Ridiculous Upside

Byron Mullens, Kyle Weaver Assigned to Tulsa

2009-11-22T00:35:29Z

Byron Mullens, Kyle Weaver Assigned to Tulsa

Weaver was in Tulsa last season, and he's a pretty good defender and averaged seven assists per 36 minutes in the D-League (though he didn't shoot particularly well). Mullens was a given to be allocated at some point this season, though he's yet another player ostensibly in front of rookie Latavious Williams now. Expect D.J. White to spend some time with the 66ers this year as well.

#Celtics guard/forward Bill Walker was assigned to the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ NBA D...

2009-11-21T19:51:48Z

#Celtics guard/forward Bill Walker was assigned to the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ NBA Development League affiliate.

From Hoops Addict, via Twitter. With the GM's kid calling the plays in Maine, you had to expect the Celtics were going to send down some NBA talent at some point. Walker was assigned to the Utah Flash last year and started 15 games, averaging about 19 points. He had some real problems with getting into foul trouble with Boston, though.

"That guy belongs in the NBA," Nelson said. "Hopefully we find a way to keep him. He’s stronger t...

2009-11-21T17:32:45Z

"That guy belongs in the NBA," Nelson said. "Hopefully we find a way to keep him. He’s stronger than anybody I have at that position."

What's that, Don Nelson? You say Chris Hunter is better than Mikki Moore? Well that's...actually not all that controversial. Hunter finished with four points, three rebounds, a steal and a block in 14 minutes and started the second half for Golden State. Good for him, and hopefully this leads to bigger things, because Nelson's right - the guy can play. (Oh, and thanks to G Martz for pointing me towards that quote)

How'd They Do? Last Night's Preseason Boxscores

2009-11-21T17:26:24Z

Expect to hear Reggie Williams's name a lot this year.

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Apologies that I can't talk about this game from the perspective of having seen the games, but without them being on Futurecast, here we are. I have seen many of these guys play before, so I'll try to bring that to the recaps of these preseason games.

Dakota Wizards 97, Sioux Falls Skyforce 91

You should expect to win a game when you shoot twice as many free throws as the other team and turn the ball over eight fewer times, and that's exactly what Dakota did. Curtis Withers, the man Coach Rory White called "like Ben Wallace but with better offense" certainly rebounded like Wallace, with seven boards (four on the offensive end) coming in a little under 19 minutes. Darren Cooper came off the bench to make all four of his three-pointers, which was needed because the rest of the team shot only 4-14 from behind the arc. Romel Beck had 13 points and almost nothing else, because he's Romel Beck. Marcus Dove got the start at center and picked up 10 points (though they came on eight shots), eight rebounds and five steals. For the Skyforce, Reggie Williams picked up where he left off in college, leading all scorers with 27 points on 17 shots. I have a feeling he'll be doing that all season. Oh, and he also had six rebounds, four offensive. Greg Stiemsma had 14 points, nine rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks getting the start at center. I wasn't crazy about him last year, but that's very solid. Oh, except for the five turnovers in 25 minutes. Leemire Goldwire also had problems in that department, turning the ball over four times in a little under 19 minutes. Joe Krabbenhoft made both of his threes, Pete Campbell made all three of his, Michael Joiner shot 2-3 from behind the arc...this team will be able to score, no question.

