Max Contracts Don't Grow On Trees, You Know

by Sean Keeley on Jul 5, 2007 1:39 PM EDT

Rashard Lewis and Chauncy Billups might be the talk of the NBA contract world right now, but what about the guys on the other end of the spectrum? The guys just trying to make a roster or find a home in the pros? There's a few Syracuse guys in the mix right now trying to do just that.

Jason Hart, he who was almost a savior for the Clippers last year inasmuch as getting your team an 8-seed makes you a savior, is on the market and getting some buzz. Via CNY in the Pros, I learned the Nuggets have called Hart's agent to inquire about his availability (read: contract demands). Meanwhile the Celtics are in need of a point guard and at least one newspaper seems to think Hart could make it work in green.

Meanwhile, you already know Gerry McNamara's much-documented quest to make a pro roster is in full swing in Philadelphia and G-Mac is doing everything he can.

"I've dropped eight pounds since I left the "D' League," said McNamara, who attended Game 3 of the Sixers-Lakers 2001 NBA Finals as a high school junior. "I've been working out pretty hard, and I'm a little quicker. I think I'm stronger because of it. I'm just trying to get better individually and hopefully that translates to me playing better on the floor."

Alas, things took a bad turn Wednesday:

Former Syracuse star guard Gerry McNamara, a free agent vying for a spot on the Sixers summer league squad, went down awkwardly at the tail end of Wednesday's scrimmage. He was immediately taken off the court, where he was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain. He'll be re-evaluated today.

And then there's Terrence Roberts, the lone Syracuse big man from the 2007 class who was not drafted or signed as a free agent. No word on if there's interest yet from any teams. But don't tell Tom at Cuse Country that Roberts doesn't deserve a spot on an NBA roster:

...In everything from the pre-draft buzz to the draft day reality, the absence of one man’s name from the chatter seemed inexplicable. Left out of the field was a chiseled 6-9 athlete carrying 230 pounds of pure muscle. A man with the heart of a lion, and the power, hunger, and coachability of a Kodiak bear. That’s right, NBA general managers. Right about now you should be getting that sinking feeling like you just left your ATM card at a gas station 200 miles back. The time has come for you to explain to your fans how you let Terrence Roberts slip through the cracks.

If the film Grizzly Man taught us nothing, it's the coachability of Kodiak bears.

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