For many in the United States when a player signs a contract to play overseas it marks the end of their NBA dreams. This has changed a little over the past few years as some high profile players have signed on to play in Europe and then made their way back to the NBA. And while European leagues have gained respect in the public’s view, Asia is still considered to be a place where people who can’t make it or can no longer hack it run off to. While there is still an element of truth to this still, every year veterans of the Asian leagues are becoming more common in both the NBA and the Sumer League. Below I have listed out each player under the league in which they played in Asia and a little about them. Players with a * designation played in Orlando last week.

ASEAN Basketball League

See Jarrid Famous in the PBA section.

bj League (Japan)

Justin Burrell (Golden State) – The bj League MVP this past season was all-around awesome for Yokohama this past season. He led the expansion club to a second place finish in the Eastern Conference. Burrell best bet to make the Warriors training camp this fall is to show off his all-around game. The Warriors have enough scorers and will be looking for players willing to do the little things needed to win games.

Kevin Palmer (LA Lakers) – To me, Palmer was the biggest signing this past season for the bj League, as he came very close to securing a spot with the Wizards the season prior, and played very well in the D-League. After torching the bj League for almost 22 points a game, Palmer is out to prove to the Laker front office that he can provide offense off the bench (not one of their strengths).

*Devin Searcy (Philadelphia) – Searcy had a very productive year for the Toyama Grouses. He averaged a double-double of 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds. He played very well for the 76ers providing over 7 points and 7 rebounds per game, while also providing the kind of hustle and energy you don’t always see at the Summer League. He even lead the team in scoring during the final game. For a player that only averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds a game at the University of Dayton, Searcy’s progress is truly remarkable. Of the four Asia-vets in Orlando, Searcy was the only one that I feel truly earned an invite to Training Camp in the fall. If nothing else, Searcy earned himself a nice pay raise for next season.

Jeremy Tyler (Golden State) – After watching every minute Tyler played in Japan two seasons ago and catching a number of his Warriors games at the end of the season it is very clear what Tyler needs to show in the Summer League. Is Tyler ready to play inside? Or is he content to shoot fadeaways and try to finesse his way inside? The Warriors do not need a stretch 4 with shooters like Curry, Thompson, Barnes, and Jenkins. If Tyler does not start using his athleticism and strength inside he is going to lose minutes to rookie Festus Ezeli in a hurry.

Chinese Basketball Association

Clearly the most represented of all the Asian leagues at the Summer League, the CBA benefited more than any other league from last season’s lockout. While Stephon Marbury, J.R. Smith, Wilson Chandler, and Kenyon Martin made the most headlines a number of young prospects also took their game to China.

Josh Akognon (Sacramento) – This guy can score! He averaged 28 a game for Dongguan while leading the team to the playoffs. The question about Akognon that still persists is whether or not he can run a team as he only averaged 3 assists a game in China. Jimmer already has the “undersized shooting guard” spot filled on the Kings, and I don’t think many teams want two on their squad.

Rodney Carney (Toronto) – With 5 seasons in the NBA, even casual fans probably know what Carney’s game is all about. His athleticism translated to almost 22 points a game for Liaoning this past season. My problem watching Carney this past season was that the rest of his production in every other area was underwhelming. I remember people comparing him to Iguodala when he first came in the league because of his athleticism and ability to impact the game in many ways. What I saw this past year in China was an offense-focused athlete. Does the NBA need any more of these?

Mardy Collins (D-League) – Collins just barely qualifies for this list as he only lasted four games in Jiangsu this past season. He came back to play for the eventual D-League runner-up LA Defenders. Collins will always hang around the League as he is good at a number of things. The problem is that he just isn’t great at anything.

Andre Emmett (D-League) – CBA scoring legend and veteran of two seasons in China, Emmett can put the ball in the hoop. He will always be on NBA teams’ radars as he is an elite scorer. The only question is whether or not 30 is getting too old for someone at the end of a team’s bench.  

