Cheyne Gadson

Gadson is also coming off a very poor performance in Italy last season and also has a wealth of D-League experience to fall-back on. He is a talented scoring combo guard with solid athleticism but is unlikely to draw much NBA interest due to his lack of playmaking, perimeter shooting and decision making skills.

After a successful stint last season with the Tulsa 66ers they traded him to the Austin Toros for Scott Merritt where he was a strong presence for their team. This year the Toros are under new management in the San Antonio Spurs, and their roster is stacked, making it hard for Gadson make an impact early in the season with players like Darius Washington and Keith Langford on the floor. Cheyne has a lot of talent, however, and has asserted himself into a real contributor on arguably the best team in the D-League.

A little out of control at times, Cheyne is one of the better ball handlers in the league, and when he gets in rhythm, can be an explosive force. At the same time, and much like many players in the NBADL, he has problems with focus and consistency, frequently making a brilliant play on one possession only to botch another one all together. Gadson might just be the best post entry passing guards in the D-League, which is an underrated and often overlooked skill. He has a good sense of when the player is in the best position to receive the ball and isn’t too quick to just pass it into the post and cut like a lot of guards do. He fed Ian Mahinmi several times tonight, and always put him in a position to score.

He uses his quickness well, not only in getting to the hoop, but in faking out defenders once he gets there. He drove baseline at one point and jerked upwards in a pump fake causing two defenders to jump in the air before quickly snapping it in between their bodies to a cutting Marcus Williams for a dunk attempt. In one sequence he was running out and the outlet pass was behind him and he managed to tip the ball around the defender running along side of him and then catch it and shuffle pass it one handed to Justin Bowen for a dunk. It was a very athletic and skilled maneuver that not many players would even have the ability to attempt.

Watching a game with Cheyne Gadson playing is a little like riding a rollercoaster; there’s many highs, but also a lot of lows. He often appears indifferent to bad plays and you find yourself wondering if he actually is as indifferent as he seems. His talent is often on display during a game, but if he’s going to make an NBA roster he needs to be aggressively consistent and play a cleaner brand of basketball.