Jamario Moon -- The one that got away?

[Darkwaters]

The Raptors signed a 27 year old free agent to a two year deal this year named Jamario Moon. He is a 6'8 long SF that rebounds, plays solid D and can shoot the 3. The guy is ballin' now for Toronto and looks good through his last two games.

This is the type of kid we need to bring in for that 15th spot. Any chance Sanikidze can be a similar type player (albeit, not necesarily immediately) for us?

Here is a youtube video with a few highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8RheQ3lYaI

Overlooked Rookie Moon Making An Impact
November 12, 2007 - 11:35 pm
Globe And Mail -
Jamario Moon, the 27-year-old rookie free agent with the Toronto Raptors , got his first NBA start on Saturday night, stifling Luol Deng defensively in what turned out to be a blowout win over the Chicago Bulls . That came the night after he got his first significant NBA minutes in a road win over the Philadelphia 76ers , all of which came after attending an NBA training camp for the first time.

But he's shown enough along the way — he filled the stat sheet with 21 points, 14 rebounds, five steals, two blocks in only 46 minutes over the two games — that Mitchell will extend the unlikely rookie's starting role at least until tomorrow night when the Raptors are host to the Utah Jazz .

"I'm not going to change the lineup," said Mitchell yesterday. "Especially when you look at Utah, with [Andrei Kirilenko] — another long, athletic three."

By that logic the 6-foot-8 high flyer could become a fixture in the rotation, if not the starting lineup. The NBA is full of long, athletic wing players and if Moon can continue his disruptive ways, the market for his services should remain.

"He deflects passes, he can get in the passing lanes, change shots," Mitchell said. "It's the kind of stuff we've been missing since I've been here. We're hoping he can build on it."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/49151/20071112/overlooked_rookie_moon_making_an_impact/

[Stabbin' Cabin]

Dude's got hops too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECV0N19xRaA

[ChumpDumper]

Got away from whom?

It's too early to write off Scola and too early to induct Moon into the Hall of Fame.

[SilverPlayer]

Could be just another Ronald Flip Murray, who lead the NBA in scoring for about three weeks in a short stint with the Sonics. But he'll be interesting to see develop. If he has an ability to defend that's already a step above Murray.

[Mr. Body]

There's no indication he was ever on the Spurs' radar, so not really 'the one that got away'. It does look like Toronto found a diamond in the rough.

I don't know where we'd be if Bowen weren't so resilient. It'd be nice to find one of these guys.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i wonder whats going to happen to graham? is he still in there team outlook?

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

LJ picked him up for his 2nd Dynasty team yesterday... he's always a step ahead... :fro ;) :lol

[Darkwaters]

Got away from whom?

It's too early to write off Scola and too early to induct Moon into the Hall of Fame.


Well, got away from us. It's no great mystery that we're looking for that Derrick McKey type player, and Moon appears to be one. It's simply upsetting that in training camp we were too busy looking at players like Marcus Williams and didn't focus on trying to sort through some of these loose players with the appropriate physical qualitites to be OUR Jamario Moon. Although, Darius Washington was a nice pickup out of training camp for certain.

I realize it's early to say much of anything about Moon...but he looks like he could be a nice role player and quality piece on that team. Isn't that all we're looking for ourselves? No HOF or All-Star...just a nice role player.

[Darkwaters]

i wonder whats going to happen to graham? is he still in there team outlook?

Doubtful. Hes in his third year and pulling down just a little over 10 minutes a game. Not quite the sunny outlook they had for him as a lottery pick back in 2005.

Plus, when your team goes and gets Carlos Delfino, Jason Kapono and the surprising Jamario Moon in one offseason, it doesn't indicate an interest in building around you.

[pad300]

Dude's got hops too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECV0N19xRaA

We've been looking for a Bowen follow up for how long? How did we miss this guy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOTnU2VaS_s

He's got the basic technique... With a little polishing from the master, he could be really good. :elephant

Damnit, fire RC for missing this guy! :pctoss

[Mr. Body]

Well, got away from us. It's no great mystery that we're looking for that Derrick McKey type player, and Moon appears to be one. It's simply upsetting that in training camp we were too busy looking at players like Marcus Williams and didn't focus on trying to sort through some of these loose players with the appropriate physical qualitites to be OUR Jamario Moon. Although, Darius Washington was a nice pickup out of training camp for certain.

