To yesterdayeeeeee…….(cooleyhighharmony, y’all).

Raymond Felton, Ray-MOND Felton!  We will miss you, sir.

Nothing official at press time but it’s likely that the man from Latta, SC is likely bound elsewhere.  To me this is sad in a way.  Disappointing that after 5 years the Bobcats are so willing to depart with a solid point guard while we have no real options outside of DJ Augustin who has been serviceable but not quite what you’d expect to start on a (former?) playoff team.

Can you blame Raymond at this point for not signing to an extension last summer?  Read this quote from Cory Elfrink at Rototimes.com:

The timing couldn’t be better for Raymond Felton. Although he’s had a mediocre five seasons, he finds himself atop a very weak point guard class and has a long list of suitors. A year ago, he would have had to compete with Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, Allen Iverson, Mike Bibby, and Jarrett Jack for consideration. This year it’s Kyle Lowry, Luke Ridnour, Jordan Farmar, and Steve Blake.

Mediocre, yeah ok I can accept that classification.  Ray has been nothing but a rock solid PG and player.  Great work off the court as well.  His work with the Second Harvest Food Bank has been fantastic.  When I was doing a bit of research for this post I came across his intention to play in a celebrity golf tournament down in Myrtle Beach.  The guy got an award at the Black Tie Gala, which yours truly attended of course.  I got to meet the man that night and I’m glad I did.

Mediocre?  Did I say that’s an ok classification for Ray?  Wrong….Among active players he’s tenth in assists per game (not among PG, ALL active players); and with 1.4 steals per game, among active leaders.  He rebounds, plays the entire floor, plays hurt, defensively pretty much as much as you could ask for.  Larry Brown loves him, Gerald Wallace loves him, I love him.  So?  He didn’t like the $6 mil/year he was offered last year?  That hurt Rod Higgins, Michael Jordan and whoever else that makes decisions feelings?  Is that what I’m hearing?

Here’s a little insight from Raymond’s agent, Tony Dutt:  ”We are moving forward with the understanding Charlotte does not want to spend any more money, Raymond has enjoyed playing in Charlotte.”  Tony has been gracious enough to email me back a few times today.  I really appreciate it, not really having credentials or whatever but he just answered my questions.  I understand their position.  But I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the team’s side of things but I just can’t get there.

I guess, it’s as Spectre said: Yes we need him (TJ Ford ain’t no upgrade), but we don’t have the space to re-sign him.  I figure we’ll let him walk due to financial considerations.  Didn’t Shinn get blasted repeatedly for letting FAs go because of money?

While I don’t think it’s along the lines of letting Alonzo Mourning walk, it’s a big deal. The team is at $59 and half million, that’s no Ray, I don’t even see D. Brown hitting under that number for some reason. The cap is projected at $56.1 million.  While the luxury tax threshold is around $65 million, the Bobcats have no desire to get near it.  I’m no CBA expert but I know you pay twice for every dollar over the number, it’s just not gonna happen.

So, we move on, Raymond moves on.  Sorry to see this guy leave the team and the city.

You want to feel even worse?  Lots of interest for Tyrus Thomas!  I just saw this from Hoopsworld’s Yannis Koutroupis:

“Thomas is someone the Knicks have had their eye on for months. He’s currently a restricted free agent for the Charlotte Bobcats, but his value is quickly rising above the $6.2 million qualifying offer made by the ‘Cats. For instance, the one-dimensional Channing Frye is sitting on a 5-year $25 million offer from the Suns in hopes of getting more from another team. If Frye, Gooden, and Darko are worth nearly the full MLE than the Knicks could definitely justify giving Thomas $7-8 million a year to pry him away from the Bobcats.”

This feed is killing me:  Hoopsworld…  Since I started writing this Alex Kennedy posted that Minnesota is highly interested as well as New York and not only that but they’re now reporting that Channing Frye is being offered $30 million from the Suns!  $30 million for a guy who can’t do a whole lot more than shoot.  Meanwhile, we have DeSagana Diop on the books for the next 3 seasons at about $7 million each!  Ahhhhhhh!

