San Antonio Spurs swingman Malik Hairston was released from his NBA contract and has signed a two-year deal with Italian club team Mens Sana Basket (aka Montepaschi Siena), according to the Siena Free.  With apologies to all of the other guys we've covered the past few weeks, this is one of the bigger European signings so far.  After being drafted 48th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns, Hairston was traded to San Antonio for Goran Dragic.  While Dragic's first (awful) year made this deal seem like another Spurs steal, Dragic's emergence last season and Hairston's fade into San Antonio's swingman muddle have altered that view.

Hairston played 62 games for the Spurs over the course of the last two seasons and 45 games with the Spurs' D-League affiliate Austin Toros.  A power forward at the University of Oregon, Hairston used his time with the Toros to transition into more of a wing player, as his 6'6" frame just wasn't going to cut it up front in the NBA.  Hairston played extremely well in Austin, averaging 25 points a game over two seasons on 50.8 percent shooting, including 42.7 percent shooting from outside.  He also used his college frontcourt experience to average five rebounds and a block per game, and showed off some passing skills as well, averaging three and a half assists.

His time with the Spurs was somewhat less productive, which I'll discuss after the jump.

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And so, Vegas Summer League draws to a close.  Many of yesterday's games seemed like afterthoughts, as many of the team personnel and other scouts already had left or were leaving, and those teams that were playing rested most of their players already under NBA contract.  There were still some fun moments and some solid performances, though.  As with Saturday, the extended playing time given to free agents means that we have more free agent Monstars (and Nonstars) to talk about.  I'll write about about the top free agent performers for the week overall at some point, but for today we're just talking about those who went out in style.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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This is it, the last day of Vegas Summer League.  It has been a great week, hasn't it?  So let's go out in style, shall we?  I've been trying to name different players to watch each day (which, if I can be honest, has been tough for a few rosters), but today I'm offering the best non-NBA roster player each team has to offer.  Some of these players will be around a little longer as they get invited to NBA training camps and hopefully find a roster spot somewhere; others will play overseas next year.  Regardless of where they end up, all of these players have some good performances this week to hang their hat on, and are worth watching one more time.

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but they all eventually will be shown), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Now that Summer League is wrapping up, we're seeing a lot more free agents get playing time and a lot more roster players come down with "injuries" (which really are teams just trying to prevent injury, which is totally understandable) keeping them out of games.  As such, we have a monster-sized, uh, Monstars and Nonstars today, since there were so many guys turning in notable performances.  Enjoy it while it lasts, because we have just one day to go.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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I have to admit to hitting "the wall" a bit in my Summer League watching up to this point, but with just two days to go I've gotten my second wind.  It doesn't hurt that there are some pretty good matchups today; I'm particularly interested in the Clippers-Spurs game as well as D-League-Atlanta, though I'll probably have to just monitor the latter without seeing it.  This is the last day for many of these teams, meaning it's the last chance to see these prospects before many of them move into more limited roles in training camp.

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but they all eventually will be shown), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Today some some very good performances from players who haven't been doing so well this week, which is part of the magic of Summer League - anyone can have a good day at any time.  Players don't have much more time this week to make a good impression, so as much as I try to avoid clichés like "every game counts," well, every games counts from here on out.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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Apologies for getting this up late today.  There have been some questions in the comments about why I haven't mentioned NBA players in either these previews or the monstars/nonstars review posts, so if I may just quickly address that: when it's not NBA draft/Summer League season, this site focuses on the D-League.  As such, Scott and I (mostly Scott) have a pretty good base of knowledge for those players who are here in Summer League trying to make a roster, and we're trying to impart some of that knowledge to you folks.  Much as Dante and Galante were somewhat enjoyable, their "I've never heard of this guy" comments were really annoying.  A lot of these free agents can play, and deserve a shot.