Mike Harris(Minnesota) – Harris seems to have almost stuck on a NBA team a number of times over the past few years. With the lockout Harris took off for China where he averaged over 23 points a contest with the Shanghai Sharks. 2012 has proved very busy for Harris though as immediately after leaving China he hooked up with a Puerto Rican team for 36 games. Does Minnesota need another scoring guard at the end of the bench? And if so, can he beat Jet Chang for the spot?

David Harrison (Dallas) – Harrison is perhaps best remembered for his four years with the Pacers, but he is a well-known face in China as well as he has played for three different teams over the past four years. Harrison’s M.O. remains the same no matter where he plays. He is an average rebounder for a 7-footer, but shoots a ridiculously high percentage from the field. After a brief stint in the D-League to end the season, Harrison will look to parlay his size into a contract from a team desperate for a cheap serviceable third string center.

Othello Hunter (Charlotte) – Former Atlanta Hawk, D-League vet, and European import, Hunter had a lot of basketball experience before suiting up for Shandong this past season. In 31 games Hunter averaged 18.1 points and 12.5 rebounds a game. If nothing else, numbers like that in the CBA warrant a second look from NBA teams. The Bobcats need all the leadership they can get at this point, hopefully Hunter will be able to show that in Vegas.

Marcus Landry (Phoenix) – After splitting time on the Knicks and Celtics as a rookie Landry spent a season in the D-League. This past season Landry jumped overseas with stints in China, Spain, and Venezuela. His time in Shanghai was decidedly average, neither terrible nor spectacular.

Gani Lawal (Denver) – After spending most of his rookie season with the Suns injured, Lawal took off overseas during the lockout. Between stops in Poland and later a stint in France he played 17 games with Xinjiang.  He was a big presence inside with 18 points and 12 boards a game. Lawal should be back in the league this season after playing well in each of his overseas stops.

Shavlik Randolph (Washington) – Teaming up with Akognon for Dongguan this past season, Randolph was awesome during his time in China. He averaged close to 25/12 while also hitting 38% of his threes. He struck a good balance of playing tough inside and stretching the defense with his shot. Whether or not he will be able to do the same in the Summer League when he is not the #2 option on offense is the big question.

Garret Siler (Washington) – One of the original CBA to NBA success stories after playing in Shanghai, Siler is trying to find a spot for himself in the league after getting cut by the Suns midway through last season.

*Sean Williams (Boston) – Williams played in the CBA with Fujian a few seasons back but spent this past season in the NBA with Dallas and Boston. For someone who has earned 5 million dollars of NBA salary, he had surprisingly little impact in his 15 minutes a game in Orlando. Averages of 4.3 and 2.5 in Summer League action were pretty much on par with his career averages.

Korean Basketball League

* Magnum Rolle (Orlando) – Rolle was a big offseason signing by the _____, but unfortunately was injured just days before the season started. He left Korea without playing a game and subsequently came back to the Atlanta hawks camp. He did not make the team, but is back for another shot at the league. Overall his Orlando performance was entirely forgettable. He averaged 6.7 points and 4 rebounds in the three games in which he played. He has an NBA body and NBA athleticism, but his performance showed that he still does not a polished NBA game.

Malcolm Thomas (Chicago) – If not for the lockout it seemed that Thomas was destined for a close look by an NBA franchise right after the draft. Instead, Thomas found himself courted by the Mobis Phoebus club and a bucket-load of cash. Thomas lasted only 17 games in Korea before heading back to the US to play in the D-League and have a cup of coffee with the Spurs. People see Thomas as having the potential to be a Swiss Army Knife kind of player, being able to do a little bit of everything.

DeShawn Sims (Phoenix) – While the other two players in the KBL disappeared from Korea quickly, Sims played 48 games with KCC Egis and helped them to a 4th place finish. He averaged close to a 24/10 and even showed a little bit of an outside stroke. After two years of pro basketball Sims should be ready for his shot at the NBA.