Erie BayHawks 106, Fort Wayne Mad Ants 100

Looking at this game, I think we can call each team's point guard search a work in progress. Kyle McAlarney got the start for the Mad Ants, and he shot the ball okay, 3-5, but he had just three assists in 25 and a half minutes. Former NBA player (and I should add, former NBA shooting guard) Donell Taylor was even worse running things, with two assists and needing 10 shots to get nine points. Taylor had six rebounds, though, and the two players had just one turnover between them (it was Taylor's), and McAlarney's competition Andres Sandoval was slightly better (four assists in a little under 16 minutes), but that problem facilitating spread throughout their teams. Erie had just 15 assists on 34 made field goals and Fort Wayne had 20 on 36. Given how coveted Alade Aminu seemed to be around the draft, I was a little surprised to see Jarvis Gunter got the start ahead of him, but last year's backup to Erik Daniels played very well, making all four of his field goals and grabbing 11 rebounds in a little over 19 minutes. Not having Chris Hunter hurt there, I'd imagine, and Erie's backup John Bryant added nine boards in 21 and a half minutes. Fort Wayne's DeWitt Scott and Erie's Ivan Harris were both three-point shooters last year, but in this game they combined to take only one outside shot, a Scott miss. Odd. Rob Kurz shot the ball terribly, going 1-10 and missing all five of his three-pointers, but he made up in other areas by grabbing 13 rebounds and picking up five assists, three steals, and three blocks. Oh, except that he also turned the ball over five times and fouled out in less than half an hour of playing time. Methinks someone was trying to do too much, perhaps to prove he should be back in the NBA.

Chris Hunter signs with the Warriors

2009-11-20T21:46:54Z

Chris Hunter signs with the Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have signed Chris Hunter, which I believe makes him the first D-League call-up of this season (which hasn't really started yet). While I wouldn't wish a coach like Don Nelson on anyone (the current incarnation, anyway), I like Hunter's game a lot, and here's hoping he gets a real shot with the team.

Tulsa Waives Davis, Parham, Young, McCoy, Johnson

2009-11-20T18:51:02Z

Tulsa Waives Davis, Parham, Young, McCoy, Johnson

The 66ers have waived Jeral Davis, Tim Parham, Keena Young, Adam McCoy, Mitch Johnson. I thought Young and McCoy were both decent late-round draft picks, but this is how it goes. Davis and Parham were both likely to get cut because Tulsa already had so many frontcourt players.

Hey, there are D-League games tonight!

2009-11-20T15:15:10Z

More photos » by Laura Rauch - AP

Highly-touted forward Alade Aminu makes his D-League debut tonight for the Erie BayHawks.

Browse more photos »

Tonight marks the beginning of the preseason! Which means games! D-League games! Okay, let's not go overboard, these are D-League preseason games. But still! Tonight the Sioux Falls Skyforce and Dakota Wizards face off, as do the Erie BayHawks and Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Both games are at 7 pm eastern/6 pm central. I probably won't do this for all preseason games, since they're, you know, preseason games, and because the regular season is only a week away anyway, but let's break them down!

Erie vs. Fort Wayne

Both of these teams bring back a lot of key players from last year's rosters, but I think the Mad Ants' guys are slightly better. I mostly say that because Erie's two best players last season were Erik Daniels and (arguably) Maureece Rice, and neither of those players are around. ~~Fort Wayne, on the other hand, brings back Chris Hunter, who was on the all-D-league second team.~~ Chris Hunter is not with the team in Erie. Interrobang. The BayHawks do have some nice three-point shooting in Ivan Harris, but Fort Wayne can counter that with Ron Howard's excellent perimeter defense.

As for who's joined each team this year, again, I think Fort Wayne again has a bit of an edge. Donell Taylor's defense will likely show itself against a team that may be more perimeter-focused in Hunter's absence, but Rob Kurz is a very good three point shooter, Fort Wayne's other former Notre Dame guys (Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney)) should do well in the D-League, and they've added enough solid pieces that I think they'll be a lot deeper than they were last year. Alade Aminu is probably better than I think he will be, and he's talented enough to some problems for ~~Hunter~~ defensively, but I just don't love the rest of their additions enough to say they'll outperform their counterparts.

One final thing to note is that each team is looking for a point guard to hitch their respective offenses to, with Rice gone for Erie and last year's Mad Ant PG Walker Russell taking his game overseas. McAlarney and Andres Sandoval will be the rotation for Fort Wayne and I expect ~~Derrick Mercer~~ Donell Taylor to get some or all of Erie's minutes at the point (even though he's more of a shooting guard), but the fact that all of them are new to their teams and getting used to running the offenses could be something to watch.

Dakota vs. Sioux Falls

Whereas the last game saw two teams with new point guards, this one has two teams with new coaches. Rory White for the Wizards and Tony Fritz for the Skyforce have solid resumes, but this will be the first time we'll see them run things in the D-League.

