SB Nation - Kevin Kruger

Ridiculous Transactions: 8/22-8/30

Jon L — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:17 -0000

The big news this week was Trey Gilder signing a partially-guaranteed contract with the Memphis Grizzlies

If you were wondering where Ridiculous Transactions went this weekend (and I'm sure you could think of nothing else for the last two days), we decided to give it a trial run on Mondays. The reason is that the last few weeks some big transactions happened over the weekend and I had to wait a week to write about it. Of course now that I switched the days all the big transactions will happen on Tuesdays or something. If you haven't been a regular RU weekend reader (and you really should be), the first transactions post has a good explanation of what we're looking at here.

August 24: Kevin Kruger - signed with Basket Napoli (Italy)

Europe is probably a good move for Kruger, as he's a good-but-not-great-point guard even by minor league basketball standards. He has a habit of dribbling the ball too much, but Kruger does a pretty good job running an offense and played decently in Summer League. The Jazz were the team most likely to bring him to training camp out of anyone, though, and they're pretty set at point guard.

August 25: Gary Wilkinson - signed with Dongbu Promy (South Korea); Josh Heytvelt - signed with Oyak Renault Bursa (Turkey); Will Frisby - signed with Benfica (Portugal)

Wilkinson is a 26 year old undrafted rookie who managed to grab two rebounds in 36 minutes for Utah's Summer League team, which would be poor for a guard but is especially so for a 6'9" power forward. Heytvelt didn't get a whole lot of run for Washington's Summer League team, playing double digit minutes only once, but he apparently defended the pick and roll pretty well. He was fairly athletic in college, but he bulked up a little bit after his suspension and he'll likely need to shed a few pounds in order to get the NBA's attention again. Udonis Haslem did it in Europe, so maybe Heytvelt can too. Will Frisby was a really solid big man for the Dakota Wizards last year, and it's too bad his role on this year's D-League Select Summer League team couldn't turn into at least a training camp invite.

August 26: Albuquerque Thunderbirds - signed head coach John Coffino to another one-year contract

The Thunderbirds were caught in the middle of their division last year, better than Rio Grande Valley and Tulsa but stuck behind Colorado and Austin who had the two best records in the league. They had some talented players but also had to handle injuries in addition to some trades and call-ups. It remains to be seen how they'll do now that the divisions have been abolished, but Coffino's a solid coach and he should have them in a position to make the playoffs

August 28: Trey Gilder - signed with the Memphis Grizzlies

This is great for Gilder, obviously, but it's also a solid move for Memphis in that Gilder provides some insurance in case rookies DeMarre Carrol and Sam Young struggle (if Hasheem Thabeet struggles, well, good luck with that). That's not to say that Gilder himself still isn't a little on the raw side. As I noted in my offseason profile of Gilder (remember when we were doing those?), he still relies on his athleticism more than a solid shot, and he could stand to bulk up a little. He worked hard last year, though, and in addition to being a solid bench scorer he doesn't turn the ball over a whole lot. He played solidly in Summer League and apparently made an impression on the Grizzlies. The one concern I have is that if Memphis does sign Allen Iverson, they'll have 14 players on their roster. They were one team I had assumed would carry only the minimum 13 players, and Gilder's contract is only partially guaranteed, so his spot may be in danger should it come down to that. But, this is a move that could pay off really well for the Grizzlies down the line if they see it through.

August 29: DeMarcus Nelson - signed with Air Avellino (Italy); Dwayne Mitchell - signed with Hapoel Holon (Israel)

Mitchell spent last year with the LA D-Fenders, and he's a solid scoring guard even though he doesn't shoot a ton of three-pointers. He does a good job of getting to the line, and he can also give a team some occasional rebounding and assists. DeMarcus Nelson's shooting has been steadily improving, though it's still not great, and he had some turnover problems in Austin, but he's really good at getting to the rim and finishing around the basket, and he's a solid floor leader.