Sorry I’m done, can’t get over it and don’t want to make it any worse.

The greatest summer of all time!  The GREATEST OFF SEASON EVER!!!!  Sunday, sunday sunday!!!!!  (That’s my montertruck preview voice)

It’s actually Wednesday and the fun starts at midnight (technically 12:01am Thursday July 1).  The Bobcats don’t look to be players in this off-season.  After going without a pick in the draft last week, adding some undrafted rookies (or summer league invitees, not sure how all that works), extending a qualifying offer to Tyrus Thomas and apparently playing chicken with Tyson Chandler (or Tyson and his people wavering in his potential on the open market), the Bobcats have little room to the self-imposed luxury tax threshold and seem unlikely to sign one Raymond Felton.

Questions abound but it is fun to sit back and watch the drama play out on the national stage between Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, A’mare Stodumire and all the rest.  The best part as my quick twitter conversation with HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy pointed out: NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING!

As I reveled in the seemingly comedic, keystone cops-esque national media, I was brought back to earth.  We have nothing, no moves, no money (well, relatively) and seemingly nothing to do but sit and wait and hope one of these young or old guys we bring to Summer League in Orlando pans out.  We aren’t in the realm of really thinking Matt Carrol is a viable option as a major cog in a legit team.  We made the playoffs last year, as a 7th seed.  We got swept but then again so did the Hawks (much uglier against the same Magic) and then the Magic themselves got swept.  So, we didn’t get one of the top 60 rookies.  We have no shot at any of the top tier talent (that’s alliteration, holmes).  Please don’t fool yourself into thinking we could get someone in a sign and trade.  No one wants to be the guy who traded away LeBron James or Chris Bosh for Tyson Chandler and a bucket of screws.  Really, it won’t happen.

So what do we as fans do?  Enjoy the fact that it’s July and we’re talking about NBA basketball everyday, often as the lead on Sportscenter?  Actually, as fans of any sport you should be happy that we’re not on ankle watch 2010 in Hattiesburg Mississippi on the Worldwide Leader.  I joked about that with a friend whose response was “They’ll merge Lebron and Favre into some angry, mutant, indecisive Transformer.”

I say, umm, enjoy the theater?  Hope for the best but don’t imagine Lebron, Carmello, Paul Pierce or any of the other scenarios that would bring one of the BIGGEST FREE AGENT CLASSES OF ALL TIME here.  (several people are saying Denver is willing to part with Carmello Anthony?)  When I say theater of it, picture this:  Mikhail Prokhorov, Avery Johnson, Rod Thorn and Jay-Z show up at Mr. James’ house, knock on the door, “Daaaaaaaad!  A Russian guy, a little guy with a high pitched voice and some comb-over want to talk to you!”

It’s just comical to think that this is what it comes down to.  Billionaires, Rap Moguls, old, and I mean old (looking at you Jerry Reinsdorf) owners and GMs pandering and pleading to 25/26 year old kids.  Kids who have made and will continue to make hundreds of millions of dollars.  It’s just a sight to behold, truly is.

So what?  The Bobcats are unlikely to do anything in this insane off-season.  Big deal?  Umm, yeah, to me and fellow fans, it’s like being the nerdy kid that didn’t get invited to the party with the cool kids.  What if Bosh, James and Wade all end up in Miami?  That’s 4 games a year against the greatest trio the league has seen, plus 4 against the sure to be better Magic (they have room and are looking to trade), plus 4 against the still good Hawks (remains to be seen what Joe Johnson decides).  It’s maddening and fun at the same time.  Just be prepared as we sit on this eve of the GREATEST FREE AGENCY PERIOD EVER!!! that it is likely to drag out and there are too many guys who think they know….when the parties involved don’t even know.

When you talk about the Charlotte Bobcats “to do list” this offseason one of the main topics that comes up is the free agent status of point guard Raymond Felton. A Tarheel that was selected fifth overall by the Bobcats and has played his entire career in Charlotte, is an unrestricted free agent and the front office is still trying to decide if they want Felton on that “to do list” of things to get done.