As for the returning players, you have to give this one to Dakota, which returns five or six key guys from last year's playoff team, while Sioux Falls no longer has former D-League MVP Kasib Powell. With Blake Ahearn gone, Romel Beck and David Bell will carry more of the scoring load, and they should be able to do it. Bell should, anyway. Beck isn't always consistent offensively, a function of his preference for the isolation game. When he's on, though, he's excellent. Keith Brumbaugh is talented, and David Bailey is a decent option at point guard, but missing Powell hurts.

I think Sioux Falls might have the edge in new additions. While Curtis Withers should be solid for the Wizards and Marcus Dove is a good defender, I'm not entirely sold on D'Lancy Carter, and you can only play so many frontcourt defenders at once. I thought the Skyforce did a good job drafting for scoring with Reggie Williams and Leemire Goldwire, and Raymond Sykes is an athletic dunker, which counts for something at this level. They also have allocation player Joe Krabbenhoft, who (if local news reports are to be believed) is on a few NBA radar screens

~~So join me tonight, as I OSLB some D-League preseason games while watching Futurecast! Be there!~~ Okay, it looks like none of the preseason games will be on Futurecast. Instead I'll spend the evening thinking about how to tighten up my blogging. Sheesh.

Thunderbirds Waive Bullock, Carr, Kortovich

2009-11-20T01:37:06Z

Thunderbirds Waive Bullock, Carr, Kortovich

The Albuquerque Thunderbirds have waived Garrison Carr, J'Nathan Bullock and Brian Kortovich. Bullock spent some time away from basketball to try out for the NY Jets. Carr was the Patriot League player of the year a few years ago and made 45 percent of his threes as a senior.

Utah Waives Lang, Goffney, LaRoche, Holmes, Darger

2009-11-19T03:02:33Z

Utah Waives Lang, Goffney, LaRoche, Holmes, Darger

The Utah Flash waived James Lang for "medical reasons," although with Garrett Siler and Luke Nevill on the team he probably wasn't going to play much anyway. I'm on record as saying that LaRoche was a good pick, and he has been a very efficient scorer, but for whatever reason it didn't work out.

Springfield Waives Taylor, Easterling, Jones

2009-11-18T23:09:58Z

Springfield Waives Taylor, Easterling, Jones

The Armor waived expansion draft pick Marcus Taylor along with Charles Easterling and Brandon Jones. The other semi-big news in that article is the fact that center Major Wingate hasn't shown up to camp at all, citing "personal reasons." I don't know if he wanted to be drafted by Austin or what, but he's done okay in Europe the last few seasons so he may resurface there.

Sioux Falls Waives Johnson, McKenzie, Miles, Price, Alexander

2009-11-18T21:11:35Z

Sioux Falls Waives Johnson, McKenzie, Miles, Price, Alexander

The Skyforce have waived five players. Nate Miles was the only notable name, and that was more for off-court stuff (being expelled from UConn) than for basketball.

Dakota Waives Powell, Quezada, Stanley, Payne and Davis

2009-11-18T18:38:30Z

Today's the deadline for teams to get down to 12 players so expect to see a lot of these announcements throughout the afternoon. According to a team press release, the Dakota Wizards have released Rashaad Powell, Manny Quezada, Cameron Stanley, Derick Payne and Lorenzo Davis.

Powell is the one I'm most surprised about, as he was named the Big West conference defensive player of the year as a senior. He's bounced around various minor leagues (he was an IBL all-star a few years ago) and has spent some time playing in lower-level overseas leagues. He played at the University of Idaho, so I suppose he could try to get on with the Stampede at some point if he wants to hang around the D-League (though the fact that they didn't draft him or try to acquire him through allocation makes me think it's not going to happen).

Quezada was a decent three-point shooter in college, but the rest of his offensive game wasn't as good. Stanley and Payne were both small forwards trying to make a team that already has several guys who can play that position. To be honest I don't know much about Davis, but Dakota brought back some of last year's big men and drafted a few pretty high as well, so he was probably a longshot.

