Team Canada Basketball Thread V2.0

Post #1 » by **Morris_Shatford** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:52 pm

Continued from:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1423160&start=4920

mojo13 · Post #2 » by **mojo13** » Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:46 am

Why lock the old thread? Load of good content there for new members.

Anyways. Here is the last post again which was somewhat of a summary of the last couple weeks.

Looking for a bit of of bump opportunity as this thread has been buried with all the Kwahi excitement.

Chris Boucher has signed a camp deal with the Raptors. Selfishly I'm hoping this is more of a way to get him some comp bump while planning to have him with the 905 for the year. After this news anyone think he is a roster threat for the Raptors or a possible two-way?

Lakers making a bunch of camp invites that don't include XRM, but they also just waived a two-way player in Malik Newman. With Alex Caruso as the other two-way and not sure they'd sign XRM to one as well. But still something to watch...

Here is an update summary on recent non-NBA signings:

K Pangos - Barcelona, ACB / EuroLeague
T Ennis - Fenerbahce, BSL / EuroLeague
K Wiltjer - Unicaja, ACB / EuroCup
P Scrubb - Zenit, VTB / EuroCup
T Scrubb - Varese, Series A
A Peter-McNeilly - Mitteldeutscher, BBL
J. Berhanemeskel - Zaragoza, ACB
D. Ennis - Andorra, ACB / EuroCup
D. Pierre / M. Ejim resign w/ current teams
Still out there unsigned (I think) Nicholson, Bennett, Best, XRM, Keane, Trasolini, Landry, Hanlan, Chery.

Still early early though.

mojo13 · Post #3 » by **mojo13** » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:40 pm

Anyone know much about Michale Kyser?

He signed with Aris of the Greek League which is a fairly solid team.

This bio says he was with the Raps summer league a couple years back and even played pre season game. It says he was with national team but I don’t ever recall that. In fact I’ve never heard of him as a Canadian.

https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/540619/Aris-add-Kyser-to-their-roster

frumble · Post #4 » by **frumble** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 5:47 pm

mojo13 wrote:Anyone know much about Michale Kyser?

He signed with Aris of the Greek League which is a fairly solid team.

This bio says he was with the Raps summer league a couple years back and even played pre season game. It says he was with national team but I don’t ever recall that. In fact I’ve never heard of him as a Canadian.

https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/540619/Aris-add-Kyser-to-their-roster

I have never heard of him as a Canadian either.

Looks like he played for "Team Canada 150" at a tournament in Taiwan last summer, but that tournament didn't involve national teams - just guys from and/or with a club connection to the country team they were playing for.

Canada's team also had Jordan Bachynski, Diego Kapelan, Joey Haywood, and some other NBL guys.

http://www.3dglobalsports.com/blog/canadian-roster-announced-39th-william-jones-cup

NotMyKawhi · Post #5 » by **NotMyKawhi** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 6:03 pm

Over /under 3.5 Canadians Drafted in the 2019 NBA draft

mojo13 · Post #6 » by **mojo13** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 7:59 pm

KawhiRaptors wrote:Over /under 3.5 Canadians Drafted in the 2019 NBA draft

I think those are fair odds. I'd be an optimist and choose above if pressed.

Barrett is the only sure thing - but loads of "likelys" after that with:

Simi
Alexander-Walker
Brissett
Wiggington
None are sure things, each have questions but all projected in the 2019 1st Round by some draft boards. Gotta think 2 or 3 of those hit in 2019 but 1 or 2 fall off.

And then their are some maybes in in the mix that are not on many draft boards but any could easily storm the scene and jump into the 1st round.
Lugentz Dort
Andrew Nembhard
Brandon Clarke

Any others - Iggy Bradzeikis maybe?

frumble · Post #7 » by **frumble** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:39 pm

mojo13 wrote:
KawhiRaptors wrote:Over /under 3.5 Canadians Drafted in the 2019 NBA draft

I think those are fair odds. I'd be an optimist and choose above if pressed.

Barrett is the only sure thing - but loads of "likelys" after that with:

Simi
Alexander-Walker
Brissett
Wiggington
None are sure things, each have questions but all projected in the 2019 1st Round by some draft boards. Gotta think 2 or 3 of those hit in 2019 but 1 or 2 fall off.

