The Rules of Pacers Digest
Hello everyone,
Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.
A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.
Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.
Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.
Rule #1
Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:
"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"
"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"
"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"
"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"
"He/she is just delusional"
"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"
"I'm going to take a moment to point and
/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"
"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good?"
In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.
We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.
Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.
That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.
A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.
There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.
Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.
In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.
Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.
If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!
All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.
Rule #2
If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.
The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.
The right places to do so are:
A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.
B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.
If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.
Rule #3
If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.
When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:
A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.
B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.
To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!
Rule #4
Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.
Rule #5
When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.
An example:
If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:
http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star
Rule #6
We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.
The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.
Rule #7
Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.
It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).
We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).
However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.
Rule #8
We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.
Rule #9
Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.
Rule #10
We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.
Rule #11
Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.
A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.
Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.
Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.
Rule #1
Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:
"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"
"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"
"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"
"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"
"He/she is just delusional"
"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"
"I'm going to take a moment to point and
/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*""Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good?
"In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.
We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.
Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.
That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.
A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.
There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.
Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.
In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.
Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.
If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!
All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.
Rule #2
If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.
The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.
The right places to do so are:
A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.
B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.
If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.
Rule #3
If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.
When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:
A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.
B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.
To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!
Rule #4
Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.
Rule #5
When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.
An example:
If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:
http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star
Rule #6
We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.
The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.
Rule #7
Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.
It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).
We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).
However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.
Rule #8
We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.
Rule #9
Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.
Rule #10
We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.
Rule #11
Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Where did they go? Former NBA stars sit on sidelines
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
"I'm under the sink. Can I call you back in 20 minutes?" Antonio Davis said.
It was another day of domestic duties earlier this week for the former All-Star, whose 20 minutes stretched to six or seven hours before he was able to call back.
There were kids to pick up from school, twin sixth-graders, Kaela and A.J., who have become the daily focus for Davis, a househusband who's now several months removed from the last time he put on an NBA uniform, back in March after the Knicks had shipped him to the Raptors.
"I don't think I'll be playing again. I'm very content and happy, doing the types of things I haven't gotten to do, be a father," Davis told ESPN.com. "As of right now, I have no desire. I've watched several games and played pickup ball thinking I'd have the feeling I'd like to get back, but I didn't have that feeling. I don't really miss the game."
Davis isn't the only guy spending a lot more time with his family than he used to. Keith Van Horn is in the same boat, staying away from the NBA by choice, while more than a handful of others are itching to get back but waiting for the right phone call as the season slips into its second month.
Davis was not prepared to say he's finished forever -- he thought long and hard about joining the Bulls when they approached him over the summer -- but it would take an offer from exactly the right type of team sometime in February or March to get him to consider giving up his domestic bliss.
"It's not 100 percent retired. It's about 95," Davis said. "I've never had a chance to go to the Finals, and I don't have a ring -- and that would be the only thing that would get me to think about it."
Joining Davis on the sidelines are such former All-Stars as Vin Baker, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell as well as such players as Chris Andersen, Doug Christie, Qyntel Woods, Nick Van Exel and Keith Van Horn.
Here's a look at players who could be found in an NBA uniform until recently, and what they're doing now:
Chris Andersen: He won't be able to apply for reinstatement into the NBA until January 2008 after drawing a two-year suspension for using a "drug of abuse" that caused his $14 million contract with the Hornets to be voided.
He told the Denver Post he has been living sober since January. It's unclear if he'll play in the minor league ABA -- one of the few leagues that will have him, since FIBA and the D-League are honoring the NBA's ban.
Shandon Anderson: He got paid twice last season -- with a buyout from the Knicks and a contract from the Heat -- so he's presumably busy counting $100 bills and waiting for another call from a desperate warm-weather team. His agent did not return ESPN.com's calls.
