Suns sign Courtney Sims

[Folster]

Just heard it on the KTAR news break. I think it was a ten day contract.

 

[Folster]

Gambo just confirmed it. Will fly to New York to get his physical tomorrow and should be available after passing.

 

[HooverDam]

I guess it makes sense, since losing Diaw they've been short a big body. With LB playing a lot of PG minutes, they don't need another PG to sit on the bench and rot. Hopefully this guy can play well in practice, hustle his butt off and maybe do something in a few games.

 

[Mulli]

:championship:

 

[Folster]

He'll probably play over Lopez?

 

[Folster]

Good d-leage write-up from draft express about Sims.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/D-League-Showcase--Day-Two-3075/

What to make of Courtney Sims’ Numbers?

Jonathan Givony

It’s hard not to take notice of the amazing numbers Courtney Sims has been putting up in the D-League so far. Through 12 games, he’s averaging 23 points, nearly 13 rebounds, 3 turnovers and 2.8 blocks in 40 minutes per game, shooting an outstanding 58.5% from the field—making him the #1 rebounder in the league, the #2 shot-blocker, the #3 scorer, and #2 in PER. Already a per-minute monster last season, as you can see in his advanced stats profile page now he’s doing it for entire games. Is his production something that will translate to an NBA setting? We’re watching him closely in Orem to try and gather as many clues as we can to help make that assessment. This is what we managed to piece together.

Sims is a pretty unique prospect as far as the D-League is concerned. He has great size, nice length and a decent (although certainly improvable) frame, to go along with solid athleticism. His hands are very good and his touch is absolutely terrific, making him an excellent presence in the post at this level of competition. Right off the bat he showed a very good feel for the game, making some heady post-entry passes on high/low plays.

What really separates him from other D-League big men is his ability to create his own shot. He can put the ball on the floor and has very nice footwork and wherewithal in the post, executing pivot moves and spinning to either shoulder to get his shot off. He lacks strength finishing around the rim or trying to back down his man while grinding in the post, but the skill-level of his finesse moves allow him to create high percentage opportunities on a regular basis when he’s getting touches. He also showed the ability to step out to mid-range and knock down 18 foot jumpers, again showing great touch, which is certainly reflected in his free throw stroke—at over 75% on the season. He gets to the line at a great rate (his ability to attack defenses off the dribble plays a huge role here), which is a big reason why he’s been scoring at such a nice rate this season.

Defensively, Sims still has plenty of room for improvement, as he gave up position far too easily in the paint and also did a poor job for the most part rotating to meet slashers in the paint. He has the length to contest shots, but does not have very good awareness on this end of the floor, probably lacking some toughness as well as strength. Considering what his role would be in the NBA, this is definitely an issue if he’s to see quality minutes as a rotation player. He seems to lose his focus quite easily, especially when a bad call goes against him—leading him to completely lose his composure.

Sims already has some very minimal experience in the NBA, having made Indiana’s roster last year. He looks like he’s improved quite a bit since then, and it wouldn’t shock us at all to see some team decide to call him up sometime soon to see just how good he actually is.

Which brings us to our next storyline: What to make of D-League numbers? Naysayers will say that there are no big men in the D-League, that no one plays any defense, that half the teams don’t look like they are being coached, practices are a joke, that team scoring averages are about 20% higher than the NBA, the pace is much faster than in “real basketball”, that players blatantly stat-pad and cherry pick, wins and losses mean absolutely nothing to most, and that the intensity level and competitiveness of players are often close to nil.

Some of this may very well have merit, and it’s something that D-League coaches and officials are quick to point out that they need to fix. It’s difficult when the league has been so rapidly expanding year by year—not due to demand—which necessitates bringing in more and more players each year, and thus waters down the pool of talent on a nightly basis. More competitive salaries (D-League salaries for 08-09 stand at $25,500, for “A” players [usually two on a team], $19,000 for “B” players [also two] and $13,000 for “C” players) would help matters greatly, but when former D-Leaguers like Kris Lang and Terrell McIntyre are pulling in over a million dollars per year, while dozens are others are easily netting six figures in Europe, it’s tough to lure them with the remote hope of an NBA call-up.

