Ridiculous Upside

Marcus Hubbard traded to Reno for Quaintance

2009-11-06T23:09:41Z

Marcus Hubbard traded to Reno for Quaintance

Of course, right after I finish writing my draft wrap-up I see this. Rio Grande Valley has traded power forward Marcus Hubbard to the Reno Bighorns for forward Haminn Quaintance. I like this move for RGV. Hubbard is talented but prefers playing out on the perimeter and shooting threes, even though he's best suited for playing inside. Quaintance, on the other hand, is actually a good three-point shooter. For Reno, Hubbard gives them another backup big man, and Hubbard has gotten a lot of attention this offseason after playing for the D-League Select Summer League team and participating in the NBA Asia Challenge.

D-League Draft: A Second Look

2009-11-06T22:13:29Z

Now that some time has passed and I've had a chance to look over all of the picks, I thought I'd lay down some more thoughts about how each team did. I'll try to make this as brief as I can, because there are 16 teams, but I'll also try to give a pretty good picture of how the teams look heading into training camp. Also, just as a warning, I'm going to be here for most of the weekend, so posting might be a little light. I'll try to catch any big news, of course, but hopefully this and last night's first impressions and the OSLB comments should be enough draft coverage to tide you over for a few days. Anyway, on with the teams. The key picks are listed followed by the round in which they were drafted, below the jump:

Albuquerque Thunderbirds
Key picks: Carlos Powell (1), Chad Toppert (2), Erek Hansen (3), Shagari Alleyne (5), Garrison Carr (7)

The Thunderbirds had a pretty solid all-around draft, picking up centers (Hansen and Alleyne), some three-point shooting (Toppert and Carr) and, of course, the best player in the draft (Powell). Powell's a prime call-up candidate, so they shouldn't count on him being around for very long. I'm a bit intrigued by their pick of J'Nathan Bullock (6), who was a two-sport star in college and was even signed by the New York Jets as a tight end a few years ago, though he never played with the team. He's athletic, a good offensive rebounder and was able to get to the free-throw line (and convert once there) in college, so he might be able to replace some of what Powell gives them should a call-up come. Yaroslav Korolev (4) is also here, and to be honest I have no idea how he'll do.

Austin Toros
Key picks: Alonzo Gee (1), Russell Carter (2), Lewis Clinch (3), Ira Brown (4), Quemont Greer (6)

The Gee pick shouldn't be (and wasn't) a surprise, as the Spurs have been keeping an eye on him and inviting him to Summer League. Carter steadily improved over his time at Notre Dame, and he was an all-Big East selection his senior year. Clinch is a decent shooter, but played point guard in college. I assume they're going to mold him into more of a straight two-guard, since the team already has Curtis Jerrells and Squeaky Johnson (and probably Marcus Wililams) around to run the point. Brown is a Texas native and was actually a baseball player for about four years, having been drafted by the Royals in 2001, before developing shoulder problems and going back to basketball. He was a good JuCo player before transferring to Gonzaga. The Toros drafted a few centers towards the end (Augustine Okosun (7) and D'Mond Grismore (8), although Grismore is just 6'6"), but expect them to run a lot again this season.

Bakersfield Jam
Key picks: Amara Sy (1), Reece Gaines (2), Anthony Goods (3), Jared Newson (4) Lance Hurdle (5)

The Jam focused on perimeter players last night, as seven of their eight picks are all between 6'1" and 6'7", and only one of the taller guys is a post player (Ramon Dyer, from the seventh round). The second round feels a little high for Gaines, but he has good size and is athletic, and he was good in college, I suppose. Goods was a three-year starter at Stanford (and is from California, so he's local) and was a decent three-point shooter there. Hurdle is athletic, but in college he was a point guard who didn't distribute the ball particularly well. Bakersfield drafted him mainly for his defense, I think, although the team didn't have any notable point guards allocated to it and the other small guard they drafted, Stephen McDowell (8), averaged less than two assists per 36 minutes in college, so their offense may get stuck at times this season.

Dakota Wizards
Key picks: Curtis Withers (1), Doug Thomas (2), Marcus Dove (3) D'Lancy Carter (4), Rashad Powell (7)

Dakota went the other way from Bakersfield and focused on guys with size, drafting five players 6'7" or taller. Withers was a first team all-Conference USA and first team all-Atlantic 10 in college. Coach Rory White compared him to Ben Wallace (hi Scott!) but with better offense (which means any offense, really). Thomas is another strong rebounder and shot-blocker. Carter is an athletic center whose rebounding was a bit inconsistent in college, but the talent is there. I think I mentioned this in the OSLB, but Powell was an all-conference defender in college, and Dove is another strong front-court defender. Between Withers, Thomas, and returning players David Monds, David Bell, Mo Baker and Renaldo Major, the Wizards should be one of the better-rebounding teams in the D-League.

Erie BayHawks
Key picks: Alade Aminu (trade), Donell Taylor (1), John Bryant (2), Martin Zeno (3), Derrick Mercer (4), Jeff Skemp (6)

The Taylor pick makes a little more sense in light of the Aminu trade, which I also like. Erie already had three-point shooting with Ivan Harris, and what they really needed was someone in the middle who was actually, you know, supposed to be in the middle. They got three of those players in Aminu, Bryant and Skemp, and they're different types of players. Bryant is more polished with a nice touch around the rim, but not particularly athletic or in shape. Aminu, on the other hand, is almost nothing but athleticism. He showed some talent in college but also came off the bench most of the time, so it will be the BayHawks' staff's job to mold that talent. He got both a Summer League and a training camp invite this year, so NBA teams are watching him. Skemp is a little more athletic than Bryant but similarly polished (polished being a relative term, as this is the D-League after all), as he made 63 percent of his field goals in his senior year of college and was a Division III All-American. Taylor is a decent perimeter defender with a few years' NBA experience. Mercer can run the point and shoot three-pointers. Zeno is a pretty good rebounder for a 6'5" guard. I wasn't crazy about this draft last night, but looking at it again combined with who they're bringing back, Erie put themselves in good shape (that's not a John Bryant joke).

Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Key picks: Rob Kurz (trade), Frank Tolbert (2), Jamelle Cornley (3), Booker Woodfox (4), AJ Ratliff (8)

The Mad Ants came into the draft needing a point guard and ended up with: a 6'9" three-point shooter (Kurz); a solid-rebounding shooting guard (Tolbert), a scoring swingman (Cornley), another three-point shooter (Woodfox) and a perimeter defender (Ratliff). In abstraction many of those guys are solid picks, but who's going to pass the ball? Kurz being around means Chris Hunter can play center full-time and use his mid-range game to flummox defenders who don't do well outside of the post (ahem, Dwayne Jones). I can only assume they're going to use Kyle McAlarney at point guard, even though he's more of a shooter and his assist numbers in college weren't great.

Idaho Stampede
Key picks: Sundiata Gaines (1), Dar Tucker (2), Delonte Holland (3), Mike Gansey (6), Bryson McKenzie (7)

A lot of what I said last night still applies. I'm not sure about the Tucker pick in the second round, especially since there were plenty of similarly-athletic-but-more-consistent players available, but Gaines, Holland and Gansey all should fit well into Bob MacKinnon's offense. TJ Cummings (4) is a D-League vet, but his numbers have pretty steadily declined over the last few years. Vince Oliver (8) increased his field goal percentage every year at UC-Davis, so that's something. This may end up as more of a mixed bag than I thought last night.

Iowa Energy
Key picks: Rashad Anderson (1), Pat Carroll (2), Sean Barnette (3), Joah Tucker (5), Russell Hicks (7)

With a very good big man (Anthony Tolliver) and a good point guard (Curtis Stinson) already in the fold, the Energy focused on finding slashers and three-point shooters. Anderson was their best pick all night (no surprise, since he was their first-rounder) as the leading scorer in the top Italian basketball division last year. Carroll was a very good three-point shooter in college, and he'll probably get a lot of space to shoot for Iowa between Anderson and Tolliver. Marcus Walker (8) lead his college conference in per-game scoring while at Colorado State. Barnette also shot the ball last year, but in France. Russell Hicks has good size for a center (7'0", 260), but he was an inconsistent rebounder in college.