Kelenna Azubuike: The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Kentucky, who played well for Cleveland in the summer league and was waived by Houston late in training camp, is leading the D-League with a 26.7 average for Fort Worth. Also toiling in the D-League are Louis Williams, Luke Schenscher, Von Wafer, Devin Green, Frank Williams, Eddie Robinson and Randy Livingston (league-high 10.5 assists per game for Idaho).
Eddie Basden: Traded over the summer from Chicago to Cleveland, and then cut by the Cavs, he just signed with Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul, where his teammates include Will Solomon, Mirsad Turkcan and Ibo Kutluay.
Vin Baker: A DNP in Minnesota's first six games after beating out ESPN.com's Paul Shirley for the final roster spot, he was released on Nov. 15. We're guessing Shirley's not real happy about how all that turned out.
Lonny Baxter: After serving nearly two months in jail for firing a gun out his car window in Washington, D.C., Baxter joined Montepaschi Siena of the Italian League. He agreed to a team option for a second year while behind bars.
Ryan Bowen: The Rockets waived him in October to save a roster spot for Bob Sura in his comeback from knee surgery, and Bowen has been under the radar since. There isn't even an update at ryanbowen.com.
Michael Bradley: After finishing last season with Philadelphia, the five-year NBA veteran took a one-year deal with Bruesa in the Spanish ACB League, where he is averaging 10.2 points and 7.2 rebounds.
Devin Brown: There has been interest from Charlotte, Milwaukee and New Orleans since he was cut by Golden State after his trade from Utah. Brown has turned down overtures from FC Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv. He's making almost a million dollars off the contract he got from the Jazz, so he can afford to sit tight in San Antonio waiting for an NBA call.
Anthony Carter: Working out at a health club in downtown Minneapolis after the Wolves did not bring him back. Thought he might get a shot with Denver, but now waiting to hear whether opportunities in Spain and/or Russia will pan out.
Doug Christie: Appears on a reality television show with devoted wife Jackie. Try to go to dougchristie.com, and watch what happens. Also, here is a recent photo.
Tony Delk: Spending his first season overseas with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos. Averaging 12.2 points and shooting 42 percent on 3s.
Howard Eisley: Took a buyout instead of the final $1.17 million he was due from the Bulls in the final year of his contract after they acquired him and two second-round picks from Denver for J.R. Smith -- a deal that's now looking like a steal for the Nuggets.
Brian Grant: Earning more than $16 million this year from the Lakers, who waived him under the 2005 amnesty rule, and from the Celtics, who acquired him from Phoenix in a draft-day deal knowing that an arthritic knee would be ending his career. Said to be thinking about a move to broadcasting.
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway: The former All-Star has hardly been seen since the Knicks dealt him to Orlando for Steve Francis, though there was talk the Bobcats were considering him before they settled on Derek Anderson. His agent did not return a call seeking an update. Hardaway wrote on his Web site this summer that his knees feel "great" and he was dunking.
Allan Houston: Now an ESPN commentator. His $20.7 million salary for this season with the New York Knicks is being paid by an insurance company. It would not be out of the question for him to sign with someone for the playoffs after the regular season ends.
Despite suffering from chronic knee pain, he won't say he has hung 'em up for good. "I think about playing again but that doesn't mean it's necessarily going to happen. I know one day I'll be able to be healthy and play in pickup games. But to play in an NBA game, I can't say if I can do it or not," he told the New York Daily News.
Jermaine Jackson: Looking for his sixth NBA team in six years, he has spurned offers overseas to stay stateside and wait. Last year, the Bucks didn't sign him until Dec. 15. Players in similar situations include John Thomas, who was in the Nets' playoff starting lineup last year after he joined them on the final day of the regular season, and Zendon Hamilton, seeking his eighth team in seven seasons.
Luke Jackson: Cut by the Celtics when they gave their final roster spot to Michael Olowokandi, he is expected to decide late this week whether to choose from a number of offers from Euroleague teams.
"This is a gigantic mistake NBA teams are making. He has not failed, he's coming off an unfortunate injury," agent Mark Bartelstein said. "It's mind-boggling to me that a team hasn't picked him up."