Felton’s career as a Bobcat has been up and down but over the past couple of seasons his numbers were getting better. A career 13.3 points per game scorer to go along with 6.4 assists, the team co-captain has provided leadership and toughness for the Bobcats but over time his shot selection and running of the offense has been questioned. He turned down a contract offer last offseason that would have been worth around six million dollars per season because he believed he deserved to be paid like a top point guard in the league. And throughout the regular season he was starting to prove that. The Bobcats were winning games and pushing for the playoffs and Felton’s play was solid and then that’s when it all changed in the playoffs.

Charlotte was swept by the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs and a big part of that had to do with the play of the fifth year point guard. Magic point guard Jameer Nelson exploded against Felton averaging 23.8 points and shooting 48 percent from the field. Felton’s defense was awful and at the same time his shooting percentage dropped to 40 percent, five percent below his average in the regular season. The series really opened the eyes of the front office for the Bobcats to start questioning if Felton should be the point guard to lead this team in the future.

Now this is a tough and crucial decision to make for this team on whether Felton should be re-signed. If they let him walk then they are left with only one point guard on the roster in D.J. Augustin and no draft picks in this upcoming NBA Draft. Augustin has shown flashes of playmaking in his first two seasons but I don’t believe he is ready to take over the starting job. His confidence and play is still inconsistent and for right now I think he is better used coming off the bench. So if Augustin is not the guy where do the Bobcats turn now?

Well the next option would be to look at either a trade or bringing in a free agent. And since the team has hardly any money to spend then a trade is probably the best place to look. They could go out and look for a veteran like T.J. Ford, who they were close to acquiring last season or they could try to make a trade to bring a young guy in like Darren Collison who played great last season but will now play behind Chris Paul this upcoming year. Those are just a couple of options that present themselves and of course salaries and players would all have to match up for a deal to go through to keep the team from hitting the luxury tax.

All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest decisions the Bobcats have made. Do you re-sign a player in Felton where you know what you are getting with some inconsistency but overall decent numbers? Or do you look elsewhere and let Augustin and whoever else you bring in take over the reins? What do you think Bobcats fans? Should they re-sign Felton or look for other options at point guard?

More Raymond Felton free agency discussion around the web

• Raymond Felton’s possible departure – Bleacher Report
• Felton represents classic dilemma – Charlotte Observer
• Unexciting Free Agent watch – Belmont.com
• The Great Raymond Felton Debate – BobcatsPlanet Forums

Welcome to the third edition of the report card series. Last time we went through Raymond Felton’s season, so I figured today would be a good time to give you DJ Augustin’s portion.

Intro:

Position: Point Guard
Number: 14
HGT/WGT: 6’0, 180
College: Texas
Experience: 2 years
Status: Still on his rookie contract, Bobcats have his rights through 2012/13, makes $2.5 million next year.

In one of the rare things he has in common with fellow point guard Raymond Felton is that he wasn’t the man Bobcats fans wanted in the draft. However, unlike Felton, the target was still on the board when Larry Brown chose Augustin over Brook Lopez. Augustin showed great promise in his rookie season, playing 26.5 minutes per game, averaging 11.8 points and shooting 44% on his three-pointers while starting twelve games. He was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team. Coming into this season, many fans clamored for DJ to be the starting point guard, but after another 80 games, that’s no longer a vocal majority.

Breakdown:

