the the familiarity and cohesiveness helps eliminate in part some of the team's weaknesses.

And Energy Solutions Arena will be a perennial stronghold for the Jazz

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

I'm not sure that they're any different from last year's preview.

Let's start with the defense again. The Jazz were actually a bit above average last year in defensive rating. Where the Jazz are bothered on defense is length on the inside. They'll clean the glass with the best of them, but most big men can get whatever shot they would like off down low. This comes as being a bit undersized against a lot of opponents This is where the development of Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko, the two seven-footers, would be beneficial. The Jazz also have the propensity of not getting back on D quickly and giving up easy points after a made bucket or drive by one of the guards.

For what it's worth, every other word out of all the players' mouths so far this season has been "defense". It may not be lip service this year.

Second on the list is the inability to win on the road. This has been a problem the last three seasons. Just breaking even on the road the past couple of years would have earned them a two seed two years ago and 53 wins last season.

This is where the next weakness comes in. There was a lack of mental toughness or focus last year, particularly on the road. A good example of this was the Orlando game after a crushing 3 OT loss to Miami the night before. It wouldn't have mattered if the Orlando game was two days later, the blow from that loss, being on the road, and being the second game of a B2B, there was no way the Jazz were going to even compete in that game, let alone win.

They may not have won against a very good Orlando team anyway, but even if Vegas gave them 30 points, I still would have wagered against the Jazz. The late season collapse had more to do with a mental breakdown than anything else. Inexcusable losses at home to the Warriors NBDL team and to the Wolves sealed the team's fate as the 8th seed in the West.

With each of players a little older and hopefully more mature, perhaps we can expect a more focused team this season.

Finally, for the Jazz to be taken seriously, they need to acquire a two-guard that can hit a three and create his own shot. I think Ronnie Brewer is fantastic, but I don't know if his jumper will ever come around. He' would be a great three, but when Kobe can sag 10-15 feet from you, there are problems. The Jazz as a team don't shoot the three well. The top teams shot nearly 40% while the Jazz had just one player (Okur, 44.6%) shoot at least that. That should go up this season.

4. What are the goals for this team?

I'm glad that most previews have the Jazz finishing at the bottom of West this season. Last year they were supposedly the dark house and that didn't turn out so well. According to Hollinger in prior playoffs, they should have gone to the finals. Whenever the team has been counted out is when they've surprised people. So that bodes well.

This is a team that has won 51, 54, and 48 games the last three seasons. For the most part, it's been the same team each year. Last year I had projected that they would win 56 games prior to Deron Williams' injury. Who knew that his pre-season ankle sprain was merely a precursor to the injur-plagued season the Jazz would suffer. There's no doubt that all of the injuries contributed to at least 2-4 losses.

This is the same team that's been here the last three seasons. For good or bad, that's what it is. So when everyone is healthy, there's no reason that this team shouldn't win 50-55 games. Heaven help us (and the league) if they figure out how to win on the road.

Should the Jazz be able to trade Boozer for a true shooting guard and get some expiring deals as well, Kevin O'Connor could be Executive of the Year.

We should see the Jazz challenge the Nuggets and Trail Blazers for the Northwest Division title.

5. Does Andrei Kirilenko need a hair intervention?

I mean, how can he be Ivan Drago with the flat hair?

Projected Finish: 52-30

Check out TBJ's preview as well.

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

8 months ago: Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum, right, has his shot blocked by Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi, of Iran, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 12, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

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So yesterday, as you'll see, wasn't really the best day to recap. A lot of teams without D-Leaguers played, and a lot of D-Leaguers who did play didn't do all that well. Oh, and Dontell Jefferson played just two seconds. What's that about?

Dallas Mavericks 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 82

Cleveland is to be commended for inviting several D-Leaguers to play for them, unfortunately with the exception of Jawad Williams they're not playing all that well. Rob Kurz grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot in about 15 and a half minutes last night, which isn't great for a 6'9" guy but is decent for someone who spends most of his time on the perimeter. Going 0-3 on three-pointers, though, isn't all that great for a three-point shooter. Russell Robinson got the start and played 41 and a half minutes, and while the eight assists are a positive, combining them with five turnovers and 3-11 shooting really isn't. Coby Karl grabbed five rebounds, but also shot 1-7. This paragraph depresses the hell out of me.