LA D-Fenders
Key picks: Deron Washington (1), Jeremy Wise (3), Charlie Parker (6), Travis Pinick (8)

I'm not a huge fan of LA's draft. Washington should be excellent, of course, while Wise is a talented scorer and Parker is solid, but other than that...well, for example Christopher Hayes (4) never shot better than 38 percent in college (not on threes, overall), so I'm not sure that was a great pick in the fourth round. I haven't seen anything about his defense, but I hope it's good. Travis Pinick could be interesting, as he was a pretty efficient scorer, and as a Yalie he should be able to pick up the Triangle alright, but overall it seems like there were several instances of better players being available than who the D-Fenders drafted.

Maine Red Claws
Key picks: Paul Harris (1), Darnell Lazare (2), Frank Young (3), Gary Ervin (4), Scooter McFadgon (5)

Harris was being talked up before the draft (yes, including by me), and he's an athletic swingman and talented defender who just needs to figure out the whole scoring thing. Ervin may have been a slight reach, as teams didn't seem to be falling over themselves to draft D-League vet PGs, but he should be a solid backup for Will Blalock. Lazare was an overall efficient scorer in Europe last season, though it appears he occasionally got the outside shooting bug even though he's not very good at it. Young was all-Big East as a senior. Overall nothing really jumps out at me about Maine's draft, just a collection of solid picks.

Reno Bighorns
Key picks: Desmon Farmer (1), Haminn Quaintance (2), Terry Martin (4)

I feel bad for the teams towards the end of the alphabet, because when I write these sorts of pieces and promise to make them short (see above) they end up not being short, and by the time I get around Reno I'm annoyed that it's not done and I just want to get it over with. So maybe next time I'll do it in reverse order. Anyway, Reno picked up some pretty good scorers in Farmer, who got an NBA look last season, Quantance, who's very efficient, and Martin, who's a good perimeter shooter. They also needed a big man to back up Rod Benson and Cezary Trybanski, and they got one in Ronald Allen (8), I'm just not sure Allen is all that good.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Key picks: Antonio Anderson (1), Jonathan Wallace (2), Jamarcus Ellis (3), Kenny Dawkins (5), DeAngelo Alexander (8)

Anderson's a terrific defender, the kind that Houston likes. Wallace should fill the Vipers' need for a three-point shooter. Ellis could be a pretty good D-League player, as he was a JuCo All-American and later solid all-around player for Indiana (University). Keep your eye on point guard Kenny Dawkins, who the Rockets (and Mavericks) worked out this summer, and who was an all-conference player in college. DeAngelo Alexander has a lot of talent, but he hasn't translated it into much success thus far.

Sioux Falls Skyforce
Key picks: Raymond Sykes (1), Pete Campbell (2), Reggie Williams (3), Leemire Goldwire (4), Lawrence McKenzie (8)

The Skyforce drafted a lot of scoring last night. Sykes is an extremely athletic power forward who's mostly known for his dunking. Reggie Williams led the nation in scoring more than once (I think it was twice) playing at VMI, and while he's not all that athletic he's smart, efficient and has figured out how to score creatively. Campbell, Goldwire and McKenzie were all good three-point shooters in college (and in Bulgaria for Goldwire), and Goldwire has gotten some NBA attention the last few years. Nate Miles (6) bounced around high schools and was kicked out of UConn, but the talent and scoring ability is there. Sioux Falls didn't big men, which seems like a lot of trust to be placing in Greg Stiemsma.

Springfield Armor
Key picks: JamesOn Curry (1), Major Wingate (2), James Cripe (3), Craig Austrie (4)

JamesOn Curry is a very good scorer, but he might be better suited to play two-guard rather than run the point. Wingate and Cripe (3) are both athletic centers , but Cripe in particular was a poor rebounder in college. Craig Austrie was pretty bad offensively at UConn, but he's a decent perimeter defender. I can't say I'm all that impressed with Springfield's draft. Prove me wrong, Moltar!

Tulsa 66ers
Key picks: Latavious Williams (1), Mustafa Shakur (2), Cecil Brown (3), Keena Young (6), Adam McCoy (7)

Williams is the obvious draw here, because he's the first player to go right from high school to the D-League. Nate Tibbetts is a young coach but already has a pretty good track record when it comes to developing players, and the fact that Oklahoma City is so directly involved with the team means that Williams likely will have more development resources at his disposal than he would playing in, say, Bakersfield. That said, he's a power forward on a team that returns and also drafted several power forwards. He likely won't get a ton of playing time, but he'll be working in practice and earning some of that humility that some people think can only be had in Europe. Shakur helps fill their need for backcourt scoring, and he's a veteran of the European leagues. Brown was an okay three-point shooter in Europe and in college, and McCoy was an even better one in JuCo and at North Texas. Young was a fairly efficient scorer at BYU and a pretty good rebounder for his size. One thing I didn't see the 66ers draft was a point guard, which they kind of need.

Utah Flash
Key picks: Garrett Siler (1), Orien Greene (2), Kevin Goffney (3), Jason Richards (4), Alain LaRoche (7)

I'm already on record as liking this draft a lot, but at the risk of repeating myself...I like this draft a lot. They got solid talent and a good balance of skills. Siler was probably the best center/big man available, and while his conditioning needs to improve he's very skilled around the rim, and several NBA teams took notice of him in Summer League and training camp. With Siler, Luke Nevill and arguably James Lang (plus Bennet Davis), Utah could have a monster frontcourt this season. Orien Greene has several years' worth of NBA experience, even if that experience wasn't very good. The talent should still be there, but even if he falters, Richard was a top-notch assist man in college and should do well in Utah's offense replacing Kevin Kruger. I really like the late pick of LaRoche, who's an incredibly efficient scorer. Utah has some wing players who can score, so the fact that Goffney occasionally struggles with that shouldn't be a huge deal, and he's a very good rebounder for his size.

TRADE REPORT! BayHawks trade Rob Kurz to Ft. Wayne Mad Ants for 10th Overall Pick...BayHawks Select...

2009-11-06T06:33:09Z

TRADE REPORT! BayHawks trade Rob Kurz to Ft. Wayne Mad Ants for 10th Overall Pick...BayHawks Select Alade Amino with the 10th Pick

From the Erie BayHawks Twitter. I guess Erie liked Alade AminU so much they traded Rob Kurz for him. I also know that Fort Wayne was angling to get Kurz as a local allocation player, so I guess this is a win-win. It remains to be seen, however, if this is a win-win-win.

2009 D-League Draft Results and First Impressions

2009-11-06T04:07:19Z

I spent way too long trying to find an Impressions album cover image that fit within SBN's image boxes, but it didn't happen.

View full size photo »

So that happened. If you tuned in to the Open Source Live Blog you saw me try desperately to keep up with the D-League draft, with picks that would occasionally come eight at a time, all while also trying to figure out who the heck some of the players taken in the later rounds are. It was fun, and thanks go out to all the commenters who stopped by and contributed. That's the point of making it "open source," after all. I thought I'd put up some first impressions, what I liked, what I wasn't a big fan of, etc., while the draft was still fresh in my mind. Some of this (okay, pretty much all of it) is on-the-fly analysis, so be aware that some of my opinions could change between now and whenever I do a fuller read on how it went.

What I liked

I really, really like Utah's draft. They got probably the best big man in the pool with Garrett Siler, then addressed their need for a point guard by taking Orien Greene, who's out to prove his pro career isn't a total disaster, and Jason Richards, who picked up a ton of assists in college. Kevin Goffney could be interesting as well, as he's a good rebounder for a swingman, and I like their late pick of Alain LaRoche, another swingman-type who made over 68 percent of his field goals playing in Finland last year.
Idaho is another team I thought drafted well. Sundiata Gaines could be a strong point guard for them this year even though the team's already bringing Lanny Smith back. Dar Tucker is the wild card here, as he's very athletic and talented, but has exhibited terrible shot selection thus far in his career. I'll be interested to see how he takes to Bob MacKinnon's offense. Delonte Holland should fit in as a good three-point shooter, just as long as he doesn't get mad at his coach again. Mike Gansey and Bryant McKenzie were both solid late pick-ups. McKenzie should (hopefully) fill their need for a big man; even though he hasn't played much the last few years, the numbers are there. Gansey could counteract Tucker's shooting with his own smart play. I think he's a great fit for MacKinnon's offense with his efficiency and ability to score off of picks and screens.
Rio Grande Valley is the third team that I get an overall good impression about. They drafted a strong defender in Antonio Anderson and followed that up with a very good three-point shooter in Jonathan Wallace. Jamarcus Ellis showed a nice all-around game at Indiana, averaging a little over eight rebounds, about four assists and about two steals per 36 minutes. Kenny Dawkins should be a solid backup for Cliff Clinkscales.
Kudos to Erie for drafting a real center (John Bryant) instead of going with their inane idea of sticking a small or power forward in that position again. Bryant's pretty good, too, if you can look past the big and slow factor.
Shout out to my Turkish psych rock CDs for accompanying me and keeping me from getting too flustered during the draft and live blog. Bunalım, 3 Hür-el, Barış Manço...good stuff.

