Catching Up

Weekend Move Update

In an effort to save time and effort, I'm going to look at the moves made since last Thursday in a sole post. We've seen nearly all the players before, so extensive explanations seem unnecessary.

Mongoose replaces Watson with Posey

E-Wat's been supplanted in the OKC starting 5 by up and coming rookie Russell Westbrook (though R-West was apparently benched last night for sucking). He's reached 10 points just once since November 12, and though he's had a few 10 AST games, he shoots terribly, and almost never rebounds or gets to the line. If 'Brook goes into a slump or hits the 'Rookie Wall', E-Wat's worth a look. Posey was playing rather poorly, but his acquisition by Mongoose led to a Sunday explosion - 20/10 with 6 3 pointers. These were season-highs in PTs and REBs, so we won't expect a repeat, but it's good to see.

Judgment: We like the move - Posey's 3/Reb combo is a nice one, and he shoots good Pcts.

Thenopp retires Mobley, acquires Dixon

Cuttino Mobley retired due to a heart condition, and thenopp (finally) dropped him, picking up Juan Dixon, who's starting again since A-Dan was shipped to NO. Dixon has hit double digit points in 3 straight, and has averaged almost 2 3s and 6 AST in that stretch.

Judgment: Obviously the Cat is not going to contribute, and Juan's a nice source of 3s, if he continues to get minutes. Nice move, though a little late in coming.

Les Digits drops Speights for McGee

The Hosens and Les Digits have been seeking out young big men like Tim Gunn on a trip to Norway. Marreese has been particularly inconsistent, with MPG anywhere from 22 to 2 in the his last 5 games. Monitor his PT with a new coach going forward, however - word is REvans and Donyell will not be in the new rotation. He's not producing much in the minutes he gets - he's blocked just 1 shot in December, and has only exceeded 5 rebounds twice.

JaVale is still starting, but disturbingly, he's gotten pulled before playing 10 minutes in 3 of his last 5 games. On the other hand, in the one game in which he played 25+ minutes, he put up a nice 11/6 line with 3 BLK. It should be noted that this was a complete blowout against BOS, which might explain why he was left in the game.

Judgment: We suspect that neither McGee or Speights are ready to contribute at the NBA level, at least consistently, against starters. Les Digits (below) dropped McGee rather quickly, which we think was wise.

Mongoose drops M. Webster for R. Mason JR.

Webster briefly returned from injury, then went down 'indefinitely' with an injury to the same foot that's kept him out all season. His role upon return (4 weeks) is unclear, due to the depth of the Blazers.

Mason, dropped by the Spoonful, has retained his place in the starting lineup, though his role in the offense has diminished slightly with the returns of Manu/T-Park. He's still getting double digit points, and a couple 3s per game.

Judgment: We're thrilled to see Mongoose making moves, and think this is a strong acquisition. Keep an eye on Martell in January, as he's quite talented.

Digits cut McGee, pick up DarKO

After recently cutting Speights for the almost equally unproductive McGee, Les Digits realized that Darko was actually getting more minutes (and stats) than the two of them combined.

Judgment: Excellent work - Les D. was rewarded w/Darko's 13 PT, 5 BLK line on Sunday.

Digits swap Wafer for Kapono

Kapono's moved into the TOR starting lineup, and, while his shot hasn't been dropping, he can be a deadly 3-point force. With T-Mac back (for now), Von Wafer returns to obscurity.

Judgment: We love this move for Les Digits. There's no reason to think Kapono can't hold off Anthony Parker indefinitely.

Odensque acquires Simmons for Quinn

In a flurry of moves, odensque began to cut the dead weight out of their lineup - Chris Quinn was the first to go. B-Simm's been playing well lately (5 straight double digit games, with good 3s and REBs). Quinn, on the other hand, has been marginalized.

Judgment: Great move - B-Simm's a quiet, low-neg multi-cat threat, and may at last be (a) recovered from injury, (b) in shape, (c) comfortable in the NJ offense. Quinn's not useful.