UPDATE: Apparently Coby Karl was one of the Cleveland players who had/has the flu, so his performance is somewhat understandable and I'll maybe stop being so hard on him. Unfortunately when it comes to nonguaranteed guys, NBA teams don't usually care whether a poor shooting night is because of illness or not, so his chances aren't necessarily any better.

LA Clippers 103, Utah Jazz 96

So remember the other night when Kosta Koufos played okay and Kyrylo Fesenko struggled? Well flip those. I guess Koufos wasn't that terrible, as he picked up three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block, but he also had all three of his field goal attempts blocked. Yikes. Fesenko was certainly better on the offensive end than he was the other night, scoring four points on 2-3 shooting with a block and an assist in eight minutes. Keep in mind that for both of these guys you're not going to see an offensive explosion, but if they can keep the rebounding up and maybe cut down on getting their own shots rejected they can be useful to the Jazz.

Memphis Grizzlies 115, Detroit Pistons 95

Hamed Haddadi had three blocks in three minutes, because that's what he does. And not really much else.

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:24:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Young - AP

2 months ago: Houston Rockets' Pops Mensah-Bonsu, left, scores over Toronto Raptors' Rasho Nesterovic during second-half NBA preseason basketball game action in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Chris Young)

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Houston Rockets 124, Toronto Raptors 112

Pops Mensah-Bonsu had a huge game off the bench for the Rockets, with 17 points on 8-9 shooting, seven rebounds and five blocks in 23 and a half minutes. It's probably not just optimism that makes me say that Mensah-Bonsu has a solid shot at becoming Houston's backup center this year, as the only other two guys who can play the position are Luis Scola, who's really more of a power forward, and David Andersen, who's talented but also new to the system and to the NBA (he fouled out in 22 and a half minutes). M-B's a bit undersized to play in the middle, true, but that matters less in Houston than with any other team. The lack of a consistent offensive game is what's held Mensah-Bonsu in the past, and one game certainly isn't evidence that it's suddenly shown up, but I do like his chances. Sonny Weems wasn't great for Toronto, scoring 11 points on nine shots, but he was bothered by his foot a little bit and also picked up three rebounds and a steal.

Utah Jazz 99, Portland Trail Blazers 96

Ime Udoka hasn't played much this preseason, but he had a pretty good game last night with five points on three shots, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in 19 and a half minutes. Utah's former D-Leaguers were more of a mixed bag (which makes sense, since there were, well, more of them). On one side there was Kosta Koufos who made his only shot, grabbed two rebounds and had a block, and while his per-minute numbers aren't great (he played just nine, and eight rebounds-per-36 is okay but not fantastic), both rebounds were on the offensive end, so that's nice. On the other side is Kyrylo Fesenko, who picked up four fouls and turned the ball over three times in his 11 minutes of action, though he did also have a pair of blocks.

Miami Heat 97, New Orleans Hornets

The Heat were in control for almost the entire game, and surprise surprise New Orleans' lack of any real bench scoring was one reason why. Rookie Marcus Thornton should help, but I remain puzzled as to why a team with such a smart, capable GM hasn't brought in any cheap help in over the last year. The team reported has liked Courtney Sims in the past, for instance, and he could've helped them out in both the scoring and big man departments. Maybe there are some stories I'm not privy to, or maybe they just don't consider the D-League, and bring in guys like Luke Nevill and Earl Barron and Larry Owens instead. If all of this seems off-topic it's because no one this website cares about played much. The aforementioned Barron played a little over four minutes and had two points and zero rebounds. John Lucas played two and a half minutes and scored four points on 1-1 shooting and going 2-2 from the free throw line, but once again Carlos Arroyo got the big backup PG minutes. Wheeeeeee.