What the

I have to say, the BayHawks got the surprises going early by picking Donell Taylor second overall. First we heard they were looking at Sundiata Gaines. Then they were talking big man. But instead they went with the NBA vet shooting guard who defends a little and doesn't score a ton. So I don't know. It's not that I don't like Taylor, or that he's not a good player, he just wasn't what I was expecting out of Erie's first pick. Cleveland's front office was a part of their draft "war room," so maybe we'll see Taylor called up at some point this year.
With Rashad Anderson, Pat Carroll, Sean Barnette, Marcus Walker, Joah Tucker...almost all of their picks really, the Iowa Energy were pretty clearly looking for scorers and shooters. I wouldn't bank on having Anthony Tolliver all year if I were them, either, but I guess we'll see if Casey Love and Russell Hicks can get it done down low. At any rate, expect Curtis Stinson to get assists, son.
I mentioned this in the OSLB, but...I'm not really sure Tulsa has the best track record to pick Latavious Williams. Without a doubt, it probably better that Williams go to a team with a direct NBA affiliate that has shown a commitment to development and to using its D-League team properly (unlike, say, the Lakers). That said, I'm not sure Keith Clark grew all that much as a player last season, and it's possible that Williams will find himself in the same situation of being draft-eligible but not draft-desired. That's not entirely fair, as Tulsa had a rough year last year overall, and some injuries probably forced Clark into situations he was either unready or ill-suited for. Tulsa's new head man Nate Tibbetts is a good up-and-coming coach, and immediately presenting him with a project like Williams speaks to Oklahoma City's (and Tulsa's) confidence in him. But, Williams is a power forward (and a rail-thin one at that - he's listed at 6'8", 190 lbs.) on a team that already has Clark and Larry Owens, plus anyone Oklahoma City might want to send down such as D.J. White, so I wonder how much "on-court" development Williams will get.

The full draft results broken down by team are below the jump.

Albuquerque Thunderbirds	Austin Toros	Bakersfield Jam	Dakota Wizards
Carlos Powell	Alonzo Gee	Amara Sy	Curtis Withers
Chad Toppert	Russell Carter	Reece Gaines	Doug Thomas
Erek Hansen	Lewis Clinch	Anthony Goods	Marcus Dove
Yaroslav Korolev	Ira Brown	Jared Newson	D'lancy Carter
Shagari Alleyne	David McClure	Lance Hurdle	Jason Straight
J'Nathan Bullock	Quemont Greer	Chris Ayer	Darren Cooper
Garrison Carr	Augustine Okuson	Ramon Dyer	Rashaad Powell
Brian Kortovich	D'Mond Grismore	Stephen McDowell	Jimmy Binnie
Erie BayHawks	Fort Wayne Mad Ants	Idaho Stampede	Iowa Energy
Donell Taylor	Alade Aminu	Sundiata Gaines	Rashad Anderson
John Bryant	Frank Tolbert	Dar Tucker	Pat Carroll
Martin Zeno	Jamelle Cornley	Delonte Holland	Sean Barnette
Derrick Mercer	Booker Woodfox	TJ Cummings	Carl Mitchell
Rod Wilmont	Lenny Stokes	JC Mathis	Joah Tucker
Jeff Skemp	CJ Anderson	Mike Gansey	Casey Love
Ryan Troutman	Andres Sandoval	Bryson McKenzie	Russell Hicks
Zachary Sowers	AJ Ratliff	Vince Oliver	Marcus Walker
Los Angeles D-Fenders	Maine Red Claws	Reno Bighorns	RGV Vipers
Deron Washington	Paul Harris	Desmon Farmer	Antonio Anderson
Alan Wiggins	Darnell Lazare	Haminn Quaintance	Jonathan Wallace
Jeremy Wise	Frank Young	Chris Lowe	Jamarcus Ellis
Christopher Hayes	Gary Ervin	Louis Graham	Mickell Gladness
Christopher Moore	Scooter McFadgon	Terry Martin	Kenny Dawkins
Charlie Parker	Anthony Terrell	Jermaine Johnson	Antoine Hood
Moustafa N'Doye	Tony Bobbitt	Chris Davis	Rashad Woods
Travis Pinick	Matt Clement	Ronald Allen	DeAngelo Alexander
Sioux Falls Skyforce	Springfield Armor	Tulsa 66ers	Utah Flash
Raymond Sykes	JamesOn Curry	Latavious Williams	Garrett Siler
Pete Campbell	Major Wingate	Mustafa Shakur	Orien Greene
Reggie Williams	James Cripe	Cecil Brown	Kevin Goffney
Leemire Goldwire	Craig Austrie	Jeral Davis	Jason Richards
Draelon Burns	DeSean White	Mitchell Jordan	Joe Darger
Nate Miles	Perrin Johnson	Keena Young	Travis Holmes
Rodney Alexander	Brandon Jones	Adam McCoy	Alain LaRoche
Lawrence McKenzie	Braydon Billbe	Tim Parham	Jordan Brady

2009 D-League Draft Preview

2009-11-05T14:30:29Z

Carlos Powell should be one of the top picks in tonight's D-League draft.

View full size photo »

A reminder that we're having an Open Source Live Blog in this here comments section, so join us in roughly two hours as we follow the draft and watch Rick Kamla try not to say anything offensive.

It's finally here. The D-League draft is tonight sometime around 7 PM eastern (7 is when the "selection show" starts on NBA TV), and as a preview for what to expect tonight, I thought I'd highlight some of the top players in the draft pool. And I also wanted to go over what each team's needs are. Oh, and I also thought a mock draft would be a good idea. That's a lot of writing, especially when you're me and everything you do is overwritten. So I've combined all of those ideas, sort of. What we have here is a look at each team's major needs with an explanation of who they could draft, done in the first round's draft order. So I guess that is almost exactly like a mock draft, except that I may talk about more than one player per team. To follow along with each team's needs be sure to check out my rundown of each team's major returning and allocated players; Dakota, Fort Wayne...and the rest. I'm not going to talk about every player in the draft pool, because there are 200 of them (you can find the full list here). Also I should warn you that whatever I say in this preview is probably wrong.

I'll be tracking the draft on the D-League site this evening, so those of you who are doing the same or are watching it on NBA TV should come on by for the first Open Source Live Blog of the season. The preview's below the jump.

Albuquerque Thunderbirds
Needs: A big man, point guard
Best fits: Rashid Byrd, Garrett Siler, JamesOn Curry

Kevin Pittsnogle is a power forward/center-type, but his game was always further out along the perimeter. Byrd and Siler are probably the best centers in the draft pool. Siler turned some heads with his Summer League play, showing good instincts around the rim, very good rebounding and efficient scoring. Of course, he's pretty, uh, big. Byrd isn't all that efficient offensively, but he's a decent rebounder and shotblocker, and he has some D-League experience having played in Los Angeles and Rio Grande Valley. Point guard-wise, they could look to any number of players, including former NBA player Orien Greene or D-League vets Curry, Jeremy Kelly, Ryan Diggs or Gary Ervin. That's right, JamesOn Curry is (possibly) back. Also, there are a lot of pretty good point guards available. JamesOn Curry is, of course, the biggest name among them, although he was always more of a scorer than a distributor. In two season with the Iowa Energy he shot a combined 36.6 percent on three-pointers and averaged 15 and a half points, while averaging about four assists per 36 minutes. It's entirely possible that teams will shy away from Curry's off-court "issues," but the talent should still be there. There are some rumors that the team will go with Carlos Powell here, and to be honest he's probably the most talented player in the draft pool

Erie BayHawks
Needs: Point guard, a big man
Best fits: Curry, Orien Greene, Jeremy Kelly, Sundiata Gaines, Byrd, Sile

A point guard is probably the biggest need for Erie, since both point guard Maureece Rice and point-center Erik Daniels are both gone. That's a lot of points, and I haven't even talked about their scoring! (I'm so, so sorry.) Anyway, if Curry is around he'd be a pretty good fit, since he can shoot threes (which this team seems to like), and while I downplayed his assists above they're about as good as anyone else's who's available. Jeremy Kelly is another option. His three-point shooting and overall scoring have steadily improved over his three years in Tulsa, and his five-assists-per-36-minutes average is, like Curry's, about as good as anyone else's. If not either of those, then how about Sundiata Gaines? The team is reportedly looking at Gaines with this pick. I'm not that familiar with him, but DraftExpress seems to be fairly high on the guy, although I'm not sure what following the sentence that says "he's forced to do far too much ball-handling" with one that says "he...handles the ball well" means. I'm also listing a big man here because their options right now boil down to Jarvis Gunter, a backup last year, or playing Rob Kurz out of position like they did with Daniels, even though Kurz isn't really much of a rebounder. The presence of so many point guards means they could wait until the second round to address that and grab a big man first.

