Friday report
The Jazz announced their Rocky Mountain Revue roster Friday, which I'm going to post here. There are some interesting things of note - - like Rafael Araujo playing even though he's an unrestricted free agent - - but for the most part I think summer-league is drastically overhyped.
Four members of this year's Jazz team will take part - - Araujo, Dee Brown, Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap - - along with first-round draft pick Morris Almond. We'll get to second-round pick Kyrylo Fesenko a little later (as well as in Saturday's paper). The rest of the roster is as follows:
Virginia forward Jason Cain (6-foot-10, 225), St. Peter's guard Keydren Clark (5-10, 184), Boston College center Nate Doornekamp (7-0, 260), George Washington guard Carl Elliott (6-4, 220), former NBA guard Eddie Gill (6-0, 190), Pittsburgh center Levon Kendall (6-10, 225), Hawaii guard Matt Lojeski (6-6, 185), Temple forward Kevin Lyde (6-10, 260), Texas-San Antonio forward John Millsap (6-6, 205) and Alabama-Birmingham guard/forward Wen Mukubu (6-6, 205).
Gill played five seasons in the NBA and is a Weber State product. He has played for New Jersey, Memphis, Portland and Indiana in his five-year career, and most recently averaged 1.1 points and 0.3 assists for the Pacers in the 2005-06 season. He averaged 14.0 minutes a game with Indiana the season before. I haven't gotten the chance to ask why he's playing for the Jazz in the Revue.
As for the others, Lyde has played in the NBA Development League and Doornekamp has played in Germany. John Millsap is Paul's older brother and last played for the Dodge City (Kan.) Legend in the minor-league United States Basketball League. He was selected as an All-Star in the Continental Basketball Association.
I've seen guys make NBA rosters based on their summer-league play - - Tony Bobbitt, Devin Green and Smush Parker all did so with the Lakers - - but the odds are impossibly long. I'm interested in seeing what the Revue is like. It seems like a huge deal, judging from all the e-mail I've gotten.
Araujo was reported to be driving from Santa Barbara, Calif., where he's been working out all summer, to meet up Sunday with the Jazz's team. He wants to come back to the Jazz but will in effect be auditioning for every team in the league. As an unrestricted free agent, Araujo could sign with any team during free agency.
I'm interested to see just what he does with some minutes. He should dominate given his age (26) and the fact that he's been an NBA player for three seasons. But Araujo also is terribly underdeveloped, as evidenced by this stat: If you divide his minutes, Araujo has played in 39.6 career 40-minute games.
There also are a number of issues involving Fesenko. The Jazz are hopeful they can reach an agreement with his Ukrainian club that allows Fesenko to play in the Revue while the Jazz assume the insurance risk should he get injured.
At a minimum, playing in the Revue would accelerate Fesenko's development. But the Jazz won't offer him a contract until they know how they're spending the $5.5 million midlevel exception and don't want to get in a situation where they have to take on a player in a trade yet don't have a roster spot for him. Fesenko would take up a spot.
What's interesting is the Jazz were one of the teams that were most encouraging about Fesenko coming to the NBA this season; a lot of other teams wanted to keep him in Ukraine for another season. The fact that his buyout doubles after next season also increases the urgency for the Jazz to bring him over.
Fesenko plays for a club team in a rural part of Ukraine, about four hours from the capital city of Kiev. That leads to the opinion that it's best for his development if he comes to the U.S. immediately, even if he spends all of next season with the Jazz's D-League affiliate in Orem.
The Jazz open summer-league practice Monday and we'll be there to report. Assistants Tyrone Corbin and Scott Layden, incidentally, will split head coaching duties.
--Ross Siler
Four members of this year's Jazz team will take part - - Araujo, Dee Brown, Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap - - along with first-round draft pick Morris Almond. We'll get to second-round pick Kyrylo Fesenko a little later (as well as in Saturday's paper). The rest of the roster is as follows:
Virginia forward Jason Cain (6-foot-10, 225), St. Peter's guard Keydren Clark (5-10, 184), Boston College center Nate Doornekamp (7-0, 260), George Washington guard Carl Elliott (6-4, 220), former NBA guard Eddie Gill (6-0, 190), Pittsburgh center Levon Kendall (6-10, 225), Hawaii guard Matt Lojeski (6-6, 185), Temple forward Kevin Lyde (6-10, 260), Texas-San Antonio forward John Millsap (6-6, 205) and Alabama-Birmingham guard/forward Wen Mukubu (6-6, 205).
Gill played five seasons in the NBA and is a Weber State product. He has played for New Jersey, Memphis, Portland and Indiana in his five-year career, and most recently averaged 1.1 points and 0.3 assists for the Pacers in the 2005-06 season. He averaged 14.0 minutes a game with Indiana the season before. I haven't gotten the chance to ask why he's playing for the Jazz in the Revue.
As for the others, Lyde has played in the NBA Development League and Doornekamp has played in Germany. John Millsap is Paul's older brother and last played for the Dodge City (Kan.) Legend in the minor-league United States Basketball League. He was selected as an All-Star in the Continental Basketball Association.
I've seen guys make NBA rosters based on their summer-league play - - Tony Bobbitt, Devin Green and Smush Parker all did so with the Lakers - - but the odds are impossibly long. I'm interested in seeing what the Revue is like. It seems like a huge deal, judging from all the e-mail I've gotten.
Araujo was reported to be driving from Santa Barbara, Calif., where he's been working out all summer, to meet up Sunday with the Jazz's team. He wants to come back to the Jazz but will in effect be auditioning for every team in the league. As an unrestricted free agent, Araujo could sign with any team during free agency.
I'm interested to see just what he does with some minutes. He should dominate given his age (26) and the fact that he's been an NBA player for three seasons. But Araujo also is terribly underdeveloped, as evidenced by this stat: If you divide his minutes, Araujo has played in 39.6 career 40-minute games.
There also are a number of issues involving Fesenko. The Jazz are hopeful they can reach an agreement with his Ukrainian club that allows Fesenko to play in the Revue while the Jazz assume the insurance risk should he get injured.
At a minimum, playing in the Revue would accelerate Fesenko's development. But the Jazz won't offer him a contract until they know how they're spending the $5.5 million midlevel exception and don't want to get in a situation where they have to take on a player in a trade yet don't have a roster spot for him. Fesenko would take up a spot.
What's interesting is the Jazz were one of the teams that were most encouraging about Fesenko coming to the NBA this season; a lot of other teams wanted to keep him in Ukraine for another season. The fact that his buyout doubles after next season also increases the urgency for the Jazz to bring him over.
Fesenko plays for a club team in a rural part of Ukraine, about four hours from the capital city of Kiev. That leads to the opinion that it's best for his development if he comes to the U.S. immediately, even if he spends all of next season with the Jazz's D-League affiliate in Orem.
The Jazz open summer-league practice Monday and we'll be there to report. Assistants Tyrone Corbin and Scott Layden, incidentally, will split head coaching duties.
--Ross Siler
9:48 PM
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