Second, there are a ton of great team-based blogs out there, both on SB Nation and elsewhere.  These folks have followed the teams every day for years, and have a better sense of, say, where Hassan Whiteside fits into the Kings' plans or whether Nick Young is being crowded out of the Wizards' rotation better than I do.  To bring those two points together, much as I enjoy watching John Wall, or Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton, I don't think yet another site saying "hey guess what, John Wall is really good" adds much to the conversation.  So instead, enjoy reading about Rod Benson, or Matt Janning, or Mike Gansey, or Larry Owens, with my compliments. 

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but I don't know if they'll be showing the non-live ones later or what), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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I don't usually focus on a single game in these posts (see below), but the Wizards-Mavericks game was really fun and a pretty good encapsulation of Summer League.  There was the stuff that matters - John Wall continues to click with his teammates, JaVale McGee showed off some incredible moves in the post and along the baseline, Jeremy Lin should've been drafted, Dominique Jones can come in and defend NBA players right away, Cartier Martin and Lester Hudson are each making solid cases for themselves to make a roster either in Washington or elsewhere, JaVale McGee still needs to rebound better, etc.  There also was the stuff that doesn't really matter - Rodrigue Beaubois scored zero points, John Wall shot 15 free throws (which won't happen again this year), JaVale McGee showed off some incredible moves in the post and along the baseline, Jerome Randle wore a white t-shirt under his black jersey, etc.  Summer League!

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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After Jake lamented on Twitter that the Wizards' only SF options at this point were Josh Howard, Cartier Martin, Rodney Carney (gross) and Adam Morrison (if this happens I will be so angry), I got to thinking about ways the Wizards could expand the pool of players they're looking at.  Naturally, since I help write about the D-League, my thoughts turned there.

The Wizards have a history of not really paying attention to the D-League, though that changed a bit last year when they called-up Mike Harris, Alonzo Gee and Martin.  I have a sneaking suspicion that Grunfeld reached out to Harris and Martin because they've already played in the NBA a little in the past (Martin with the Bobcats and Warriors, Harris had a call-up to Houston earlier last season), he at least appears to be trying a bit more.  Which is why I was disappointed to see they traded for Yi Jianlian and brought Morrison in for a workout.  I get EG's strategy to go after cheap, relatively low-risk options for a year and then hopefully let them go if they don't work out (I say hopefully because we all remember Pecherov's extension), but Morrison has done nothing to show that he's improved his game to the point where he's more than an 11th or 12th man and Yi is now on his third team in four years, which is telling.

So then, I came up with a list of small forwards the Wizards should take a look, and who would be even cheaper than someone like Carney or Morrison.  These players wouldn't even have to be signed for more than a year, so EG's overall strategy could remain.  I also didn't look at trades or anything, though off the top of my head the Wizards might want to ask what it would take to pry Derrick Brown away from Charlotte.  Signing Howard probably would be the best move depending on the cost, but if you're looking at Rodney Carney in 2010...

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I think it's great that all of the Summer League games are available in one form or another for live viewing, I really do.  However, not all of the games are being shown live on NBA TV, which is what I have, and a variety of circumstances mean I didn't shell out the money to watch games online.  What that means is that I still haven't seen the Spurs play, though that changes today.

Why are the Spurs so special?  First, they're chock full of interesting young players.  Second, many of those interesting young players spent time with the Spurs' D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros.  Without engaging in too much hyperbole, I think it's safe to say that the 2010-2011 season will represent a significant gauge of San Antonio's progress in using the Toros as part of their player development program.  Malik Hairston (not at Summer League) was regularly assigned to the Toros and could be ready to assume a larger role with the Spurs.  Alonzo Gee was the Toros' first-round pick in last year's D-League draft, and also looks ready to contribute in the NBA (Gee received two call-ups last season, one with the Washington Wizards and another with the Spurs).  Center Dwayne Jones was called-up by the Phoenix Suns at the end of last season, and Marcus Williams played for the Indiana Pacers in the Orlando Summer League.  The Spurs will need to help the Toros re-stock this year, and will do it with a new coach after Quin Snyder was hired as a player development assistant by the Phildelphia 76ers.

There's a third reason I'm interested to watch this Spurs squad, that that's because I've seen my share of Toros games here in Austin, and am pretty familiar with the players who have come through.  So this is my traditionally long-winded way of saying that I'm glad the Spurs are finally playing on TV at a time more reasonable than 5 am.