Despite his lack of height and toughness, it’s not hard to see that Augustin is a shooting guard. He’s just trapped in a point guard’s body. Throughout his rookie year, Coach Larry Brown repeatedly asked him to shoot the ball more, even though he was basically the third likeliest to shoot among rotation players on that team, behind just Boris Diaw and Raymond Felton. Yet this season, by that same definition he was just the 8th likliest, out of 11. But that wasn’t the only stat that dropped. His minutes, points, rebounds, field goal percent, three point percent, and even free throw percent dropped, all in significant portions. His win shares/48 and usage rate plummeted. After breaking 20 points ten times his rookie year, he managed to do it just twice this past season. For someone like Augustin, who’s main defensive skill is thievery, John Hollinger’s PER (player efficiency rating) is a good barometer of his success (unlike most Bobcats). PER is set to have a league-wide average of 15, and DJ was just below average in ’08-’09, with a 14.9 PER. Yet this past season, Augustin was only able to put together an 11.2 PER. So why did Augustin fall so far so quickly? Some have blamed it on the signing of Flip Murray, who impacted DJ’s playing time. Yet after Murray departed, DJ immediately embarked on a horrid 2-for-27 stretch. While he was able to finish the season on a good note, hitting at least one three pointed in 9 of his last 12 games, he regressed even farther in the playoffs. While Raymond Felton has been berated for his poor showing and will lose money because of it, Augustin was actually worse. As Felton shot 40%, Augustin was just 29%, the worst of anyone with more than 5 minutes total of playoff action. Using that same definition, only Theo Ratliff and Tyson Chandler scored less. Odds and payoffs vary widely among sports betting establishments. After you choose who you plan to bet on, look at a few different odds-makers before placing the bet. You may find that you can find better odds on the same bet than you originally expected. And though Felton had a sky-high 116 DRTG (points scored against per 100 possesions), Augustin’s was also 106. The difference was Felton’s ORTG (same stat, but for offense) was 105, DJ’s was 88, behind everyone but Stephen Jackson and Theo Ratliff. As I showed in the Raymond Felton report card, Augustin was somehow able to draw a negative win share rating. The only players more detrimental were Jackson and Ratliff. All in all, not a good season.

Future: With Felton’s contract situation unresolved, Augustin is by default the only “point guard” on the roster. But don’t look for it to stay that way. With his performance this season, I doubt anyone in the Bobcats Front Office believes Augustin is ready to start. I don’t know if he’ll ever be an NBA pont guard, unless he advances quickly over the summer. With looming questions over his work ethic and his lack of respect for Coach Brown, it’s likely best for everyone if DJ were able to switch teams. Unfortunately, his trade value is a level above the ball boy, and unless every point guard in the league retired he’s not going to start anywhere. While he has a high ceiling, his potential would likely be reached only in an up-tempo offense where the point guard wasn’t responsible for initiating the offense and there was a high level of help defense to cover his shortcomings. Were LeBron to sign with the Knicks, Augustin would fit perfectly in Mike D’Antoni’s system. However, despite all of this, I’d bet DJ will spend this coming season in Charlotte for Larry Brown. He is a Jordan Brand player, after all, and Michael Jordan is the only reason he wasn’t traded during the season. If he does indeed stay, and Felton leaves, you can expect another season of frustration.

Final Grade:

DJ’s 2009-2010 regular season performance brought home a D+. He showed some flashes of where he should be, but that doesn’t excuse a pitiful season.

DJ’s 2010 Playoff showing is somehow worse. His numbers were bad enough, but he mainly played against the Magic’s second unit, which one would expect to inflate numbers. Since Felton got a D-, DJ earns a flat F. Failure. Pure, epic failure.

DJ does have significant potential. If he’s in the right system, he could even be a fringe All-Star, a la Mo Williams. If he was in the perfect situation, he could even be a mini-Allen Iverson. But I don’t see that happening. DJ’s potential grade is an A, but I don’t expect that to be realized here.

DJ Augustin’s overall grade: D, around a 73. He’s got a lot of work to do.

Welcome back to our report card series. In the first part, I gave a breakdown of the entire team over the course of this past season. Today and over the next month, I’m going to delve into the individual performances for just about everyone you know on the Bobcats payroll. Our first of those is Charlotte’s embattled hometown boy, Raymond Felton.

