Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 36

February 22nd, 2009

– Sergei Monia is into his third season with Dynamo Moscow, and has extended his contract so that he can stay there a bit longer. Then again, unless they start filling out that stadium a bit more, they might just run out of money. Monia (who seems to go by Sergey Monya these days, although I fear change and will keep it the same on here) averages 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in the EuroCup, alongside 6.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in the Russian league.

– Paccelis Morlende is unsigned after not making the Ural Great Perm team this preseason. Those who don’t know who Paccelis Morlende should first congratulate themselves, and then read this: Patch was a second-round pick of the Seattle Supersonics (via the Sixers) back in 2003, after a season in the French first division that saw him average 13.4 points per game. Since then, he has stagnated and then gone backwards. Morlende averaged 14.5 ppg and 4.9 apg in the French league the following season, before leaving to sign in Italy. There, he didn’t get nearly as much time, and averaged 5.1 ppg and 1.5 apg for Bennetton in the Italian league. His career has still not gotten back on track since then – last season, back in the French league with Gravelines, Morlende averaged a mere 4.6 ppg and 2.7 apg before being released from his contract a year early. And those numbers came in the French league, remember. Morlende also turns 28 in six weeks, and currently doesn’t have a basketball career to speak of. Most depressingly of all, his website (www.paccelismorlende.com) no longer works, which seems to be a sign of the times in the world of Paccelis Morlende. But the Thunder hold his draft rights anyway on a technicality, so maybe there’s some hope that he will still join the NBA, once the injuries are fixed. (NB: There is no hope that he will join the NBA.)

– Terence Morris is still a member of CSKA Moscow, but for reasons that I’m not aware of, he never plays in the Russian league. (I believe it has something to do with a limitation of the number of foreigners each team can play in the Superleague, but I’m not sure.) Morris hasn’t played in the Russian league since November, and averaged 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in the only five games he played there. (CSKA haven’t lost in the Russian league all year, so it’s not hurting them much.) He continues to be a regular in the EuroLeague, though, even if he is the recipient of wildly fluctuating playing time. Morris averages 8.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in the EuroLeague, making him one of the leading contributors on the best team in Europe.

– Toree Morris is a bit-part player in the D-League, a league that yearns for quality size. Morris started with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 14 games, and then moved onto the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, where he averages 3.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in eight games. Unfortunately, that equates to 26 total points and 24 total rebounds with the Birds, which is worrisome alongside his 27 total fouls.

– Brian Morrison was also in the D-League, averaging 3.7 points and 1.3 assists for the Austin Toros, but he was waived last week.

– Alonzo Mourning retired earlier this season. Since then, he’s toured hospitals.

– Gabe Muoneke is with the Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls in China. By now, you should know that that can only mean one thing – the most impressive statistics in this entire post are about to appear. And you’d be right; Muoneke averages 34.6 points, 9.3 points and 3.2 assists per game. If you take the domestic averages of everybody other than Muoneke mentioned in this post so far and add them together, you total 22.1 points per game. That’s how much they pale to Muoneke’s. Chinese league basketball – it’s faaaaaantastic!

– Unlikely as it may seem, Lamond Murray is still playing professional basketball. Well, he was until last month, when he was waived by the Chinese league team Guandong Southern Tigers in preference to Smush Parker. Did Lamond Murray average truly mental statistics over there? I don’t think so; as far as I can tell, he didn’t even play a game. But he did play in the IBL over the summer (it’s like the USBL, except with a lower standard), and he averaged 26.6 ppg, 11.9 rpg and 1.2 apg there. Is an NBA comeback on the cards? No.

– Mamadou N’Diaye left Zalgiris Kaunas after they went bankrupt and cut all foreign players, and he is currently unattached. CAI Zaragoza are after him, supposedly.

– Bostjan Nachbar is one of the best players in Europe now, averaging 15.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in the Russian League with Dynamo Moscow, as well as 15.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in the EuroCup. It would make sense for the Nets to have him back, but they can’t really, because they’re tied to Eduardo Najera for the next three years. (Still don’t understand the length of that deal.) But, screw it; sign Boki anyway, decline Jarvis Hayes’s option, and try to rehome Bobby Simmons. Or just bench him, whichever.

– Finally – and this was really difficult to find out, so please value it – Lee Nailon was recently playing in Iran, but left in December due to “family reasons”. He is now signed in Lebanon, with Lebanese league leaders Al Riyadi.