Odensque drops Marshall for Rob Kurz

In an attempt to rectify the misguided Donyell pickup, odensque has thrown his hat in with Nellie's latest 'find', 3-Ballin' white big man Rob Kurz. Is Kurz the next T-Murph?  His 20/7, 3 3, 2 STL, 2 BLK perfromance on Sunday was certainly eye-opening. However, Kurz is subject to Nellie's whims, and Turiaf and B-Wright were sidelined. Donyell is reportedly out of the post-Cheeks rotation in PHI.

Judgment: We don't love Kurz, but he's a decent speculative gamble, especially as losing Donyell is not going to hurt.

Odensque cuts Knight, signs Morrow

Anthony Morrow has benefited some from the injury to C-Maggs (and nagging injuries to Captain Jack and JamsCraw). He's actually gotten 23+ minutes in 5 straight games. His shot hasn't been falling, but he's gotten to double digits in 3 of those games. He doesn't do much except score, but Brevin Knight doesn't do much, period.

Judgment: We like this move - C-Maggs' 'strings are quite a source of trouble, and S-Jax's finger is really giving him shooting trouble. The double dose of Nellie will be hard to handle, but if A-Mor gets starts shooting straight, he can put up points on an odensque team that needs them.

Da Juices!

Spoonful drop Mason jr. for Mike 'the juices' james

Again, in response to breaking trade news (James/Crittenton to WAS - A-Dan to NO), the Spoonful felt it was necessary to run out and make a move.

Roger Mason has been quite a productive waiver wire pickup for the Spoonful, but his production has slowed with the returns of Parker and Ginobili, the rejuvenation of Finley, the inclusion of George Hill in the rotation, and the sharpshooting of BonBon. He's still probably good for 10 pts and 1.5 3s per game, but very little in AST or REB to put flesh on those bones.

We, of course, love the Juices (as do the ladies), and fondly recall his glorious spring of '06 (25/3/7 with 3 3s). Those days are long gone, of course, and he's been useless for the last two years. This year, he's been basically 6th on the G depth chart in NO, behind Paul, Devin Brown, Posey, Mo Peet, and Roswell Butler. In fact, he hasn't played more than 12 minutes all season, and has DNP'ed 9 of the last 10 games. Some say young Crittenton is the future PG in WAS, but the Spoonful suspect he's not yet ready, and James will be the immediate beneficiary of the trade. He'll surely get more minutes, and we'll see if his 33 year old legs still have Juice.

Judgment: Looking more closely at the stats, in particular at James' poor record for the last two years, this may be quite a foolish move. If the Juices don't pan out, though, other folks are available, and Mason is quite replaceable at this point.

Good Riddance! Starbury set free.

Spoonful drops Stephon Marbury for Roger Mason Jr.

Another veteran cut loose! In our (12-team) 2005 draft, Marbury was a 2nd round pick, and Hughes a 3rd rounder.

Stephon Marbury, once a consistent 20 PT/8 AST man has been in decline for some time. His %s and his per minute PT/AST/STL numbers have faltered so that last year, even in 33 minutes per game, he only averaged 14/4.7 - not terrible, but it looks as if even that level of production is not in the cards this year. His attitude has never endeared him to coaches, and new Knicks coach D'Antoni has, for now, elected not to play him at all, so he'll be riding the pine with Eddy Curry. I assume Marbury has some stupid giant contract that makes him untradeable, but I'm not sure. Perhaps he'll find a new place, or injuries will give him a new opportunity in New York. Until then, he shall be a Spoonful no more!

Roger Mason Jr., is in his 6th year out of Virginia, and moved from the Wizards to the Spurs in the offseason. He's mostly a 3 point specialist, but contributes a tiny bit elsewhere. He really got his first chance to shine last year in Gilbert Arenas's absence. Coach Pop loves him, and, especially while Manu is out, he may see a fair bit of time at SG (sliding Finley over to SF). I think, during that period, he'll see 25 minutes, and get 10 pts with 2 3s per game.

Judgment: The Spoonful is not hesitating to cut bait this year - so watch out Hakim Warrick! Mason has a bit of upside, and will help shore up the team's woeful 3pt shooting. That said, he doesn't do a lot else, and may be quite limited when Manu returns. On the other hand, giving up a big fat zero in Starbury doesn't hurt much.