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but I don't know if they'll be showing the non-live ones later or what), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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There were a fair amount of pretty solid performances in this evening's slate of games.  I only listed four, but there were several others I could've mentioned, like Marcus Landry, Ronald Dupree, Garret Siler or Morris Almond.  Due to the quirks of court availability and Summer League scheduling, some teams have been powering down and resting their roster players while others are just getting started.

The majority (if not all) of these games will be shown on NBA TV, and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Welcome to beyond the midway point of Vegas Summer League, time for some teams to start heading home.    That means it's not far from Summer League being over, which is always sad.  Sunrise, sunset, etc.  It's also nowhere near being over, though, as some teams have just gotten started.  There's plenty more to learn, which I say because I'm probably one of the few people who thinks these games mean something.  Maybe not all of the stats carry over, but the good players should act like it, and high numbers of fouls and turnovers can be indications of trouble ahead.

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but I don't know if they'll be showing the non-live ones later or what), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Apologies for being somewhat absent today, both on this site and on Twitter (@dontbeabrick, if you haven't heard).  After doing this for eight straight days my brain essentially collapsed on itself and I spent the entire afternoon watching a documentary series about medieval times, not because it was interesting (though it was) but because I just wanted to hear a British person talk for awhile and not Brent Barry.  I should be better from now on, though, since I also left the house at some point and don't feel like I'm chained to my Ikea chair.  You're interested in none of this, I'm sure.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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Who's ready for more basketball?  I know I am.  Seven more games on the docket today, including the last two teams who have yet to play, Cleveland and Chicago.  It's a lot to take in, keeping in mind that most pictures we're getting of players are on the impressionistic side.  Both good games and bad should be taken with the sodium-intensive food of your choice, though also with the knowledge that for many of these players, this is their best shot at impressing NBA teams and earning training camp invitations.  (And yes, if you've been watching this far into Summer League, you know all this already.)

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but I don't know if they'll be showing the non-live ones later or what), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Summer League!  We're about a third of the way through now.  Some teams haven't started playing yet, and others are winding down.  There are shifting waves of players, scouts and media members, which is good because it's pretty hard to cover everything at this point - NBA TV even has to show some games on tape delay.  Regardless, I'm going to try my hardest to see those games that are most important - by those, of course, I mean teams full of D-Leaguers and free agents.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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This is where the Vegas Summer League kicks into high gear, with seven games a day for the next three days, and six games a day after that.  There's a lot of basketball going on, and even the most diehard watcher could be excused for starting to lose track of everything going on.  (What I'm trying to say is, please excuse the mistakes I will inevitably make over the next week.)

The majority of these games will be shown on NBA TV (I know not all of them will be live, but I don't know if they'll be showing the non-live ones later or what), and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Well, I mentioned before that there might come a day when I couldn't cover every team, and that day may have come.  I'm going to try and get more of them done, but I particularly wanted to hip you to this team, made up of some of the finest players (and some of the...okay-est players) the D-League had to offer last season.

This is the second year that the D-League has fielded a Summer League team, and I think last year's experiment can be considered a success.  They finished 3-2, with victories over the Kings, Timberwolves and Trail Blazers, all of whom featured numerous first round picks.  Who knows, if the D-League team hadn't experienced so many injuries, they might've gone undefeated.  At any rate, their success led me to create (steal) the catchphrase, "you just made a fool of yourself in front of T-Bone," used for whenever an NBA team lost to the D-League.

For a breakdown of other NBA Summer League rosters, check these out: New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz,Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers.

For the rest of the Vegas Summer League rosters, refer to this post.

2010 D-League Select Summer League Roster

(via nba.com)

I don't need to remind you this time that I'm only talking about players with guaranteed roster spots because, well, none of these players have guaranteed roster spots.  So instead I'll just remind you that they'll be broken down by position, then by their likelihood of making the NBA.