Los Angeles D-Fenders
Needs: depth, defense
Best fits: Carlos Powell, S. Gaines, Yaroslav Korolev

If Powell has fallen this far Los Angeles is probably certain to pick him up, in that they have their bases covered (point guards, shotblocking center, versatile wing player) and can draft pretty much any position. Sundiata Gaines might also be a good look here to pair alongside Joe Crawford, who's more of a scorer, though with Ryan Forehan-Kelly in the starting lineup that leaves them pretty small on the perimeter. I'm throwing Korolev into the mix because he has pretty good size (6'9"), still has some athleticism and started his career in Los Angeles (but with the Clippers). Really, the D-Fenders could go in any direction, and it's not even like they're burdened by being directly affiliated with an NBA team.

Bakersfield Jam
Needs: depth
Best fits: Korolev, Alonzo Gee, Paul Harris, Alade Aminu, Deron Washington

Unlike the D-Fenders who have a lot of things covered, Bakersfield needs just about everything. They signed Robert Swift, so I'll take the hint and say they're going to keep an eye out for NBA pedigrees. Washington is very athletic and was just cut by the Pistons. So is Gee (a San Antonio Summer League player), who's a good slasher but not much of a defender or a shooter. Paul Harris (who spent Summer league with Minnesota) is a little more polished and a (much) better defender, and he's been working on his shot this offseason. Korolev, as I mentioned above, came into the NBA with the Clippers, who are affiliated with the Jam. Korolev didn't play particularly well in the NBA, but is that really important? Aminu is a sushi-raw power forward who a lot of people think has some upside (including me, sometimes), but he hasn't gotten much of a chance to show it in Summer League or the preseason. But think Andray Blatche, skill set-wise.

Utah Flash
Needs: Point guard
Best fits: Kelly, Ervin, Greene, S. Gaines, Mustafa Shakur, Ryan Diggs

The Flash are returning pretty much everyone last year except for point guard Kevin Kruger, so that's where they're likely to look. I can't imagine Gaines falling any farther than this. I keep listing Orien Greene because of the NBA background, but the fact is that he wasn't what you'd call "good" playing in those three seasons. But, the NBA is the NBA, and in the D-League, the NBA is marketable. The team could go with a D-League vet like Kelly, Ervin or Ryan Diggs, who played 41 games for Utah last season. They also could go with a European player like Shakur, who's athletic and averaged about 15 points per 36 minutes last year playing for TAU Ceramica and Panellinios BC.

Austin Toros
Needs: Wing scoring, depth
Best fits: Gee, Washington, Donell Taylor, Antonio Anderson, Scooter McFadgon, Amara Sy, Harris

Gee and Taylor were both on the Spurs' Summer League team, so the team may give either or both of them another look. Taylor spent some time in the NBA a few years ago with the Washington Wizards, and picking him would give the team the added benefit of providing the Spurs with a solid call-up option for the end of their bench (after they give Malik Hairston more playing time, of course). Antonio Anderson is a combo guard from Memphis, and his biggest asset is his defense, and at 6'6" he can guard some small forwards as well. Offensively he's primarily a spot-shooter, although he worked a little on his ball-handling during his senior year. They also could look at Harris for his defense, the problem is that the Toros don't have a ton of reliable scoring as it stands now unless Marcus Williams materializes (or if you really want to count on Fred Gibson or Justin Bowen), so Harris or Anderson may or may not be the best option for them. McFadgon isn't much of an outside shooter (he averaged 22.4 percent on three-pointers in the D-League) but he can score. Sy has spent most of his playing career in Europe, and while he's not a great three-point shooter he's an overall efficient scorer and a pretty good rebounder.

Reno Bighorns
Needs: Wings, three-point shooting, backup big man
Best fits: Terry Martin, Rashad Anderson, Washington, Harris, Korolev, any of the other wings I've mentioned, Ronald Allen, Major Wingate, Bryson McKenzie

There aren't really a lot of great three-point shooters in this draft pool, at least not that would be on the early-round radar. Martin showed off some outside shooting ability early on at LSU (around 38 percent), although that dropped off a bit his junior and senior seasons (30-35 percent). Rashad Anderson made around 35 percent on his three-pointers in Italy last season, and he's streaky. A 7-8 game was followed by a 3-13 game. Reno probably could go in any number of directions (except point guard).

Maine Red Claws
Needs: Wing scoring, big men
Best fits: Martin, Gee, McFadgon, McKenzie, Erek Hansen, Wingate

Noel Felix is a solid post defender, but he's not really a center. Wingate is a pretty good one, having played in Europe ever since he got kicked off his college team for failing a drug test. He averaged about 15 points and nine and a half rebounds per 36 minutes last year in Romania. He still mainly relies on his athleticism, though that's not uncommon for D-League prospects. Erek Hansen was the all-Big Ten defensive player of the year back in 2006, and shot-blocking is his calling card. He averaged about four blocks per 36 minutes playing in Turkey last season along with 11 points and eight rebounds. Maine had a chance to take Ronald Allen in the expansion draft and didn't, so they probably wouldn't consider him tonight until the later rounds. Bryson McKenzie's per-minute scoring and rebounding numbers from the last few D-league seasons are very good, but they he played only nine games last year and eight the year before that, so sample size likely plays a part.

Iowa Energy
Needs: Big man, wing scoring?
Best fits: Hansen, Wingate, Martin, Latavious Williams, Raymond Sykes, R. Anderson, Doug Thomas

The Energy should be set for scoring early on with Anthony Tolliver around, and at point guard with Curtis Stinson, so finding a guy to man the middle could be a focus. They also could go after another scorer under the assumption that Tolliver could be called up at some point. I listed Williams and Sykes here because they're both athletic semi-big men, who could be developed in the way that Courtney Sims was (though they each have a ways to go to reach Sims's level). Williams, of course, decided not to go to Memphis and said he wanted to go play in Europe, except that Europe apparently doesn't want him. Whoops. That article calls him "not overly skilled," though I wonder how much of that is to reinforce the whole "he made a bad choice" angle. He's certainly raw, but ultimately the development he'll undergo wherever he ends up (and I'd be surprised if he isn't drafted) should be beneficial for his career. Sykes is mostly known for his dunking, and didn't put up great numbers at Clemson, but he's athletic and could do alright in the D-League. The Energy also could go after Doug Thomas, a power forward who played at the University of Iowa and played 50 games for the Energy two seasons ago. He put up some decent per-minute scoring and rebounding numbers, so maybe they'll give Thomas another go. Hansen also went to the University of Iowa, so that would be another fit who's also local.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Needs: Point guard, depth
Best fits: Jeremy Wise, Kelly, Ervin, Diggs

Walker Russell was one of the best point guards in the D-League last season, and now he's gone. The Mad Ants could go with a veteran, or they could go with Wise, who was a pretty good scorer at Southern Mississippi but not a great distributor. His three-point shooting also steadily declined over his three college seasons, which is a bit troubling. The team also could give allocated player Kyle McAlarney a shot at the job, though he's a point guard more in the Blake Ahearn sense, where he's a very good three-point shooter but not much of a distributor.

