« New D-League affiliate: Portland, Maine | Main | On salary cap, free-agency »
June 30, 2009
Rookies loaned out for summer league
Looks like the Bobcats are loaning Gerald Henderson to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Derrick Brown to the Utah Jazz, to get their rookies some summer-league experience.
Just saw the rosters, and Henderson is with the T'Wolves in the Las Vegas league, while Brown is with the Jazz in Orlando. The Bobcats chose not to field a summer-league team to save money. Coach Larry Brown indicated before the draft that they'd look for alternatives so the rookies could get some run in July.
By playing with the T'Wolves, Henderson will be sharing time at shooting guard with high-school teammate Wayne Ellington, who played at North Carolina.
Posted by Observer Sports on June 30, 2009 at 04:40 PM | Permalink
Comments
Disappointing these guys won't get a chance to start learning the system and have their PT prioritized for our own entry, but at least they’ll have a chance to adjust to the way NBA games are called and the pace of the game. Sure would be nice not to have a cheapskate owner who could not possibly care less about the team and its performance.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jun 30, 2009 8:25:52 PM
Ric,
what are the chances we go after AI? a lot of the ESPN folks think it's possible and i think it could be a good move. he can still put up numbers in the right system. obviously larry brown has that system. this could work...
Posted by: dougie | Jun 30, 2009 8:26:59 PM
Bobcats! Spend some money now and Go Get Villanueva!!
Let him play with his UCONN buddy Emeka!
Posted by: Souper | Jun 30, 2009 8:49:24 PM
Are any of the games going to be televised?
Posted by: Token | Jun 30, 2009 9:02:21 PM
token,
most games are on NBA TV
Posted by: kevin | Jun 30, 2009 9:40:08 PM
Rick,
What about Ajinca? Coach Brown talked earlier in the summer about putting him on a summer league roster.
Posted by: Tony | Jun 30, 2009 10:41:59 PM
Getting really tired of this ownership, or lack thereof. It's a shame a playoff contender has to be owned by Donald Sterling 2.0.
Posted by: Aaron | Jun 30, 2009 10:42:40 PM
Hi -- reacting to a couple of these comments:
I wouldn't be shocked if they make an inquiry about Iverson. The agent didn't respond to emails I've sent him. But I'd remind you of what Brown said about a month ago: That he had advised Iverson to seek out a title contender, considering where he is in his career.
From memory, some summer-league games are televised on NBA TV, if you get it on digital cable.
Ajinca is trying out with the French national team. He's not expected to make it, since they have an abundance of more experienced big men, but that camp should be as valuable as any summer league.
Michael: It's not often I defend Bob Johnson, so listen up. Your "cheapskate owner'' comment is unfair. It's the economy and it's affecting teams all over the league. Teams are reducing coaching staffs, scouting staffs, even rosters. It's a practical decision by the Bobcats to skip summer league and to stay in Charlotte for training camp. There's plenty I second-guess about Bobcats management. But this is a reasonable response to losing millions upon millions annually.
Posted by: Rick Bonnell | Jul 1, 2009 12:01:55 AM
Forget Villanueva, he's too soft.. go for the likes of Paul Millsap or David Lee. Hell even Rasheed would be a nice addition. Likewise would be McDyess or Varejao. Ike Diogu or Channing Frye could be solid bench players on the cheap also.
I agree with Michael that it's disappointing that we're not fielding a summer league team as it would be nice to get the rookies into the system. But given the times, I definitely understand why they're not putting together a team.
Posted by: OneAmaru | Jul 1, 2009 3:19:08 AM
Milsap and Lee will cost more than we can afford. McDyess will likely want to go to a contender.
Posted by: Will | Jul 1, 2009 3:23:35 AM
I think it's possible that we have a shot at Iverson. Remember, this team is a go to guy away from being a major player in the east. Our roster is just as good as anyone in the east if we can also pick up Varejao.