I realize it's early to say much of anything about Moon...but he looks like he could be a nice role player and quality piece on that team. Isn't that all we're looking for ourselves? No HOF or All-Star...just a nice role player.

Moon sounds a heck of a lot like Dominic McGuire. Hmm...

[SenorSpur]

Well, got away from us. It's no great mystery that we're looking for that Derrick McKey type player, and Moon appears to be one. It's simply upsetting that in training camp we were too busy looking at players like Marcus Williams and didn't focus on trying to sort through some of these loose players with the appropriate physical qualitites to be OUR Jamario Moon. Although, Darius Washington was a nice pickup out of training camp for certain.

I realize it's early to say much of anything about Moon...but he looks like he could be a nice role player and quality piece on that team. Isn't that all we're looking for ourselves? No HOF or All-Star...just a nice role player.

Wow! - to the YouTube highlights. :clap

Precisely! - to your comments :toast

Never thought I would envy the Toronto Raptors. I like this kid - a lot.

[ChumpDumper]

When is the induction ceremony?

[AFBlue]

It's not suprising that he's doing well, because he does have some talent and there's almost NO tape on this guy.

Let's see how defensed adjust to him when he gets extended minutes and plays out an entire season.

Bottom Line: Sure there are those cases where a guy just needs an opportunity to excel, but I'd wait a little longer to see whether this guy is legit....say, longer than 2 games.

[Bruno]

Baring an unlikely trade, Spurs won't have for this year their long SF. I hope it won't hurt them in the playoffs.

Spurs have a roster spot available and are far enough below the luxury tax to sign a min player for the rest of the year in January. It will be interesting to see what they will do with this spot : Signing nobody to save some money ? Waiting the deadline before maybe signing someone? Signing someone as soon as January ? A vet or a prospect ? A swingman or a bigman ?

They could decide to go after a SG or a SF prospect from the D-League. Baring a miracle, this player won't be able to help Spurs for the 08 playoffs.

[Darkwaters]

It's not suprising that he's doing well, because he does have some talent and there's almost NO tape on this guy.

Let's see how defensed adjust to him when he gets extended minutes and plays out an entire season.

Bottom Line: Sure there are those cases where a guy just needs an opportunity to excel, but I'd wait a little longer to see whether this guy is legit....say, longer than 2 games.

Good points. But I did put disclaimers on my previous comments stating that we needed to watch him more to know if hes legit. But, he looks like a guy that could be a quality role player for the Raptors supplying 15-20 solid minutes. Looks can be deceiving, but just because he's has wild success so far doesn't mean he won't be able to keep it up. Players like Bruce Bowen, Tom Brady and Tony Romo often just need a chance to play and they excel.

I just want to find one of those guys myself!

[ChumpDumper]

Where has Moon been the past six years?

A lot of it has to do with the right timing and the right situation. So far it looks like Moon may have found his place. Sometimes it takes more than one try like Bowen or Matt Barnes or Devin Brown. These guys are out there. As for Moon specifically, I don't see him as quite a McKie type, he's way too skinny for that. Good for him though -- he put in a lot of work in the minors.

The talent drain from the D-League has made the pool of combo forward prospects more shallow, but there are still a couple of quality players that seem pretty close to finding a niche Moon appears to have done.

[wildbill2u]

Found very little info on him. One reason he might have been overlooked by all 26 teams is that he played for Meridien (Miss.) Community College.

But there was no date given, so if you factor in he's 27, going on 28 (born in June) he might have been out of school for some time. Whatever, he was obviously an unknown to most scouts.

[ChumpDumper]

He's been in the CBA and USBL the past couple of seasons. He had a very unimpressive stint in the D-League for fort Worth at the end of the 05-06 season. I don't even remember seeing him in Austin as he was totally overshadowed by guys like Azubuike, Keith Langford and Aaron Miles. Just goes to show that one never knows.