Dakota Wizards
Needs: Big men, depth
Best fits: D. Thomas, Hansen, Aminu, John Bryant

David Bell is a decent post player, but he's not Richard Hendrix. The Wizards will need some rebounding and shotblocking. Thomas and Hansen would both be solid options (provided no one better like Siler has fallen in the first round), while Aminu would provide new coach Rory White with a project. One name I haven't mentioned yet is John Bryant, who put up pretty good numbers (18 points and 14 rebounds in 31 minutes) his senior year at Santa Clara. He's not all that athletic, but he has pretty good hands and he's been working on getting in better shape since the end of the college season.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Needs: Three-point shooting
Best fits: Martin, R. Anderson, Desmon Farmer, Geno Carlisle

Sorry Marcus Hubbard, you're not really a three-point shooter. The team needs an outside game. Carlisle shot 37.5 percent last year in the D-League, which is decent. Farmer played for several teams in the NBA and Europe last year, and his three-point shooting fluctuated, ranging from 56 percent over four games in Croatia to 25 percent with the San Antonio Spurs.

Sioux Falls SkyForce
Needs: Big man, depth
Best fits: Bryant, Aminu, Sykes, D. Thomas, R. Allen

Depending on what role the team sees Greg Stiemsma filling (starter or reserve), the SkyForce could target either solid post guys or rangy power forwards. Ronald Allen is the only one I haven't talked about in depth, and he played 16 games for Sioux Falls a few seasons ago so there could be a reunion. He's put up decent but not great rebounding and scoring numbers, and he can get into foul trouble at times. Oh, and he shot just under 40 percent over the last two seasons, which is pretty bad for a center who's theoretically hanging out around the rim. Did I mention that he'd be an okay option?

Springfield Armor
Needs: Point guard, wing scoring
Best fits: Gee, Washington, D. Taylor, McFadgon, O. Greene, L. Williams, Wise, Carlisle, Farmer

Expect the Armor to focus on the perimeter after taking some dynamic players in the expansion draft only to see them head overseas. Expect James Mays, get Alonzo Gee. The teams are winding down now, and I'm starting to repeat myself, so let's leep this moving.

Idaho Stampede
Needs: Big man
Best fits: Bryant, Wingate, Hansen (plus someone like Byrd or Siler, if available)

With Lance Allred and Brent Petway both overseas, the Stampede will need guys who can rebound, block shots and guard centers and/or power forwards. Siler or Byrd would be ideal, obviously, but someone like Bryant falling this far would be a boon for Idaho. He's not all that athletic, which is probably a negative for a Bob MacKinnon offense, but Joe Dabbert did okay last season. Someone like Wingate might work better from an athletic standpoint, though the Stampede may shy away from his collegiate transgression.

Tulsa 66ers
Needs: Point guard, backcourt scoring
Best fits: Kelly, Diggs, Ervin, Wise, Reece Gaines

Ervin played the last 25 games with the 66ers last year. Given how poorly Tulsa played last year, his connection with that team could be seen as a negative, or he could provide some veteran stability. The same could be said of Kelly, who has three years in Tulsa under his belt. The team needs scoring from its guards as well as ball distribution, so someone like Wise could work for them. Reece Gaines is also in the draft pool, and I haven't talked about him because every time I look at his stats I get a little more disgusted. He could provide some scoring at the two-guard position, probably? He averaged about 13 points per 36 minutes in Italy last year, which is fine.

Grizzlies Waive Trey Gilder

2009-11-05T20:24:22Z

Grizzlies Waive Trey Gilder

Booooooooo.

SEE MARGE, THIS GUY GETS IT

2009-11-05T19:50:53Z

SEE MARGE, THIS GUY GETS IT

I didn't make a huge deal of this in my D-League preview because, as with Brandon Jennings in Europe, I'm not sure we'll be able to pass total judgment on how successful or unsuccessful going from high school to the D-League is based on one player, particularly a player who's going to the D-League as a last resort like Latavious Williams. That said, Shanoff completely nails why having players go from HS to the D-League to the NBA should work for all parties involved. Psst, Henry Abbott, I've been saying the same things for awhile now.

Dakota Also Targeting Big Men

2009-11-05T19:16:11Z

Dakota Also Targeting Big Men

I don't know if the headline is "news," since one could figure out the team's needs based on who they're bringing back, but the Wizards are apparently targeting Garrett Siler and Alade Aminu. Aminu is really athletic but also really raw, so I'm a little surprised he's being targeted so much while a guy like John Bryant doesn't seem to be as high on anyone's lists. If not a big man (since Dakota drafts 11th in the first round), according to that article they could go with Orien Greene or fellow point guard Jason Richards, or just the best available guy.

BayHawks ISO: Big Man

2009-11-05T19:02:08Z

BayHawks ISO: Big Man

As alluded to in the comments section of the preview, Erie coach John Treloar is targeting big men with the second pick in tonight's draft, specifically Carlos Powell and Alade Aminu. This makes some sense, because as I wrote in that preview, there are enough point guards that Erie (and other teams) can address that position in the second round or later. One thing doesn't make sense, though: Powell is not a center. In fact, he might be best suited to play small forward. Erie had "success" last year with Erik Daniels playing out of position, but doing the same with Powell seems like a terrible idea to me.

Nancy Lieberman to Coach the Frisco Whatevers

2009-11-05T18:16:55Z

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Former player and coach Nancy Lieberman has been named the head coach of Frisco's D-League team.

Browse more photos »

So this is a thing. In the midst of the frenzied draft preparation, Frisco owners Evan Wyly and Donnie Nelson announced that former player, broadcaster and WNBA coach Nancy Lieberman will be the next (first?) coach of the Frisco team. The "woman-coaches-a-mens'-pro-team" angle is the one that will be played up, and that's understandable. This is pretty big. But if one ignores the whole gender issue, this is a pretty solid hire. Lieberman won two national championships as a player and two national player of the year awards. Her career assists record at Old Dominion still hasn't been broken.

After college, she played for several different pro leagues, including "mens' leagues" such as the USBL. She's not even unfamiliar with the D-League, having incorrectly appeared in a Toros boxscore. She also coached the WNBA's Detroit Shock for three seasons and served as the team's general manager. The bottom line is that anyone with that kind of track record would be a good coaching hire, man or woman.

The team also announced that former NBA coach Del Harris will be the Frisco team's general manager, and that former player (and Dallas native) Spud Webb will be the team's president of basketball operations. The team is expected in the next few days to announce the hiring of someone to tell the difference between those two jobs. In addition to his many, many years in the NBA, Harris also coached the Chinese national team, served as a consultant to the Canadian national team and coached in the Puerto Rican National Superior League. That international experience should serve him well in scouting all sorts of D-League prospects, and who knows, he could use his connections to bring a certain 6'9" left-handed Chinese point guard to Texas. And Spud Webb can speak to a D-League prospect's need to get the most of his abilities and overcome a perceived lack of size, athleticism, what have you.

But back to Lieberman. I have to say, I wasn't all that shocked. Not just because it's Lieberman, or because the Mavericks see themselves as forward thinkers. There were hints that something like this might be coming back when Bakersfield was looking for a coach. If you'll recall (or just click that link), Jam owner Stan Ellis was considering hiring a female assistant coach. They didn't, but the sentiment that a woman could coach in the D-League has been floating around for a little while. I guess I should talk about that a little, because even though I don't think it matters that's going to be this story's initial hook. Might it get weird at first? Hopefully not, but maybe. Locker rooms aren't traditionally the most open and progressive places in the world. Lieberman's career as a player and coach should speak for itself, but maybe it won't. That's why I think announcing this a year before Frisco starts playing was a smart move. Any player who might have a problem with it has plenty of time to know to seek work elsewhere. If not, they can get on board (because Frisco used to have a lot of trains, remember?). See Marge? This guy gets it:

"I think it’s awesome," Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd said. "She’s very knowledgeable about the game, for sure. You know, change can be a little weird at the beginning, but I think everybody will adjust fine."

There. I talked about the gender thing, and hopefully that's the extent of it. As I said above, this is a trio of solid hires. Congratulations to the Frisco..., Coach Lieberman, Harris and Webb.

...And the Rest (of the returning or allocated players)

2009-11-04T22:21:54Z

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Welcome back, Dontell Jefferson. I hope we don't see you for very long. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Browse more photos »

I tried finding a picture of the Professor and Mary Ann from the Gilligan's Island credits to go with the headline, but Google Images has failed me. With apologies to all of these teams for not giving them individual treatment either through a story or fanshot, I just don't think I can finish covering all of the teams plus write about other stuff by tomorrow's draft. There's too many of them. So consider this a roundup of the notable (but not all) returning and allocated players that D-League teams will be enjoying, at least in the beginning of the season. Except for Maine, Dakota, Bakersfield and Fort Wayne. Oh, and I'm also not including Springfield, since their most notable players at this point are Marcus Taylor and Kentrell Gransberry, and we covered those guys around the expansion draft. All of the players listed fall into the "returning" category unless otherwise noted.