Starting Five Second Team
PG- Felton PG- Augustine
SG- Iverson SG- G. Henderson
SF- G. Wallace SF- Bell
PW- Diaw PF- Radmonovic
C- Emeka C- Varejao
Posted by: Tyrone | Jul 1, 2009 7:33:01 AM
"this team is a go to buy away from being a major player"
Maybe true, but I hope we don't fall into that trap again. Jason Richardson was the eventual "go to guy" and where did that leave us. I would say that Iverson in that SG slot would give alot of scoring/slashing threat along with wallace on the opposite end. Then if you put Iverson in at PG with Bell at the SG spot, you'd have a balanced lineup with a kick at D, so I guess it would be a wise move if he bought into the entire system. All in all having a great scoring PG/SG like A.I. would definately mix things up a great deal.
Posted by: Chris | Jul 1, 2009 8:15:27 AM
In the past, both summer leagues have had their games streaming online. I used to watch them at work :)
The magic's website streams the Orlando league. I can't remember where to go for the vegas league but it can't be that hard to find.
Also, do we really have to complain about every little thing? Our rookies are playing in Summer leagues at least. If I was losing millions I'd be cutting costs too.
Posted by: Bobby | Jul 1, 2009 11:31:43 AM
this is perfect. both our rookies get pt in the summer league. ajinca gets experience trying out for national team and we as a francise save money. who cares about seeing 12 other random hacks play on our summer league team. the 3 that need it the most are getting it. only exceptions, would be nice to see lil sean and jefferson find a team to play with. seems like summer league actually means more to die hard nba junkies who are dying for some action than it does to the players. rarely does summer league play translate to nba play (hello bayless). these guys can get just as good of competition playing pick up games in various gyms around the country with other nba players. this move doesnt bother me one bit, except in a selfish sense, because i want to watch players with "bobcats" on their jerseys play some games.
Posted by: fats | Jul 1, 2009 11:45:02 AM
After reading a lot of the talk about Iverson, I don't hate the idea. But I feel like we'd probably want to trade one of the other guards if we do sign him.
Iverson's not a PG, so I wouldn't touch Felton or D.J. Henderson is young and cheap (I see him potentially playing a Courtney Lee type role for Charlotte). That leaves Bell, seeing as how we'd have to give Iverson starter's minutes to justify signing him. We lose a little on defense but gain a 20 ppg scorer who will finally bring some excitement to the team. I wonder what our trade options would be for Bell. A backup PF or combo forward would be nice.
It's a risk for sure, and I wouldn't be terribly upset if Iverson didn't play in Charlotte next season. But trading Bell is the only way I see this working.
Posted by: Bobby | Jul 1, 2009 12:26:17 PM
Dougie, AI is a lockerroom cancer, and he'd wreck our defense (playing alongside Felton or Augustin would leave us with a tiny back court.)
Rick, I understand the economy and its effect. But this isn't exactly Johnson's first strike. Milwaukee isn't exactly lighting the world on fire in terms of attendance or revenue, but they're fielding a team. Further, the reason this team is hemorrhaging money is that Johnson and his staff have done a terrible job running the organization. I'm not going to blow that off when it will hurt our team.
Tyrone, Varejao just opted out of a deal that would pay him nearly $7 mil. He's not gonna jump at the $5.5 mil MLE we can offer.
fats, as I mentioned earlier, getting guys who will make the team reps in the systems we will run is invaluable. You can't get that at pickup games.
Bobby, adding Iverson wouldn't hurt our defense "a little." He doesn't work at all on that end.
Posted by: Michael Procton | Jul 1, 2009 5:58:47 PM
Procton, AI is 12th in the NBA in career steals. His per game average, 2.2 is the same a John Stockton's.
How in the hell can you say he doesn't work at all on defense?
AI comes w/ baggage, and he's not the team guy that Bell is, but you can't just make up baseless opinions and pass them off as fact. AI would bring a drive to win (on offense and defense) that this team has never had. Is he worth it? I don't know, but you sure don't either.
Posted by: Bobby | Jul 2, 2009 9:49:23 AM
Post a comment
Advertisements
