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The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

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  • #16
    Re: The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

    Originally posted by Justin Tyme View Post
    Ah, the infamous Alexander Johnson who the Pacers drafted in the 2nd round of 2006 only to trade for James White.
    I didn't know about that connection, good catch.

    Originally posted by rexnom View Post
    On an unrelated note, Cordobes, can you explain why they don't have D-League teams in slightly larger cities? Why Boise and not St. Louis or Kansas City, for example?
    Good question, but I have no idea. Maybe because those larger cities already have pro-sports teams from major leagues and it's easy for a minor league basketball team to get attention and revenues being the only attraction in town? I'm not well versed in American demographics or in other leagues, so maybe I'm wrong. I don't really know the answer, I'll take this question to the attention of D-League specialists and get back at you.

    Originally posted by wintermute View Post
    what do you think of alade aminu as a prospect? i think he would be a good fit at f/c, and young enough to have a future with the team. a bit of a project though.
    Alimu is a D-League rookie playing for a team whose games only this week were made available in Futurecast archives (well, he used to play for that team, he was traded a couple of days ago) and I don't remember seeing him in college, so my judgement of him is based on a single game where he didn't play very well at all. It seems to me you're correct though, he has the kind of eye-popping athleticism and quickness that would be a good fit in the Pacers rotation. But seeing as my notes from that game are filled with "Alimu is braindead" and "Alimu keeps posting up = the suck"... well, he's really, really raw, so he'd probably be a long time project for a team that calls him up. He has always regressed during his stay in the D-League production-wise, which is always a reason for concern, as Bay Hawks insider Matt Hubbert explains in D-LeagueDigest.

    But yeah, I'm with you, screw Johnson; let's try to find and pick up some younger guy with more potential for the Pacers to test. Aminu is a good idea, I'm going to watch more games of him in the near future, he had way better ones statistically that the one I saw.

    Talking of call-ups, I called Reggie Williams promising and he's delivering big time for the Golden State Warriors. In the last game versus the Hornets, he dropped 28 points (10-16 FGA, 1-3 3PA, 7-8 FT), 6 assists and 2 steals - which would be a normal line for him in the D-League if one could add 5 or 6 rebounds.

    Reggie Williams can really be another good finding for the Warriors in the D-League/undrafted pool, to join CJ Watson, Azubuike, Morrow, Tolliver and Hunter - I think he will. He's a natural scorer, very fluid and smooth putting the ball in the basket. Not a very athletic player, little blowbyability, but has good size, a decent jumper and excellent scoring instincts.

    There's something that worries me about Williams - every time I saw him, his use of the right hand (he's a leftie) was... residual. Basically he uses it to help on his stationary dribble. His favourite ISO moves are either a diagonal drive from the left wing finished with a running hook or from the left block - he's really good at this. But in the game vs Orlando I noticed that Vince Carter was smartly overplaying his left and Williams became very timid and never attempted to go right. Even in the D-League he'd quickly pull up a jumper or an innocuous pass after going right. So yeah, he probably needs lots of work on his off-hand. Not someone with great tools to defend, but I'm liking his intensity on that end of the court with the Warriors, even though he's generally assigned the easiest matchup. He's also an excellent and willing passer, I think.

    So, once again thumbs up for the Warriors. Tolliver has been struggling a little lately, I think he's trying to do too much instead of keeping his focus on the little things, but his shooting has been decent enough except for a couple of games and is now averaging 9/6/2 in 27mpg; Hunter keeps doing his thing, it's a shame he doesn't have a better nose for grabbing rebounds.

    Williams joins Tolliver, Jeffers, Antonio Anderson, Temple and Gaines at the top of my call-up rankings.

    More call-ups: commemorating Dwayne Jones call-up was premature, the Mavs eventually passed on him after a workout. It's not like one can say they've been missing him... This probably means Jones is (or should be) done as a D-League player and needs to start thinking about making some serious money while he's at the top of his athletic abilities. If he can't even get a 10 days contract this season, he'll probably never get one (although I maintain he's not bad for a 5th). Giving Europe a new try could be smart of him.

    Cedric Jackson earned a new call-up, this time for the Spurs. He plays very good defence and penetrates a lot with mixed results at best. What else he does well I'm certainly missing, but it must be something to earn 3 call-ups in a season and from good franchises.