Dallas Mavericks 113, Detroit Pistons 88

Nate Jawai played a little under eight minutes in this one, and the result was, well, Jawai-y. Two points, two assists, zero rebounds, two turnovers, two fouls. Maybe Dallas wasn't crazy for bringing Jake Voskuhl in after all (four minutes, two points, three rebounds, a steal and a block).

LA Lakers 98, Sacramento Kings 92

Shannon Brown seems to have firmed up his place in the NBA the last few years, but I'll include him here to "cover" this game. He didn't play particularly well, shooting 2-7 and finishing with six points and three fouls in 17 minutes, though he also grabbed four rebounds. It also sounds like he'll get some significant minutes this year, as he'll have spent more time in the Triangle, and the team has forwards who can run it (like Luke Walton) while hecontinues to get up to speed.

The Downbeat - 14 October 2009 - #78 - The Scrimmage People Edition

Basketball John — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:05:03 -0000

The Jazz season doesn't start without the rookie dance-off. Though he's not a rookie, the KOOF is back to defend his title. Thanks to Jazzgirl08 for the video. Check out her channel for interviews from the event.

Rookie + Koufus Dance Off 2009 (via jazzgirl08)

The scrimmage was a rousing success from all accounts. Lots of player and fan interaction and some high-flying dunks. The team is still talking about defense though and improving in that regard. If anything, they're at least still talking about it so maybe by virtue of some kind of audible osmosis, it will start sinking in.

Too bad the Fess didn't participate this year in the dance-off, but he may have an official Facebook account. You remember when he proclaimed he has a girlfriend now. It looks to be a legit account as he's got a pic of him and his girlfriend with mashk and cj miles listed as friends. Don't know if he'll accept friend requests though like DWill and CJ. Now if we can just get him on twitter for real. No offense @the_best_fess.

via facebook

The Jazz are giving away free tickets to tomorrow's game against the Blazers. Two ways you can do it. First, drop off at least a bag of food to the Utah food bank and get a free ticket. Second, follow the official Jazz Twitter at http://twitter.com/utah_jazz or at least visit that page to find out how to win.

A last call to do Jazz player previews. I may need to put up a separate post in case people aren't reading the Downbeat or maybe not reading down to the bottom. If you would like to help do Jazz player previews, please email me, tweet me, or leave a comment with who you'd like to do.

If we don't get enough, then you'll have to suffer through me doing them all and Seinfeld references in each of them.

Ryan Hollins, pt. ii: defense

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:36:49 -0000

OK, I want each and every one of you to close your eyes and think back to last season. The Wolves are playing the Atlanta Hawks and Mike Bibby is bringing the ball up the floor. As he crosses the mid-court line he begins to angle to the left just as Al Horford pushes off from the low block and moves towards the right wing. At this point it becomes obvious to everyone in the entire building that the Hawks are going to run a screen-and-roll with Bibby and Horford. One would think that Horford's guardian, Big Al Jefferson, would be preparing himself to hedge on the screen or to pass off coverage in a switch or to even jump the whole damn thing in a trap with a relatively slow point guard like Bibby initiating the action. One would be thinking incorrectly.

Instead of any of these three options, we Wolves fans are all too aware of what happens next: Big Al meanders out in the general direction of the screen and flaps his arms in the direction of Horford as the big fella makes a dramatic cut to the basket the second he sees Big Al lollygagging out towards what would have been the point of attack.

Repeat this sort of ineptitude a couple hundred times throughout the season. Rinse. Repeat again.

Folks, there are no two ways about it: last season, the Wolves' front court displayed some of the most atrocious pick-and-roll defense I have ever witnessed. Between general indifference (Jefferson), rookie inexperience (Kevin Love), and role-playing levels of non-excellence (Mark Madsen + Brian Cardinal) the Wolves 100%, absolutely, completely, and terminally lacked a big man who could properly switch, hedge, or jump a pick-and-roll...which, funny, just happens to be the single most important play that makes the NBA go 'round.

Enter Mr. Ryan Hollins.