Ervin Johnson: Last season was his 13th in the league, and Johnson appeared in only 18 games for the Bucks. If he's finished, he retires with almost the exact same number of career points (3,473) as career defensive rebounds (3,471). He also had a grand total of two 3-pointers over those 13 years.
Toni Kukoc: The 13-year veteran said over the summer he was willing to play another season, but only for the Bucks or Bulls, who are both close to his home in northern Illinois. Neither team was interested, but that doesn't mean someone else won't be when it comes time to look for an experienced player with three championship rings to put on the end of a playoff roster just in case.
Voshon Lenard: He's working out and waiting by the phone in metro Detroit. Two NBA teams are "very close to doing something," according to agent Joel Bell, who said Lenard is in great shape and weighs less than he did three years ago when he was a starter for Denver and made 106 3-pointers.
Jeff McInnis: There's "nothing happening whatsoever" on the trade front, according to Nets president Rod Thorn, whose team is paying McInnis $3.6 million to stay away. Miami had interest before the season began, but their horrible start has shifted their focus to other prospective deals.
Stanislav "Slava" Medvedenko: No NBA team pursued him after his six-year career with the Lakers ended last season, and he reportedly sold his Manhattan Beach home for about $2.3 million to L.A. Kings forward Alexander Frolov.
Sergei Monia: After one NBA season split between the Trail Blazers and Kings, he's back in Russia with Dynamo Moscow, playing alongside Americans Travis Hansen and Eddie Gill. Shot a combined 1-for-10 in his first five Euroleague games.
Lamond Murray: After spending last season with the New Jersey Nets and going to camp with the L.A. Clippers, the 12-year veteran is back home in Los Angeles working out and hoping for a phone call. He is not expected to pursue any overseas jobs.
Moochie Norris: He had a contract with the Hornets for $4.55 million for this season, but it was not guaranteed. That was one reason they cut him, the other being that he hadn't contributed anything to a team since about the fifth year of what became a nine-year career. His agent did not return calls.
Greg Ostertag: Know why the Jazz are wearing black sneakers on the road these days? Because they don't have 'Tag around to veto the idea, as he did last season. Apparently happily retired and living in Phoenix, he was spotted with his wife at a Jazz exhibition game in early November.
Zoran Planinic: After spending three seasons as Jason Kidd's backup in New Jersey, he's logging heavy minutes at the point (averaging 11.5 points and 4.7 assists) for Tau Ceramica in Spain. Among his teammates are Argentina forward Luis Scola, whose NBA rights are held by the Spurs but whose buyout provisions have kept him out of the league.
Kareem Rush: The four-year veteran was cut in training camp by the Sonics and is now living in Los Angeles. He expects to decide in the next two to three weeks whether to take a job in the Spanish ACB league.
Bryon Russell: Looks like this is the end of the road for Russell, who recorded only three minutes of playing time last season in one game for Denver before being traded to Seattle on deadline day and then waived.
Paul Shirley: See Vin Baker.
Latrell Sprewell: Former teammate Marcus Camby said he spoke over the summer with Sprewell, who told him he has zero interest in returning to the NBA.
Nikoloz Tskitishvili: Was with New York during training camp but was cut along with several others when the team signed Kelvin Cato. During training camp, all of the Knicks had to run wind sprints after Skita's cell phone went off during a team meeting.
Nick Van Exel: His knee has been bone on bone for the past couple of years, so don't be surprised if you never see him on the court again. But then again, there will be a half-dozen coaches looking for someone later this season with a history of hitting clutch buzzer-beaters, and Van Exel did it as well as anybody.
Keith Van Horn: Agent David Falk sent word that Van Horn is still declining interview requests. He is living outside of Denver and spending time with his family after earning $15.7 million for Dallas last season. Van Horn is another player who could be of interest to someone come playoff time.
