No Luck in Vegas So Far…

Isn't Jawai still out with a groin strain? I hope he gets a chance for some extended minutes. I don't expect much from him because he's definitely a project but projects need minutes.

Anyone got any info on what's up with him. And we've got to figure out a better nickname than Aussie Shaq for the guy. That's a hell of a comparison for someone coming from half-way around the world to a whole new level of basketball to carry around. I vote for the Beast from Bamaga.

Is it me or is the summer league too short to get much out of the games there? i would think that if they played twice as many games we might get a better picture out of the player's performances.
Does anyone know what the NBA has planned in regards to the d league? It is my understanding that they want to get each team their own d league team eventually but I am wondering how they are going to work that as teams only get 2 draft picks per year (I believe when the NBA reduced the draft to two rounds it was because there was no where to place the additional players) which isn't enought to field an entire team of minor leaguers. I would hope they would add rounds to the draft in order to give teams a chance to fill out their dleague squads. Does anyone have any idea if this is the case?

Something is definitely still wrong with Jawai. He didn't attempt to go up for a single board last night. He obviously did everything in his power not to get up off the floor. I will reserve judgment on him until I can properly assess his game.

I actually didn't think that Joey played that poorly. Yes he is playing against fringe NBAers, but I thought he was doing a lot of things right offensively. Yes he had a brain cramp or two, but you can see that he was trying to put his mark on the game with his aggressiveness. Defensively, he wasn't half bad either. Remember, summer league can be tough to gauge a player’s overall performance based on the numerous touch foul calls that are being made/called. Players are far more aggressive than in a regular NBA game.

In conclusion, I believe that Joey needs to regain his confidence and requires a more defined role, something that he only had for a small stretch two seasons ago (where he played pretty well). I don't view Joey in the same light as other fourth year players. He was always on a short leash and never allowed to play through his mistakes. When a coach gets inside a players head, it can become very difficult to perform. You start thinking and trying to do too much. I would have liked to see Rod Benson play some. Here's hoping he makes his debut Thursday night.

Benson didn't play again? I thought he was a player that both Phoenix and TO wanted to assess in this summer league.

Did Jawai do anything?

On the NBA's summerleague site, they have all the rosters, stats etc. and Jawai isn't listed anywhere. Are you sure he played last night? Why aren't his stats (even just minutes played) listed anywhere? It seems like he may have been a mirage last night.

Yep, he played last night. He was a last minute addition so the NBA.com info hasn't been updated yet. On Doug Smith's blog this morning he mentions Jawai having a certain smoothness based on his play yesterday...although I'm pretty sure you had to be there in person to determine that. He was completely a non-factor and considering that he won't likely get much time this year behind Hump, it would be nice to see him get a good run in over the next three games...

...which brings me to your point McGateway. I agree, five games is nothing in the grand scheme of things and while it may give you a good idea of who CAN'T play, it provides less of a solid idea of who CAN.

As for D League plans, yes, I think the idea is for each team to have their own squad eventually but right now only a handful (LA, San Antonio for example) have that system in place.

PS - Tough loss for Team Canada this morning. Forgot to set my alarm to watch it so hopefully I can catch it on a replay. Sounds like they struggled in the half-court which isn't very surprising. They could really use a good dose of Steve Nash. Let's hope they win tomorrow morning...

Franchise,

They are replaying the Canada game tonight at 9:00 on the Score. My daughter had me up at 7:00 so I did catch half of the game, but I really wish I hadn't. They looked bored out there. No one was moving around and they looked MUCH slower than the Slovenian squad. If they don't increase their intensity and make better decisions with the ball against Korea, tomorrow morning will be the last we see of these guys for a while.

It was nice to see Rasho playing though.

One thing that I did want to say about Jawai yesterday is that he really is quick for his size. On numerous occasions he would provide pressure on the point guard bringing the ball up and was still able to make it back to cover his player in the post. He is also very difficult to move. Again, I believe that his groin hindered him from playing anywhere near 100% (I say this because he is supposed to be a beast attacking the boards and yesterday he looked more like a squirrel at times).

The thing to remember about Jawai is that the level of play in Australia is not very high. There's probably more speed, talent and size on the summer league teams than he's used to. I sure the groin injury didn't help either. Let's at least wait until the end of summer league before making any judgements.

I caught a bit of Jawai on the replay of last night's summer league classic. I think AGM makes good points and I can see him being a fairly adept pick-and-roll big man, assuming he develops a decent mid-range game. While its all untapped potential at the moment between what I saw and what I read I can see him becoming Desagnana (spelling?) Diop with a more developed offensive game. We won't know for at least a year if he can realize that potential but for minimal contract, he strikes me as well worth the risk.

Presumably Herbert's been brought in with Jawai in mind, as well as Bargs. Can't criticize BC on those 2 moves.

And I repeat, gotta change the guy's nickname as soon as possible.

Thursday's game isn't being shown on Raps TV until Friday.

Vegas Sightings (from Hoopsworld)

A couple of notable free agents are around, and HOOPSWORLD has a chance to visit with Kelenna Azubuike and JR Smith. Azubuike was in the middle of a fantastic workout at Impact Basketball as the Raptors' brass walked in hoping to see Jermaine O'Neal. They can't afford him, but they were impressed by what they saw.

