Player Profiles
Training Camp Invites - Philadelphia 76ers
by Jon L on Oct 7, 2009 9:01 AM EDT
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Our last Eastern Conference team is the Philadelphia 76ers, who I was a bit rough on recently over their attitude towards the D-League. I'll try to talk about Stromile Swift without yelling.
Stromile Swift - In fact, let's just get this out of the way. Forget Mike Sweetney, it's guys like Swift who I rant about when I rant about D-League players getting passed over for retreads. And in fact, Swift may have a good shot at making the team, since new coach Eddie Jordan loves veterans, especially in the frontcourt, and playing Swift over Marreese Speights would totally be an EJ move (I'm speaking as a Wizards fan, here). That's assuming Swift hustles in practice and gives the impression that he can still contribute, anyway. Which you look at and say "yeah, but it's Stromile Swift," but NBA teams will eventually stop calling, and after the season he had last year Swift may be motivated in case they stop calling in 2010.
Dionte Christmas - I'd say Christmas has a good chance to make the team as well, since he's from Philadelphia, went to Temple, etc., but the team has had a lot of chances to sign him by this point, and since it hasn't happened I wonder if they're just helping a local guy get noticed by other teams. He didn't really impress in Summer League, though, as he had one good game but otherwise couldn't score consistently, and didn't do much other than shoot. Eddie Jordan likes toughness (he brought in the Univ. of Illinois Dee Brown a few years ago to add "Chicago toughness"), so I'm sure he'll love that about Christmas, but the shot just isn't there.
Sean Singletary - Singletary is another Philadelphia guy who actually can make threes, 40 percent last year in fact (not counting the D-League, though he made three of his five outside shots there). He averaged about four and a half rebounds per 36 minutes, which is decent for a 6'0" point guard, though the assists weren't really there and he occasionally forces shots. If Eddie Jordan decides Jrue Holiday isn't ready to step into the backup point guard spot, Singletary could get a look there.
Brandon Bowman - Bowman spent a few years playing in the D-League and overseas after coming out of Georgetown, and he's a small forward who defends very well and made 40 percent of his threes with Bakersfield in 2006 and 36.4 percent in 2007. The 76ers signed Rodney Carney a few weeks before bringing Bowman in, not to mention having guys like Kapono, Young, and occasionally Iguodala and Ivey who they can throw out there at small forward, but Bowman would be a solid bench option for them nonetheless.
Rashad Jones-Jennings - Jones-Jennings was the NCAA's leading rebounder a few years ago, but he went undrafted and ended up playing in Germany after appearing on Philadelphia's 2007 Summer League team. DraftExpress has him down as a very good rebounder (makes sense) and post defender with hands made out of stone and almost no offensive game to speak of. That description is starting to give me Etan Thomas flashbacks, so maybe EJ will find a spot for Jones-Jennings as well. Heck, put all of these guys on the roster, why not.
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Training Camp Invites - Boston Celtics
by Jon L on Oct 6, 2009 3:15 PM EDT
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Do I need to keep writing intros for these?
Michael Sweetney - I'm not really sure why the Celtics signed Sweetney. He's been working to lose weight, though it hasn't really gone well. He sat out most of Summer League with a hamstring injury (with a likely emphasis on the ham, if you get what I'm saying). Sweetney is certainly to be commended for trying to get himself in shape and take another shot at the NBA, but you know how I complain about teams signing washed up old players who can't help them in any way instead of a talented player from the D-League team who can? This is what I'm talking about, even though Sweetney's not that old. Sweetney's per-minute numbers from when he played were fine, 15 points and 10 and a half rebounds, but he's fat, slow, and can't stay on the court.
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Training Camp Invites - New Jersey Nets
by Jon L on Oct 6, 2009 12:00 PM EDT
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The next team up is the New Jersey Nets, and the jokes about possible Russian ownership of the team that are now required by law (it's a real law, I looked it up so you don't need to bother). I don't know why, but for some reason I still find jokes about the Soviet Union hilarious, or at least jokes that were made at the time, such as "The Last Stand of Yakov Smirnoff" from the Ben Stiller Show or SCTV's CCCP1 episode. Anyway, in Soviet Russia, training camp is invited to you! You viewers at home are enjoying this, I'll bet.
