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Gaffney Gets Invite To Lakers' Training Camp

Tony Gaffney was thrilled to receive an invitation to training camp with the defending champion Lakers.

Gaffney, a former UMass forward, hasn't had a problem switching allegiances from the Celtics to the Lakers.

"The second I got the call from the Lakers, the day after the draft, I immediately turned into a diehard Lakers fan," Gaffney told Hoopsworld.com. "I put the Boston Celtics behind me and now I'm ready to beat the Celtics with everything I've got. As of right now, I'm a Laker and I love wearing purple and gold."

From U Mass blog
June 29,2009
http://blog.masslive.com/minuteblog/200 ... .html#more

He is a foward, 6-8, 220lbs & 25 years old.

"It would be hard to find a player with more heart and tenacity than Tony Gaffney. He is particularly proficient at setting ball screens for teammates and freeing himself up for easy baskets. But defense is where Gaffney truly shines, with an unusual ability to impose his disruptive presence on opponents. Tony is capable of blocking opponents' shots from any angle, and he's an exceptional rebounder to boot."

Defense, sets screens and is tenacious.

Another article from the Enterprisenews
June 29,2009
http://www.enterprisenews.com/sports/co ... hot-in-L-A
Gaffeny gets big shot in L.A.

Funny, he's already under contract in Israel. Unless he got cut and I didn't hear about it.

he's my great uncle's third nephew's cousin twice removed, on my mom's side

i don't see him much

Sounds like Ronny Turiaf lite but yeah, training camp fodder.

he left the celtics high and dry pretty damn easy. may be he'll chant mvp for kobe when kobe does something good in practice.

Ehh.......like j-far said he's fodder. Something like the paper you put at the bottom of the bird cage, only there to be dumped on !

Here are some highlights thanks to youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvE1SP1Z-VQ

I liked the interview. Right attitude. Doubt he'll get a spot. BCS: poor man's AK47?

From the highlight reel, I think he has an excellent read for the game by the way he anticipates and positions himself on either ends of the floor. Doesn't show off any ball handling skills but I read in a scouting report that he showed a glimpse of taking his man off the dribble during the summer league. The fact that he turned a summer league spot into a camp invite makes me think he could earn a pay in the league somewhere if not with us.

He's Scalabrine-esque

mnWI wrote:Funny, he's already under contract in Israel. Unless he got cut and I didn't hear about it.

Ok, I guess Galil (team in Israel) gave him time to try his luck at the NBA. So he'll be going to Israel unless he blows Mitch and company away. He's a very good shot-blocker and has a nice strong frame. Don't think he's an NBA player now, but I do like him better than Elonu.

This guy looks like he could be a good roleplayer for the Lakers. He is a little bit undersized, but is athletic as hell, blocks shots, has range out to the college 3 and can rebound. Most of all, however, he is a HUSTLE type player. He was a college center at UMASS but looks like he has the quickness to be a tweener at the 3/4. People may take not of his weight, but I wouldn't expect him to gain more than 20ibs to be a bench player. This guy's role will more than likely be a 15-20mpg as a spark off the bench at his peak, similar to the Birdman, without the coke, car penis extension and suspensions. I see this guy getting a spot at the end of our bench. We have the best frontcourt trio in the league with Bynum-Gasol-Odom, but we need insurance because our third man if one of those guys go down is Mbenga or Josh Powell.

6'9" w/ a 7'2" wingspan?

impressive, course those are highlights.... otherwise there'd be interest in him from the draft. eh, at least maybe push powell to step up his game.

Yeah, that is worth mentioning. "Highlights can be a bit misleading. Despite this, the guy did put up 4bpg and 10rpg. So his shot blocking was not few and far between.

Maybe he can be a high energy guy off the bench like Birdman is for the Nuggets.

I love his comments about being a Laker. Great attitude.
It will be nearly impossible for him to make this roster.
We'll probably only carry 13 players.
Maybe he'll be on our D-League team.

I go to Umass and TGaf is the man. He was by far the best player for Umass last year. Really good rebounder and shot blocker. Isn't going to out muscle anyone but he's going to out position and out smart them. Doesn't have much of an offensive game but he's not going to miss an easy shot. His value comes on the glass and in the paint. I was very impressed watching him all year.

i like the guy

hes like a birdman in a SF body...

A poor mans AK47

Very poor, like poverty in a 3rd world country poor

The Lakers are rich on talent w/ Ron, Luke, and Kobe or LO that can man the 3 if needed

Welcome to the practice and crap mins guy