[Mitch Cumsteen]

If Moon had played with the Serbian Globetrotters instead of the Harlem Globetrotters, I'm sure he'd be on our roster right now.

[ploto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7g3CBvgn1c (Notice the dunk IN Chicago!)

The thing about Moon that leads one to believe he may have success is that he is a good defender. The NBA can always use guys who are athletic and have some brain about how to defend. He was the 2006-2007 CBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Moon came into the perfect situation for him. Because so many Raptors were playing in Europe and FIBA Americas this summer, they decided not to have a Summer League team. Instead they held a training camp in Toronto BEFORE Summer League, and Moon was invited at the insistence of Jim Kelly. The Raptors liked what they saw then and offered him a camp invite and a partially-guaranteed contract, and so he played no Summer League for anyone, if I remember correctly. Bryan worked him out in 2001 before draft time, but he thought he was not ready for the NBA back then. Sam Mitchell also had an interest in him through his contacts. Sam from the beginning has seen some of himself in Moon, and they already have almost like a father-son type relationship.


It's been an autumn of novelties for Jamario Moon, the Raptors rookie born in Alabama and made in basketball's minor leagues. He has experienced his first NBA start and his first NBA dunk. And yesterday, in the midst of yet another chat with reporters, he encountered his first NBA heckler.

"Hey, Moon!" said the loudmouth, who also happened to be the Toronto coach, Sam Mitchell. "Make sure this isn't your 15 minutes! You want it to last longer than 15 minutes, right?"...

Will his NBA break last longer than 15 minutes? Yesterday Mitchell seemed bent on making sure the youngster wasn't getting too cocky. Putting on a show for reporters, he put his face to Moon's face and barked his best drill-sergeant bark: "I talk and you do what?" said the coach.

Moon smiled and pursed his lips. The player paused a few beats as the coach waited for a reply. A few seconds more and still, Moon didn't speak a word.

Finally Mitchell got Moon's joke. The coach talks and the smart NBA rookie says nothing and listens to everything – except, maybe, for the heckling.

Moon ( http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/275881)



You might assume that Jamario Moon, the only rookie on the Raptors roster, will be revelling in his new-found wealth. Not only is the 27-year-old forward coming off a couple of watershed performances, averaging 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in a pair of wins on Friday and Saturday, in a few days he'll begin earning his league-minimum salary of about $450,000. He'll only make that much, mind you, if he stays with the club until January 10. But by earning a spot on the opening-night roster, he earned a 50 per cent guarantee on that sum. So one assumes he'll be indulging in some luxuries come Thursday. Or perhaps not.

"Mostly I want to make sure my nephew and my parents have a wonderful Christmas," he said, "because we've been down for a long time."

Moon grew up poor in tiny Goodwater, Ala., population 1,500 or so. He said his mother, Ruby Thomas, has been rendered unable to work on account of carpal tunnel syndrome. His father, John Moon, has a job and is, by the son's estimation, "doing pretty good for himself." So while Moon has said that he isn't thinking about the money – "I'm just living the dream" – the cash will come in handy.

He said he would like to buy his mother, who lives with his grandmother, a house of her own some day. Until then, he'll buy his parents gifts "that'll hopefully put a smile on their faces." He also hopes to give 12-year-old Xavier, his older sister Michelle's son, some of the things the previous generation of Moon children never had.

"I really never got basketball goals and big bicycles and different things like that for Christmas," he said. "It was just, like, socks."

Every day is Christmas in the NBA, in some ways. Players like Moon, who once thought of fresh socks and sneakers as luxuries, get unlimited supplies of both. They pocket $106 per diem every day they're on the road. They eat from scrumptious (and free) post-game buffets. And then comes payday.

Nov. 15 is happy day in the NBA (http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/275547)

[Holt's Cat]

Udoka is more in line with the Spurs' needs. If having a 6'6"-ish small forward was going to doom the Spurs it would have long ago.

[Holt's Cat]

Dude's got hops too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECV0N19xRaA


Bowen-esque.