Will Blalock - From the 2006-2007 season to 2007-2008, Blalock went from a point guard who picked up almost nine assists per 36 minutes who couldn't shoot to a guy who made 38.5 percent of his three-pointers but dished out less than six assists on a per-minute basis. His rebounding also dropped from almost six per-36 to three. He can get away with that kind of increased shooting output and decreased everything-else in Europe (although he shot 3-17 from three while playing for Germany's Artland Dragons last year, so that didn't happen either), but NBA teams likely want him to be able to combine the two. The Nets already have three point guards and five guys who can play shooting guard, so Blalock will likely be headed back overseas.
Bennet Davis - Davis is a 6'8" power forward whose main skill is his shot-blocking, and he's very good at it. The Utah Flash played him at center a few times last season, mostly in the playoffs and finals, but that didn't work very well. He doesn't score very consistently, and the Nets have a ton of forward-center types on their roster so Davis would be a longshot anyway, but he only started playing basketball when he was 17, so he still could develop an offensive game.
Brian Hamilton - Hamilton is another former Utah Flash player, though that was two seasons ago. He attending the Nets' training camp last year as well, and spent last season playing in the Philippines. Hamilton's calling card is his defense, and there are second-hand accounts that it's real, and it's spectacular. In the D-League he scored at a decent per-minute rate, though he has no real outside shot. The Nets already have several good wing defenders in Courtney Lee and Trenton Hassell, but another team might take notice of Hamilton's work and give him a shot.
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Training Camp Invites - New York Knicks
by Jon L on Oct 6, 2009 9:00 AM EDT
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Our journey through the world of training camp invitations takes us to the Atlantic Division. Which of course means it's time once again to talk about Sun Yue! and the rest of the Knicks. I've talked about all of these signings recently, but in the interest of making this a full and complete series I'll do it once more.
Sun Yue! - A lot of Sun Yue! jokes get made around here, mostly about how much he's hyped up as a 6'9" point guard who can do it all. Most of the time those jokes or references to him not being very good come in generalities, so let's talk real numbers now. He played a total of 28 minutes over 23 games for the Lakers last season, so of course we'll have to turn to the D-League stats for a better picture of what kind of player he is. Of course, he only played six games there so...put 'em together? I guess? He averaged four assists per 36 minutes for the D-Fenders and just under three per-36 in the NBA, so his passing skills aren't really as advertised. He was clearly more comfortable (and successful) shooting against weaker competition, as he shot .397 in the D-League, including .381 on three-pointers. His NBA shooting numbers were a lot grimmer. A .273 shooting percentage, in fact, and he missed all of his threes. He averaged about three and a half rebounds per 36 minutes in the D-League, which is fine for a point guard I suppose, except that a.) he's 6'9", b.) it came in only six games, so not a very large sample, and c.) he didn't get any rebounds in the NBA. He averaged about a steal and a half per 36 minutes when you combine the two "seasons," and he's used his height to block shots, but at this point he's just not ready to play in the NBA on a regular basis.
Warren Carter - Carter was a backup at the University of Illinois and has spent the last few years playing around Europe, but he's a very good rebounder. He led the Knicks' Summer League team in that category on a per-minnute basis, and the fact that he's back here makes me think the team might be giving him an honest shot at making the team. Rebounding is pretty much all he does, but perhaps the team sees him as a budget David Lee (or the new Jared Jeffries?) for their bench.
Gabe Pruitt - Gabe Pruitt had an up-and-down Summer League while playing for Boston's team this year, doing a decent job of running the offense but not always shooting the ball well himself. He made his three-pointers at a decent clip in the D-League, about 36 percent, though he struggled with that shot in the NBA. He didn't pick up that many assists, maxing out at about five per 36 minutes, but he also almost never turns the ball over.
