1. Some Summer League Fun: Here we are nearing the dead zone of the NBA year. Most of the major NBA free agents are taken care and a few trades may pop up in August and September and the Olympics won’t be coming until that time either. The only games right now are those wacky summer league games. I thought I’d go through and throw out some fun names that we haven’t seen for a while: –Hassan Adams: After being abruptly cut by the Nets and Cavs last summer, Adams didn’t catch on with another NBA team but it looks like Toronto wants to keep him.
–Malick Badiane: Drafted by the Rockets in 2003, Badiane stayed in Europe. He’s playing for the Grizz now and hasn’t look too good so far.
–Will Bynum: Played okay in a previous NBA shot with the Warriors in 2005-06 and was very good in Israel but my want to bail the country after he was charged in an odd nightclub fight (the charges were later dropped).
–Ndudi Ebi: Also spent 2007-08 in Israel, who has been out of the NBA since 2005.
–Patrick Ewing, Jr.: Not sure Pat’s kid is NBA timber after being a role player in college but it’ll be interesting to see him try. Ernie Grunfeld’s son, Don Grunfeld, is in the same boat.
–Matt Freije: Out of the NBA since 2006.
–Yaroslav Korolev: Nice to see he hasn’t given up on the NBA since washing out with the Clippers.
–Jelani McCoy: Still not quitting despite the fact that he’s been a 10-day contract guy for five years.
–Olumide Oyedeji: He was drafted in 2000 as a rebounding specialist and spent time with the Magic and Sonics from 2000 to 2003. He’s been in Europe ever since. Oyedeji is still young but I did not think we’d see him in United States again.
–Tamar Slay: Former Net second rounder has been in the NBA since the Bobcats let him go during their inaugural season.
–Pape Sow: Nice to see that Sow is recovering from the broken back he suffered last year.
–John Thomas: Re-emerging again. Thomas was drafted in the first round by the Knicks in 1997. His last NBA duty was with the Nets in 2006.
–Robert Traylor: Nice to see Tractor Traylor back again. Between his scowl and his girth, Traylor was memorable to watch but was legitimately an effective player most of the time. A heart problem and some really bad decisions (helping a drug dealer launder money) kept him out of the NBA since 2005 (he actually did some jail time). A guy of his size might not retain that athleticism now that he’s in his 30s.
–Frank Williams: The former Illinois point guard was also a Knick draft choice in 2002. He fell out of the NBA in 2005 after being traded to the Bulls. He was a legitimate NBA defender but his shooting was just putrid (35% for his NBA career).
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