    Garrett Temple was called-up by the Rockets and then the Kings. I liked him with the Rockets, he's a really good, energetic, defender. Maybe the Pacers could wait to see if he becomes available, he's a good prospect.

    The Wizards called up the Toros primary scorer and D-League All-Star and Dunk Contest winner Alonzo Gee, an extremely athletic 6'6'' foot wing who may be one of the few D-League top-scorers able to translate his game to the NBA. He's an average shooter with shaky ball-handling skills, but he's a terrific and very aggressive finisher, with excellent body control and physical ability, and a very smart and fundamentally sound cutter. I hope he gets some run in the NBA, I'd like to see him playing with a good PG. With the Toros he was basically excused from defending, but he shows flashes of excellence in terms of lateral quickness. When the Wizards waive Gee, he's another guy Indiana could look at.

    Finally Chris Richard is with the Bulls. Good 5th big to absorb some minutes. Wide body that cleans the glass and plays strong post defence.

    From the guys still waiting for a call-up, I see the aforementioned Aminu, Mustafa Shakur (PG for Tulsa) and Trey Johnson (G for Bakersfield) as the best picks in terms of potential.

    Comment

    • #17
      Re: The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

      With the D-League playoffs starting today and the Pacers poised to make their first D-League call-up ever, I figured this would be a good day to update this thread.

      1. The 2010 D-League playoffs tip-off tonight with the #7 seed Utah Flash hosting the #1 seed Iowa Energy. The first team to win 2 games advances to the 2nd round. There's a very particular and, AFAIK, exclusive feature in the D-League playoffs - the top seeds can choose their opponents. That's why the #1 seed will play the #7 seed and not the #8: Iowa preferred to play Utah even though they have a better winning record than Tulsa (afraid of Tulsa being reinforced by assignees from the Thunder for the playoffs, perhaps?). I'll write about the playoffs more later, but in case you're interest in watching the game, go here.

      2. Fact: by virtually every metric, this has been the most successful D-League season ever. I've lost count of the number of call-ups, but I think they'll be around the 36 mark by the end of this season, a number that shatters all previous records. There are now more than 80 players with D-League experience in NBA rosters.

      As Aaron Philips notes in Dime Mag, the D-League is better than ever:

      In addition to the national broadcast deal they signed with sports cable network VERSUS to air games during the season (including six games during the D-League Playoffs), NBA Futurecast also provides fans with the opportunity to watch every D-League game live online and for free. And for fans in markets with a team, people came out in record numbers, finishing the regular season by exceeding one million (1,043,261) in total attendance for the first time in league history. (I should also note that my Maine Red Claws played to 100 percent capacity during their inaugural season. That’s how we do.)

      Perhaps this speaks more to the explosion of social media than the popularity of the league, but the D-League Twitter account also exploded this season, currently featuring 146,613 followers after starting the season with 8,000.
      Now, in my opinion the overall talent in the D-League this season isn't (or wasn't if you don't factor call-ups as D-Leaguers) that impressive. The biggest reason for this success is that NBA teams are getting smarter in terms of using the D-League. Teams like the Rockets, the Spurs and the Thunder are showing the way. NBA Fanhouse's Matt Moore explains it pretty well:

      I could have headlined this sucker the way most posts about the Spurs‘ latest move have been: “Spurs Sign Curtis Jerrells, Assigned to Toros.” But that belies the bigger piece of this puzzle.

      One of the primary issues with the NBA D-League is that if you invest in a D-League team, as the Spurs (who own and operate the Toros) do, you risk investing in a player’s development that may end up benefiting a rival. Unless a player is on assignment with a D-League team, he can be signed by any team in the NBA. So, you spend all this time working with a guy to develop a post game, he starts to put it together, starts rocking people, you’re ready to call him up, and … the Clippers swoop in and sign him      . Even if they only pick him up for a 10-day contract, it messes with his mindset in terms of the long-run and disrupts a team’s plans.

      This is one of the central reasons teams often don’t invest in the D-League. Why put resources into something which you can’t control, and which may end up helping out your competition? It’s a major quandary and one I’d bet will get considerable attention during the brief D-League talks as a part of the CBA negotiations next year.