Ron Howard - Howard is an excellent defender who spent most of last season covering opposing small forwards while playing for Fort Wayne, though given his size he's more of a shooting guard in the NBA. That's probably fine since he doesn't rebound at a consistent rate, and while he's not much of a shooter he picked up his scoring towards the end of last year.
Marcus Landry - Landry made almost 42 percent of his three-pointers whilst playing for Sacramento's Summer League team (yeah I used the world "whilst," what of it?), which I'm sure Mike D'Antoni likes. His scoring output increased steadily in college, though some of that was likely due to his increased minutes, and it also looks like he did a good job of both hanging onto the ball and staying out of foul trouble.
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Training Camp Invites - Indiana Pacers
by Jon L on Oct 5, 2009 1:58 PM EDT
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Wrapping up the Central Division, today we look at the Pacers' training camp invitees. There are some talented players here, though as with all teams their chances of actually making the team are a bit slim.
Lawrence Roberts - Roberts had a solid college career playing for Baylor an Mississippi State - he had the first triple-double in the latter school's history, which is pretty good for a power forward - although he hasn't made much of an impression in the NBA. Averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes would be pretty good for a backup, but he's also had some injury issues while playing in Europe. He's also had some foul problems in the past.
Demetris Nichols - Nichols is a scoring wing who got a look from the Knicks last season, but the Knicks looked at a lot of players last season so I'm not sure that means much. The Pacers signed Luther Head to a partially-guaranteed deal not that long ago, so chances are they'll go with him instead, but Nichols is a very good three-point shooter and a pretty good defender on top of it. In some ways he's what the team wanted when they signed Dahntay Jones, but without the millions of dollars.
Rod Benson - We talk about Benson a lot around here, because he's a fun guy and a good player. He spent time in Europe last season before leaving his team there and returning to the D-League to play for Dakota and Reno. He was the third-best shotblocker per game last season and the second-best per minute, as well as a top-10 rebounder. He had some injury issues early in the year while he was overseas, though, so that may have contributed to his rebounding numbers slipping a little. Benson has been working on increasing his upper body strength and on his shot, and he also does a pretty good job holding onto the ball and staying out of foul trouble. He's not blogging anymore, but that just means that RU will have to pick up the slack. Boom got them tho.
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Training Camp Invites - Cleveland Cavaliers
by Jon L on Oct 4, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
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For Cleveland this year, bigger is apparently better. By my count they have 20 players in training camp, which is just plain unnecessary, and it makes the odds even longer for the players I'm about to talk about. Which is too bad, because there's some real talent here.
Rob Kurz - I've actually talked about Kurz a few times in relation to training camp, because first he was looking at Cleveland, then wanted to go to Denver, and is with Cleveland again now. Kurz is a 6'9" three-point shooter who managed to start in five games for Golden State last year because, did I mention that he's a 6'9" three-point shooter who was playing for Golden State? He doesn't rebound particularly well for a power forward (and he even played some center for the Warriors because, did I mention he was a 6'9" three-point shooter who played for the Warriors?) nor does he defend at any level remotely approaching average (check his 82games opponent counterpart production stats), but Mike Brown is a good enough defensive coach that some of those deficiencies could probably be masked should Kurz break through and make the team.
Coby Karl - Karl played in both Summer Leagues this year, first with Boston's roster in Orlando and then with Denver's roster in Vegas. He was a bit shaky in the first but very solid all-around in the second. Karl is definitely skilled enough to play in the NBA, with nice rebounding and passing abilities for a shooting guard. He's an excellent three-point shooter, and overall his scoring is fairly efficient. He'd definitely be an intriguing player to put on the court with Cleveland's other guards, and hopefully he gets the opportunity to show what he can do.
Russell Robinson - Robinson got some notice running the point for the Magic's Summer League team this year, although he didn't shoot particularly well. That's pretty much the opposite of how his D-League season went last year, where he shot the ball just fine but averaged only five and a half assists per 36 minutes. Robinson is a good point guard when he puts it all together, especially since Cleveland has a certain forward who handles the ball a fair amount (no, not J.J. Hickson).