A Look Back at the Orlando Summer League

Jon L — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:22 -0000

Kasib Powell, who had a great Summer League.

View full size photo »

Before we get too entrenched in Vegas Summer League stories and stats, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at some notable performances from Orlando. I'm going to focus on players who have seen a lot of D-League time as well as some other guys who came into Summer League without a guaranteed spot on an NBA roster (though there are a few second-round picks sprinkled in here). As with the daily breakdowns, the emphasis here is on the positive - there certainly were players who could've done better, but this is about letting you know who played his way onto NBA radars (or should've, anyway), not telling you that Terrence Williams needs to work on his defense. You'll have plenty of time to figure that one once the season starts. Oh, and I'm mainly looking at guys who played a lot. Josh McRoberts, for instance, has a decent rebounding average but he played in only two games. With all that as preface, let's take a look at ten players who did well for themselves down in Orlando.

Kasib Powell (6'7") - Yeah, yeah, he's been contributing to RU, but Powell really did play very well in Orlando. He was the Magic team's second-best player all week behind NBA-er Ryan Anderson, and while his shooting wasn't always there, he ended up shooting 53 percent on threes, and he helped out in plenty of other ways with 23 rebounds in four games, eight assists, a pair of blocks and only three turnovers. The Magic frontcourt gets more crowded seemingly by the day, but Powell would be a nice addition to the Orlando bench.

Richard Hendrix (6'9"F/C) - Hendrix had a great week rebounding-wise, averaging 15 per 48 minutes, and his 29 rebounds came about evenly divided between offense and defense, so he was taking care of business at both ends of the floor. He also shot 56 percent through four games, and had seven blocks. With Marcin Gortat headed to Dallas and Tony Battie gone as part of the Vince Carter trade, Hendrix wouldn't be a bad backup in the middle for the Magic.

D.J. White (6'9" F) - White was the best OKC rebounder on a per-game basis and was a pretty efficient scorer overall, with 54 points on 41 total shots. White had some injury problems when he was with Tulsa last season, but he's talented enough to play for the Thunder this year

Chris Lofton (6'2" G) - I didn't talk about Lofton much on a game-by-game basis, and looking back I have no idea why not. He came into camp with a reputation as a good three-point shooter, and Summer League only emphasized that - he made 60 percent of his threes. He didn't really offer much else, with a combined five rebounds, three assists and three steals in five games, but he also didn't turn the ball over (four total), and he had the best free-throw percentage on Boston's entire roster, a respectable 89 percent. If teams are looking for an outside shooter, Lofton is one of the best prospects coming out of Orlando.

Russell Robinson (6'1" G) - Robinson was running the point for Orlando all week, and he did a pretty good job of it. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but he ran the offense and distributed the ball pretty well. About eight assists per 48 minutes, and he also had five total assists, tied for most on the team.

A.J. Price (6'0" G) - I'm somewhat skeptical that Price will make an NBA roster this year (he was arrested for stealing laptops while at UConn), but if he spends a few years in the D-League he might get a shot. His Orlando performance demonstrated that he may deserve one, as he shot 57 percent on his three-pointers and led the Pacers team in assists, averaging a little under 7 per 48 minutes, which is decent for a guy who's not really a true point guard. He also had only five turnovers all week. The downside to his performance is that he shot only 8-20 on two-pointers and didn't get to the line very much (only three free throws in five games), but the talent is there.

Kevin Rogers (6'9" F) - Rogers had a few disappointing final years at Baylor, but he showed some skill in Orlando, with 43 points on 34 shots and 22 total rebounds in five games, which averages out to about eight and a half per 48 minutes, which is solid. He also led the Boston team with seven total blocks. He may need a year or two of committed development time before he's completely ready, but his performance here intrigues me, and I think a team that doesn't need an immediate contribution would do well to take a look (Houston, I'm looking in your direction).