 National Basketball League (China)

Hamady N’Diaye (Charlotte) – Fresh off a stint in the second tier Chinese league, it will be interesting to see if N’Diaye can block six shots a game in the Summer League. He certainly is long enough to be an NBA player!

Philippines Basketball Association

Denzel Bowles (New Orleans) – Bowles was phenomenal this past season in the PBA on his way to leading B-Meg to the Commissioner’s Cup title. What I enjoyed most was that it seemed that Bowles legitimately cared about how his team did and played with a ton of energy and heart. He owned Game 7 of the Finals with 39 points, 23 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Bowles will turn some heads in Vegas.

* Jarrid Famous (Indiana and Milwaukee) – Famous played in two different leagues in the Philippines this past season. He was replaced by the Meralco Bolts after only three games in the PBA. While his numbers of 26 and 15 were strong, the team was 1-2 and Earl Barron was available. He then suited up for the San Miguel Beermen for 7 games. He did not play well, putting up averages of 12 and 5 before being replaced by Nick Fazekas. His Orlando performance was equally flat and he showed very little to warrant an NBA future. Hopefully Famous will be able to show a little more when he joins the Milwaukee Bucks squad in Las Vegas.

Stefhon Hannah (Milwaukee) – Hannah had one of the worst import performances I have ever seen in the PBA. In his 4 games with B-Meg he averaged only 14 points a game and while hitting only 4/30 3-point attempts. Hannah performs a lot better in the D-League than he did in the Philippines, but still consistency is his biggest problem.

Donald Sloan (Cleveland) – Sloan was solid in his 7 games in the PBA last summer with Barangay Ginebra. Sloan was able to catch on with the Cavs this past season as Kyrie Irving’s backup.

Jeremy Wise (D-League) – Wise was one of my favorite imports to watch last summer in the PBA before he went down with an injury. Once again, is he consistent enough to run an NBA team?

Super Basketball League (Taiwan)

After numerous pre-draft workouts, the disappointment of not hearing his name called on the night of the draft, and two weeks of very little discussion, Jet Chang is finally going to get his chance at his NBA dream. Jet announced on Facebook late Saturday night that he will be suiting up with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the NBA Summer League held in Las Vegas. The team’s first game will be on Monday July 16th. 

In the lead up to the draft a number of website’s published commentary on Jet’s strengths and weaknesses. It was obvious in all of these cases that the authors had seen very little of his play. Mid-Major Madness did a pretty good job, but once again it was clear that they were going off Jet’s numbers alone. I have watched Jet play at least 30 times over the past three years, so hope that my thoughts can help sort some things out.

So my hope for this brief article is that I can give Timberwolves fans, and NBA fans in general, a little more insight into Jet Chang the player and his basketball experience up to this point. The first and most important thing that people need to know about Jet is that he does possess an NBA quality talent. Before the draft each year you hear people like Chad Ford, Jay Bilas, and Bill Simmons discuss the fact that players with one great talent have a better chance at sticking in the league than players who are merely good at a number of things. Jet Chang can score the basketball. He has shown on the collegiate level, on the international level, and at the Portsmouth Invitational that he can put the ball in the basket.

The second thing that people need to know is that Jet had a very rough senior year. For starters Jet participated in the William Jones Cup in Taiwan in July and in the Asian Games in China during the month of September. He did not even return to campus until early October. When other players were in off-season mode Jet was playing nine games in ten days against the best teams in Asia, and leading the Taiwanese team in scoring. When the season began it was clear that the Seasiders had not jelled as a team and struggled to find any consistency in non-conference play. It did not help that they played two NCAA-bound DI schools (Long Beach and BYU), and eventual NCAA DII Champ Western Washington during this time. Every team keyed their defense on Jet, knowing that he was the focal point of the Seasiders offense. By the time conference play rolled around Jet was playing much better and saw his numbers increase across the board despite missing three games and being slowed in two other games due to injury. If not for the injuries it is very likely that Jet and the Seasiders would have been able to sneak into the NCAA tournament despite the atrocious start to the season.