Andre Barrett - Barrett has had brief stops with six NBA teams since 2004, and he's spent some time in the D-League as well. He's actually fairly similar to Russell Robinson, averaging anywhere from five to eight assists on a per-minute basis, making 38-42 percent of his threes, and having an eFG around 51 percent. So what I said above also applies here.
Luke Nevill - Luke Nevill is a big (7'1", 250 lbs.) Australian center with pretty good hands and touch around the rim but almost no athleticism or rebounding ability. I don't know a whole lot about him (he didn't play much during Summer League), but I'm guessing he's here to make Shaquille O'Neal look good.
Darryl Watkins - Effort is Watkins's main problem, as he has some nice physical tools and athleticism along with shot-blocking ability and a decent mid-range jumper, but he can't seem to put it together for any length of time. He's an intriguing process if the Cavs decide they're bored with J.J. Hickson, I suppose, but Watkins will have to work his tail off to make this team, which hasn't been his m.o. thus far in his professional career.
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Training Camp Invites - Orlando Magic
by Jon L on Oct 2, 2009 2:00 PM EDT
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Yes, three posts in one day, can you believe it? Each of these teams only invited a few players so I thought I'd knock out the Southeast Division. Last up, the Orlando Magic.
Linton Johnson - Have I mentioned that Linton Johnson went to Tulane? He did. He's also basically clung to the NBA for dear life for the past six years, playing for seven different teams including the Bulls twice. Most recently Chicago had him bulk up to try and guard power forwards, which wasn't a part of his game up until that point. He's a decent rebounder for a small forward, and though it took a dive last season it came in so few games that I'm willing to give it a pass. He's also not a great shooter. He's been able to stick around with his defense and his hustle, but Orlando has so many forwards that he's really trying to impress other teams.
Morris Almond - Almond was one of the D-League's premier scorers, and he's already said he's not going back. Which leaves him...well, probably in the same position Johnson is, trying to get other teams to notice him. J.J. Redick is a little banged up, and coach Stan Van Gundy wasn't exactly playing him a whole lot past the first round of last year's playoffs, but his defense did improve last year and he's owed guaranteed money, plus while Almond showed off his three-point shot in the D-League, his NBA numbers haven't quite been up to the Magic's standards. There should be a place in the NBA for a guy who averaged 27 points on a .576 eFG percentage, the question is where (and the answer is "not Orlando").
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Training Camp Invites - Washington Wizards
by Jon L on Oct 2, 2009 12:01 PM EDT
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It's another team that only invited two players, the Wizards. I already covered these guys in a past Ridiculous Transactions, but I wanted to give them a bit more shine here, because I can tell you right now that neither of these players will make the team.
Vincent Grier - Grier is likely here because he, like new Wizards coach Flip Saunders, is a University of Minnesota alumnus. He spent 2006-2007 with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he made 40 percent of his threes and averaged five and a half rebounds and three and a half assists per 36 minutes, both of which are decent numbers for a swingman. Since then he's been playing in Europe, and he's an athletic scorer who gets into the lane well. He was a bit streaky in college, though, with a reputation for sometimes-questionable decision-making, and he doesn't have the best footwork on defense. I think he can play in the NBA, it just won't be with Washington.
Paul Davis - At this point Davis is probably becoming better-known for being on the TV show "Millionaire Matchmaker" than for anything he's done in the NBA. He spent the last three seasons with the Clippers, where his per-minute shooting and rebounding numbers were below what you'd like to see from a center. His offensive skills mainly consist of dunks and tip-ins. He's also had some foul problems. I'm not really sure what his next move will be, since as I mentioned he's not going to be with Washington at the start of the regular season. He might get one or two brief NBA looks based on name recognition and his high school and college resume (he was Michigan's "Mr. Basketball" in 2002), but there are multiple D-Leaguers with better games.
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