He was our guy, we should have done whatever he had to do to sign him. He should of been our starting 3 this year.. We (including Franchise) were right all along. Young and athletic, would have been a great addition to our core.. I will trade for him in NBA2K9..lol

Hassan and Joey suck, they should not see the floor this year, NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL.. Joey's option and hassan's contract together, might have gotten us AZibuke..

Off topic , just in case you missed it here is a nice write up about J.O. from a Indy Writer

quote from the writer

"I'll make this prediction: O'Neal will be an All-Star in 2008-09"

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080711/SPORTS15/807110418/1062/SPORTS04

Here is a name JaJuan Smith from Tennessee.. PLaying on the mavs summer league team.. he has played well.. maybe he could be a 3rd pg

Great Blog and comments section: Doug Smith says the raps would be ok with Carlos accepting their qualifying offer of $2.744 mil. which could mean they have this amount budgeted under the tax. that would open up the options available as free agency unfolds.

Phonechecka...ouch, that sucks. Thanks for the update though, I guess I assumed because it was noted as "NBA TV" that it would be shown live. Perhaps not.

AGM - Watching the game right now, Sammy D interview. I see what you're saying though about the Cdns, they just look flat.

John - Read the piece this morning and was going to post it over the next few days, great read isn't it?

Coach C - Like Jajuan, but he's no point guard in the NBA. Watched a lot of him at Tenn last year along with the other "Smith's" and he's really an undersized 2. Lofton manned the 1 for the Vols and Jajuan played off the ball 90 per cent of the time.

...oh...and no more on Azubuike. That makes me want to cry.

PS - These commentators are terrible...ALEX ENGLISH, it's CARL!

Clippers acquire Nuggets' Camby for optional second-round draft pick

Seems cheep to Me!

Camby for nothing! That must hurt a lot of teams to see that. If we could have done that, we'd have another 10 million to look for a scoring wing player and have a flawless starting five.

Well, I'm happy with Jermaine, but the right to switch a second round draft pick! Was there no team that would give up a future first rounder for the best defensive player in the league?

A guess.
If Camby lands with the Clippers, he's then part of a deal that moves him to the Knicks with Randolph going to the Clips.

"The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired forward Marcus Camby from the Denver Nuggets. In return, Denver will have the option to exchange second round picks with the Clippers in 2010."

This article says nothing about the Knicks. No. Way.

This is crap. How the *&*&^( do the Clippers get this, giving up NOTHING?? Sh*t. This is bullsh*t.

KG to Boston. Gasol to LA. Camby to LA. Something stinks here. They lose Brand, but get one of the best d-specialists in the league for NOTHING?

Owner collusion?

and ya, BTW, I am angry. This does screw the Raps, who never seem to be on the right side of a deal.

Think Vince. Think Bargs (crap draft year). Think Mourning (10 million bucks to play for a championship).

Yech. I am not happy.

sorry for language guys...carried away...

Nuggets needed a salary dump.
Nobody else could have done this trade except the Clips because of their cap room.
Usually salaries have to match to make the trade work.
Denver would not have wanted Rasho or TJ....they want to dump salary.

Wow, that Camby trade is a joke. I feel your pain gerry, we never seem to get the gifts that other franchises have got, right from the beginning when we weren't allowed to win the lotto. Camby is a great asset, terrific defensive player and a pretty decent contract. I don't know if he looks good beside Bosh, 2 bean poles, but for a 2nd round pick?!?

I love the Raps and think we are improving, have good leadership, etc. But you have to be lucky to win it all and we just don't seem to have the same luck that some big arket teams get - crap like this is what starts the conspiracy theories.

Hey,we can always trade a Chuck Swirsky bobblehead...How do these teams do it.Dont get me wrong I like JO but our 17th,Rasho,TJ and Bastien...hang on Camby for what?Are we asleep or is it that nobody wants to deal with BC because they may think they are getting screwed !!!

I am STUNNED!!!!! I just watched one of the greatest comebacks in Canada Basketball history!

I'm glad I waited until the end of the game to post a comment. After the first half I wanted to rip someone's head off. For those who didn't see the game, Dalembert pulled a suck attack in the first half and literally walked out on the team. I wonder what he is thinking now...God I'm giddy!

"For those who didn't see the game, Dalembert pulled a suck attack in the first half and literally walked out on the team."

This is why you should never read a RealGM board. I tuned into the game near the end of the first quarter and was trying to figure out where Dalembert was. I started to surf the net and couldn't find anything. I went onto the RealGM board and someone had commented that Sam left the game after an argument with Leo in the first quarter. According to Doug Smith's article a few minutes ago, he claims that Dalembert wasn't even on the bench today. Who to believe...can someone clarify this?

From Grange:

"Samuel Dalembert didn't show up at all. The rest of the Canadian national team showed up for only half of their game against Korea, but it was enough, just barely and so very dramatically."

"While Dalembert's absence was unexplained -- speculation was that he'd had a falling out with the national team coaching staff -- Canada was able to overcome it and their own dismal first half performance when it seemed certain they were going to leave Athens with an 0-2 record and dashed dreams of Olympic glory."