Intro:

Position: Point Guard
Number: 2
HGT/WGT: 6’1, 198
College: UNC – Chapel Hill
Experience: 5 years
Status: Unrestriced Free Agent, made 5.5 million last season

Many fans consider Ray the sloppy seconds (or thirds) in the 2005 NBA Draft. He was selected 5th overall by the Bobcats, but he happened to go immediately after Deron Williams (Utah) and Chris Paul (New Orleans). Those two are considered the best point guards in the NBA, while Raymond has had to deal with questions about his ability to be a starter. Fair or unfair, those criticisms make him appear far worse than he really is. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not Chris Paul (nor will he be), but he’s capable of running an NBA offense.

Breakdown:

When Raymond came into the NBA, he joined Brevin Knight as potential starter for the ‘Cats. Despite being the high draft pick, Raymond played mostly at shooting guard, while BK got the minutes running the point. In fact, Ray didn’t become the permanent starter at point guard until Larry Brown was brought in as coach. Since LB was hired, Ray has steadily improved, though many fans don’t see it.

While Ray’s points are indeed down since Coach Brown took over, his shooting percentages, blocks, and steals are up. In fact, Ray shot over 38% from long distance ths past season; prior to that his high was below 36% and twice he was below 29%. This past season, Ray had his highest ORTG (Offensive Rating, points produced per 100 possesions) at 107 (his prior high was 104, and twice he was below 100) and his lowest DRTG (points allowed per 100 possesions) at 103 (previous low was 107). He had the best PER (player effiency rating, created by John Hollinger) of his career at 15.2, which means he was an above average player. The PER is designed so that the league average is always 15. However, PER doesn’t measure on-ball defense, one of Ray’s biggest stregths, though you wouldn’t know it by watching the Orlando playoff series. Ray also had the best win shares of his career, at 6.5, whereas prior to Larry Brown his high was 3.4 under Sam Vincent. Win Shares attempts to measure how many wins a player was worth to his team. For comparison, Gerald Wallace was worth 11.5 wins and DJ Augustin, who many believe should start, had 2.4 win shares. However, playing time is factored into win shares, so there is an adjusted amount based on per48 minutes production. The league average is 0.100, but Raymond had 0.118, Wallace 0.177, and Augustin 0.092 Win Shares per 48. For those of you who aren’t statheads, that means Raymond is clearly more valuable to the team as constructed than Augustin, the fan’s choice. What should really surprise you, though, is that Tyson Chandler and Nazr Mohammed joined Wallace as the only players better than Felton, yet Augustin was basically 10th (taking out Raja Bell). Stephen Graham and Derrick Brown were more highly rated. But this isn’t Augustin’s report card, so I’ll stop. In conclusion, Felton has improved greatly under Larry Brown should see that there’s still room for improvement.

Future:

There’s no guarantee Felton will even be on the team next season, as he is an unrestricted free agent and rejected a 6 year, $40 million offer last season. His value was brought down by a relatively horrid performance in the playoffs, and few teams with cap space need a point guard. Miami, New York, and the Los Angeles Lakers are the most mentioned suitors, but the Heat and Knicks both seek marquee free agents which will take up all their available cap space, and the Lakers are well into the luxury tax. This means the most Felton would be able to get on the open market is right around the full Mid-Level exception, which is less than he made this past season. Raymond has repeatedly stated he wants to stay in Charlotte, but the Bobcats are perilously close to the luxury tax mark, which Michael Jordan has stated is not in the team’s immediate future. Thus, the best Ray should hope for in Charlotte is along the lines of a 4 year, $25 million dollar contract. It’d likely benefit both parties to have a shorter, 3 year deal, as that would allow the Bobcats an avenue to pursure Chris Paul, and an opportunity for Felton to drive up his value yet still sign a long term deal before he turns 30. However, this is just my opinion, and we’ll all be waiting to see what happens.

Final Grade:

Ray’s 2009-2010 regular season performance earned him a B. Without Ray, the playoffs would still be out of reach, and his gritty play and toughness have made him a role model to his teammates and embodies the spirit of a Charlotte Bobcat.