From what we can see after two days, and from the many conversations we’ve had with NBA executives here, the D-League still has a long ways to go before being considered a legit farm system for NBA teams. They want to see better competition here, which can only stem from fixing some of the many issues laid out above. The most important thing from what we can see is increasing the salaries to lure better talent, stop expanding and watering down the talent level year after year, and doing a better job preparing players for how to be successful on a competitive team (which means maybe not even keeping stats, to discourage the constant trend of players just trying to put up numbers).

 

[Andrew]

I have no idea who this guy is.

 

[Griffin]

I don't mind this signing. But the idea that he might be more helpful than Lopez just shows yet again that the Suns really didn't have to waste a mid-first round pick on a player when similar players (in terms of both size and potential) can be gotten in the second round or from the D-League at a much cheaper price and shorter contracts.

Hopefully Sims is a good fundamental rebounder and can help in that area.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Amare-lite

 

[Mainstreet]

His stats in the NBA with Indiana really look solid.

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/courtney_sims/career_stats.html

Maybe the Suns should have looked at players like Sean Marks and Pat Burke again. And the Suns let Brian Skinner go?

 

[arwillan]

he's ugly as hell, that much is certain.

 

[Mainstreet]

he's ugly as hell, that much is certain.

He does remind me of some other center... maybe Calvin Booth?

 

[mojorizen7]

Courtney Sims just played his final game for the Iowa Energy for a while.
After the Suns D-League affiliate's game today, Sims is flying out of Des Moines to join the Suns on Tuesday in New York City, where he will sign a 10-day contract to get PHX back to the NBA 13-man roster minimum.
Sims, 25, is a 6-foot-11, 230-pound center for Iowa who can play power forward and center and is a particularly good pick-and-pop player. He has improved his game since last year, when he made 11 minutes worth of appearances over three games with the Indiana Pacers before finishing his season with Iowa.
He has gone from coming off the bench last season for 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game to being the D-League's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer entering Monday's games. Today, he made a last-second turnaround to tie the game against Fort Wayne, only to have an alleyoop beat the Energy at the buzzer.
Sims, a former Michigan star, was in New Orleans' camp this fall.
Sims hit a last-second turnaround for Iowa today, only to have the Energy lose.
The Suns can sign Sims to a maximum of two 10-day contracts before they either have to sign another player or sign him for the remainder of the season. The Suns could continue to cycle various players on 10-day contracts for the remainder of the season.
Tuesday was the deadline for Phoenix to fill its roster after waiving Dee Brown two weeks ago.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2009/01/19/20090119sunssims-CR.html?source=nletter-sports

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I know nothing of this kid.

 

[Covert Rain]

It wouldn't surprise me if he does nothing. Then again, could he be much worse then Robin Lopez????

 

[Mainstreet]

It wouldn't surprise me if he does nothing. Then again, could he be much worse then Robin Lopez????

I was thinking Hendrix might have been a better signing than Sims because he appears like an inside player that likes to bang. On paper he reads like a poor man's Al Jefferson. I bet the difference maker to the Suns was that Amundson has much the same skills as Hendrix. If Sims is better than Lopez it is a scary proposition for the Suns future.

 

[arwillan]

It wouldn't surprise me if he does nothing. Then again, could he be much worse then Robin Lopez????

he did lead the d-league in rebounding. so if he can do a little bit of that, he's already lite years ahead of lopez

 

[Bufalay]

I have no idea who this guy is.

Unnecessary

 

[HooverDam]

I have no idea who this guy is.

Let me google him for you then!

 

[Folster]

Let me google him for you then!

Sshh! Don't tell him my secrets.

 

[jagu]

Yawwn. He will get 1 minute per game for 10 days and get released.

 

[dodie53]

this means the suns are going to trade Amare!
hehe

 

[elindholm]

The writeup on Sims sounds good to me. I say start him over Stoudemire.

 

[jagu]

The writeup on Sims sounds good to me. I say start him over Stoudemire.

Id start Amundson over Amare.

 

[Mainstreet]

Id start Amundson over Amare.

If you reach this conclusion, Amare should be packing his bags because he needs to be traded.

 

[jagu]

If you reach this conclusion, Amare should be packing his bags because he needs to be traded.

Sadly, yes. Man I used to brag to my friends here in NY about Amare. He was my favorite player. I'm fed up with his laziness and cluelessness on defense. I rather have Amundson out there. Really.