Fort Wayne Waives Tolbert, Woodfox, Carter, Cornley

2009-11-18T18:19:25Z

Fort Wayne Waives Tolbert, Woodfox, Carter, Cornley

Making this team was going to be difficult with so many players from last year's rotation back in the fold, but the Mad Ants have waived forward Frank Tolbert, guard Booker Woodfox and center Jared Carter, and released guard Jamelle Cornley due to injury. Tolbert was known primarily as a hustle guy at Auburn, but his offensive game slipped a little bit as a senior. Woodfox is a decent shooter and overall scorer who was the MVC player of the year last year. Carter apparently impressed in the local tryouts, but he came in as a third-string center. Cornley did well in college even though he's a 6'5" power forward, but he hurt his knee in camp. Jeff Potter gives the rundown on why all of these guys were cut.

LA D-Fenders Waive Pinick, Wise, Moore, N'Doye, Pruitt

2009-11-17T21:49:56Z

LA D-Fenders Waive Pinick, Wise, Moore, N'Doye, Pruitt

As semi-promised, here are some more training camp cuts as announced by the D-Fenders. In turn: didn't expect N'Doye to make the team, as he (like Skemp in Erie) came into camp as the third center; Moore has bounced around other minor leagues and overseas, so the fact that he didn't stick here wasn't much of a surprise either; like N'Doye, there wasn't much room for Pinick behind Deron Washington and Ryan Forehan-Kelly, even though he's a smart player who will likely do pretty well overseas; Wise showed he could score in college, but the team already has a lot of those guys, particularly after acquiring Dar Tucker; speaking of which, I know Pruitt was injured, but this leaves the team with one real point guard, a Mr. Horace Wormely, who was first team all-NAIA in college but is also 5'6".

Erie's 1st cuts

2009-11-17T15:12:43Z

The Bayhawks reduced their roster to 13 by releasing G Raheem Moss, PG Derrick Mercer, F,C Jeff Skemp
and G Ryan Troutman. Moss was a camp invite. He was the last player cut last preseason. Mercer was Erie's 4th round pick out of American University. Skemp was Erie's 6th round pick out of D-3 Wisconsin-Platteville. Troutman, who played 3 seasons at D-1 Akron, was Erie's 7th round pick out of NAIA Tusculum College. Obtained this info from the Erie Times News.

How'z it goin? 2008-09 Ex-Idaho Stampede

2009-11-17T05:03:05Z

Jon L. mentioned feel free to "fan post" - the only thing I know about "fan posts" involves me lifting my hind leg. But since we are about ready to get started on another season, I thought I would give it a try and see if I could actually put together something worth reading as practice for regular season posting. In search of a topic, I decided I would look backward and see how some of the ex-Stamps from last season are doing overseas and across state lines. Without further ado (and thanks to Eurobasket and Google translator) here we go:

Brent Petway: Of course the logical place for the 2009 defensive player of the year would be an NBA team that needed defensive help. So of course we find AirGeorgia eating gyros (plus Pizza Hut) and drinking ouzo in Greece with Ilysiakos of Athens. From the looks of his stats, he is getting moderate playing time, shooting at a very high percentage and rebounding well. Team is off to a so-so start. Pets numbers good to me. He is also looking for someone to braid his hair if you are in the area.

Lance Allred: Of course the logical place for 2009 All-League player and all around great story (Longshot: buy it for Christmas!) would be on an NBA bench, bringing good vibes and hitting the pick and pop. So of course we find Lance in Italia where I believe he is on the roster of Scavolini Pesaro. When I say I believe, I really mean that - I am not sure he is playing for them any more. In the usual Allred way, nothing is easy. He signed with Napoli to start the season but locked in an unairconditioned hotel room and not getting paid, he started ranting on his blog. To say that the Italians are a bit behind the electronic "lay-it-all-out-there" curve would be a massive understatement. After getting filleted by the local press, he was soon traded to Pesaro for a half finished piece of tiramasu. As a fill in for then injured Eric Williams in the post, Allred was the scapegoat of the 0-5 start. One translation compared Lance to a cut out piece of particle board and he did not appear in Pesaro's last game. Feel bad for the man, but Rumble has a soft spot in his heart for the big red head - so Lance if it's not working out you are welcome to come home and play for Coach Mac - the perfect home for a passing big man.