Do not get me wrong. Hollins is not the be-all/end-all of defensive pick-and-roll prowess. What he is is the only player on the Wolves' roster who a) has size and b) can move well enough to be an effective defensive big on the pick-and-roll. I think Love is a smart and savvy enough player to eventually master this sort of thing but Hollins gives the Wolves a 7-footer who can provide...ummm...what's the word (we Wolves fans haven't seen this sort of thing in quite a while)...defensive flexibility, albeit in short stretches and with something of a negative pull on the offensive end of the court.

Hollins is a remarkably agile big man. He can handle switches, hedges, and jumping the point of attack for a trap with enough athletic juice to recover to his proper spot in the lane. Again, I'll remind our readers that we're talking about a backup big who will be the 3rd or 4th front court player on the roster, but this is a skill that is foreign to the current roster. Hollins may not be the best athletic defensive big; he may foul a ton and rely on overly-aggressive plays on the ball, but the simple fact remains that he is the only forward or center on the current roster who can show on a screen and make his way back into position strictly on the basis of his physical gifts. This is a big thing. KG was the last player who was able to perform this sort of task with a Minnesota across his chest, and no, I'm not comparing the two players; rather, I'm simply saying that Hollins is athletic enough to do something no other big on the roster can do and that, by itself, means something.

Beyond physicality, there are some things that stand out about Hollins' defensive game:

(via the always-excellent Basketball Prospectus)

First of all, let us clearly state that we are dealing with Small Sample Size Theater (Brian Cardinal factored in about 290 more possessions than the Wolves' newest big). Secondly, the thing that most stands out about Hollins (in his very limited court time) is that he holds his opponents to production well below what they normally put up (dMULT). The kicker is that he plays against competition that is significantly less than NBA average (dQUAL). Let's take a quick look at his on/off numbers (via the wonderful 82Games.com)

Many stats are shown on a 'per 48 minute' basis

Stat	ON Court	OFF Court	Net
Minutes	260	3700	6%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.	106.2	111.8	-5.6
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.	108.1	109.1	-1.0
Net Points per 100 Possessions	-1.9	+2.7	-4.6
Points Scored	513	7830	-7317
Points Allowed	532	7649	-7117
Net Points	-19	+181	-200

Here are his numbers from Charlotte:

Many stats are shown on a 'per 48 minute' basis

Stat	ON Court	OFF Court	Net
Minutes	184	3801	4%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.	111.9	105.5	+6.4
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.	97.6	107.8	-10.1
Net Points per 100 Possessions	+14.3	-2.3	+16.5
Points Scored	376	7301	-6925
Points Allowed	336	7445	-7109
Net Points	+40	-144	+184

Please keep in mind that Hollins is a 10 mpg backup (and that we're talking about less than 500 minutes of floor time), but what we can see here is that he is a better performer on defense than he is on offense. This general sentiment is also played out in his adj +/-. As always, the kicker with +/- and on/off stats for guys like Hollins is that they often log minutes without all of the team's best players surrounding them. Does that mean something for the Wolves? We'll have to wait and see.

The bottom line with Hollins the defender is that he is an incredibly athletic and agile big who has the potential to defend the pick-and-roll, get back into position, trap, and provide some weak-side shot blocking help. He brings a skill set to the Wolves that simply did not exist on the roster before his acquisition. Love and Big Al are not athletic dynamos and they will never be able to do the things that Hollins is naturally capable of. That being said, we're still talking about a guy who will likely play under 20 mpg (my guess is 13-17 mpg) and who will put up most of his numbers against non-starting 5-man rotations. If Hollins can maintain his dMULT numbers, and if he can perform at or slightly above replacement-level, the Wolves will have made a fairly savvy move.

While this is cliche on several levels, at the end of the day, Hollins' performance will be measured by how much he hustles. There is no pressure on this guy to not foul. There is no pressure on this guy to make big shots. All he has to do is go out there and go 150 mph. I really don't know if this is his type of personality (it could be judging by what we saw in the playoffs) but he is going to be placed in a position where an up-tempo athletic game such as his should be rewarded on both ends of the court. If he can use his athleticism to be an effective defender on the p-n-r with Love or Big Al, he will immediately have found a good home, as both of these guys need the things that Hollins brings to the table.