And then their are some maybes in in the mix that are not on many draft boards but any could easily storm the scene and jump into the 1st round.
Lugentz Dort
Andrew Nembhard
Brandon Clarke

Any others - Iggy Bradzeikis maybe?

A few weeks ago HoopsHype.com did a review of the 2019 mock drafts that were out there.

They looked at a couple lottery only mocks (NBC sports and CBS sports), three first round mocks (SI, SB Nation, and Bleacher Report), and couple full mocks (both rounds) (NBADraft.net and ESPN).

Barrett was #1 in six of the mocks and #2 in SB Nation.
Brissett was 20 (Bleacher), 25 (SB Nation), 26 (NBADraft), and 33 (ESPN)
Shi-ttu was 17 (Bleacher), 17 (NBADraft), and 33 (ESPN)
Wigginton was 25 (ESPN), 28 (Bleacher), and 30 (NBADraft)
NAW was 18 (NBADraft) and 22 (ESPN)
Dort was 30 in SI.

For the guys other than Barrett, not surprising that there is so much variation of opinion. Way too early and I can see any of those five being anywhere from lottery to not drafted.

https://hoopshype.com/2018/06/25/2019-nba-mock-draft-big-board-rj-barrett-camerson-reddish-zion-williamson/

aminiaturebuddha · Post #8 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:22 pm

Another real long shot for the draft could be Mifondu Kabengele. His stats don't look all that impressive, but Florida St. really spreads around their minutes and offensive opportunities, so it's hard to stand out that way.

Still, he was getting a lot of positive press during the NCAA tournament. So if he builds on that and comes back with an excellent sophomore season, it could be enough to convince him to throw his hat in the ring for the draft, where a team might take a chance on his great physical tools and still-developing skills.

I think the odds are against it, but he's probably the one guy aside from the ones that frumble and mojo mentioned that might be worth keeping an eye on.

Hair Canada · Post #9 » by **Hair Canada** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 4:48 pm

Thanks, guys for keeping this thread alive. Not easy in these Kawhinsanity days. I actually lost track of it for a couple of days.

Anyway, regarding draft discussions and the over/under 3.5, are we talking both rounds? If so, I'd go with 5. Who? All the names you've already mentioned above. But there are also a couple of other wildcards:

* Kyle Alexander wouldn't be a huge surprise

* Emmanuel Akot might look unlikely given last season, but it really depends on what he can do this year with extra playing time and confidence

* And some really long-shots, but not unthinkable: Marial Shayok, Jaelin Llewellyn, AJ Lawson, and Dalano Banton

If I can find the time, I'll write a more thorough review on all of these prior to the start of the NCAA season.

mojo13 · Post #10 » by **mojo13** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:41 pm

Kawhinsanity is right.

I totally forgot about Emmanuel Akot - some boards had him as a projected 2018 1st rounder at this time last year. I hope he gets his feet under him this year.

Justin Edwards signed with Ironi Nahariya in the Israeli Premier (Super) League. Their top division.
He bounced around last year playing in the Italian, French and Korean top divisions - playing fairly well at all stops. He was around the SMNT last summer I think at the AmeriCup training camp. Not sure if he would be involved with the Qualifier teams, but he is a fairly solid player who'd theoretically be available and worth keeping eye on.

Hair Canada · Post #11 » by **Hair Canada** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:53 pm

mojo13 wrote:Kawhinsanity is right.

I totally forgot about Emmanuel Akot - some boards had him as a projected 2018 1st rounder at this time last year. I hope he gets his feet under him this year.

Justin Edwards signed with Ironi Nahariya in the Israeli Premier (Super) League. Their top division.
He bounced around last year playing in the Italian, French and Korean top divisions - playing fairly well at all stops. He was around the SMNT last summer I think at the AmeriCup training camp. Not sure if he would be involved with the Qualifier teams, but he is a fairly solid player who'd theoretically be available and worth keeping eye on.

Ye, I'm quite amazed at the number of posts/topics people can come up with basically all related to one player. Fans must be quite bored these days.

