It's a good thing this competition won't be based on looks. Also, they're ordered by last name. You're welcome.

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Dave from BlazersEdge explains the situation:

The Portland Trail Blazers are seeking an energetic, motivated, team-oriented individual to fill the position of CENTER in their rising, competitive organization.  The successful candidate will be a minimum of 7-feet tall, have a discernable basketball skill, and be able to start on short notice.  Luggage carrying experience a plus.  Note:  Anyone with [bad] knees need not apply.  A pre-employment test will be administered to ensure compliance.

As you have read below the annoying and capricious injury fairy paid yet another visit to the Blazers [Tuesday], this time in the form of Joel Przybilla rupturing a knee tendon and dislocating the knee.  His absence is termed "indefinite", which is to "might be back soon" as Mary Jo Kaperski's "maybe" when you asked her to the prom was to "might actually go with you". 

No one wants to see this keep happening the Blazers, obviously, but this would seem to open a position for yet another D-League call-up, following Anthony Tolliver last week.  According to The Oregonian's Geoffrey C. Arnold, the Blazers will seek a second hardship exemption to allow Portland to sign a player to replace Przybilla.

Luckily, I have some players in mind - I've picked out eight possible candidates.  I know it seems that's probably too many, but, looking at everything, they all bring different strengths and weaknesses.  Just so we know what we're working with, the Blazers would seemingly be looking for a big, solid defender who can rebound and occasionally get a couple putback dunks.  They don't need an offensive powerhouse, they just need someone who can come in, know his role and play like a throwback big man.

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More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Dontell Jefferson (2) is the best defender in the D-League. Unfortunately, judging from this picture from his time with the Charlotte Bobcats last season, Deron Williams still blew by him on the way to a lay-up. Like they always say, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

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If you missed it yesterday, the Jazz traded Eric Maynor and Matt Harpring for some dude named Peter Fehse.  Since I assume you come here for obscure information regarding such things, I'm going to let Sham explain the details.

The reason I'm discussing this here is that the Jazz traded their backup point guard without getting a point guard in return (or anything aside from cap relief, really).  This, as far as I can tell, means that the Utah Jazz are preparing to do what every other team should have done in the past few weeks: Sign Dontell Jefferson from the Utah Flash.

Dontell Jefferson, who topped the first edition of the Randy Livingston Memorial "On The Edge" Call-Up Rankings, is a 6'5" pass-first point guard who played part of last season in the NBA after being called-up by the Charlotte Bobcats.  He also plays for the Utah Flash, is coached by former Jazz scout Brad Jones, and runs the Jazz system (what that is worth, I'm unsure).

Anyway, now that I've developed a post aimed toward getting Dontell Jefferson a call-up, he'll be called-up tomorrow.  If you're skeptical, take a look at this.  I'm one-for-one when it comes to predicting Dontell Jefferson getting called-up.  It's science, Jeff Potter might say. 

Plus, considering he's a smart, defense first point guard who knows the system and the Jazz need to add a player to meet the NBA's 13 player minimum requirement, it just makes sense.

Obviously, another slam dunk move for Daryl Morey and his Rockets.

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Mike Harris of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers has been called-up to the Houston Rockets.  The 6'6", 235 pound Harris averaged 25.3 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 57% from the field, including 10-of-30 from beyond the arc.

Essentially, Harris got the call-up because Von Wafer reportedly failed his physical, according to Mark Berman of MyFoxHouston.  Though Berman mentions "sources told FOX 26 the Rockets may re-visit Wafer's situation soon," I don't really see the point in bringing Wafer back if he's not healthy enough to pass a physical as of right now.  I mean, if Budinger's out for just two and a half more weeks, is it really worth cutting into his minutes with Wafer when they can just release Harris back to the Vipers until they need him again?

Whoa! Speaking of Budinger's injury, I'd like to kindly point out that this is exactly what I suggested Sunday afternoon, though was rejected rather handily by the Rockets faithful.  To re-visit  that article, I said of Harris:

I know, I know; He doesn't play the same position as Chase Budinger, this would be stupid! Well, actually, oddly, he's learning to play more to his size( a big 6-foot-6) while biding his time in the D-League. Spending a considerable amount of his time out on the perimeter, Harris is averaging 26 points, seven boards and shooting 9 of-26 from beyond the arc. I know that's not astounding, but it does show that he's playing on the perimeter, and playing quite a bit out there. If Morey was willing to call him up in place of Landry, why not give Harris a shot at some of Budinger's minutes for a few weeks to see if he's really developing as more than a 6'6" power forward or if the D-League is just that bad.