Josh Duncan (6'9"F) - Duncan may not be all that athletic, but he did a great job scoring this week, making seven of his nine three-pointers and shooting 72.4 percent overall. He also finished with respectable rebounding and free-throw shooting numbers.

Kevin Kruger (6'2" G) - Kevin Kruger didn't finish the week with great shooting percentages, but he did a good job running the point when he was on the court and finished averaging just over eight points per 48 minutes. He didn't get a ton of playing time, but he was solid enough that he might get a preseason look. He still dribbles the ball too much, but that hasn't held other guys back. He also averaged one turnover about every 11 minutes.

Kevin Lyde (6'10" F/C) - Lyde didn't play very many minutes either, but he rebounded the ball really well when he did play - 21 total rebounds in 64 minutes, just under 16 per 48 minutes. He shot under 50 percent on free throws, though. Yikes.

Recapping the Orlando Summer League: Day 5

Jon L — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:00:15 -0000

Yesterday was the final day of games for the Orlando Summer League. Some of the players looking to make an NBA roster are now headed for Vegas to play for other teams, while everyone else heads back home and prepares for the preseason. As I mentioned yesterday, I'll take a look back at the Orlando league's games, probably to run on Monday, but there's still the matter of the last three games to recap. Onward!

Boston Celtics 92, Philadelphia/New Jersey Frankensteins 79

Chris Douglas-Roberts got his scoring back on track in this one, scoring 15 points on 9 shots, and he also had four assists and three rebounds, which is good to see from him. Gabe Pruitt has been pretty solid running the point (with a few bumps in the road), and he had 13 points on 8 shots, nine assists and three steals. Jrue Holiday hasn't had the best Summer League, but yesterday he shot 4-8 and threw in four assists and four rebounds. At this point the fewer mentions of Terrence Williams's offense the better, though he had six rebounds, four assists and a block.

Nick Fazekas finally had himself a good game. He's been struggling a little bit to make his mark, but yesterday he scored 22 points on 17 shots and had nine rebounds but only two fouls. Gary Forbes shot the ball very well, going 7-11, and he added three rebounds, two assists and a block, though he also had five fouls in just over 26 minutes. Jason Ellis kept up the good rebounding work with six, but he also had five fouls. Coby Karl continued to contribute in non-shooting areas of the game, with six rebounds and five assists, and he only had one turnover in just under 28 minutes, which is an improvement over the rest of his week.

The other two games after the jump.

Utah Jazz 70, Oklahoma City Thunder 60

Both Russell Westbrook and Kyle Weaver sat this one out, and Shaun Livingston did well in his natural position running the point, with 12 points on 9 shots, four assists and five rebounds. DJ White also got into the game and did very well, shooting 7-10, though he also had four fouls and three turnovers. BJ, excuse me, Byron Mullens had a rough shooting day, missing all seven of his field goals, but he grabbed six rebounds and finished with only two fouls and no turnovers.

Larry Turner hasn't been very impressive this week, but he came through in the middle yesterday with 12 rebounds and three blocks. Andre Ingram was solid all-around, with 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including 3-6 on three-pointers, and he also had four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Kevin Kruger's been pretty solid all week, and yesterday he had 10 points, made half his shots (including half of his three-pointers) and had a game-high five assists. Josh Duncan also had a solid game off the bench, going 4-5 for 12 points, including making both of his three-pointers, and adding four rebounds in a little over 16 minutes.

Indiana Pacers 68, Orlando Magic 54

Ryan Anderson finally had a bad game, at least offensively, shooting 2-11 and picking up six rebounds, though he also had 10 rebounds and two steals. Tyler Hansbrough had a somewhat-similar night, shooting 1-5 with nine rebounds. Roy Hibbert played well, though, with 16 points on 13 shots, 11 rebounds and three blocks, though he also had three turnovers in 20 minutes.