Luke Jackson: Of course the logical place for a now healthy multidimensional gun slinger that can get to the rack, the foul line and hit the open jumper with significant NBA experience would be...the NBA? Nope, back to Italia and Carfe - Basket Club Ferrara. Like Lance, Luke's team is near the bottom of the barrel in the standings. Unlike Lance, Luke seems to be going off...combining monster games in points/rebounds/assists with a couple 0-5 outings. I just have to put a paw over my eyes and I can see the whole thing like it was yesterday. Anyway, it seems like Luke has found a home. As a side note, it looks from the team website that Luke has picked up a gig modeling jeans...even if that turns out to be mistranslated, it sure sounds like a great story so I won't be investigating it further but rather passing it on as fact.

Jason Ellis: Of course the logical place for 6'6" post players would be the D-League...where the 2009- 2010 Stamps could use a guy like him. We actually hear a bit more about J locally in that he plays with another Boise State grad for GasTerra Flames in Holland. The Flames are currently at the top of their league and in what should be a surprise to no one, Jason is one of the leading rebounders. Chipping in a few points too. Sounds like Holland is a great place to play and from the articles I have read it sounds like he is enjoying himself. Good for him - he deserves it.

Coby Karl: Of course the logical place for a guy cut once for Sue Yue would be completely out of basketball selling life insurance...so of course we find him back in the NBA playing for one of the league favorites, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sounds like he is the proverbial 15th man and has seen limited game action thus far. Hope he gets his chance, he is a smart ball player that makes everyone better around him. Maybe even LeBron.

Jamaal Tatum/Lanny Smith: Eurobasket says Tatum is back with Stamps, the Idaho Statesman says Smith is back. Which is true? I hope both are back.

Mildon Ambres: Back for his 2nd season...

Roberto Bergersen: Back for his 25th season...(Berto, we kid because we love. p.s. please bring your jump shot with you when you report.)

Coach Joel Ableson: Coach Liv moves on and Coach Joel moves up to sit next to Coach Mac (and be his personal body guard when they play the Flash). Already a shortage on wine coolers through out the Boise valley.

Owner Bill Illet: Utah has Mark Cuban Jr., the Stamps have Jerry Jones Jr. As long as Bill is here, we'll be here! Now if he would just shake loose a few bucks and build us "BillyWorld" then we'd really have something.

To all DLeague fans, hope you have a great year! From the land of Taters, Blue Turf and the 2010 Showcase...

Rumble out

Ridiculous Transactions: 11/9 - 11/15, Plus Trade Analysis

2009-11-16T15:00:36Z

by Darron Cummings - AP

The Houston Rockets said goodbye to Pops Mensah-Bonsu this week. Frowny face.

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A few relatively big moves happened (in our world, at least), but before I get to those, I realized that I never discussed the D-League trades from a few weekends ago at any length, so here we go:

Fort Wayne Mad Ants traded 10 pick (Alade Aminu) to the Erie BayHawks; Erie BayHawks traded Rob Kurz to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants

At least as it stands now, before any games have been played, this looks like a pretty good trade for both sides. Fort Wayne returns Chris Hunter and Sean Sonderleiter in the middle, so as talented as Aminu is the team was already set at center. Sure, Aminu most likely would've been an upgrade over Sonderleiter, Hunter gets the bulk of the minutes there anyway, and since he's a very good D-League center the Mad Ants were able to flip their pick to address other issues. The team also has several other forwards back from last year, but they're mostly defense or rebounding specialists. Rob Kurz should allow the team to stretch the defense a little more, to use that cliche, and because I assume he's going to start, it will be interesting to see if his presence at power forward pushes Anthony Kent to the bench, or whether Kent moves over to the 3 and Ron Howard, last year's starting small forward but 6'5", heads to the backcourt. If the latter is the case, then Kurz's shooting skill will be even more of a necessity as Howard's not much of a shooter (or scorer generally, come to think of it). Fort Wayne also had been angling to get Kurz as a local allocation player because of his time at Notre Dame, so the team is hoping that bringing him in (along with other Notre Dame players) will help them at the gate as well as on the court.