      In the meantime, the Spurs are working around the problem.
      As Moore notes, there's still a problem - teams like the Spurs are just working around it . But the solution the Spurs and the Thunder of the world found is far from perfect and can't work all the time, so how do you solve this issue or at least minimize its impact? Utah Jazz beat writer for the Salt Lake City Tribune, Ross Siller, outlays some ideas being currently discussed, suggesting that pretty soon we can reach a new paradigm in terms of NBA teams/D-League relationship. This is an excellent article, very worth reading. Money quotes:
      After one of Rio Grande’s recent games, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sent congratulatory text messages to the team’s coaching staff afterward. What they didn’t know (at first) was that Morey was on a scouting trip to Europe and had been watching the game online half a world away in Spain.

      It goes to show the level of investment and involvement that an increasing number of NBA teams are making in the D-League. Among the Jazz’s Western Conference counterparts, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and the Lakers all either own and operate a team or have a single affiliation with one in which they run the basketball operations.

      (...)

      There are various estimates of what it costs ($100,000 to $400,000) for an NBA team to run basketball operations for a D-League team, which includes hiring and paying a coaching staff among other things. Just looking at the Rockets’ transactions for the season, though, you see how they find value from the relationship with Rio Grande.

      (...)

      “I think it’s absolutely terrific,” Jones said. “From afar, I’ve admired it and I spent some time with their assistant coach [Tuesday night] before the game and they are just raving about the connection between having the basketball people with the Rockets being a part of the D-League. They have resources for basketball as far as they have all their scouts help.”

      What contributes to the Jazz’s reservations are both the cost of the investment as well as the difficulty in protecting players with a D-League affiliate as the relationship is currently structured. In recent days, San Antonio signed Alonzo Gee and Oklahoma City signed Mustafa Shakur just to keep other teams away from them.

      (...)

      One possibility is of a D-League team’s affiliate having the right of first refusal when another team wants to call up one of its players. The Jazz could have called up Shakur, for example, but only if the Thunder passed on matching the call-up themselves.

      There’s also talk about allowing D-League teams to protect the rights of two or three players who took part in either summer league or went to training camp with one of their NBA affiliates. If he hadn’t made the Jazz’s roster, Wesley Matthews could have been steered to the Flash that way.

      Among the other things you hear are about creating a new class of D-League players. Maybe NBA teams only would be allowed to carry a maximum of 14 players on their rosters, but they would be allowed to control the rights to two players with their affiliate in the D-League.

      (Instead of paying that 15th player the NBA minimum of at least $450,000, the two D-League/NBA players might make $120,000 combined. So there would be some cost saving benefit on one hand as well as investment in the D-League on the other.)

      (...)

      Just something worth watching in the coming months and years. Would you feel pressure as the Jazz to keep up with something in which the Rockets, Thunder, Spurs and Lakers already have taken a lead?
      I particularly like the idea of giving the team’s affiliate having the right of first refusal when another NBA team wants to call up one of its players. It works well enough to protect those who are investing in the D-League as a way to develop talent and won't rise significant opposition from the NBA players' union.

      In any case, props for teams like the Spurs, the Rockets, the Thunder and the Warriors for their smart use of the D-League. Even in less obvious ways: for example, the Spurs have 4 former D-Leaguers signed to the remainder of the season + signed to non-guaranteed contracts for the next season. This can be a very useful trade asset - the Spurs will have a $4M trade exception in July, meaning they can do a great delayed draft day trade or moratorium trade with a team looking for more cap space. If not, they have 4 talented young players with upside under contract and learning their system, working with their coaches on whatever they feel they need to work - one of them even started for them yesterday and played pretty well.

      Anyway, Marc Stein sums up pretty well this issue in this article:
      http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...ng-moves-ahead


      Interesting trend we're seeing with players called up from D-League, most notably in San Antonio.

      Seven recently promoted D-Leaguers -- six of them in the West -- quietly received non-guaranteed contracts for next season when they were signed for the rest of this season by their new NBA employers.

      Curtis Jerrells, Garrett Temple and Alonzo Gee have secured contracts worth $762,195 next season with the Spurs if they can make San Antonio's roster in training camp.

      Ditto for Sundiata Gaines and Othyus Jeffers in Utah and Reggie Williams in Golden State.

      The lone Eastern Conference callup who falls into this category is Chicago's Chris Richard, who has a non-guaranteed deal with the Bulls worth $854,389 next season if Richard can snag a roster spot.

