Over the next two days, the Charlotte Bobcats will be hosting a free-agent mini-camp at Time Warner Arena. The goal of the camp is to give the Bobcats a look at some players who could possibly be invited to join their Summer League team, which will be competing in Orlando. Of course many of these players could also surface on another NBA team's summer league squad as well. The list of invited players contains many with NBA D-League experience, so let's take a closer look at who will be there.
Ryan Ayers: The 6-7 Ayers heads south after taking part in this weekend's Elite Mini-Camp. He started a good amount of games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants as a rookie and was one of the NBA D-League's top three-point shooters. He made three or more three-pointers in 18 different games this season.
Devin Green: Green, a 6-7 swingman who played for the Lakers back in the 2005-06 season, has plenty of NBA D-League experience. He was an all-star caliber player for the D-Fenders during the 06-07 and 07-08 seasons, but left to play overseas in both years before earning a call-up. More recently he has played for the Spurs and the Timberwovles during the NBA preseasons before taking his game back across the Atlantic to play in Europe. He spent the 2009-10 season in Greece and should be in demand for summer league with his extensive pro experience.
Othello Hunter: The 6-8 Hunter, who college fans saw in the Final Four with Greg Oden and company at Ohio State, made the Atlanta Hawks as a free agent in 2008-09 and saw a brief cameo in the NBA D-League on assignment with the Anaheim Arsenal. He started this season in Atlanta before moving overseas to play in Greece. Other than Atlanta where he saw limited time, Hunter has always been a solid rebounder who will likely be seen on an NBA summer league team as a player with two seasons on NBA experience.
Trey Johnson: Johnson has spent part of the last three seasons as a member of the Bakersfield Jam, where he earned a GATORADE Call-Up to Cleveland and an NBA D-League All-Star berth during the 2008-09 season. Johnson has manned both guard positions for Bakersfield in his career and also opened eyes with an impressive showing at the 2009 Las Vegas Summer League as a member of the NBA D-League Select team. After returning to Bakersfield from overseas late this season, he posted a terrific line of 21.3 points and 7.1 assists to close out the 2009-10 campaign. He is a talented offensive player who seems to be on the cusp of sticking on an NBA roster, so he will be a player to watch this summer.
Bobby Jones: Jones, a former Washington teammate of the likes of Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, and Will Conroy, is one of the most well-traveled players in NBA D-League history. The 6-7 swingman, a lockdown defender, received no less than four GATORADE Call-Ups to four different NBA teams from the Sioux Falls Skyforce during the 2007-08 season. He returned to Sioux Falls for the entire 2008-09 season, where he averaged 16.3 points and 7.7 boards but kept his bags in the vicinity of the Sioux Falls area. After playing for Portland in the last year's summer league Jones took his game overseas to Italy in 2009-10. With sis stellar defense and willingness to do anything to help his team, Jones could earn an NBA roster spot in the right situation.
Yarloslav Korolev: Korolev was also at the Elite Mini-Camp this weekend after an up and down NBA D-League season split between Reno and Albuquerque. A former NBA first-round pick, Korolev stands 6-9 but is more of a perimeter player. He showed flashes of scoring ability in the NBA D-League this season but was plagued by inconsistency, and also saw his minutes take a dip after being traded to Reno. His games at the NBA D-League Showcase were a microcoms as he scored 20 with seven boards in his first game and then disappeared with only two points in his second game. Korolev will likely never live up to his 12th overall selection by the Clippers but can be an intriguing offensive prospect with some more seasoning, as he's still only 23 years old.
Kurt Looby: The NBA D-League's premier shot blocker over the past two seasons, Looby has gone from a very raw big man to getting on the radar of NBA teams after spending two NBA D-League seasons with Rio Grande Valley, Albuquerque, and Maine. Looby split this season between three teams, but managed to set a new NBA D-League record by blocking 166 shots. Prior to the season he was in training camp with the Denver Nuggets and also played for the aforementioned NBA D-League Select team. A native of Antigua, Looby is still relatively new to basketball but can find himself on an NBA roster as he continues to develop his game.
Isma'il Muhammed: A 6-6 forward, Muhammed has been drafted twice by NBA D-League teams (Albuquerque in 2006, Utah in 2007) but has yet to play during the regular season. He spent two seasons in Saudi Arabia before splitting the 2009-10 campaign between Australia and Columbia.
DeMarcus Nelson: Nelson went from starting rookie point guard with Golden State to the NBA D-League's Austin Toros during the 2008-09 season before he returned to the NBA via a late call-up to the Chicago Bulls. A 6-4 guard, Nelson showed a good all-around game during his short tenure in Austin, averaging 23.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 11 games. He spent the 2009-10 season in Italy where he averaged 8.9 points per game on 53% shooting. With four solid years at Duke and some NBA starting experience, Nelson would be an asset for any NBA team this summer.
Larry Owens: A veteran of the French and Belgian leagues, Owens returned to the U.S. this season and turned in an excellent year with the Tulsa 66ers, leading them to a berth in the Finals. A 6-7 wing, Owens displayed a lot of scoring ability with 16.2 points on 52% shooting while giving coach Nate Tibbetts a reliable component to a Tulsa lineup that often resembled a revolving door due to assignments and call-ups. He stepped up his game in the playoff run to the Finals and will be looking to put himself further on the NBA radar this summer. He played for the Hornets in last year's summer league.
Pape Sow: Sow appeared in the NBA D-League way back in 2005-06 with Arkansas on assignment from the Raptors. Sow was pretty dominant on assignment, putting up 19.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 18 games, but never really worked his way into the Toronto rotation and was slowed by a neck injury suffered during the 2006 Summer League. After leaving the NBA, Sow has spent the past few seasons in Italy and Spain. The 6-10 center has also been a key member of Senegal's national team.
Chris Taft: A former All-BIG EAST player at Pitt and a second round pick by the Golden State Warriors in 2005, Taft started the 2007-08 season in the NBA D-League with Rio Grande Valley before dislocating his foot in January of 2008. The 6-10 forward hasn't played since but looks to be on the comeback trail this summer.
P.J. Tucker: An undersized 6-6 forward with great athleticism, Tucker was on assignment to the Colorado 14ers in 2006-07 when he was waived by Toronto, ending his NBA D-League stint after averaging 10.7 points in 19 games. Since then the former Texas star has bounced between the Israel and Ukraine while returning to America to play in NBA summer leagues, most recently with Memphis in 2008. Tucker is coming off of an excellent season in Israel so we will see if he can work his way back into the NBA this summer.