In my Tweet of that story, I mentioned Daryl Morey and BOOM! It worked.  Since Daryl seemingly listened to me, let's give him some praise on why this was such a great idea:

1. Harris is a hustle player, the Rockets are a hustle team.  Why not?
2. He's played for the Rockets before and now plays for the Rockets D-League team.  If you're unfamiliar (and you shouldn't be), the RGV Vipers are running the Rockets system, and running it well.
3. This gives the Rockets a chance to see how the farm team is working.  Is Harris, who has worked on developing more perimeter skills, ready to play at the 3 in the NBA?  At least for the Rockets, who start 6'6" Chuck Hayes at center?

Overall, as you may have noticed in my recent series of posts, I love this move.  The question is, do you?  (If not, don't say anything.  I think we saw the last time that happened, when everyone hated the D-League in this poll except me.  Look what happened then!)

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Houston Rockets' Von Wafer celebrates a dunk against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 5, 2009, in Houston. The Rockets won 102-88.

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UPDATE: Von Wafer failed his physical. [12/23/2009, 1:29 AM]

According to Mark Berman at Fox 23 in Houston, Von Wafer is on his way to Houston to become a Rocket. Again.

[Wafer] said he paid roughly $1.2 million to get out of that contract.  He said his buyout is a lot of money, but it's worth it.

"This is great," Wafer said. "Oh my goodness, I'm so happy, I'm about to start crying. I want to play in the NBA."

I realize this has nothing to do with the D-League, but after lobbying for Mike Harris or Antonio Anderson to get a call-up in place of Chase Budinger, I figure this is news you need to know.

I can't blame (new twitter friend) Daryl Morey for picking up Von Wafer again over a D-Leaguer, because as you should remember from this post, Von Wafer was a D-League call-up (2x) before becoming a Rocket last season.  Obviously, comfortability probably came into play here, as Von was a relative stud at times for the Rockets last season, and, while I'd assume that the Rockets would have to be just as comfortable with their D-League prospects, that may not be the case.

This also leads to the inevitable question "WHAT THE HELL DOES MIKE HARRIS HAVE TO DO TO GET A CALL-UP?!?"

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

As far as I can tell from this picture, touching Antonio Anderson's head is good luck. Touch his head Mike Harris! Maybe it'll get us a freakin' call-up!

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I know, it seems like I'm forcing the RGV Vipers down everyone's throat since my last post was about calling some of these dudes up, but seriously, they deserve to play in the NBA.  Someone, aside from myself and Matt Moore, should start showing these guys the love they've earned.

Since I wasn't able to watch the game (getting my workout on and clinching ever-so-tightly to my berth in my fantasy football league's championship), I have to break this game down using this handy-dandy boxscore (It's really not that handy and definitely not dandy, but we'll get into that later this week!).  Also, for some reason, the minutes seem to be messed up (180 instead of 240) - let's get it on that, k ADB?

• Since he never really gets any ink, I'm starting today off with some Jonathan Wallace love.  Wallace is a player I was high on at Georgetown just because he's a solid point guard, a bit of a throwback.  He's not going to score 30 points and dish the flashy passes, but he'll be solid, and on this team, "solid" is more than enough.  Last night, he played 28 minutes, dishing 11 assists (just one turnover) and scoring 11 points.  Obviously, some of his assists can be attributed to the talent around him, but I'm giving him credit.
• Mike Harris, please just get a stinkin' call-up instead of being an efficient scorer and guarding whoever Antonio Anderson isn't.  Harris put up 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting in just 28 minutes before he fouled out.
• Joey Dorsey is frickin' beast. 27 points, 15 boards and, well, seven turnovers.  Against Rod Benson.
• If you were wondering who takes over at the point when Jon Wallace isn't playing, typically, it's Antonio Anderson.  Anderson isn't an amazing point guard (which is why Tyreke Evans was given the ropes last year at Memphis), but his court vision is there, as his eight assists will tell you (one up above his 7.1 season average).  Seven turnovers, however, are an issue.  I have to assume he was given the assignment of defending the opponents best perimeter player as per usual, so we'll get to him next!
• Desmon Farmer, Reno's noted chucker who is averaging 26 points prior this game, was held to just 12 shots (lowest of the season), though he made six of them.  Hate to credit Anderson for holding Farmer to just 18 points, but I'm guessing it's warranted.  If not, tell me.
  
• Mo Charlo, just because Farmer isn't killing it, that doesn't mean you have to.  Glad we got that out of the way.
• Russell Robinson, quit turning the ball over. Kthxbai!
• Since I didn't watch the game, I'm not going to say Rod Benson was murdered in the Dorsey-Benson matchup, because who knows what happened.  Maybe the Band of Misfit Toys (oh Hai Eric Devendorf) finally got to him.  Maybe his partner-in-crime Cezary Trybanski (sitting this one out due to suspension) was missed.  Who knows.  Still, 13 points, 2 blocks, 2 boards isn't great.

