1
Nbafanhouse.com has made a list of the 10 worst players in the NBA and Portland’s backup center Sean Marks earned the No. 1 ranking.
Marks topped No. 2 Aaron Gray of New Orleans, No. 3 Gerald Henderson of Charlotte, No. 4 Sasha Pavlovic of Dallas and No. 5. Johan Petro of New Jersey.
The list excludes rookies and size of contract makes no difference.
About Marks were these comments:
“He has played part of every NBA season for 10 years. That makes him like a ghost in ‘The Ghost Whisperer’ who cannot find peace and move into the next world.’’ (Co-author Bethlemey Shoals)
“He’s from New Zealand, though, so I think he spent part of that time acting in ‘Lord of the Rings.’ ” (Co-author Eric Freeman)
2
Here’s how far things are slipping in Tampa Bay, where the Rays have been dumping payroll: They’ve signed ex-Mariners’ first baseman Casey Kotchman, whose OBP plummeted to an unsightly .280 in 2010.
Kotchman got a $750,000 minor-league deal with a chance to make incentives if he’s on the Rays’ roster all season.
Tampa Bay saw Carlos Pena leave as a free agent. Ben Obrist can play first, but figures to see most of his time at second base and in the outfield.
Kotchman was raised in St. Petersburg and knows manager Joe Maddon from their time together with the Angels in 2007.
The Rays are cutting their payroll from $72 million to about $50 million. By contrast, the M’s payroll is $91 million to $95 million (for 101 losses in 2010).