As for Edwards, seems like a fairly wise move. The Israeli league is known for being quite a joyride for American players. Warm weather, everyone speaks English, a culture of parties, and practices are not too hard usually. A bit surprising perhaps that we haven't seen more Canadians there over the years. Rowan Barrett Sr. did play in Israel for a couple of years (I believe in Haifa and Ramat Hasharon) and was very good. But I can't remember anyone with a decent profile going there since. They do have what they call "the Russian Rule" there, which means each team has to have two players with an Israeli citizenship on the court at any given time. So that might mean some limitations on minutes for Edwards, but we'll see how well he does. Naharyia is not one of the stronger teams in this league, but its a nice city by the Mediterranian with a good fanbase and without too much pressure. He's a nice player and I hope he does well and is available for the NT this winter.

Mirotic12 · Post #12 » by **Mirotic12** » Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:03 am

mojo, you asked about if Ennis was signed to be Fener's main point guard and the answer is no. He was probably signed to be either their main 2 guard or second 2 guard. Fener's guard rotation looks like this (keep in mind there is no such thing as "starters" and "bench" in EuroLeague, so any player can start or not start.

PG Kostas Sloukas / Bobby Dixon / Sinan Guler
SG Tyler Ennis or Marko Guduric (starting really isn't a thing in EuroLeague)

Considering they have Sloukas, Dixon, and Guler that all need the ball, and play at the one, I doubt that Ennis is going to be playing at point guard. I would think he will be replacing Brad Wanamaker, who was their main two guard last year, and signed with the Celtics. Fener uses 3 guard lineups a lot, and they also play 2 point guards together a lot.

frumble · Post #13 » by **frumble** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 12:47 am

The September home game against Brazil will be in Laval.

http://www.basketball.ca/en/news-article/place-bell-in-laval-to-host-upcoming-fiba-basketball-world-cup-2

mojo13 · Post #14 » by **mojo13** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:24 pm

Xavier Rathan Mayes signs with AEK Athens in the Greek league.

Mirotic - give us your thoughts on AEK and the fit.

Solid club right? I think this is the same team Phil Scrubb signed with as a rookie but he was not ready and was loaned out.

This should keep XRM available to Canada in the Nov and Feb windows. He could be our starting PG on those teams, which I’d be happy about.

And Conner Morgan signs with Joventut of the ACB. Fairly impressive for a CIS guy to go straight into the ACB. One to watch.
https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/541631/Conor-Morgan-agreed-terms-with-Joventut

Mirotic12 · Post #15 » by **Mirotic12** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:46 pm

mojo13 wrote:Xavier Rathan Mayes signs with AEK Athens in the Greek league.

Mirotic - give us your thoughts on AEK and the fit.

Solid club right? I think this is the same team Phil Scrubb signed with as a rookie but he was not ready and was loaned out.

This should keep XRM available to Canada in the Nov and Feb windows. He could be our starting PG on those teams, which I’d be happy about.

And Conner Morgan signs with Joventut of the ACB. Fairly impressive for a CIS guy to go straight into the ACB. One to watch.
https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/541631/Conor-Morgan-agreed-terms-with-Joventut

AEK has the biggest budget in Champions League and won it last season, and also won the Greek Cup last season. It's more like a EuroLeague team / elite level EuroCup team, since their budget is higher than those teams playing in EuroLeague recently like Red Star, Zalgiris, and Budocnost.

As for competition - it's in Champions League which is about the same level as EuroCup, and a higher level than Spanish League. And also of course in Greek League, which is still one of the best national leagues in Europe.

They hired a new coach this season that plays a Mike D'Antoni style of basketball. So it should be a good fit for him, if he can make 3 pointers, since the coach emphasized tons of 3 point shooting.

frumble · Post #16 » by **frumble** » Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:33 pm

Heslip signs with Frankfurt (EuroCup)

http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/8wsfhumvqggfiutm/skyliners-sign-shooting-ace-heslip

mojo13 · Post #17 » by **mojo13** » Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:10 pm

frumble wrote:Heslip signs with Frankfurt (EuroCup)

http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/8wsfhumvqggfiutm/skyliners-sign-shooting-ace-heslip

Great. Gets to play for Coach Gordie Herbert and fill the long line of departed Canadians - Phil Scrubb, Aaron Doornekamp and more I think. Heslip hasnt had much luck professionally so hopefully this gives him a stable environment and paycheck he needs.