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

Way to rep the D-League, Anthony Tolliver!

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(Disclaimer: This post is mostly made to show that I picked Anthony Tolliver last time around.  Really hope I win a prize!)

Here's my Fantasy team from the first installment (December 4th).  I'm an awesome scout!

Carlos Powell F Albuquerque Thunderbirds
Romel Beck F Dakota Wizards
Anthony Tolliver F Idaho Stampede
Antonio Anderson G Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Rob Kurz F Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Ok, so you're not really scouting, just picking five names and hoping for a call-up, but still, the second installment is underway and apparently you can win prizes if one of your picks gets called-up.

Since I'm the expert, here are my picks (in random order):

Cedric Simmons F Idaho Stampede
Dontell Jefferson G Utah Flash
Romel Beck F Dakota Wizards
Mike Harris F Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Antonio Anderson G Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Also, if you think your picks are better than mine, post them in the comments and I'll carefully destruct them.

Also, looking at that team of ballaz, it seems like it could double as an entrant into G-Martz's D-League All-Star game (You're welcome Garrett, now please send me my Kibwe Trim card back as payment for plugging your blog).

More photos » by Bob Levey - AP

"Ow! My ankle! Quick, Daryl, call-up a D-League stud for three weeks while I'm out!"

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According to the Houston Chronicle, Chase Budinger is out two to three weeks with a sprained ankle.  Budinger was averaging eight points and three boards, but shooting just over 40% from the field.

Since we're a D-League blog, that probably doesn't matter to you, so lets get to the meat and potatoes of this story.

According to Rockets GM Daryl Morey, they don't expect to call anyone up to fill his spot in the rotation.  Had Carl Landry, who lost some teeth in Dirk Nowitzki's elbow, been out for more than a game, the Rockets would have "likely" signed Rio Grande Valley standout Mike Harris.

This perplexes me.  Why not sign a D-Leaguer to replace Budinger, who was averaging just under 20 minutes a game, but sign someone to replace Landry instead of just bringing back Joey Dorsey from the D-League?

Well, Daryl "Dork Elvis" Morey knows a bit more about basketball than I do, but it seems like a great chance to help the Vipers while giving future prospects more of an incentive to develop in their D-League system.  See, it's not exploited like it once was (Oh hey 2007-08 Austin Toros! (see December 26th-29th call-ups here)), but if a player is called up from your team for three weeks, you move to the top of the D-League waiver list, giving you your choice of the best player to enter the D-League pool - this is how the Fort Wayne Mad Ants recently picked up Jared Reiner, since it'd been three weeks since the Golden State Warriors called-up Chris Hunter.

So, in the end, signing a player off the Vipers for the three weeks that Budinger is out:

• gives a Viper a chance to earn some extra income so he doesn't have to defect to China after the D-League Showcase to feed his family
• Gives the Vipers a chance to add yet another talented player to their already stacked lineup
• has no foreseeable downside (correct me if I'm wrong in the comments!)

Continue reading to see which Vipers I'd have in mind!

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by HO - AP

The guy that proposed didn't look like Tony Gonzalez. And his future wife didn't look like Tony's wife, who is apparently named October. Probably because it happened in North Dakota.

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The one thing I don't like about the D-League is the fact that the majority of their games are on the weekends in the evening.  It's not like I have a bustling social life, but still.  Anyway, I feel we kind of cheated you by not recapping last Friday nights action, so I didn't want to be a complete failure today.  

It's still the weekend, however, so in lieu of my usual great notes, I'm giving you tweets from yours truly, Matt Moore at Hardwood Paroxysm, Steve Weinman at D-League Digest, Mookie at A Stern Warning and Jim Fossel from CelticsTown.  Yes, there were multiple people semi-regularly tweeting about the D-League last night.  Ain't it great?!

First, some general D-League analysis:

Can we get a petition letter to get plus/minus added to the D-League boxscore? (Matt Moore)

Seriously, why not?  It couldn't be that hard to include, am I right?  Or, is Moore right?  If it takes Jon L writing a post about this and "Blocks Against," we'll do it.  Don't test us.

This stuff kills me. RT @HPbasketball RT @RUBasketball: Nothing classier than proposing at the first timeout of a D-League game. Seriously. (Slam's Holly Mackenzie)

This happened at the first quarter of the Wizards-Skyforce game.  Added romanticism came with the sponsored Wizards-logo'd t-shirts the couple wore.

Futurecast drivers REALLY need to quit using the baseline cam. You are one dude with a button, not a TNT production crew. Keep it wide. (MM)

Two palming calls in Maine tonight. Will that top the NBA's season total? (Steve Weinman)

Do the D-League players have their names at the bottom of the jerseys because they're names that are on the rise? (Mookie)

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