Outside The NBA

That is Ben Handlogten. I don’t blame you if you don’t know who he is. No offense to the man, but he was never much of an NBA player. He played only 38 games in two seasons with the Utah Jazz and the most significant impact he’s had on the league is being part of the deal that has resulted in this year’s New York Knicks draft pick being in Utah’s possession. For some of us, though, he was more than that – he was the official player of The Links! Back when Lang Whitaker’s online column was published daily, we loyal readers would hear about everything Handlogten-related whenever anything Handlogten-related actually occurred. In fact, I’m certain that if something Handlogten-related happened tomorrow, Lang would be right on it. If he had turned out to be a success story, we all would have felt like a part of it. With that in mind, I’ve chosen the official team of Outside The NBA, henceforth known as the All-OTN Team. You’re going to hear about these guys all the time if you keep up with this site, as I’m going to be starting a daily recap feature which will include a section on ‘em. They are not scrubs like Handlogten; rather,  they’re role players who I’m confident will pan out but still have plenty of room for improvement. The rules I stuck to: only one rookie, no two players from the same team, no starters, and no one who made Kelly Dwyer’s top 30 for his position in the Yahoo! Sports 2009 NBA Preview Magazine. Also, to qualify, I have to really, really enjoy watching the player and be confident that you will like him too. Let’s get to it. (more…)

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On Tuesday, I sat down with Julian Guy-McCarvill and Eric Wagman and recorded our second podcast. We were having so much fun that we went wayyy long, so I divided it into two parts. In the first part, we examine the Lakers, Blazers, Bucks, Spurs, and Bulls; try to figure out when the Timberwolves and Nets can get a win; and discuss Ron Artest’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Also, I make stat-geeks cry by referring to “WARP” as “VORP”. In part two, we cover the strange Tracy McGrady situation, the “nicer” Stan Van Gundy, a couple of choice rookies, Josh Smith and his Hawks, Jeff Bower and his Hornets, and the dysfunctional Wizards. We also hand out some awards. Enjoy, people.

Click here to listen to Part 1.
Click here to listen to Part 2.