For the Bayhawks, Alade Aminu seemed to be one of the most sought-after players in the draft, at least among teams looking for raw talent. Aminu didn't play a whole lot for Washington's Summer League team, though his defense was alright when he did, and the Miami Heat gave him a look during the preseason. Aminu was a bit turnover-prone in college and needs to develop some post moves (along with some strength), but he's very athletic and handles the ball fairly well for a 6'10" guy. Erie needed a center to replace the departed Erik Daniels, and as I wrote around the draft, bringing in actual centers like Aminu, John Bryant and Jeff Skemp is a step in the right direction. Erie already had some guys sort of like Kurz (Ivan Harris is a three-point shooting forward, Jarvis Gunter is an okay rebounder but doesn't do much else), so they didn't need to duplicate efforts there.

Los Angeles D-Fenders traded Earl Barron to the Iowa Energy; Iowa Energy traded Anthony Tolliver to the Idaho Stampede; Idaho Stampede traded Dar Tucker to the Los Angeles D-Fenders

I've given some brief comments on this one, but to recap, I like this trade for both Idaho and Iowa, but I'm a little baffled by what LA is doing. To elaborate, let's start with Idaho. Last year Bob MacKinnon's Colorado team liked to run, and they led the league in pace. Sure they had Joe Dabbert and Kentrell Gransberry in the middle, but each of those players' proclivity for fouling meant that Josh Davis saw a fair amount of time at center. Anthony Tolliver isn't the same player Davis is, specifically in the area of three-point shooting (Tolliver is okay but not great there), but he's a good passer, a pretty good rebounder and post defender, and he can score a little bit (in the D-League, anyway). Tolliver should be a solid anchor for the Stampede, at least for as long as he's around (he has a history of leaving the D-League either to play in Europe or the NBA).

Iowa-wise, Earl Barron is a solid center with some shot-blocking talent and NBA experience (specifically with Miami). Barron upped his per-36 minute scoring averages and lowered his foul rates every year that he played for the Heat, so he's been improving. He's 28 years old now, though, so this may be his last go-round in the D-League. The Energy drafted a lot of scorers and wing players, and while Tolliver is a good player (see above) he likely would've taken up a lot of possessions that can now be distributed a little more equally.

As for the D-Fenders, it's not that Dar Tucker isn't talented, it's just that his shot selection is shaky. He made less than 30 percent of his three-pointers last year at DePaul, which wouldn't be great even if he hadn't averaged more than six three-point attempts per game. He shot just 39 percent overall, so it's not like he was great inside the arc either. He also averaged more turnovers than assists and can't really go left. Tucker is athletic, does a decent job of getting to the rim and is a decent rebounder, but his offensive game has a lot of negatives. Plus there's the fact that he's a shooting guard, and that LA already has Joe Crawford and Charlie Parker, who are nominally point guards but are more scorers than distributor, Ryan Forehan-Kelly, who's a swingman who can do a lot of things but who also probably got accustomed to having the ball last year, Deron Washington, who's another (more efficient) slasher, and Jeremy Wise, a shooting guard. As for big men, let's see...how does Longar Longar strike you? It's entirely possible that Barron asked for this trade, but as it stands now the D-Fenders have a glut of shooting guards and/or backcourt scoring without a ton of guys who can rebound or defend the post. This team could be really fun to watch, or it could be a horrible mess.

Rio Grande Valley Vipers traded Marcus Hubbard to the Reno Bighorns; Reno Bighorns traded Haminn Quaintance to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Here's the thing about Marcus Hubbard - I make snide comments about his game, but he's a decent player. At least he could be. He certainly has his moments. He's athletic, he can rebound a little bit, he stays out of foul trouble. But, somewhere in his career (it may have been at the beginning, who knows) he started viewing himself as a mid-range/perimeter player, and he's not very good at it. He likes shooting threes, and he's about as good at it as Dar Tucker is. Now that the Rockets are running the show, he really didn't fit what they look for in a big man, so it wasn't a surprise to see him go.