All in all I'm pretty happy with this signing. While Hollins seems to be a fairly awful 1/2 court offensive player he does have some interesting potential when it comes to transition play and defense. In terms of improvement, he looks like he could bulk up a bit, hit the boards with more aggressiveness, and avoid as many jump shots as possible. Running, dunking, defending, and crashing the boards should be this guy's MO from day one. As for his contractual worth, frequent poster McCleak put it nicely in a recent comment thread with this little ditty:

Hollins had a Win Score last year of 1.0. If you look at centers with a WS between 0.5-1.5 (DeSagana Diop, Theo Ratliff, Aaron Gray, DeAndre Jordan, Kosta Koufos, Jamaal Magloire, Robin Lopez, Hollins, Spencer Hawes, Robert Swift, and Olekisy Pecherov)*, you see that they earned $19,420,831 last season, for an average of $1,618,402.58 per player. So it’s more than the average contract for a center of his caliber last season. However, if you limit it to people who have signed second contracts (Diop, Ratliff, Magloire), than you see a contract total of $7,180,162 or $2,393,387.33 per player. And that’s almost exactly what Hollins received.

The guy is being paid at (or very near to) market value and he has some potential within the style of ball the Wolves hope to play as well as the roster they are shaping up to have. For me, the biggest thing about this deal is that Hollins represents a player that a) cost the Wolves' front office a considerable amount of scouting and research and b) is about as far away from a McHale-type signing as could be imagined. This is a guy you take a swing on only after a significant amount of research and you do so to have him play in a fairly specific role. That has to be worth something by itself, right? It sure as hell beats Mark Blount. Would Kevin McHale have even known about Hollins? Did UCLA play an NCAA game at the Dome during Hollins' time in Westwood?

What say you ?

2009 Orlando Pro Summer League: Thunder vs Jazz OPEN THREAD

Mr Pappagiorgio — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:00:28 -0000

Watch the Game Live at 10am Central Time (Click This Link)

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

No.	Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Birthdate	College
15	DeAngelo Alexander	G	6'5	215	1/21/84	Charlotte
17	Moses Ehambe	F	6'6	200	05/22/86	Oral Roberts
13	James Harden	G	6'5	220	8/26/89	Arizona State
50	Devon Hardin	C	6'11	220	6/03/86	California
42	Kyle Hines	F/C	6'6	230	9/02/86	UNC Greensboro
9	Serge Ibaka	F	6'10	220	9/18/89	Congo
14	Shaun Livingston	G	6'7	185	9/11/85	Peoria Central HS (IL)
23	B.J. Mullens	C	7'0	275	2/14/89	Ohio State
5	Kyle Weaver	G	6'6	201	2/18/86	Washington State
0	Russell Westbrook	G	6'3	187	11/12/88	UCLA
3	D.J. White	F	6'9	251	8/31/86	Indiana
30	Robert Vaden	G	6'5	205	3/03/85	Alabama-Birmingham

Head Coach: Scott Brooks
Assistant Coaches: Brian Keefe, Ron Adams, Mark Bryant, Nate Tibbetts and Vin Bhavnani
Head Athletic Trainer: Joe Sharpe

UTAH JAZZ

No.	Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Birthdate	College
52	James Augustine	C	6'10	235	2/27/84	Illinois
25	Jimmy Baron	G	6'3	195	5/23/86	Rhode Island
21	Cedric Bozeman	G	6'6	207	3/7/83	UCLA
16	Derrick Brown	F	6'8	227	9/8/87	Xavier
10	Josh Duncan	F	6'9	238	5/12/86	Xavier
6	Andre Ingram	G	6'3	191	11/19/85	American
41	Kosta Koufos	C	7'0	265	2/24/89	Ohio State
18	Kevin Kruger	G	6'2	185	5/1/83	UNLV
40	Kevin Lyde	F/C	6'9	294	3/12/80	Temple
20	Wes Matthews	G	6'5	220	10/14/86	Marquette
3	Eric Maynor	G	6'3	175	6/11/87	Virginia Commonwealth
11	Goran Suton	C	6'10	245	8/11/85	Michigan State
30	Dar Tucker	F	6'5	215	4/11/88	DePaul
43	Larry Turner	C	6'11	240	12/29/82	Tennessee State
55	Larry Wilkinson	C	6'9	240	10/2/82	Utah State