Even without those four teams this is pretty long (surprise! I wrote something that's too long), so you can read it all after the jump.

Albuquerque Thunderbirds - Antoine Agudio, Keith McLeod, Kevin Pittsnogle (allocation)

McLeod and Pittsnogle both are familiar names, though for different reasons. McLeod is a classic 'tweener, not in terms of position but in terms of NBA vs. the D-League. He's spent the first few years of his career in the NBA, including starting 79 games for the Utah Jazz over two seasons, but he spent last year in Albuquerque and also has played in Europe and the CBA. He also has a B.S. in computer science, so he's a smart guy, and given that he's 30 years old (or will be tomorrow - happy birthday Keith!) I wonder if he's not going to hang around for a few more years as an entry into coaching. Pittsnogle is more known for his college exploits though that was what, four years ago now? Since then he's played in the D-League (for Austin and Albuquerque), the CBA and in France. Last I heard he was coaching high school basketball and out of shape (due in part to a thyroid condition), so it will be interesting to see how he looks when the season starts. Agudio isn't that familiar of a name, but he's an excellent shooter (he made around 43 percent of his threes last year), and not much else.

Austin Toros - Dwayne Jones, Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson, Curtis Jerrells (allocation)

So that's where Dwayne Jones went. I've talked about him on this site probably more than his talent warrants, because although he's a very good post defender and rebounder, there's not much else to his game at this point. Not that he hasn't been working hard on it, and his free-throw shooting improved steadily over the course of last season, but he's still pretty limited offensively. So's Johnson, for that matter, who can occasionally get hot shooting threes, but more often than not has 1-6 nights. Also, he may be one of the few people who has a great nickname but an even better real name. He almost never turns the ball over, though, which is typically what you want in a point guard (although he also doesn't pick up many assists, which is the other thing you want in a point guard). Jerrells will, I assume, take the backup PG spot now that Stanley Burrell is playing in Europe, but the distribution of minutes between him and Johnson will be something to watch as the season goes along. He was one of San Antonio's last preseason cuts, and in the limited action I saw he was decent, and the Spurs may want to get in enough work to improve his game. Of course, there's one guy missing from the list (I didn't exclude him, he's just not on the list), and that's Marcus Williams. My hope and assumption is that either the team didn't think he would be cut before it submitted its list, or they have to wait until they're at the top of the player pool before he joins the D-League. I suppose it's also possible that he's still exploring the overseas option, as he'd do great over there, but I hope not.

Erie BayHawks - Ivan Harris, Jarvis Gunter, Jackie Manuel, Oliver Lafayette, Rob Kurz (allocation)

I've talked about Kurz a lot recently between Summer League and the preseason, but to review he's a 6'9" three-point shooter who doesn't offer much else. That also sounds a bit like Harris, doesn't it? Harris was second in three-point percentage among forwards last season and sixth overall in the league. Gunter was a backup to Erik Daniels last season, but with Daniels currently in the Ukraine, Gunter should take on a larger role. He's an athletic rebounder, but doesn't have great hands and hasn't shown much scoring ability thus far. Jackie Manuel, on the other hand, may have his role reduced a little bit with Kurz around. Manuel's a decent rebounder for a small forward, but doesn't have much of an outside shot. I'm not a huge fan of Lafayette, as he's not a very efficient scorer, but he put up a triple-double last year so there's that. This team made the playoffs last year, but they'll need to replace the production of Maureece Rice and Erik Daniels, who while inefficient still offered the team something as a point-center.

Idaho Stampede - Lanny Smith, Roberto Bergerson

Both of these guys should do well in Bob MacKinnon's offense, though Smith probably needs to up his three-point shooting percentages a bit. He's not really a shooter, more of a distributor/defender, but Colorado's point guards spent a decent amount of time playing off the ball last year. Bergerson could be a bench version of Billy Thomas, in that he's a streak-shooting veteran. He made around 70 percent of his threes last April, though that was far above his season average.

Iowa Energy - Anthony Tolliver, Curtis Stinson

I don't expect Tolliver to be in Iowa for very long, as he's had some NBA looks recently, and it talented enough to make all of his shots in a Summer League game. Expect him to be an early scoring leader, though. Stinson is a solid all-around point guard and a good rebounder for his position, though turnovers were a big problem for him during Summer League. He was invited to the Bulls' training camp but only spent a few days there before being waived, so he didn't really get a chance to show NBA teams that he's not as turnover-prone as he seemed in Vegas (he's not). Jeff Trepagnier and Mark Tyndale are also here, but I didn't really feel like talking about them, which should be understandable.

Los Angeles D-Fenders - Ryan Forehan-Kelly, Joe Crawford, Earl Barron, Longar Longar, Gabe Pruitt (allocation)

Until given a reason to do otherwise, this season I'm going to stop pretending that this team is directly affiliated with the Lakers, because other than the uniforms you really wouldn't know it based on how the Lakers participate in the relationship. Crawford's a case in point, in that he could've been the Laker's future backup PG, except they sent him down to the D-Fenders and then forgot about him. It's true that the Shannon Brown (which is how everyone needs to start referring to the Adam Morrison deal) has worked out reasonably well, but they didn't even consider the in-house option. Crawford spent a few games with the Knicks last year, where he didn't shoot the ball particularly well before being released. Forehan-Kelly is a pretty good all-around player who's not great at any one particular thing but good at many things (actually, he's very good at shooting threes). "I can't be out of Earl, I'm the" Earl Barron has spent some time in the NBA, and is an okay rebounder and shotblocker, but he was injured for part of last season and will need to show this year that he's recovered. Longar Longar has had his moments, though I'm generally not a huge fan of slow guys with bad hands. Pruitt is an okay shooter, making 36 percent of his threes last year in the D-League, and he doesn't pick up that many turnovers. Don't be surprised to see him and Crawford playing a lot of minutes alongside each other. No Sun Yue either. WHERE IS MY SUN YUE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Rio Grande Valley Vipers - Cliff Clinkscales, Stanley Asumnu, Marcus Hubbard, Kurl Looby, Julian Sensley, Garrett Temple (allocation)

I need to Basically this team is returning a lot of players from what was an abysmal squad last year. The individual talent is there, as Clinkscales is a solid point guard and Looby started growing into a dominating force in the paint, so perhaps new coach Chris Finch can pull it all together. He's said that he prefers an up-tempo, three-point shooting style of play. Marcus Hubbard is probably salivating at that prospect, as he fancies himself a three-point shooter, even though he's not very good at it. Neither are any of the other guys I listed, come to think of it, except maybe Sensley. They all can handle the up-tempo bit, though. This should be an interesting personnel-coach match to watch. I'd also expect to see at least one player assigned from Houston this year, although Chase Budinger has looked better than I expected coming off their bench.

Reno Bighorns - Rod Benson, Russell Robinson, David Noel, Daryl "Majic" Dorsey

Both Benson and Robinson should - repeat, should - get NBA looks at some point this season. The return of boom tho can only mean good things, both on the court and off. He's a very good rebounder and shotblocker, very athletic, and has been working on his shot. If NBA teams lighten up a little bit, he's one of the best big men in the league. Robinson performed well running Orlando's offense during Summer League but was a little shakier playing for Cleveland this preseason. He's a pretty good scorer and distributor, and could see some continued NBA attention. Noel's a solid all-around wing player who can defend, score, shoot threes and distribute the ball a little. Dorsey is a pretty decent PG who's very quick and is does a good job of getting to the basket. This is a pretty good core.

Sioux Falls Skyforce - Keith Brumbaugh, David Bailey, Greg Stiemsma, Joe Krabbenhoft (allocation)

Krabbenhoft's already been covered, so moving on. Bailey's a relatively efficient scorer and good three-point shooter, and he does a decent job of distributing the ball. He also gets a fair amount of rebounds for his position/size. Brumbaugh is also a pretty efficient scorer (moreso than Bailey) and shoots well from the outside. He's 6'10 but doesn't play inside much, and he also can run into foul problems. Stiemsma was actually drafted by a Korean team, but that appears not to have worked out. His per-minute numbers were decent last year, but he averaged only 14 minutes a game. So the real production wasn't what it probably could have been. This team might struggle early on to replace some of Kasib Powell's points and rebounds.

