Dizzy Yet? Claws Make Moves

With the home opener looming Friday night in Portland (8PM vs. Springfield, Portland Expo, sold out), the Maine Red Claws have made a number of roster moves since the preseason game. Players were cut by the team, some were assigned, and the Charlotte Bobcats made their first assignment of the season.

Only one of the recent roster moves was the result of an NBA assignment; most were independent actions by the Red Claws. The day of the preseason game Scooter McFadgon was waived, so Maine fans never saw the 6'5" shooting guard in action. Mike Williams, signed through tryouts, was activated for the preseason game.

The following day, Blair and Clement were waived. Clement, a Maine native and a graduate of Maine Maritime Academy, was a fan favorite in the preseason. In that game he only played 4:35 with 2 points and 1 rebound. Tyrelle Blair, a Boston College graduate, played 15:15 in the preseason game with 2 points and 5 rebounds.

After the Claws returned from their Dakotas road trip, the Charlotte Bobcats assigned Frenchman Alexis Ajinca, a 7-foot center, to the team. His first appearance will be in tomorrow's home opener. Last year Ajinca appeared in 11 D-League games with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Finally, the Claws gained a few players with NBA experience. On Monday, the Claws acquired Trey Gilder, recently of the Memphis Grizzlies, dropping Gary Ervin to make room. Gilder, a 6’9" forward from Northwestern State, had seen little playing time in the NBA. Then on Tuesday, the Claws acquired Mario West, a 6’5" swingman who’s seen NBA time with the Atlanta Hawks, sending Stanley Thomas packing.

Dizzy yet? We can only hope the roster settles somewhat as the season continues. So here’s your summary of moves made since the preseason game:

IN: Mario West, Trey Gilder, Mike Williams

OUT: Scooter McFadgon, Tyrelle Blair, Matt Clement, Gary Ervin and Stanley Thomas

ASSIGNED: Alexis Ajinca, from the Charlotte Bobcats

You can watch tomorrow's home opener (and all D-League games) for free online at http://www.nba.com/dleague

Red Claws Road Recap

The Maine Red Claws, the D-League affiliate of the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats, officially began their inaugural season on the road over the weekend. They played the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Friday night in South Dakota and the Dakota Wizards Saturday night in North Dakota. This sort of short road trip is common for the D-League.

The Claws split the weekend, returning home 1-1 after their jaunt to the Dakotas. They fell to Sioux Falls 112-95 on Friday, but defeated Dakota 107-97 on Saturday. In both games Billy Thomas (the first player signed with the team) and Bill Walker led the team in scoring. Walker had a double-double on Friday with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 assists, but on Saturday had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and no assists in much less playing time. Thomas had 18 points on both nights.

The Friday night game was competitive despite the final score, with the Claws only behind by five at the half. Sioux Falls pulled away in both quarters in the second half, however, and F Reggie Williams, a VMI product, finished the night with 29 points. On Saturday the Claws seemed to have a much more balanced approach, with points spread across more players.

The Claws will now have four days of rest before the Friday night home opener. This is fairly typical for the D-League, where most games (about two-thirds) are played on the weekend to maximize attendance. When the Red Claws play their first home game on Friday I'll be keeping a close eye on Walker to see how integrated he is with the rest of the team after two games. I suspect he'll see a lot of time on Friday after only playing about 13 minutes on Saturday. This will also work well for the team marketing-wise, to have the one assigned Celtic play more during the home opener.

It will also be interesting to see if Charlotte assigns any players to Maine before the home opener. The Bobcats have four players eligible for D-League assignment: Alexis Ajinca, D.J. Augustin, Derrick Brown, and Gerald Henderson. Ajinca and Brown are the likeliest of these to be shipped up to Maine, as Augustin and Henderson seem to be seeing regular playing time off the bench for Charlotte. Plus, Henderson is a favorite of both MJ and local crowds, so the idea of him being sent to Maine is remote.

UPDATE: Alexis Ajinca, the 7-foot French Center/Power Forward was assigned to Portland.

For Boston, J.R. Giddens and Lester Hudson are the other two players eligible for D-League assignment. Neither have seen much playing time so far this season, and as Tony Allen and Glen Davis return from injury they are likely to be pushed from the bench to the D-League.

It will certainly be an interesting season for the Red Claws. While I'll be paying special attention to Giddens, Hudson, & Walker, I'm also looking forward to seeing all the D-League players, including those assigned by Charlotte. Based on the preseason game and the first two regular-season games, it looks like we'll be getting an exciting year in Portland.