Jiri Welsch: The Cavaliers still owe the Celtics a first-round pick that they gave up for the Czech forward, who was traded a total of five times in his four-year NBA career. Now playing for Unicaja Malaga of Spain alongside Raptors draft pick Erazem Lorbek, Michael Pietrus' brother, Florent, and former Bucks center Daniel Santiago.
Jay Williams: After an unsuccessful attempt at making the New Jersey Nets in training camp, Williams has decided to spurn interest from pro teams in Greece, Italy and Spain and sign with the D-League in the next week or so. His rights would be assigned in a mini dispersal draft.
Qyntel Woods: Recently sued in Portland, along with former teammate Zach Randolph, by a man who says he was harassed and tormented by the players, who allegedly believed he was the person who called the authorities on Woods for illegal dogfighting.
Others:
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: The former Chris Jackson is now with Aris TT Bank in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Alex Acker: Former Pistons guard is fourth in scoring in the Euroleague, averaging 17.8 for Olympiakos of Greece.
Juan Carlos Navarro: Spanish guard whose NBA rights are held by Washington leads the Euroleague in scoring, averaging 22.6 for Winterthur FCB.
Theo Papaloukas: The Greek guard Team USA couldn't stop is shooting 67 percent for CSKA Moscow in five Euroleague games.
Eddie Robinson: The former Bulls free agent washout is averaging 23.0 points in two games for Idaho of the D-League, where he is a teammate of Wizards washout Peter John Ramos.
Jayson Williams: Expected to go on trial in New Jersey in the spring on a charge of reckless manslaughter on which a previous jury deadlocked. The 38-year-old played briefly with the CBA's Idaho Stampede nearly two years ago in an effort to resurrect his career.The poster "pacertom" since this forum began (and before!). I changed my name here to "Slick Pinkham" in honor of the imaginary player That Bobby "Slick" Leonard picked late in the 1971 ABA draft (true story!). -
Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Not sure how much I believe this article considering we drafted Lorbek, unless we traded him and I wasn't aware.Comment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Daniel Santiago will be in the NBA again soon. The kid is nasty!STARBURY
08 and Beyond
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Where did it mention Lorbek?Originally posted by Destined4GreatnessComment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Jiri Welsch: The Cavaliers still owe the Celtics a first-round pick that they gave up for the Czech forward, who was traded a total of five times in his four-year NBA career. Now playing for Unicaja Malaga of Spain alongside Raptors draft pick Erazem Lorbek, Michael Pietrus' brother, Florent, and former Bucks center Daniel Santiago.Comment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Yup.Originally posted by Destined4Greatness
Still, it was interesting. Thanks PT.Come to the Dark Side -- There's cookies!
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Why wouldn't you believe the article because of the Lorbek snipit? It says he's playing in Europe, for Unicaja Malaga, which is exactly what he's doing.
The Ps drafted him, and hold his rights. It's not like he's here in the states playing for them.“Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.Comment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Well, it says the Raptors drafted him. Was that a draft night trade? I don't remember it.Originally posted by Since86 View Post
If so, it shows a little laxity on fact checking (draft night trades show up in draft lists under the team holding the original pick). If not, it shows a serious lapse in fact checking.
A minor point, all things considered, but enough to make you wonder about whether other errors exist.BillS
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Or throw in a first-round pick and flip it for a max-level point guard...Comment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Oh, totally missed the Toronto part....
“Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right.” ― Ricky Gervais.Comment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
Exactamundo. If they can't get a fact like that, which is readily available on the Internet, I have doubts about the stuff that can't be easily checked.Originally posted by BillS View PostComment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
I feel bad for Jayson Williams. He always seemed like a nice guy.Comment
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Re: Where Are They Now? (Insider request)
had to laugh at the spreewell thing. that douchebag claims he has no interest in returning. doesn't he have a family to feed?
it is really easily to proclaim you have no interest in returning when you know perfectly well that NO team in the league has ANY interest in having you on their squad.
his family is gonna starve.Comment
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