Tulsa 66ers - Keith Clark, Moses Ehambe, Steven Hill, Larry Owens (allocation)

Clark was draft-eligible after last season, except he didn't really play well enough for anyone to draft him. He's talented, certainly, but at some point he got it into his head that he could make three-pointers, when he really can't. He's a decent rebounder and can score a little bit, but he's not very efficient, and watching him last year one got the impression that he was still relying on his athleticism rather than using any kind of technique or putting up smart shots. Ehambe, on the other hand, can make three-pointers, 41.5 percent of them last season, in fact. That's really the extent of his game, as he shot worse on two-pointers than he did threes, and he didn't provide a ton in the way of rebounds, assists or steals. Hill averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes last season before running into some injury problems. He's from Branson, Mo., so expect a lot of Branson, Mo., jokes this season. Larry Owens has spent the bulk of his career thus far in Europe, but got some looks from New Orleans in Summer League and the preseason, He's a power forward who shoots a lot of threes but doesn't rebound much. Sometimes his threes go in, and sometimes they don't, as in last year's EuroChallenge when he shot 18-110 from behind the arc. I know I've referenced that stat before, but it's pretty amazing to look it. Although if you spend too much time staring at it you'll probably turn into stone.

Utah Flash - Dontell Jefferson, Bennet Davis, Andre Ingram, Gavin Grant, James Lang, Carlos Wheeler, Luke Nevill (allocation), Lee Cummard (allocation)

Last team, I promise. This team returns a lot players, and given that they made the D-League Finals we should probably expect them to do well early on. Especially since Jefferson is back. I really have no idea why the Bobcats cut him, since he's a lockdown defender, has proven he can score in the D-League, and Charlotte is pretty terrible. But whatever, I'm sure GM (or whatever his title is) Michael Jordan knows what he's doing. If you're interested in learning more about Dontell Jefferson, why not read this interview? Picking up Luke Nevill was a decent move, as he can probably challenge Lang for whatever spot in the rotation Lang has. Ingram's a pretty good three-point shooter, as is former BYU guard Lee Cummard. Cummard's also a decent rebounder for a shooting guard. Bennet Davis can block shots and be athletic but not much else, but it'll be interesting to see if he brought anything back with him from the Nets' training camp.

Will Blalock Joining the Maine Red Claws

2009-11-04T17:10:43Z

Will Blalock Joining the Maine Red Claws

The Maine Red Claws were allocated Will Blalock, who's originally from the Boston area. Blalock already has a few D-League stints under his belt in addition to a little over a dozen games in the NBA and some time in Europe. The combination of Blalock and Billy Thomas (acquired through the expansion draft) should give the Red Claws a really solid starting backcourt this year.

Fort Wayne's Returning Players

2009-11-04T17:00:14Z

Chris Hunter, among others, will be back in Fort Wayne this season.

View full size photo »

It's not just the Dakota Wizards that are returning a strong core from last season. The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are bringing back Chris Hunter, Ron Howard, Anthony Kent, DeWitt Scott and Sean Sonderleiter. (And other teams have returning players as well, but we're going one at a time, here.) The Mad Ants didn't do particularly well last season, finishing 19-31, but it wasn't for lack of talent and but they have a new (good) coaching staff this year in Joey Meyers and Mike Sanders that should get the team on track.

Chris Hunter was called up by the New York Knicks at the end of last season and lasted until this year's preseason. He's a power forward/center who can shoot from the midrange and rebound pretty well. He was the team's leading scorer and made the all-D-League second team last season, so getting him back was key. I don't know how long he'll be around, as he could do well in the NBA and still could be in the Knicks' radar if one of their big guys goes down, butu he's a Mad Ant for now.

Ron Howard was another Knicks training camp/preseason guy, and while he played a fair amount in Summer League it took him some time to get comfortable. Howard's main asset is his defense, and he played a lot of small forward last season even though he's 6'5". He's an inconsistent rebounder, and although he increased his scoring output last season it came with a lower field goal percentage.

Anthony Kent was almost a nonentity for the first four months of last season, talented but unable to translate it into playing well. He started to show flashes of what he could really do around late February, and what he can do is rebound and score inside. By March and April he was putting up lines of 18 points on 10 shots and 10 rebounds, 11 points and 22 rebounds, and 18 points and 15 rebounds. He's an athletic power forward/center who the Mad Ants hope can develop into a night in-night out double-double guy alongside Hunter. Fouls and turnovers are still issues, but as I mentioned up top, Fort Wayne have a really solid coaching staff now, and if they can get Kent on track the team should definitely do better than 19-31.

DeWitt Scott is a good three-point shooter, making almost 38 percent of his outside shots last year. He doesn't turn the ball over much or get into foul trouble, but he also doesn't really rebound or distribute either. He's a bit streaky as a shooter, but his hot streaks are pretty good. Sean Sonderleiter was a backup big man last year, and likely will be this year. Is it possible to bring energy without athleticism? Because if so then Sonderleiter probably does that. He has good size for a center and rebounds pretty well, but he's not what you'd call "quick."

All in all this is a pretty good core for the Mad Ants, with some outside shooting, defense and rebounding all present. As that article mentioned Walker Russell is playing overseas this season, meaning there's no point guard (and Russell was one of the D-League's best last year, if not the best), so look for them to target that position in tomorrow's draft.

Dakota Wizards Looking Good For This Year

2009-11-04T15:06:17Z

The return of Renaldo Major and others should help the Dakota Wizards get off to a good start this season.

View full size photo »

(I shouldn't have to do this, but just to be on the safe side I'll say that while former RU writer Ridiculous Scott has moved on and now has a job with the Wizards, he had nothing to do with the writing of this piece. I saw a news article and needed something to post today other than a fanshot about some college player I'm unfamiliar with.)

It's early, of course, but the Dakota Wizards look like they'll have a pretty good squad early on this season. That's because they're returning at least five players from last year's playoff team. Maurice Baker, Romel Beck, Renaldo Major, David Bell and Carlos English are all coming back to the Wizards, and David Monds may or may not be joining them (if coach Rory White is to be believed, anyway). It's possible but doubtful that all of those guys will finish the season with the team - Beck and Monds are both call-up candidates, plus there are trades, injuries, what have you - but that experience and talent should help the team get off to a good start.

Baker returns as the starting point guard, though those duties were split somewhat with Blake Ahearn. Baker doesn't rack up a ton of assists, averaging a little over five per 36 minutes last season, but he's a very good rebounder for his position (over six per 36), especially when you consider that he's 6'1". Bottom, he's a solid veteran.

Beck can be a scoring machine, as long as he doesn't try to go 1-on-5, which unfortunately he does quite a bit. He was a late cut by the Rockets this preseason, and he's been pegged for an eventual NBA call-up for a while, but injuries and that isolationist tendency have kept it from happening thus far. He's 27 years old, so this should be the year when he finally "gets it" - should be.

David Bell could slide into the starting lineup with Blake Ahearn playing overseas this year. He's a catch-and-shoot player, and a pretty good one. Baker shot 40.7 percent on three-pointers, so he should be able to replace Ahearn in that area. He also handed out three and a half assists per 36 minutes last season, so he can chip in there as well.

Renaldo Major is a small forward who can defend well, rebound a little bit, handle the ball a little bit, and give the team some energy when needed. The article I linked to focused on Baker, but Major may be the key to the Wizards getting off to a good start, as he can help compensate for some of the other guys' weaknesses. Major made the all-D-League third team last season.

Carlos English didn't play a lot last season, averaging seven minutes game, but he's quick, which he uses to his advantage on both sides of the ball. He doesn't shoot particularly well (.265 last year), but if he can maintain his per-minute assist numbers while (maybe) playing a larger role he'll be a solid bench contributor.

If David Monds goes back to the Wizards, then their frontcourt won't quite be as decimated as it otherwise would be. Monds played very well for the Lakers' Summer League team this year, averaging over 13 rebounds per 36 minues, leading the team in per-minute scoring and shooting over 60 percent from the field. That comes after averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes last year. Richard Hendrix is playing overseas now, so Monds will be the team's key post player to start the season

Welcome to the D-League, Robert Swift

2009-11-04T03:21:17Z

Welcome to the D-League, Robert Swift

As reported by KERO 23 (Bakersfield's ABC affiliate), center Robert Swift will be playing for the Bakersfield Jam this season. Swift played high school basketball in the area, and was last seen not doing so well in Summer League. Swift has had some injury problems during his young career, but the fact is he just hasn't developed much in the NBA. Hey, that's what the D-League is for!

