Where Are They Now, 2009: Part 51
March 8th, 2009
– Jamaal Tatum was the strange beneficiary of a training camp contract by the Portland Trail Blazers this summer, but unsurprisingly lost out on the 15th roster spot (which, surprisingly, Shavlik Randolph won). Tatum promptly returned to his D-League team of last season, the Idaho Stampede, for whom he averages 12.1 points and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting less than 40% from the field.
– Bryce Taylor is with Premiata Montegranaro, the team that Shawn Kemp nearly played for. Taylor averages 11.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game, this coming on a team that features starting point guard Kiwame Garris averaging only 2.5 apg himself. I think I might have mentioned that before somewhere, but it’s hard to remember, because these posts are starting to all run into each other in my mind, into a big gloopy ball of confusion and doubt. Apologies if you’re suffering from the same.
– Donell Taylor has spent the year with Egaleo in Greece, averaging 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
– I think we all thought that Maurice Taylor was done. He hadn’t played since 2005/06, hadn’t played well since 2000/01, and had spent a long time unsigned, out of our hearts and minds. He was waived by the Knicks in September 2006, signed by the Kings a few days later, was kept over Justin Williams, and was later waived in January when Justin was re-signed, not playing a single game for the Kings in that time. Two years then passed, and it was assumed that that was all she wrote. But it wasn’t; in January this year, Taylor signed a three-year deal with Milano, albeit one which only allows him to play in EuroLeague games. Taylor has since played in three games, which read like this (earliest first):
7 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls.
8 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls
20 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 fouls.
Make of those what you will, but I’ll call it progress.
– Mirza Teletovic is into his third season with Tau Vitoria, and recently signed an extension that will keep him there until 2014. An inside-outside scorer, but primarily a shooter, Teletovic averages 12.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in the Spanish league, alongside 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in the EuroLeague. Those EuroLeague numbers come from a total of 225 points on 147 shots, leading to a points per shot average of 1.53 PPS. Love that metric. Love it. It’s like true shooting percentage, except you can calculate it yourself in 12 seconds. Good times.
– Reyshawn Terry started the year with Vanoli Soresina in the Italian second division, averaging 16.5 points and 8.3 rebounds, before getting the call-up to the slightly bigger dance. Now in Serie A with La Fortezza Bologna, Terry averages 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in the EuroChallenge, but also has a strange drop-off to 4.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in the Italian league, where he hasn’t hit a three yet.
– Off The Street Billy Thomas is now back on the street, after being released by the Colorado 14ers for reasons that I am not aware of. Thomas had averaged 16.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals in his time with the Fourteeners, so it certainly wasn’t because of his play. Before that, Thomas was in Greece playing for Kavala, where he averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
– Former Suns training camp invite and Iowa bench player Doug Thomas is with the mighty Sundsvall Dragons in the Swedish league. The Swedish league is so anonymous that I can’t even give you his numbers, but I can give you this slightly confusing box score. I think it says that he had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a recent win. Yay Doug!
– James Thomas is technically the property of Upim Bologna – with whom he is signed through next season – but he is currently on loan to Erdemir in Turkey. I don’t know if Americans are familiar with the prospect of loaning players, but if not, all you need to know is that it’s a great idea that the NBA should totally consider. In the Turkish league, Thomas is doing his usual thing, averaging 10.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game in only 30.5 minutes per game. He’s also not fouling as much as usual, recording only 2.3 per game. It’s strange how this undersized power forward can rebound far far far better than many of his bigger peers. Certain people can learn from this.
– John Thomas was still pushing for another go around in the NBA, even at the age of 33, when he joined the Bucks for 2008 summer league. Further to that, he spent last season in the D-League, averaging 12 and 8 for the Fourteeners. But now, age 33, he might just be willing to go where the money is. Or at least, that’s my conclusion based off of the fact that he’s currently playing for Al Jalaa Aleppo in Syria. I have no numbers for him. (Roderick Riley, another big man who enjoyed a flirtatious grope from the Atlanta Hawks back in 2005, was also on the Bucks summer league team this summer, and is now also a member of the Al Jalaa Aleppo team. Play close attention, Joe Alexander.)
– Omar Thomas is averaging 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds of Solsonica Rieti in Serie A, the highest standard of basketball that he’s played so far in his professional career. His team want him back.
– And finally, Dijon Thompson is with Azovmash in the Ukraine, where his scoring is strangely down. Thompson averages 11.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists an 2.0 steals in a whopping 35.8 minutes per game in the EuroCup (remember, they’re 40-minute games), alongside 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals in 29 minutes per game in the Ukrainian league.