Quaintance, on the other hand, does seem like a Houston-type guy. I don't know much about him, and called him a "three-point shooter" around the draft based on last year's EuroChallenge, but he's actually a power forward who was an excellent defender in college (he was MAC defensive player of the year as a senior) and gets steals blocks as well as blocks, plus he can score a little bit and passes pretty well for his position. Oh, and he's athletic. He profiles very well, so I'm curious as to why Reno gave him up. He likely wouldn't have gotten a ton of minutes behind Boom Tho Rod Benson and non-boom tho Cezary Trybanski, but he could've slid into the lineup in the event of a Benson call-up just as well as Hubbard can.

Moving on to this week's, uh, moves, after the jump...

November 10: James White - signed with Spartak SPB (Russia); Ronald Dupree - signed with Telekom Baskets Bonn (Germany)

Well, White said he wasn't coming back to the D-League, so this is just a guy keeping his promise. Spartak just signed Goran Suton last week, so they have a pretty solid (American) inside-outside combo now. The question becomes whether White will come back next year for Summer League and/or the preseason, or whether he's fed up with the entire enterprise. He may cool off after a year, but if the NBA isn't going to seriously invest in him he may not see the point. Dupree goes to Telekom Baskets, also the current team of former RGV point guard Jared Jordan. He's in a similar position to White (but without the relatively-modest NBA success) in that he's ready to move on with his career. As he said in that interview I linked to yesterday, there comes a point in every player's career (the D-League/marginal NBA players anyway) where he has to seriously consider playing in Europe, essentially for the money. This was a tougher year than most for a lot of these players, but if someone has plans, or has plans to have plans, to settle into some kind of routine, live comfortably, start a family, whatever, as it stands right now the D-League/Summer League/training camp circuit just doesn't provide that.

November 12: Washington Wizards - waived Paul Davis and signed Earl Boykins

My interest in this move (other than as a Wizards fan) is to see what Davis will do. He could make a pretty good salary in Europe, and do pretty well on the court leading to future pretty good salaries, but one doesn't go on the "Millionaire Matchmaker" show and talk about how you're looking for someone to settle down with your millions of dollars if you're then planning on leaving the country. Of course, that was a while ago, and he probably wasn't planning on barely making a roster on a nonguaranteed deal, and playing in the D-League definitely isn't what people on "Millionaire Matchmaker" have in mind (I'm guessing), but I could see Davis sticking around here for a few months and using his Clippers years as a way to get another shot.

November 13: Eddie Gill - signed with Base Oostende (Belgium); Toronto Raptors - waived Quincy Douby

I don't have much to say about Douby being waived, as from my read on the situation his position on the team was already somewhat tenuous even before the team drafted DeMar DeRozan (and, hopefully, traded for Sonny Weems). He could do extremely well in Europe, obviously, but he has enough of a name that another NBA team is likely to take a shot on him at some point (hi Memphis!).

Gill, though, is sort of a big deal because he represents yet another talented, high-profile player (D-League-wise) who the Springfield Armor took in the expansion draft and who won't actually be suiting up for that team. Gill may or may not have been looking to head overseas for awhile, but his leaving right before training camp would seem to put the team in a tight spot. They may not have been counting on him being there, but they didn't really bring in any strong point guards through allocation or the draft, so one would assume that they were. Oh well. This leaves JamesOn Curry as the team's starting point guard, I'm guessing, even though Curry's not much of a distributor.

November 14: Houston Rockets - waived Pops Mensah-Bonsu and assigned Joey Dorsey to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Goodbye, Pops. You were enjoyed. I have no idea if Mensah-Bonsu will return to the D-League, as he's in a similar position to Paul Davis (but without the whole "appearing on TV" thing), and also Earl Barron. Mensah-Bonsu is younger than I thought, but 26 years old is starting to approach the "maybe I should just go to Europe" age. His national team coach Chris Finch is in the D-League now, and with the Rockets' affiliate no less, so he could wait around until they're at the top of the list and join the D-League player pool, at which point he'll do so well (he was a monster for the Toros last year) that the NBA can't keep ignoring him (again).