Joe Krabbenhoft to play for Sioux Falls

2009-11-03T21:25:38Z

Joe Krabbenhoft to play for Sioux Falls

I hate to bump Mr. Boom Tho out of the top spot for this, but news is semi-news. Former Wisconsin Badger and Sioux Falls native Joe Krabbenhoft (college stats) will play for the SkyForce this season instead of signing over in Europe. According to that article, both Portland and Memphis wanted him to go to the D-League in case they want to call him up, so I'll definitely be keeping an eye on this guy.

Boom tho is back. You could've been cool, Indiana Pacers. You could've been cool.

2009-11-03T20:37:33Z

Boom tho is back. You could've been cool, Indiana Pacers. You could've been cool.

It's official Luke Nevill (UofU) and Lee Cummard (BYU) are putting aside their differences and...

2009-11-02T22:01:57Z

It's official Luke Nevill (UofU) and Lee Cummard (BYU) are putting aside their differences and playing for the Flash this year.

Brandt Andersen's Twitter. You can find some of RU's thoughts on Nevill here, here and here.

Jennings Makes Vaccaro Look Smart...Or Does He?

2009-11-02T18:44:27Z

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

Did playing in Europe really make Brandon Jennings more NBA-ready? (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Browse more photos »

Over at TrueHoop, Henry Abbott quotes a John Hollinger (Insider) article about Brandon Jennings's early success this year (I just picked him up for my fantasy team), and how it's making Sonny Vaccaro look like a smart man for telling Jennings to go to Europe for a year. I don't have Insider so I can't give you more than Abbott does, but here's the first paragraph:

Nonetheless, his European experiment appears to have been a beneficial experience. Jennings got a chance to play and improve, not to mention a serious ego check. Although he didn't put up great numbers in Rome, his learnings from playing there enabled him to be among the league's readiest rookies, even though he never played one collegiate game.

How, exactly, is that different from the experience would have had in the D-League? A chance to play and improve? Check. Ego check? Hey, enjoy playing in Sioux Falls in January, when it's snowing so hard fans can't get to the arena. One could possibly argue that not playing much in Italy humbled Jennings, and drove him to get a big start this year and never come off the bench again, whereas in the D-League he might've gotten more playing time. (On a more writerly note, "his learnings" can't be the correct way to phrase that, can it?)

There are a few ways to approach that argument. First, not every NBA assignee starts in the D-League. Most of them do, sure, but for example the Colorado 14ers were so deep last season that Sonny Weems came off the bench (he actually started eight of 22 games). Alexis Ajinca didn't start in any of his D-League games. Kyrylo Fesenko came off the bench in 14 of his 37 games with Utah a few seasons ago. Hamed Haddadi only started half of his D-League games last season. So having an NBA talent come off the bench isn't unique to European teams.

Second, there's the whole "among the league's readiest rookies, even though he never played one collegiate game" thing. ...And? He's not the first guy in that situation. Many "preps-to-pros" players have done well in their first NBA season. Even excluding the superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett (among others), success without collegiate experience is possible. And who's to say that Jennings isn't at that level? Not to get ahead of ourselves, but it's entirely possible that Brandon Jennings could become one of the NBA's next stars, so having played in Europe could have less to do with his success than currently thought.

And that's the main point. Two games has proven Sonny Vaccaro to be a smart man? Not that he isn't, but..come on. Nothing's been proven yet. The high-school-to-Europe path shouldn't be validated based on one example. Let's see how Jeremy Tyler and the next few players do.

That leads to the second paragraph Abbott quotes:

In fact, it eventually could undermine the NBA's efforts to raise the age minimum from 19 to 20 years old, because it doesn't really help the league if its future stars are laboring in obscurity in Europe rather than building fans in the NCAA. If Jennings does end up as a surprise rookie of the year winner, the current trickle of prep stars across the Atlantic could quickly become a torrent.

Does David Stern really seem like a "sit back and let all of his future stars play overseas instead of in the U.S. without trying to prevent it" kind of guy? The age limit was a deal he cut with the NCAA in part to make sure that NBA rookies are more marketable and have a national resume for fans to draw on. The D-League doesn't have the exposure the NCAA does, but Stern certainly could change that. If the league encouraged top-notch high school players to head for the D-League instead of Europe* (assuming college isn't an option), then they'd do everything they could to make sure the players wouldn't be "laboring in obscurity." The D-League likely would get a piece of that snazzy commercial action the WNBA has enjoyed for years. The D-League could see even greater expansion onto the East Coast and maybe even give the southeast another shot. Heck, D-League games outside of the Showcase might even get shown NBA TV. Those both sound like D-League-only benefits at first, but not only is it in the NBA's benefit to make sure the D-League is financially viable, in turn the NBA would get players that were kept "in-house" and received the benefit of some national attention.

I know that expanding the NBA's presence into Europe is another one of David Stern's goals, but I'm not sure this is what he means. Instead, don't be surprised if the D-League becomes a more viable option for high school players who aren't attending college for some reason as an alternative to sitting on the bench in Europe.

*and I've checked the league rules and keep writing these pieces without anyone correcting me, so I'm still assuming this is possible

Ridiculous Transactions 10/26-11/1

2009-11-02T14:00:29Z

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

So long, Will Conroy! (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Browse more photos »

Things returned to relative quiet this week, as NBA teams finished waiving whomever was to be waived, and those players are now deciding what to do with themselves.

October 26: Red Star (Serbia) - waived Dwayne Jones

Huh? That was quick. Jones had only been with the team about five days before getting the boot. My guess is that he might've asked out of his contract to come back to the D-League and the Toros, but perhaps there was some other issue involved (anyone know if he was injured? Sham?). According to this the team cited a "personal problem," which is pretty vague and hopefully not too serious.

October 27: Shaun Pruitt - signed with Peristeri (Greece)

Pruitt was waived by the Golden State Warriors last week, and while coach Don Nelson said that Pruitt had impressed him, who knows what that means anymore. He's relied mainly on his size (about 6'9" with a 7'1" wingspan, 240 pounds) up to this point in his career, though he has been working with Tim Grover and others on his shot, among other things. Pruitt spent last season playing in the Czech Republic, Latvia and China, so he's used to the overseas grind. He's a pretty good rebounder, although he needs to work on his foul shooting and being more efficient overall. He'll give you 15 points on six shots one night and seven points on five shots the next. So I guess that's really more of a consistency issue. He seems to be on NBA radars, and would likely do well in the D-League, but as I keep saying, this is the year of not blaming anyone for playing overseas.

October 29: Orlando Magic - waived Linton Johnson; Dontaye Draper - signed with Prima Veroli (Italy)

I didn't expect Johnson to last long on the roster, as he was mainly there because of Adonal Foyle's injury, and the rehab is apparently going well. It will be interesting to see what Johnson does from here, as he has enough NBA time under his belt where the D-League would be something of a step down, but he's never been much more than a 14th or 15th man anyway. He'll likely either head overseas or join the pool of unsigned NBA players hoping to become a midseason injury replacement. Draper played in France and Belgium last year, where he was a pretty good three-point shooter (save for his 10 games in France, where he shot less than 28 percent). Six and a half or seven assists per 36 minutes is okay for a point guard, but that was his high point. He turned his scoring up for his Belgian team in the EuroChallenge, averaging around 21 points a game. He's 25 now, and is likely a career overseas guy, but he's a pretty good one.

October 31: Will Conroy - signed with DongGuan New Century Leopards

Happy Halloween, Will Conroy. This was a little surprising to me, as the Rockets had Conroy on both their Summer League and preseason rosters and gave him a fair amount of playing time (at least in Summer League), so I thought there might've been a chance they tried to keep him around on the Vipers. I guess not, according to what we're hearing. Assuming he doesn't come back at some point mid-season, the D-League will certainly miss his sportsmanship this year. Conroy turns 27 in December, and may be reaching the point where he thinks his chances won't get much better than the one Houston gave him. Conroy should do well in China, even though three-pointers aren't a huge part of his game, but he should still score at a pretty good clip and rack up the assists kicking the ball out to shooters.