I'm sure by this point you all think I keep mentioning him because he's been contributing to this site, but Kasib Powell's been playing really well all week. He didn't have a great shooting day yesterday overall, needing 14 shots to score 12 points, but he made two of his three three-point shots, and he's versatile enough to contribute even when his shot isn't falling and grabbed eight rebounds. Richard Hendrix had a solid game off the bench, with 10 points on 7 shots, five rebounds and four blocks. Trey Johnson had an okay day shooting-wise, but he didn't do much else and also picked up four fouls in 22 minutes. Scott Vander Meer may be headed to Fort Wayne this season, and while he's been relatively quiet all week he had a decent game yesterday with six rebounds and three blocks, though he also shot 2-7.

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

Recapping Yesterday's Summer League Games

Jon L — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:00:23 -0000

Teams, players, journalists and other basketball-related folks are beginning to descend on Las Vegas, where the larger Summer League officially starts today at 2 PM local time (I think? What is that, Mountain Time?). Today's also the last day of the Orlando league, and at some point this weekend we'll have a look back at some players who stood out. For now, though, let's keep taking the games one at a time.

Utah Jazz 92, Orlando Magic 84

This was the second Summer League game to go into overtime, if that matters. Ryan Anderson continued to be the breakout star, again, if that matters. It likely matters to the Magic, particularly the fact that he's getting it done in a variety of ways. Yesterday Anderson shot 5-11 on three-pointers and 4-6 on the rest of his field goals, and he also pulled down 9 rebounds and blocked four shots. He had 8 fouls, though, but from this looks of it there were a lot of fouls called in this game. Goran Suton "rebounded" (sorry...you'll see why in a minute) from his poor performance a few days ago with 10 rebounds (see?), though he's still not hitting a lot of his three-point attempts. Bobcats second-rounder Derrick Brown had a very good game, the first that I've noticed, with 10-15 shooting and five rebounds. He missed all of his three-pointers but shot 5-7 from the free-throw line.

Kasib Powell continued to show why he should be on an NBA roster this year. Even though he struggled with his shot (4-12), he made things happen in other ways by grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists. Kevin Kruger played a good game in relief of Eric Maynor, who didn't fare quite as well. Kruger, though, made half his shots and went 5-6 from the free-throw line, though his three-point shot wasn't falling quite as well. Cedric Bozeman played a pretty good game himself, getting four rebounds, four assists and a steal to go with 8 points in 22 minutes. Richard Hendrix didn't have a great game, with 7 fouls, 4 turnovers and only 2 points in just under 26 minutes, but on the positive side of the ledger he also grabbed 8 rebounds.

As usual, the other two games are after the jump.

Indiana Pacers 91, Boston Celtics 88

Tyler Hansbrough continues to do an excellent job of getting to the free-throw line, with 12 attempts, though I have no idea whether that will continue on to the regular season. He's a rookie, so I kind of doubt it. Roy Hibbert was his usual (for this week anyway) efficient low-post scoring self, with 28 points on 10 shots, and he also had 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals, but also 5 turnovers. Bill Walker had a good game, one that I don't have to qualify with his turnover or foul number. Walker shot 6-10 and had five rebounds, three steals and two assists. JR Giddens continues to put up turnover numbers that are a bit high, with four in 25 minutes, though he's still an efficient scorer (since he gets most of his points inside) and he had five rebounds.

Trey Johnson had probably his first all-around solid game this week, with 13 points on 8 shots, 2 assists and 2 steals, and, while I'm not sure if this is a positive sign or no indicator at all, he's been getting starts and a lot of playing time. The other non-guaranteed guys didn't really stand out in this one, and Derrick Byars didn't even play (nor did Mike Sweetney, who's missed the last few games with a hamstring injury). Robert Swift was better on the offensive end than he's been, making all five of his shots, and he also had four rebounds. He's still Robert Swift, though, and had three turnovers and six fouls as well.