Head Coach: Jerry Sloan
Assistant Coaches: Phil Johnson, Tyrone Corbin, Scott Layden and Mark McKown
Head Athletic Trainer: Gary Briggs

Summer League Rosters - Utah Jazz

Jon L — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:29:22 -0000

Summer League!

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Summer League is rapidly approaching, so today we're going to start our series of Summer League roster breakdowns (which hopefully lasts longer than the D-League player profiles). Summer League rosters are odd creatures, a mix of guys who were just drafted a month ago showing what they can do in an NBA team setting, former college players who weren't drafted a month ago, two- and three-year veterans looking to solidify their spot in the rotation, and some combination of D-League guys, former NBA players who've fallen out of the league, and players who spent time in Europe all looking to show they can play in the league.

The teams are usually coached by one of the NBA club's assistants with the head coach often watching from the stands. Sometimes other countries send teams to play against these groups of players, and this year there will be a team in Vegas entirely comprised of D-League players. The purpose of this series is to give you, the readers, a better idea of just who the heck these guys are who are representing your favorite teams. First up: the Utah Jazz.

NBA Players: Kosta Koufos, Eric Maynor, Goran Suton
Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko each shuttled back and forth between the NBA and the D-League last season, both are big men, and they put up similar numbers while playing for the Utah Flash, though Koufos is probably a better scorer while Fesenko has the rebounding edge. Koufos and Fes are also expected to take on slightly larger roles for the Jazz this year, though who knows now that Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer have decided not to opt out. Maynor and Suton are both draft picks. Maynor enters Summer League as the likely backup PG, and Suton is a jump-shooting center who fits into the team's offense but might be too low on the depth chart to get much time.

Everyone else is after the jump.

2008-09 D-Leaguers: Kevin Kruger, Andre Ingram, Cedric Bozeman, Justin Reed
Kruger and Ingram both played for the Utah Flash last year. Kruger's a point guard, and an okay one. Not great, but the occasional bad game aside he takes care of the ball and he shot 52.4 percent on three pointers in 21 games. Ingram and Bozeman are both shooting guards (Bozeman played the point in Anaheim last season though, and has good size), with Ingram being a better three-point shooter and Bozeman having the edge in rebounding. Reed put together some decent games last season, but I can't get myself worked up over him. It's mostly his inconsistent rebounding that stands out for me. He is a good defender and has seen some NBA action a couple seasons ago.

Undrafted College Players: Gary Wilkinson, Wesley Matthews, Jim(my) Baron
Wilkinson's local, having gone to Utah State where he was the Western Athletic Conference player of the year last season... Baron's the Atlantic-10 Conference career leader in three pointers made... Matthews is a decent all-around swingman (though he's a bit undersized as a forward) and plays solid defense.

Others: James Augustine, Kevin Lyde, Reyshawn Terry, Josh Duncan, Larry Turner
I'm still not sure what to call these guys. Lame Ducks? Retreads? Potpourri? At any rate, Terry is a former second round pick from UNC who's been playing in Greece. Duncan showed some skills at last year's Portsmouth Invitational, though he's not very athletic and played in France this past season. Lyde spent some time in the D-League (, where he was an okay rebounder, before heading over to the Baltic League this past season. He's been to training camp with the Jazz before, but with all of the frontcourt players they have it's hard to see him sticking this year. Augustine is the University of Illinois' career rebounds leader and appeared briefly in the D-League before getting into 25 games with the Orlando Magic in 2007-2008. He spent last year in Spain. Turner played with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in 2007-2008, though his averages weren't great for a center. I couldn't find information on what he did last season.

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