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Vegas Summer League rolled on into day three, with more teams joining in the fun.  A packed house got their first look at John Wall, but even more importantly, they got to see Demetris Nichols play almost 22 minutes in a blowout (okay, so it wasn't a packed house at that point).  They also got to see that nifty Reyshawn Terry shot.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

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Vegas Summer League marches on, as more and more teams start showing up and playing.  Things are going to get nuts soon (seven games a day starting tomorrow, in fact), but for now enjoy the relaxed mornings and evenings full of basketball.  The biggest story of the day will be number one pick John Wall's first NBA action, such as it is, but there's a lot of good non-roster talent on the docket as well.

The majority (if not all) of these games will be shown on NBA TV, and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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Day two of Vegas Summer League was Blowout City, not that that matters (have I mentioned that I don't think they should keep score?).  There were some pretty solid NBA talents on display, including Toronto's DeMar Derozan and Sonny Weems and the Mavericks' Rodrigue Beaubois, none of who probably need to be here.  And of course, as you'll read below, there was some good play from free agents trying to get invited to training camps.  I actually missed two of the games, as I was out seeing this band, but I was still able to catch some of the better performances.

Since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

Continue reading this post »

For a breakdown of other NBA Summer League rosters, check these out: New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz,Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers,Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks.

For the rest of the Vegas Summer League rosters, refer to this post.

2010 Portland Trail Blazers Summer League Roster

(via nba.com)

Once again, a reminder that we've been talking about players without guaranteed roster spots in this series.  So Blazer's Edge has you covered for Jeff Pendgraph, Dante Cunningham, Luke Babbitt, Patrick Mills and Armon Johnson.  In fact, they have a handy post with all of them included for you.  This is the place for everyone else.

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I'm going to try and keep these roster previews going, although since Scott is unavailable in Vegas (though I hear he's not "unavailable"...ladies?) there may come a point where I can't get several of these, plus a daily review, plus a daily preview done.  For now, though, let's keep it going with a rather interesting Knicks roster.

For a breakdown of other NBA Summer League rosters, check these out: New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz,Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers,Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns.

For the rest of the Vegas Summer League rosters, refer to this post.

2010 New York Knicks Summer League Roster

(via nba.com)

As a reminder, we haven't been talking about players with guaranteed roster spots in this series, so no Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Landry Fields or Andy Rautins (technically, Walker's contract is unguaranteed but you should know who he is by now).  Posting and Toasting is your one-stop shop for information about those players, especially Landry Fields.

The players will be listed by position, then by the likelihood of their making an(y) NBA roster this season.

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Day two of the Vegas Summer League starts up today, and...yeah, there's been a lot of basketball this week.  Thankfully, these games start at a more reasonable time than the Orlando league, which is helpful to all those bloggers out there who are writing this post at 2:30 a.m.  Day 2 action should bring some pretty solid games, including the return of Toronto's DeMar Derozan/Sonny Weems combo and a matchup between the Lakers and Nuggets, two squads with some pretty solid free agent talent looking to get a shot at an NBA roster.

The majority (if not all) of these games will be shown on NBA TV, and those that don't have access to NBA TV can watch all of the Summer League games online for $14.95 either live or on demand.  The "what to watch for" notes are after the jump (all times are Eastern).

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The NBA Las Vegas Summer League kicked off with four solid games.  A few were blowouts, but does that really matter in Summer League?  The bright idea I've come up with over the past week is that the league should keep individual and team stats, but not the score.  Really, does it matter if Denver beat Dallas by 18 points, or that Golden State beat New Orleans by one?  Coaches on both sides could get a headstart on running end-of-game plays even if it wouldn't win the game.  This is about seeing who can help the team generally, not who can help the team beat a group of guys who will be playing in Europe.

Anyway, since most people visiting Ridiculous Upside are probably doing so as a way to see who's looking good and bad at Summer League in lieu of a recap of each game, Scott has saddled me made the brilliant decision to bring back the lovely Monstars and Nonstars that we employed during the D-League playoffs.  These are the three(-ish) best and non-best players of the day, again sticking with players you may not be familiar with.  Hit the jump to see who they were.

Continue reading this post »