Oklahoma City Thunder 82, Philadelphia/New Jersey Frankensteins

Guess what? Russell Westbrook is good. 6-10 shooting, 9 assists and four rebounds. He still hasn't figured out the turnover conundrum, though, and he had seven yesterday. Kyle Weaver is never going to be an offensive giant, but he had five rebounds, two blocks and two steals yesterday. James Harden continues to be fairly impressive, with efficient offense and a solid all-around game. Marreese Speights has struggled the last few days, and while he had nine rebounds yesterday he also had six fouls and six turnovers. in about 24 and a half minutes. Terrence Williams finally found some offense yesterday, making just under half his field goals and finishing with 14 points along with 5 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. BJ Mullins played a decent game as well, shooting 9-12 and grabbing five rebounds.

Jason Ellis finally showed his rebounding talent, with five in about 26 minutes along with 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Blake Ahearn is unfortunately still struggling with his shot, though, and Gary Forbes didn't fare much better yesterday. Neither Shaun Livingston nor DJ White played, but Moses Ehambe finally got into a game where he, uh, didn't play all that well either. Both of these teams played their starters the bulk of the minutes for some reason. I mean, does Kyle Weaver really need to play 31 minutes in Summer League?

Orlando Summer League Recap: Day 3

Jon L — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:00:17 -0000

Not that this sort of thing matters, but by Day 3 of Summer League I think it's pretty clear who the top teams are - Orlando, Indiana and Oklahoma City. They're getting it done in different ways, with Oklahoma City relying on its bevy of NBA-ready (and NBA-experienced) guards, Indiana getting most of its contributions from big men Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough, and Orlando also using its frontcourt effectively, but doing bit both inside and outside with Ryan Anderson and RU contributor Kasib Powell, among others. As I said, though, and as you all well know, Summer League W-L records mean nothing. What's important is who's making a case that they can help their team - or any team, in the case of undrafted players and D-League guys - when the regular season starts. And to see who's did that yesterday, let's turn to the games themselves.

Oklahoma City Thunder 94, Boston Celtics 82

This whole week, Russell Westbrook has looked a cut above pretty much everyone else who's been in the court with him, and that's not really a surprise. As much immediate success as he had in the NBA last year, playing against someone like Jimmy Baron isn't much of a challenge. Still, despite his overall impressive numbers yesterday (22 points on 16 shots, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 5 steals), he's still turning the ball over more than I'm sure the Thunder would like. Kyle Weaver had a better game, shooting 4-5 with two blocks, though he had five fouls in a little over 20 minutes. Gabe Pruitt had a rough game, shooting 3-11 with some foul trouble besides. JR Giddens had a better shooting day than he's had so far, going 7-13 and picking up 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, but he also turned the ball over 6 times.

As for the guys just trying to make a roster, I'm not sure whether DJ White is assured of an NBA spot or whether he'll be in Tulsa again, but he turned it around from the day before, shooting 7-10 and pulling in five rebounds. DeVon Hardin also played well for the Thunder, finishing with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks to go with his efficient 4-5 shooting. Coby Karl had another game where he didn't really put it all together, as he shot 2-6 and only had one rebound, but three assists.

The other two games after the jump.

Orlando Magic 108, Philadelphia/New Jersey Frankensteins 86

I know that I said wins and losses don't matter, but the combined team has looked pretty terrible in all three games, and it's hard to tell whether it's because the coaching staff has to try and evaluate two different rosters at the same time, or because the players themselves are just rougher than those on he other teams. At any rate, Chris Douglas-Roberts is apparently dealing criticism of his "shoot first, second and third" mentality by only attempting one field goal in 28 minutes, and while he had two blocks he also had only two assists and no rebounds, so I'm not really sure what he was doing. Terrence Williams found some semblance of an offensive game, scoring 16 points on 13 shots and making a couple of threes, but his main strengths at this point lie elsewhere, and he had 5 turnovers but also 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Ryan Anderson was again efficient and impressive, with 21 points on 15 shots, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Dionte Christmas had his best game so far, with 18 points on 9 shots, including making 4 of 6 three-pointers, though he didn't do much else in just under 16 minutes.