Not sure if anyone followed the happenings at Trabzonspor, for which he averaged 16.0 points and 2.3 assists per game in the Turkish League least season. I am not sure if I have the full story but midseason they stopped paying him and the other foreign imports so the import players went on "strike" at a point where the team could get relegated (a big deal). It seems Brady took the brunt of the blame for encouraging the others to "strike" with the fans turning mostly on him and running him out of town. Yet another example how Euro leagues can be quite shady - Khem Birch has referenced a number of times that the best thing about being in the NBA is actually getting paid what you are owed and on time. For how high profile Brady is in our Canadian minds, it seems he has bounced around allot and never gotten much of a payday. Just considering the cultural stereotypes I can't help to think the German BSL is a more stable financial environment - with a more defined rule of law backing up player contract. The paydays in the Turkish League could be much higher, but the risk of not getting paid seems much higher as well. Maybe the rest of you know better, but the contracts in the Turkish League often don't seem worth the paper they are written on.

Hair Canada · Post #18 » by **Hair Canada** » Wed Aug 1, 2018 3:13 am

mojo13 wrote:
frumble wrote:Heslip signs with Frankfurt (EuroCup)

http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/8wsfhumvqggfiutm/skyliners-sign-shooting-ace-heslip

Great. Gets to play for Coach Gordie Herbert and fill the long line of departed Canadians - Phil Scrubb, Aaron Doornekamp and more I think. Heslip hasnt had much luck professionally so hopefully this gives him a stable environment and paycheck he needs.

Not sure if anyone followed the happenings at Trabzonspor, for which he averaged 16.0 points and 2.3 assists per game in the Turkish League least season. I am not sure if I have the full story but midseason they stopped paying him and the other foreign imports so the import players went on "strike" at a point where the team could get relegated (a big deal). It seems Brady took the brunt of the blame for encouraging the others to "strike" with the fans turning mostly on him and running him out of town. Yet another example how Euro leagues can be quite shady - Khem Birch has referenced a number of times that the best thing about being in the NBA is actually getting paid what you are owed and on time. For how high profile Brady is in our Canadian minds, it seems he has bounced around allot and never gotten much of a payday. Just considering the cultural stereotypes I can't help to think the German BSL is a more stable financial environment - with a more defined rule of law backing up player contract. The paydays in the Turkish League could be much higher, but the risk of not getting paid seems much higher as well. Maybe the rest of you know better, but the contracts in the Turkish League often don't seem worth the paper they are written on.

Yes, nice to see that he got this. And you are right, in Germany pay is quite reliable, while in places like Turkey and Greece pay is very unreliable in many of the teams.

WellYouKnow · Post #19 » by **WellYouKnow** » Wed Aug 1, 2018 3:38 pm

mojo13 wrote:Xavier Rathan Mayes signs with AEK Athens in the Greek league.

Mirotic - give us your thoughts on AEK and the fit.

Solid club right? I think this is the same team Phil Scrubb signed with as a rookie but he was not ready and was loaned out.

This should keep XRM available to Canada in the Nov and Feb windows. He could be our starting PG on those teams, which I’d be happy about.

And Conner Morgan signs with Joventut of the ACB. Fairly impressive for a CIS guy to go straight into the ACB. One to watch.
https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/541631/Conor-Morgan-agreed-terms-with-Joventut

I was talking about Conor a bit in the last thread. I love his game. Hes got serious size, athleticism and offensive talent. One of the best players to come out of cis in a long time imo

mojo13 · Post #20 » by **mojo13** » Thu Aug 2, 2018 6:57 pm

More Qualifier team relevant signings:

Kaza Keane to Lanstede Basketbal Zwolle of the Dutch league. Dutch Basketball League (DBL), the Dutch top tier division. Don't know much baout that team or league. But hopefully that keeps him available if needed - he was close by and very available with the 905.
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Holland/Landstede-Basketbal-Zwolle/1249

Kenny Chery to Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the French Pro A (top division). He played quite well in the ACB last season and this seems a little of a step down (maybe?). He has not played for Canada recently but with how he played in the ACB last season I thought he was a solid under the radar PG who could help if needed.
https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/542464/Boulazac-inks-Kenny-Chery

Manny Diressa signs with FMP Beograd a fairly solid team in the Serbian League and Adriatic League. This should be a good test for him as a rookie pro.
https://www.usbasket.com/Canada/news/542466/FMP-Beograd-lands-Ammanuel-Diressa,-ex-Ryerson

All these guys should be available in the Qualifier windows.