      In most cases, players will collect between $10,000 to $100,000 in guaranteed money in such deals even if they don't make next season's team. Teams, in exchange, get a whole summer and training camp to take an extended look at the prospect, while also creating a small expiring contract that can function as a minor trade asset.


      The lure of NBA money next season, in Gee's case, convinced him to return to San Antonio -- having spent much of the season with the Spurs' D-League affiliate in Austin -- after completing two 10-day contracts with the Wizards, who wanted to keep Gee for the rest of the season but weren't prepared to extend the contract any further.

      And it's a trend, from a wider perspective, that obviously increases the credibility of the D-League.
      True. And since Stein wrote this, a few more guys got contracts for the next season and some more call-ups happened.
      Last edited by cordobes; 04-07-2010, 09:19 PM.

      Comment

      • #18
        Re: The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

        3.Btw, the Gatorade call-ups.

        To be clear, none of this growth in terms of public buzz and recognition would be possible if some D-League players weren't at least serviceable in terms of talent or meeting - and sometimes exceeding expectations - when called-up. If they were bums, teams would quickly lost interest in the D-League - and, in fact, they're having more and more.

        Many of the guys previously mentioned in this thread as potential call-ups do now have contracts with NBA teams.

        The very athletic but even greener Alade Aminu who was suggested for the Pacers was acquired by the Miami Heat. Aminu has plenty of upside due to his tremendous athleticism but he'll probably spend next season with the D-League - although this time around with a NBA contract, I think. The Heat also called Kenny Hasbrouck, a shooting guard in a point-guard body who can shoot and little else. If he improves his ball-handling and defense he can become a decent backup combo guard, but it's not going to be easy.

        I elected Mustafa Shakur as one of my favourites in terms of potential and apparently the Thunder agreed. Shakur needs to improve in a lot of stuff - distribution, shooting, playing the pick'n'roll better - but his quickness/explosiveness getting to the rim and his very competent defence make him a very enticing prospect. He was horrible one year ago in a brief spell with Stanko Barac's team in Spain, wasn't even good enough to be their 3rd string PG, so I'm surprised by how much better he's looking now. His ball-handling and body-control improved spectacularly, seems a completely different player dribbling in traffic and elevating to the rim.

        The Spurs stole the very athletic Gee from the Wizardz, much to the despair of Washington Post's Michael Lee:

        Alonzo Gee's departure to the San Antonio Spurs was a bit surprising to me, because I was actually considering writing a profile on him yesterday under the assumption that he would stick around for the rest of the year. After Gee scored 19 points against Charlotte on Friday, Coach Flip Saunders all but assured that the Wizards were going to keep him.

        But the Wizards weren't counting on other suitors entering the picture, or that the Spurs would put them in a position where retaining Gee this season would also require investing in him next season.
        Gee proved he's a good player to isolate versus your average NBA backup swingman and can be a good rebounder for his position at every level; now he needs to keep adding to his game.

        Besides Gee, the Spurs signed two guards: Toros' PG Curtis Jerrells, a 1-guard who can make shots and create for others but is a pedestrian game manager and a big defensive liability. A quick drive-and-kick'out guard; and the already mentioned Garrett Temple, who had an excellent game starting for them yesterday, dropping an efficient 15 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in 26 minutes and playing excellent defence on fellow rookie Tyreke Evans. As I've said before, if Temple has a future in the league is as a defensive specialist. Not a new Bruce Bowen but probably a new Keith Bogans.

        The triumvirate of Warriors - Tolliver, Williams and Hunter - keeps doing their thing. Williams has been (deservedly) earning a good reputation around NBA fans and received high praise from his coach recently - Don Nelson called him a special talent. His fluidness is certainly impressive.

        The Knicks added a guy who's been around for a while, 7 footer Earl Barron. In his second game he dropped 17 points and 18 rebounds (!) in a team that shall not be named. Barron is hustling big man who can shoot the mid-range jumper with the best of them, especially from both elbows and the baseline. No 3 pt range, but a useful weapon for the pick'n'pop, as his screens are pretty decent. Not the most athletic guy around, he's a slightly below average rebounder who struggles to read the flight of the basketball and to react and fly for it; his hustle compensates partially for that. Slowfooted and kind of soft, he's an atrocious defender. If he improves just a bit there (not likely, as he's already 28 years old), he can be a poor man's Kurt Thomas. Right now he's comparable to Primoz Brezec or something.