Ray’s 2010 Playoff showing, however, is in Jeff McInnis territory. He was never a factor, but he let Jameer Nelson become one. His only saving grace is that somehow, some way, DJ Augustin managed to be twice as bad, which means I can’t give Ray an F. Thus, he’s earned a D-

Ray’s potential grade is quite high, however. We’ve seen how Larry Brown can make a point guard much better than anyone thought. With work, Ray could become a poor man’s Chauncey Billups at best, and he isn’t getting worse anytime soon. So with that, for his potential, he’s got an A-, but like I said, that’s only a best case scenario.

Raymond Felton’s overall grade: B-, maybe an 85. He’s a starter, but not a star.

Toocool here, with a blog finally. Since it’s now the off-season, I decided to look at our line-up, and analyse how well they did in the normal season, and what they can improve on. I am taking into account that ALL players are resigned/stay on for the next season. Stephen Jackson, Theo and TT’s stats are Charlotte season averages, not the entire season.

The starting 5:
Raymond Felton aka Tonberry:
Stats: 12.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 2.1 TPG, 33 MPG, 0.459 FG%, 0.385 3FG%
Season: Raymond Felton started slowly, and gradually built up. Although his stats are down, we’ve seen in essence a breakout season from Raymond. We saw him come in with shoddy play-making ability and questionable shots and turn into an even more solid point guard. Comparisons were drawn to Chauncey Billups with Raymond’s calm and efficient play making ability, and the ability to come up in the clutch. His stats overall were down, however he looked far more comfortable out there this season. Again, solid defensively. He also averaged career high 3FG% and FG%. Playoffs he was dominated by Jameer.
Improvement: I would love to see Felton continue to develop his perimeter game. He’s made leaps and bounds on his 3-point shooting, and would like to see him continue to develop that. As well as that, his play-making could use some improvement. Improvement on turning over the ball will also help.

Stephen Jackson aka Captain Jack:
Stats: 21.1 PPG, 3.6 APG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 3.2 TPG, 39.3 MPG, 0.423 FG%, 0.334 3FG%
Season: Our no. 1 offensive threat and clutch player, and for good reason. Jackson had made a name as a Clutch player, and whenever we needed a basket, we would put the ball in his hand. His quote ‘make love to pressure’ became a fan favourite for us here at BCP, and we wear a shirt proclaiming that with pride. Jackson was in essence a God-send; he drew much more attention and was a strong perimeter and inside threat. His length at 6”8, combined with his experience and skill helped to overcome many of the shorter shooting guards he was against. Combined with his great defense, he was a great asset to the team. Came up short in the playoffs however, not having the impact we had hoped for.
Improvement: Jackson needs to work on his ISO situations, chucking the ball and TOs. He TOs the ball at an alarming rate, 3.2 TPG and he can be shown at times to completely stall an offensive with his jab steps. Also, when he is in a shooting slump, Jackson will continue to fire up shots like no tomorrow. If he can work on these areas, raise his stats a bit while lowering his TOs, he may get his first all-star selection next year.

Gerald Wallace aka Crash:
Stats: 18.2 PPG, 2.1 APG, 10 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 2.3 TPG, 41.0 MPG, 0.484 FG%, 0.371 3FG%
Season: Quick fact, Crash is the only Wallace without a ring. This season was Crash’s breakout season. Although all-star selection should really have been a long time coming, Crash had propelled himself to Dennis Rodman heights with his rebounding, tenacity and hustle. His hard work and effort has paid off, becoming our Season’s first all-star. He made leaps and bounds on his jumper, being able to hit from 3 with decent consistency. He also ramped up his offensive production, and even on off-nights, played tough defence.
Improvement: What can I say. If Crash can continue to work on his 3FG%, his mid range jumper and passing, he would become an even greater player. Now Crash commands a lot of respect on the court for his offensive slashing skills. If he can become an even better perimeter player, he can cause FITS for other teams. This was also a good season where he only missed 6 games. His perimeter defence could use a tiny bit of work.