Kasib Powell continued his good play, and he had a better shooting day than game 2, making 4 of his 5 three-pointers and 7 of his 10 shots overall. Richard Hendrix also played very well, with 17 points on 9 shots ans 12 rebounds in about 23 and a half minutes. Lance Allred finally played double-digit minutes, though he didn't play particularly werll apart from his three assists. Blake Ahearn finally got his shot going, 2-5 on threes and making his other field goal attempt to go with four assists, though he also had three turnovers.

Indiana Pacers 95, Utah Jazz 79

Hibbert and Hansbrough were again the focal points for Indiana. Hansbrough did most of his damage at the free throw line with 14 attempts (all of which he made), and he also had 5 rebounds and a block. Hibbert mainly stayed anchored to the paint, and he finished with 8 rebounds and two blocks to go with 8-13 shooting. Eric Maynor hasn't shot the ball all that well but usually makes up for it with some combinations of assists, rebounds and steals, but those were absent yesterday. Also, I know I said I wasn't going to call out poor performances too often, I remain somewhat unimpressed with Goran Suton, who shot 2-8 with just one rebound to go with five fouls and three turnovers in 17 minutes.

Trey Johnson got a lot of playing time, 31 minutes, and he did okay, I suppose. 3-8 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, four turnovers. James Augustine played very well, making six of his seven shots and collecting five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 18 and a half minutes. Kevin Lyde also played well in limited minutes, shooting 2-5 with six rebounds in just over 7 minutes. AJ Price had a good game scoring-wise, shooting 6-9 overall and 2-3 on three-pointers, and he had four rebounds, which is pretty good for a guy his size. Kevin Kruger didn't have a great shooting day, but he finished with a game-high five assists in a little under 15 minutes.

Summer League Game Recaps

Jon L — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:00:19 -0000

Day 2 of the Orlando Summer League saw some better games than Day 1 (well, mostly), and several D-Leaguers really stepped up for their teams. All of those Oklahoma City guards continue to impress, and new Magic (which is different from Tru3 Magic) Ryan Anderson came within a point of tying Travis Diener's Orlando Summer League record. Now there's a guy who needs his Summer League jersey retired. On to the recaps!

Orlando Magic 82, Boston Celtics 82

We'll start with the game I paid the most attention to. Ryan Anderson was fairly aggressive on offense, shooting threes and driving to the basket, but he didn't look all that selfish doing it and was very efficient (33 points on 15 shots). I think he'll be a good backup and/or complement to Rashard Lewis this season. I'm not sure whether to classify JR Giddens as an NBA guy or a D-Leaguer, but he was relatively impressive, though his outside shot still needs work. Gabe Pruitt was the other guy who impressed me for Boston. He did a good job running the team's offense and had 5 assists and 4 rebounds, though he shot only 1-6 on three-pointers.

Orlando's D-League trio of Kasib Powell, Darian Townes and Russell Robinson all had solid games. Powell was the Magic's second-best player, and while he only made 1 of 4 three-pointers he generally made smart decisions with the ball, including passing up a three-pointer to drive to the basket and score the game-sealing lay-up. Powell finished with 15 points, two assists, two blocks and two steals. Townes got blocked at least once by Robert Swift (who had a pretty terrible game aside from his four blocks), but overall Townes showed some nice moves inside and finished with seven rebounds. Robinson did a good job running the point for Orlando, pushing the ball at the right times and finishing with six assists, though he struggled with his shot and sometimes failed to pass the ball before being double- or triple-teamed. Coby Karl was inconsistent, making good plays overall and finishing with 18 points on 9 shots, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, though there were times where he seemed to be playing out of control and he had four turnovers. Also, I hate to do this and don't plan to make it a habit, but Steven Milosevic was pretty terrible. Five turnovers and five fouls in just over 12 minutes. Lance Allred continued to get too little playing time, about 4 and a half minutes. He can help you, Orlando!

