Final Training Camp additions and some coaching staff news

[Dead_Real]

Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins today announced that the team has signed Andre Brown, Donell Taylor and Marcus Williams. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed. The team now has 17 players under contract entering training camp, which begins on Tuesday, September 30, the first of six straight days at UNC Wilmington’s Trask Coliseum.

Brown (6-9, 245 pounds) is a two-year NBA veteran who has played 71 career games for Seattle and Memphis with career averages of 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7.8 minutes. Last season in Memphis, he saw action in 33 games and averaged 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 8.6 minutes. Taylor (6-5, 193 pounds) appeared in 98 career NBA games with Washington from 2005-07 after being signed on Aug. 16, 2005 as an undrafted rookie. He spent the 2007-08 season in Greece and Belgium. Williams (6-7, 207 pounds) was drafted by San Antonio in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft (33rd overall). He was waived prior to the start of the season and re-signed on Dec. 26, but appeared in only one game before being waived again three days later. Williams was signed by the L.A. Clippers on March 28 for the remainder of the season.

Higgins also announced additions to the basketball operations staff, including LaSalle Thompson, who now moves to full-time assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff, from his previous role as strength and conditioning coach. Former NBA standout Dell Curry returns to the organization in a full-time capacity as the Director of Player Development, a position he held in the team’s first three seasons. Michael Irr joins the Bobcats as the new strength and conditioning coach after spending the last two seasons in Chicago as assistant strength and conditioning coach
http://www.nba.com/bobcats/08_camp_roster_set.html

Don't know much about Andre Brown but I thought coming into the league Marcus Williams would be a nice piece for the Spurs but hasn't panned out. Last I heard he was the leading scorer on his D-League team last year.

[ammofan]

sweet.....I liked Marcus Williams in the draft

[Slam]

sweet.....I liked Marcus Williams in the draft
Same.

Before his last season at Zona I had him down as a top ten draft pick - then he just sort of trailed off during the season and was pretty much off the radar by draft day.

I saw him as a poor mans Grant Hill. Moved well with and without the ball, good handles, rebounded well, could play some point forward.

If we didn't already have a slew of SF's I would love to give him a roster spot.


The other thing that stood out to me in the piece was LaSalle Thompson. Me wonders if he is the guy that LB has hand picked to groom to take over the head coaching job in 3 or 4 years time when LB is ready to hang them up? Sucsesion management perhaps?

That's my guess.

[TheLegend]

Andre Brown is pretty good. He reminds me a bit of Josh Smith.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoQt29B2__g

[Dead_Real]

^That guy has no problem finding a roster spot.
http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/marcuswilliamsaz.html


NBA Comparison: Steve Smith
Strengths: Versatile player who creates mismatches at his position ... Excellent ball handler who uses his crossover to get past defenders ... Moves well without the ball ... Decent finisher around the basket ... Possesses great court awareness and understands how to utilize his versatility to attack opposing defenses ... When motivated, Williams can be a very good rebounder ... Excels at taking one or two dribbles and pulling up from mid-range ... Talented passer who sees the floor extremely well ... Showed great composure even as a freshman ... Has three point range on his jumper ... Has a scorer's mentality and can put up points in bunches ... Uses mismatches to his advantage as he is capable of using decent post up skills against smaller players ... When Williams is driving he does a great job of drawing contact and getting to the free throw line ... Has played the game this year with a better attitude and has worked on being more mentally tough ... His combination of a 7 foot wing span and his skill set with the ball is illegal ...

Weaknesses: Not a cloud piercing athlete like most at his position ... This has led some to question if he can guard NBA shooting guards ... Defensively he doesn't always play with enough intensity ... Rarely disrupts the passing lanes and doesn't show great defensive footwork ... Settles for jumpers too much at times instead of driving into the lane ... Not a big fan of physical contact, which can bring up the question of his toughness ... Shot selection is questionable ... Could stand to gain more upper body strength ... Doesn't finish after contact occurs ... Has battled this year with consistency as his jump shot has been streaky ... Tends to be a little careless with the ball ... Is prone to making poor decisions during crucial points of a game ... Has really struggled this year shooting from the free throw line ...
Matthew Maurer - 1/5/2007
Strengths: A silky smooth wing ... Very advanced at this stage of his development ... Jumper rarely scrapes the rim ... Range past the 3-point line, but his real strength is his midrange game ... Excellent ball-handling ability ... Excels facing up his opponent and taking him off the dribble ... Can create his own shot almost at will ... Terrific length for the position ... Highly developed court awareness ... Finishes well at the rim ... Good quickness ... Versatile ... Game comes very easy to him ... Great upside ... Has the potential to be special ... Has an 83 inch (7-1) wingspan ...

Weaknesses: Consistency ... Has a tendency to drift in and out of games ... Needs at least 10 more pounds of muscle, which will help against more physical small forwards ... Often finds himself out of position on defense ... Settles for jump shots too often ... Reluctant to take smaller players down low ... Not very comfortable in the paint ... Needs to improve rebounding ... A good passer, but has the ability and the vision to be better ... Should be a much better free throw shooter ... Above average, but not a phenomenal athlete ... Quiet personality, needs to become more assertive ...
Sounds like a solid passer and ball handler that can play either the 1 as well as run the wing love his size at 6"7.

Also to Slam I think your right about LaSalle Thompson I believe either him or Phil Ford will take over for Brown when he leaves.

[TheBeagle]

Either don't remeber or never heard of Brown or Williams, but I like the move with LT going from strength to the bench, and bringing in a guy who has strength experience. Just like that, we have our big man coach, and hopefully a competent strength man. Kudos to another minor, but important staff decision!

[tamburello]

Our roster is almost set, so I don't see any of them making the regular season roster. The only possible candidate would be Andre Brown, considering our thin frontcourt.

[Ghost Kat]

To be honest i know nothing about any of these guys,But seeing as some of you who do know them seem excited maybe i should do some homework on them. Only thin that caught my eye really was having Dell curry back at player development. I've always been a Dell Curry fan so anytime he's involved with making my team better i'm i'll for it.