The third thing people need to know is that Jet Chang is not Jeremy Lin. This needs to be said as too often people are using the Taiwan connection as the source of the player comparison. In my mind the best comparison for Jet is Flip Murray. Murray came from a small college and took a few years to find a place in the NBA. Ultimately Murray succeeded because he could score in bunches. They are both streaky shooters who also get lots of easy baskets because they can beat other players down the court. Jet is not a point guard, he is a scorer.

I think the last thing that people need to know is that injury withstanding Jet is going to be a successful professional basketball player. While his dream is obviously the NBA, CBA teams in China and SBL teams in Taiwan would die to have him on their squad. Jet has a loyal following already in Taiwan and is a constant point of discussion on Chinese basketball chat sites. He is going to make a lot of money playing ball, but he first wants to see if he can find a place in the league.

While Jet will suit up for the Timberwolves, it is highly unlikely that he will get a contract from them before the beginning of the season. The Wolves already have 13 players under contract from last year, drafted Robbie Hummel in the 2nd round, and have agreed to sign Brandon Roy. The key for Jet is to make his minutes count in Vegas so that another team will be willing to offer him a longer look in training camp. I guess in this way Jet is a lot like Jeremy Lin.

A year after following Chris Banchero, Jeremy Tyler, and Jet Chang’s game-by-game performance throughout the 2010-2011 season it has been exciting to see each of these young players take big strides forward over the past few weeks.

Chris Banchero

After sitting out the first two thirds of the ASEAN Basketball League schedule this year Banchero was finally allowed to suit up for the San Miguel Beermen four games ago. Around the same time the Beermen were able to add Nick Fazekas and Duke Crews to their lineup. With the addition of fresh talent the Beermen have won five straight games and jumped past their rivals the Air Asia Philippine Patriots to take sole possession of first place. Banchero has shown very little after not playing in an official game for close to sixteen months. After four games he is averaging 15.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He is shooting an outstanding 53% from the field. In his late outing against the Bangkok Cobras Banchero shot 11/15 from the field, scoring on an array of drives to the basket.

Jet Chang
After an up-and-down senior season at BYU-Hawaii Jet is focused on the next step in his basketball career. In a surprising decision Jet was invited to participate at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament held earlier in April. Players outside of Division I are rarely given the opportunity to showcase their talents at the PIT, no matter how dominant they have been during their collegiate career. Chang made the most of his opportunity averaging 13 points across the three games. Chang proved to scouts again that his speed and ability to score can hold up against any level of opponent. While Jet is still a distant longshot for the NBA, he has placed himself on the radar for the D-League, and maybe more importantly the CBA. Jet is positioned for a substantial payday if he decides to play in China. Whatever path Jet chooses to follow, he is exactly where he should want to be at this point in his career.

The video below was showcased on the NCAA's website a few weeks ago. 

Jeremy Tyler

After accumulating a number DNP-CDs during the first few months of the season and a short trip to the D-League Tyler stepped into the starting role for the Golden State Warriors for the last 23 games of the season. As his fellow bigs went down with injuries Tyler was given increased playing time and a bigger role in the offense. By the time the Warriors enter full-on tank mode Tyler was ready to play. For the month of April Tyler averaged 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in 24 minutes of action a game. He managed his fouls a little better as the season progressed, but still averaged 6.3 fouls per 48 minutes during the April timeframe. Perhaps the best news for Tyler though is that he has a lot of support from the passionate Warriors fan base. Forums on the Warriors fan sites are almost unanimously supportive of Tyler being the first big off the bench next season backing up Bogut and Lee. While it was by no means an easy or pretty journey for Tyler, he is now exactly where he wanted to be when he decided to leave high school three years ago.