Boris Diaw aka Doris Meow:
Stats: 11.3 PPG, 4 APG, 5.2 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 2.2 TPG, 35.4 MPG, 0.483 FG%, 0.320 3FG%
Season: Diaw seeming at times looked good, while at others looked horrible. Lower stats than last year. Terribly inconsistent, he had up and down days, mostly having mediocre stats. Again, he showed flashes of what he could do, but at times seemed overweight, lazy and disinterested. However, he did show off his brilliant passing ability. He also was very passive on offensive, passing easy shots to other players. Solid defender, while at other times giving away stupid three point plays on fast breaks.
Improvement: Consistency is the main problem plaguing Diaw. Consistency, aggression and focus. He doesn’t seem to be able to bring all of these factors into every game. If he’s able to get more consistency and aggression into his game, his stats will definitely rise.

Tyson Chandler aka Mr. Glass
Stats: 6.5 PPG, 0.3 APG, 6.3 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 1.8 TPG, 22.8 MPG, 0.574 FG%, 0.00 3FG%
Season: Horrible season for Chandler. After coming from off-season surgery, simply couldn’t get started on the court. Struggled for most of the early season, before coming off with injuries that caused him to miss even more games. However, when he came back, finally healthy he looked very strong defensively and made some key rebounds when it mattered. Still a force defensively, but struggled at the offensive end.
Improvement: Offense, and durability. Chandler can’t seem to stay on the floor. When he was finally making headway in the season, he went down with injuries. With an un-interrupted pre-season, if Chandler can work on his offensive game and make himself a threat in the low post and develop a short-mid range jumper, he would draw much more attention to himself on the offensive end.
Now the guys who sit on the bench, and…uhhh sit on the bench. Oh, they also play…some of them.

D.J Augustin aka Saint:
Stats: 6.3 PPG, 2.4 APG, 1.2 RPG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 1.6 TPG, 18.4 MPG, 0.386 FG%, 0.393 3FG%
Season: Utterly horrible season for DJ. Struggled with his shot throughout the most part of the season, only finally coming out of his slump near the end of the season, where he showed glimpses of why he was a lottery pick. Made leaps and bounds on his defensive game, having bulked up and looks stronger. Not so much a liability on the defensive end.
Improvement: Needs to work on his play-making ability and to be more aggressive with his shot, as he has a sweet jumper. Should also look to put on at least another 10 pounds to be able to be stronger in the post, and needs to really put in hard work over the summer. Hopefully next year he can start the season strong, as we could see what he could do in the pre-season.

Theo Ratliff aka Zombie:
Stats: 5.1 PPG, 0.6 APG, 4.2 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 0.9 TPG, 22.3 MPG, 0.466 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Big man, big heart, big game. Struggled in the playoffs, probably due to the lack of playing on the Spurs bench and seemed tired. Filled in admirably for Chandler and Nazzy when they were both down with injuries. Formed the three-headed dragon back court with Chandler and TT.
Improvement: Theo will unfortunately only really get worse at this point. He’s growing older and his body is getting slower. He can work on his mid range jumper though to make him more of an offensive threat.

Tyrus Thomas aka TT
Stats: 10.1 PPG, 0.9 APG, 6.1 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 1.6 TPG, 21.7 MPG, 0.442 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Came in mid-way through the season, at the end of the trade deadline. Played solidly throughout the season and came up big in game 4 of the playoffs. Had great defensive and rebounding ability, and was aggressive to getting to the rack. His defence, rebounding and energy really helped us in the limited minutes he was on the court.
Improvement: TT needs to develop a go-to-move in the post. He’s shown he has a hook shot or two, and a few other post up moves, but he needs a stronger repertoire of them. Has a lovely mid range jumper, and if he can continue to improve its consistency, he could be a big threat on the offensive end. Like DJ, I would suggest him putting on another 10 pounds.
Larry Hughes aka The-one-who-will-not-pass-on-a-fastbreak
Stats: 8.1 PPG, 2.0 APG, 2.3 RPG, 0.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 1.4 TPG, 21.1 MPG, 0.327 FG%, 0.357 3FG%
Season: When he came in, he looked horrible. Didn’t know why LB played him for such significant minutes when he couldn’t even play. Couldn’t shoot for crap, and was a black hole on offense. Thankfully, he improved and his defence was solid. For a veteran guard, he made a lot of terrible mistakes and would not pass on a fast break. Showed a solid behind the backboard shot.
Improvement: Needs to work on his decision making and team playing mentality. Needs to learn to pass on a 3 v 2, 3 v 1, a 4 v 2, a 4 v 1, a 5 v 1 etc. Fast break. Needs to also learn to score when he goes to the rim on a fast break.