        Guys like Cedric Jakcson and Cartier Martin have been bouncing around and are now signed to the Wizards. Ah, after 394543 unsuccessful workouts, Dwayne Jones is finally back in the NBA - dealing with the Robin Lopez' lower back injury, the Suns signed him to the remainder of the season. Jones is a good defensive rebounder and an excellent offensive rebounder who will get you some boards. He crashes the opponent glass very well, doesn't box out on his own goal as well but will go after every rebounding opportunity. Besides that, he can rebound the ball. He's also very tall and runs the floor fast, which is better than being small and slow.

        Another player mentioned, Alexander Johnson, was on his way to the Bucks but will be working out with the Rockets and will probably sign with them later this week. Looking forward to see him on a NBA court.

        Finally, pwee31 should be happy to know that Brian Butch is on the verge of being called by the Denver Nuggets, per Marc Stein. I don't think Butch is ready to be on a NBA floor, as his positives (the shooting) don't outweigh the negatives (especially the extreme ones, like transition and pick'n'roll defence), but he's no worse than Petro and it should be a good learning experience for the future. Butch essentially needs to work on his lower body pretty hard during the Summer.

        Have to run now; I'm going to watch the Iowa @ Utah game and will write more during it - a playoffs prediction, a write-up about the NBA players assigned to the D-League, with a focus on Thabeet, the Pacers new recruit Marcus Williams and why I believe there are two D-Leaguers who could/should hear their names in the upcoming draft.

        4. Playoffs.

        The game is now on. Even though Iowa is the #1 seed, I have the Utah winning this. Call-ups destroyed the Iowa team - they lost Cartier Martin, Othyus Jeffers and Earl Barron to the NBA. Also, Courtney Sims to the Puerto Rican league. Who's left? A veteran D-League PG who never found a job in Europe because he can't shoot - Curtis Stinson, a couple of shooters in Pat Carroll and Trepagnier, a couple of power 3s in Tyndale and Marvin Phillips (good player) and a single "big", Connor Atchley who's basically a homeless man's Troy Murphy. Not sure how Iowa will play now; they were pretty good in the games I watched (Nick Nurse is an excellent coach) but with this roster they'll be a very flawed team.

        Utah had less quality during the season but they have been more stable. Krueger and Ingram are good shooters, former NBA 1st round pick Orien Greene is a potent perimeter defender who can handle the ball a bit, Smith and Nevill are a decent big man combo and they have the best bench players by far in former Celtics Gabe Pruitt and Brian Hamilton.

        So far the Energy are holding the fort, running and gunning, but the Flash will eventually starting pounding the ball inside and win the game. I predict Iowa wins this series and probably in two games. Wow, what a block by Pruitt.

        Comment

        • #19
          Re: The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

          cordobes, I'm interested in your opinion on Andre Ingram. I've tracked his career since his days at American U, where he joined the 2,000 point club. What's your take on his game?

          Also, are you familiar with Garrison Carr? He's a little known, 5'9 shooting guard who nearly led #15 AU to an upset over #2 Tennessee in last years NCAA tourney. I think I recall he got drafted in the D-League last season, but I'm not sure what happened to him after that - if he's still in the league or if he went overseas somewhere. I figured since you're the D-League scout around here, I'd ask if you knew.

          Thanks in advance.
          2015, 2016, 2019 IKL Fantasy Basketball Champions - DC Dreamers

          Comment

          • #20
            Re: The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

            Originally posted by Kuq_e_Zi91 View Post
            cordobes, I'm interested in your opinion on Andre Ingram. I've tracked his career since his days at American U, where he joined the 2,000 point club. What's your take on his game?
            He's a light-outs shooter. He played in the game yesterday, had a quiet night but scored 10 points and dished 4 assists. I've been watching him for awhile as well because when I started following the D-League I'd watch Utah Flash games exclusively and he's already in his 3rd season with them. He's also a solid defender when he isn't asked to guard much bigger players. Quick arms, good stance, honest effort. But he's, what, 6-2 maybe, so I don't think he can guard his natural position at the next level.