I also thought Dorsey was older than he is, or at least had been in the NBA long enough not to be eligible for the D-League, but that probably speaks to the fact that I need to brush up on this stuff. Even without Mensah-Bonsu in the picture, frontcourt minutes are scarce in Houston at the moment. Dorsey posted some decent numbers in RGV last year, around 10 points and nine rebounds per game (11 and 11 per-36), but his free-throw shooting was so awful it actually dragged his True Shooting percentage down a fair amount. Dorsey played well in Summer League this year, and I expect him to do very well for the Vipers. Assuming, that is, that he and Kurt Looby find a way to both play in the middle. They'll probably both start, but Vipers fans should probably get used to seeing those guys fighting each other for rebounds.

Your Sunday D-League Bullets

2009-11-15T15:00:28Z

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I've skipped linking to all of the various "local player gets drafted by a D-League team" stories, mostly because they're all pretty similar and also because some of those players may get cut over the next week and a half. There are still some interesting links to hit you with, as you'll see.

SLAM Online has a nice profile of Latavious Williams and the process he and his agent Tony Dutt went through to decide on joining the D-League. There is no relation between my linking this article and the fact that it and Dutt make a lot of the same points (he'll get to play against better competition, with better coaching) that I always make.
Quincy Douby just got cut by the Raptors, and the Erie BayHawks have first dibs if he comes back to the D-League. I'd bet he goes to Europe instead, but maybe he wants to be on hand for another 10-day.
Okay, so one exception to the kind of story I mentioned above: Robert Swift, who's trying to come back with Bakersfield. I'm a little skeptical that he can stay injury-free, but as the article notes, Swift has bulked up a little bit so perhaps his body will be a little more stable.
Ronald Dupree is playing in Germany this year, and Bonn's General-Anzeiger Online has an interview with him about being cut by the Jazz and his decision to play overseas. It's in German, of course, so you may need to use your translation website of choice, but here's a choice quote, roughly translated: "For me it was no longer meaningful to return there. It's okay if you're young and coming out of college, but I had come to a point in my career where I had to take the step to play in Europe.
I don't put much stock in "power rankings" as a general rule, for any sport or other thing that you can rank power-ly, but in the interest of full bulleting, D-League.com has released their preseason power rankings. I think Maine might be a little high and Idaho a bit low, but otherwise it mostly tracks with my own thoughts.
Jeff Potter has been posting his thoughts on how Fort Wayne's Mad Ants practices have been going, but the most interesting one to me is the idea that Sean Sonderleiter has slimmed down a bit over the summer. I doubt it's made him a whole lot quicker, but he was always active and a solid rebounder, so if he's a little leaner (he was never as bad as a Nate Jawai or a Kentrell Gransberry, but his conditioning could've been better) then he should be a very good backup for the Mad Ants this season.

Rockets Waive Pops Mensah-Bonsu

2009-11-14T07:16:08Z

Rockets Waive Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Hey, so remember when I said that Pops Mensah-Bonsu was ahead of Joey Dorsey on the Rockets' depth chart? That is no longer a true fact. Deeks with his Bulls hat on does a good job of listing all of the things M-B can do (which is a fair amount). Brian Cook has to have one of the sweetest rides in the NBA, no? He never plays (nor should he, really) but his team can't waive him, so instead they get rid of better players.

Rockets Assign Joey Dorsey to RGV

2009-11-13T19:58:25Z

Rockets Assign Joey Dorsey to RGV

Well here you go, the season's first NBA assignment. I'm a little surprised the Rockets didn't also send down Jermaine Taylor, who's played less than nine total minutes so far, but after Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola, Carl Landry, David Andersen and Pops Mensah-Bonsu there just aren't a lot of minutes for Dorsey right now. Dorsey spent seven games in the D-League last season, and it will be interesting to see how new RGV coach Chris Finch handles the Dorsey-Kurt Looby rotation early on.