The other two games are after the jump.

Indiana Pacers 91, Oklahoma City Thunder 88

I mentioned up top that the Thunder guards played well, and the Pacers big men did too. Roy Hibbert shot 7-8 and had 8 rebounds, and Tyler Hansbrough did a good job cleaning up around the rim and finished with 23 points on 10 shots, though fouling and turnovers remain problems for him. James Harden had another good all-around game, with 19 points on 13 shots, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Russell Westbrook finished with 22 points and 8 assists, though he also had five turnovers. Kyle Weaver's had a few relatively quiet days, but the Summer League style of play doesn't really suit his game, and he still finished with five assists here.

DJ White had a rough shooting day, going 3-11, and he also finished with 8 fouls in 31 and a half minutes (you don't foul out in Summer League because who cares?). Serge Ibaka also showed some of his tantalizing athleticism, though he also racked up a lot of fouls. BJ Mullens showed off a decent jump shot, and he looked better than I expected him to, honestly. Trey Johnson played fairly well, with 13 points and 3 assists, though he also missed five of his six free throws and both of his three-pointers. Derrick Byars had an even rougher go of it, shooting 1-4 on three pointers and missing both of his other field goal attempts, though he also had three assists.

Utah Jazz 83, Philadelphia/New Jersey Frankensteins 66

This game was pretty, pretty terrible to watch. Both teams were all over the place in the first half before the Jazz settled down and pulled away. Terrence Williams again struggled offensively, shooting 3-11 with four turnovers, though he also had six rebounds. Marreese Speights also shot poorly, going 3-12, though he also had five blocks. The only Philly/NJ player who did really did well was Chris Douglas-Roberts, though he looked to score pretty much every time he got the ball. Eric Maynor looked solid for Utah, though he shot only 2-9. He also had five rebounds and four assists.

The non-NBA guys didn't really fare much better. Blake Ahearn had a rough day shooting, and that's pretty much all he does. Gary Forbes shot 1-4, though he had two blocks. I continue to be confused as to why Jason Ellis hasn't gotten more rebounds, as he was one of the best rebounding forwards in the D-League last year, but he only had one in just under 12 minutes. He was fairly active, though. Kevin Lyde did okay, shooting 3-7 but getting five rebounds. Cedric Bozeman had a similar day, getting three rebounds and three assists on top of 1-5 shooting. Kevin Kruger actually had a decent game, scoring 10 points on 7 shots in a little under 14 minutes, and he also had four rebounds. Jimmy Baron shot the ball well, 2-3 on three-pointers and 3-4 overall, though that's about all he did in 12 minutes.

Recapping Yesterday's Summer League Action

Jon L — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:00:15 -0000

Can you believe it? Actual, factual basketball games. The NBA Finals weren't that long ago, but for those of us who follow the D-League and other non-NBA hoops it's been awhile. The Orlando Summer League is a good way to ease back into it, as there are only a handful of teams. I've written a little bit about this before, but Summer League games are oddities in that they're trying to serve several purposes at once - see what kind of talent was actually drafted a few weeks ago, take a look at younger guys on a roster who still have some work to do and/or are focused on improving on one specific facet of their game, and throw a bunch of D-Leaguers/undrafted college players/older players who've been in Europe out there to see if there's anything worth adding to the roster.

So in looking at these games, one has to keep all of that in mind, and be somewhat cognizant that dropping 30 points in a Summer League game doesn't mean much in and of itself. In these recaps I (and Scott or Ais, if they contribute) will try to focus mainly on the guys you may not have heard of, while also pointing out the noteworthy performances from the players who are guaranteed NBA roster spots. Also, I didn't catch any of these games on the internet, but hopefully in the future I'll be able to get a feel for how some of these guys look. With all that said, hit the jump for a look at yesterday's action.