Stephen Graham aka Hulk jr.
Stats: 4.2 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.9 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 0.5 TPG, 11.5 MPG, 0.496 FG%, 0.320 3FG%
Season: Came in spotty minutes, and at the start of the season tried to do far too much by himself. After he was kicked from the starting line up, playing as a back-up 2 or 3 was much more suited to him. Came in and gave good defence and some offensive in limited minutes. Was solid overall.
Improvement: 3 point shot needs some work. Isn’t consistent enough. Also needs to work on his perimeter defence.

Alexis Ajinca aka Lexi the Benchwarming Frenchman
D League Stats: (they took him away, so if I recall it was around 14/7)
Season: Useless in the normal season and was subsequently shoved to the D-league. Showed his potential in the D-league and in the pre-season, and seems to know what he’s doing much more now. An injury ended his season, but he showed commitment by bulking up to over 250 pounds.
Improvement: Everything. AA has been in the system now for 2 years, but still very raw. He is still 21, and still has a lot to learn. He shouldn’t be bullied around in the post as much now. Needs to develop his mid-range jumper and post moves now to even get a chance to compete for the 4/5 position and playing time. Needs to do a lot of hard work over the off-season.

Desagana Diop aka the other Benchwarming guy.
Stats: 1.2 PPG, 0.2 APG, 2.4 RPG, 0.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 0.4 TPG, 9.7 MPG, 0.517 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Played in 27 games…didn’t do much at all. Had one decent game…and that was it.
Improvement: I’ll cut it short and say he needs to work on everything.

Nazr Mohammed aka Prophet
Stats: 7.9 PPG, 0.5 APG, 5.2 RPG, 0.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 0.9 TPG, 17.0 MPG, 0.553 FG%, 0.000 3FG%
Season: Nazr had a brilliant season. He worked hard on the off-season, determined to put in hard work to get playing time. LB rewarded him, and we saw him shine through with some great games, and a dunk when we needed to win a game. Unfortunately, a season de-railed his season and he never looked his old self. However, he had a fine season.
Improvement: Do what he did last off-season, and everyone will be happy.

Derrick Brown aka UPS
Stats: 3.3 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.4 RPG, 0.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 0.3 TPG, 9.4 MPG, 0.463 FG%, 0.286 3FG%
Season: Looked very very solid in the minutes he got. Broke into the rotation in the season, but then got kicked out by no fault of his own. He showed great shot selection and some nice put-back dunks. Brought lots of energy to the court, and showed that he is worth far more than a 2nd round draft pick. Look for big things from this mate.
Improvement: He needs to decide whether he wants to be a 3 or a 4. From what I’ve gathered, he wants to be a 3. With that, he needs to work on his ball handling and perimeter shot. His release is rather…slow and awkward and he needs to work on that. His ball handling is also rather one dimensional, and needs to work on that in the off-season.

Gerald Henderson aka Hendo
Stats: 2.6 PPG, 0.3 APG, 1.3 RPG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, 0.6 TPG, 8.3 MPG, 0.356FG%, 0.211 3FG%
Season: Didn’t get much of an opportunity, and as such did a lot of bench warming. Late in the season, he showed what he could do, and his great defensive game shone through. Wasn’t a big threat on the offensive end, but had a big game where he showed his slashing game. Fell in love too much with the mid range shot, especially as it wasn’t consistent enough.
Improvement: Needs a big off-season, as he’ll be fighting for minutes. Training camp and pre-season games will show whether he deserves minutes or not. He needs to work on his shooting, although his release is solid. Also needs to work on his ball-handling, and keep adding to his game if he’s to compete with the others for minutes.