MoonKnight

I have watched the first two summer league games on NBATV and I have been surprised with Jackson's play. He has a good spot up jump shot, plays with a high basketball IQ, and is still a fluid athlete. I was very surprised by his good passing skills and his willingness to penetrate into the lane and draw fouls. He seems to be the low cost/high reward type of player we need to fill out the roster. I prefer Jackson to Richardson because Richardson brings nothing to the table but his spot up jumper. It seems many posters here have unrealistic expectations about how the ASG is going to fill out the roster based on the venom printed about signing Jackson. Low cost/high reward marginal types of guys to fill out the roster are the best we can hope for given the ASG's recent track record.

I am watching the game on NBATV and can only hope that Mario West can maintain this new found jumper throughout the summer league and into camp. Richardson and Jackson both have shown great jumpers but Jackson is much more of a fluid athlete. Pickney and Hunter play with alot of energy but don't fill up the lane like we need on D. I am looking forward to watching more of these games throughout the week.

We need better talent toward the end of our roster to take the next step but I suspect Finley is out of our league. Even if we had the money to sign him (after resigning the Joshes), I am not yet convinced we are perceived as legitimate contenders to attract vets looking for a shot at a title before calling it quits. I think we have to hope that Luke Jackson or some one of his stature takes his game up a level to improve the end of our roster. Maybe Sund will surpise me and sign someone I did not suspect.

I could be wrong but the silence out of the philly press tonight makes me give more weight to the credibility of Sheridan's report. All we heard from the rumor mill was how philly was going to make an huge quick strike contract offer to Smoove. Maybe they have and Smoove's agents and Philly ownership have done a good job keeping the contract numbers quiet. However, I suspect if Philly had made a firm contract offer the numbers would have slipped out somehow by now.

indicates the Sixers were caught completely offguard by the recent free agent events. He suggested the Sixers were going to take a slow approach to the free agency period and would feel out the free agent field before making offers. He said they are now somewhat in scramble mode about what to do next due the Clipper and Warriors situation. I made the assumption from his report that the earlier reports about the Sixers readiness to make Smith an offer were inaccurate.

have agreed to new deals with the Clippers and Kings respectively, according to ESPN. Baron got a 5 year 65 million dollar deal while Beno got a 5 year deal worth the full mid-level exception. Maybe some oldtimers on here may remember but I used to constantly talk about acquiring Beno after his rookie season with the Spurs. Our PG problems may have been solved a long time ago if we had acquired him when his value was low. Now the man is getting paid (though he could be come the next M. Jaric).

Marvel's Production studio has the rights to Ant Man with a possible release date of 2011 (possibly just before the Avengers Movie). It was brillant for Marvel to establish their own production studio and can now market and tie in all of the characters.

For what its worth, I think Morris and Smoove share primary agents. Morris never panned out like I thought he would so I would also rather take a chance on Brown.

There was an article this past week in USA Today indicating the Ant Man script was ready and would, like Iron Man and Cap. America, be a lead in to the Avengers Movie. The writer/director of Ant Man is the guy who directed Shaun of the Dead (never saw it but it was supposed to be good) and he claims his vision of the film is to be similar to Iron Man. I don't know how the movie will come off but as a kid I thought it would be very cool to have a army of ants fight for me.

Other teams have dealt with this same issue and they have been successful with it. The Pistons have routinely found guys to contribute from the end of the roster. At some point during an 82 game schedule, the end of the roster guys will need to make a positive impact on a game or short series of games. Since the Fratello gravy days here, this organization has done a poor job getting the right guys to fill out the end of the roster with. This needs to change if we are going to be serious about taking the next step.

He simply is to expensive given our intention to resign the Joshes. It is important that we add good depth behind JJ. I have never been impressed with Richardson who has alot to prove if he plays on our Summer league team. Our realistic options include: Casey Jacobson, Richie Frahm, Kirk Snyder, Derrick Byars, Juan Dixon, Luke Jackson, Quinton Ross, Ira Newble, etc. I can't recall his contract but maybe D. Wilkins would be available from the Sonics. Sund has a history with him and he has lit us up in the past. He could also play the point for small periods of time if needed. We need better play from the end of our roster to ultimately improve in the regular season.

from South Alabama U according to cite given on Sekou's blog. Don't know much about him except that he is a shooting guard with NBA three point range according to the article.

Mario West was certainly not "hyped". I do not believe he even started at Tech. These are just invites nothing more, and we will have many spots to fill on the summer league team with only Law, Solo, West, and maybe Al and/or Richardson on the roster playing.

We should invite Anthony Morrow from GT and S. Gaines from UGA to participate in the summer league. Morrow has a very good jumper but could never adapt to being a primary scoring threat. I have a hunch Morrow could develop into a decent 12th man in the NBA as a three point specialist (I think he lead the ACC in 3pt percentage a few seasons ago) Morrow might be better as a pro player because he never had a major scoring threat to play off of while at Tech. Gaines is an short combo guard (under 6 ft) who is built like a linebacker. I think he led UGA in scoring, rebounding, and assists. I thought he was fantastic in tournament play. While an erratic shooter, he knows how to score. He is without an NBA position or body, but would be worth an invite. Neither guy will likely stick, but many would have said the same thing about Mario West before last season.

I would like to see Brian Skinner here as the physical post body we need. I have always been impressed with his tough, workmanlike approach. He has also occasionally shown a decent offensive post game at times. There are alot of reasonably priced guys who fit this bill that are free agents, to-wit: Skinner, Elson, Foyle, Pollard, DJ Mbenga, even Deke, etc.