            Ingram is one of those players that is probably wasting time in the D-League, or at least with the Utah Flash, unless he doesn't plan to play at a higher level. NBA or top European teams don't sign one-dimensional undersized shooting-guards. I think he should develop his combo-guard skills, make some sort attempt to transition to the PG position. I always thought he was very heady with the ball and a willing passer. But he doesn't have the advanced dribble moves he'd need, nor the natural athletic traits. Problem is, Utah is the deepest team at the PG by far: they have four guys with NBA experience - Orien Greene, Kevin Kruger, Gabe Pruitt and the now injured Dontell Jefferson (who is so ball-dominant that could count as 4 PGs by himself). Plus, in the previous years there have been a boatload of guards assigned to the Flash - Pruitt, Walker, Mo Almond, Giddens, all guys that demanded the ball a lot. So, this means Ingram is reduced to play the roll of off-the-ball guard/designated bomber, which may be the ideal for his current ability - but the goal of the D-League is to develop players.

            I think Ingram should consider moving for another team or, ideally, to an overseas league. He probably has some connections to the Jazz, as they have him in training camps and SL teams and have kept him around in the Flash. But he's been there for 3 years and if they're not going to call him up, what's the point? A player with his shooting prowess and ability to defend should find a contract in a decent league; if I were him, I'd opt for a smaller league/team where I could play a more important role as a lead guard, constructing points. Develop and showcase your skills there and start building a reputation as a player with multiple talents.

            Originally posted by Kuq_e_Zi91 View Post
            Also, are you familiar with Garrison Carr? He's a little known, 5'9 shooting guard who nearly led #15 AU to an upset over #2 Tennessee in last years NCAA tourney. I think I recall he got drafted in the D-League last season, but I'm not sure what happened to him after that - if he's still in the league or if he went overseas somewhere. I figured since you're the D-League scout around here, I'd ask if you knew.
            Hah, I'm just a fan, one of the seven. I don't know Carr, he was released by the team that drafted him in the D-League draft. I'm fairly sure he isn't playing in Europe.

            Comment

            • #21
              Re: The '09/10 D-League thread - version 2.0

              As expected, the #7 seed Flash destroyed the undermanned Iowa Energy in the opening game of the 2010 playoffs. It seems that the best regular season team won't even sniff a win in the playoffs . The call-ups are really going to impact this post-season. Worthy of note: Curtis Stinson is the only above average player the Energy have - he made tons of plays on both ends of the floor but the Energy game plan was simply to let him create for shooters... and the shooters didn't hit anything. The Flash big man didn't take advantage of favourable matchups (they had a great advantage in terms of size, but the skilled ones are soft, the scrappy ones are unskilled) but their guards took care of the issue. Gabe Pruitt was very impressive - seemed a lot more confident than in the past. Someone to follow.

              Taylor Griffin was horrible. Can't find a single reason why he was drafted. There was a play so surreal I can't even describe properly, he short-cut a Stinson drive into the lane coming out of nowhere like he was a defender and than started running in front of him... it was very awkward. Easily the worst NBA assignee I've ever seen. 0 points, 2 rebounds, 4 fouls - not the kind of production you expect from the only guy with a NBA contract on the floor.

              27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep">

              -----------------------

              Today it was played the #4 Sioux Falls Skyforce at #8 Tulsa 66ers. The 66ers dominated mostly because OKC Thunder assignees are miles better than Taylor Griffin, at least going by the boxscore.

              http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/box...eId=2040900131

              Alexander Johnson didn't play, so that made the Skyforce missing basically an impossible one. Kyle Weaver, DJ White, Mustafa Shakur, BJ Mullens, Moses Ehambe, Devon Hardin... this Tulsa team is loaded. They'll take this series even if Alexander Johnson returns, I think.

              -------

              8 p.m ET (live on NBA Futurecast) starts the #3 Austin Toros @ #6 Dakota Wizards. Good opportunity to check the ex-future Pacers Marcus Williams, assuming he's playing. The Spurs assigned Gee to the Toros, which is good for them as they are already missing Dwayne Jones. With Williams+Gee+Jerrells the Toros can actually win this and may even be the favourites. However the Wizards have an interesting mix of defensive stalwarts (Marcus Dove, Darren Cooper), experienced veterans (Maurice Baker, Renaldo Major, David Bell) and an explosive scorer off the bench in Lester Hudson. This is probably going to be the most interesting 1st round series.

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