Indiana Pacers 75, Philadelphia/New Jersey Frankensteins 67

The NBA.com headline on this one was something to the effect of "Hansbrough Proves Doubters Wrong," and it's true that he played a decent game. 17 points on 13 shots and 5 rebounds isn't bad, though if we're being honest five fouls in 25 minutes isn't great, and he shot under 70 percent on his free throws. Plus I assume he was guarding Marreese Speights for part of the time that Speights went off for 28 points and 11 rebounds. There weren't really a lot of great performances in this game, as besides Speights and Chris Douglas-Roberts the Philly/NJ team got nothing offensively. Terrence Williams shot 1-8, though he had 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals and could be an active frontcourt defender this year for the Nets. Jrue Holiday played 38 minutes and shot 3-11, though he had 4 steals and 2 blocks. On Indiana's side, they had a few players score in double figures, but that includes Brandon Rush shooting 18 field goals to get 15 points.

The D-League guys were particularly disappointing in this one, though more disappointing is the playing time some of them got. Trey Johnson played the most out of that group, but he shot 2-8. Blake Ahearn was 1-2 in seven and a half minutes, Jason Ellis only played about nine and a half minutes and only had one rebound, Gary Forbes played only five minutes and shot 0-2. Derrick Byars was a DNP-CD. Will Blalock is a former D-League who's been playing in Europe, and he got the start for Indiana, but in 21 and a half minutes he shot 1-5 and had 7 turnovers. This was a pretty inauspicious first Summer League game.

Oklahoma City Thunder 88, Orlando Magic 77

This was another game that saw balanced scoring from one team and two players carrying the load for the other, but it was the even-handed approach that won this game. Russell Westbrook led the way with 22 points on 11 shots, 9 assists and 5 rebounds, though he also had four turnovers. He also shot 18 free throws, and while I know that getting to the basket is his specialty, that's crazy for a Summer League game. DJ White also played well for the Thunder, scoring 13 points on 10 shots and leading all rebounders with 9. James Harden put up a decent line, 17 points on 9 shots, including 2-3 on three-pointers, plus 4 rebounds but also 3 turnovers. Shaun Livingston is playing out of position at forward, and his line makes it seem as if he was uncomfortable, needing eight shots to get 7 points, though he also had six assists. Ryan Anderson was the guy for the Magic, scoring 21 points on 14 shots to go with seven rebounds, though most if not all of that came in the second half.

Moses Ehambe was a DNP-CD for the Thunder, as was Ridiculous Upside contributor and all-around good guy/player Kasib Powell or the Magic. Come on Orlando, get it together. The Magic did give Russell Robinson, Lance Allred and Richard Hendrix some run, and while Allred only played about seven minutes, Hendrix played well. 10 points on 4-5 shots, 4 rebounds and a block in 15 minutes well. Russell Robinson started and played a little over 27 minutes, though he missed his only field goal attempt and finished with five fouls.

Boston Celtics 87, Utah Jazz 56

No one on the Jazz played particularly well in this game except perhaps reserve Josh Duncan, who scored 12 points on 7 shots in just under 15 minutes. James Augustine had seven rebounds but wasn't really a factor offensively. For the Celtics, JR Giddens was really the only one who played what could be called "poorly," shooting 4-10, though he also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a block. Bill Walker played pretty well but also fouled out in 21 and a half minutes. Nick Fazekas also had a nice game, making half his shots (and half of his six three-pointers) and collecting five rebounds in 21 and a half minutes.

Cedric Bozeman got a fair amount of playing time (23 and a half minutes) but missed all four of his field goals. Andre Ingram played just over 8 minutes and missed all five of his field goals. Kevin Kruger played just over seven minutes, missed all three of his shots (two of which were three-pointers) and had zero assists. Sigh. Kevin Lyde actually did okay, making both of his field goals and scoring six points in 18 and a half minute with three rebounds and two assists. Mike Sweetney seems to have done okay in the first step towards getting back into the NBA, scoring only three points in 15 minutes but also collecting five rebounds and blocking two shots.

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