Nuggets sign Jamal Sampson (merged)

[Kings113]

The Nuggets are expected to sign free- agent center Jamal Sampson, possibly as early as today, to a minimum contract that could pay $798,112 for a player with four years of service, sources said Wednesday.
The 6-11, 235-pounder has averaged 2.4 points and 3.9 rebounds during four seasons with Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte and Sacramento and is expected to arrive in Denver today. Sampson, 23, played in 12 games for Sacramento last season and played for Karl as a rookie in Milwaukee.
While Karl wouldn't confirm the signing, he thinks his former player would be a good fit. "We have to find young players that won't get big money," Karl said. "A lot of games in the NBA now you play small and fast. There is a percentage of games where you have to have a big body. Jamal is one of those guys."

http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_4100629

Glad this guy found a spot. Replaces Elson's role as a combo athletic big. Be interesting to see if he gets at least semi-regular time... I liked what he showed in Charlotte. Would of been nice if he got some time with us as an energy big off the bench at 6'11" 235.

 

[Fresno King]

Good luck, Jamal!

 

[Fresno King]

"We have to find young players that won't get big money," Karl said.

Close to a million bucks = not big money?

I should have been a damn athlete.

 

[TheJoker]

This guy has been another Jim Jackson from the start of his career hes jump-shipping every team.

From LAL, to Bobcats to Kings and now to the Denver Nuggets i seriously hope he finds a way to be in this league but teams don't overvalue his potential very much so they throw him under the buss.

 

[Mad D]

This guy has been another Jim Jackson from the start of his career hes jump-shipping every team.

Only difference is Jim Jackson showed potential for being a star (and was a young promising star during his years in Dallas as a member of the 3 J's). Also Jimmy had enough ability to stay on the same team for more than one year, even Chucky Brown and Massenburg were able to stick to a team for at least 2 seasons.

The average nba career length is about 4 1/2 seasons. This is the potential 5th year. We'll see if Jamal will be around any longer after his tenure with the Nuggets.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Wow, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this yet, but Jamal Sampson is about to sign with the Nuggets. A bit trivial because of the relative lack of playing time he got here, but he was definitely known as a shotblocker in college. Hopefully we'll replace him with a more accomplished shotblocker.

Nuggets to land Sampson
The Nuggets are expected to sign free- agent center Jamal Sampson, possibly as early as today, to a minimum contract that could pay $798,112 for a player with four years of service, sources said Wednesday.
The 6-11, 235-pounder has averaged 2.4 points and 3.9 rebounds during four seasons with Milwaukee, the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte and Sacramento and is expected to arrive in Denver today. Sampson, 23, played in 12 games for Sacramento last season and played for Karl as a rookie in Milwaukee.
While Karl wouldn't confirm the signing, he thinks his former player would be a good fit. "We have to find young players that won't get big money," Karl said. "A lot of games in the NBA now you play small and fast. There is a percentage of games where you have to have a big body. Jamal is one of those guys."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/41680/20060727/sampson_expected_to_sign_with_denver/

 

[Ryle]

It's in the NBA forum. I don't really understand the fascination with Sampson because he truly does suck. He may be a good athlete but that is about it.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

It's in the NBA forum. I don't really understand the fascination with Sampson because he truly does suck. He may be a good athlete but that is about it.

Whoops. Forgot to check the NBA forum.

It may be true that Sampson won't amount to anything, but he may simply just needs playing time. He doesn't play much, but he already averages 4 rebounds per game in 10 minutes per game throughout his career--that already gives some signs of him potentially becoming a good rebounder in this league. If anything, he was at least used as a bench bolsterer this year--but he barely got any run, playing only 12 games and the highest minute total he ever played this year was 11 minutes. Even if the Nuggets use him as a "bench bolsterer", they must be intrigued by his potential and his rebounding and look for him to get some minutes after the departure of Francisco Elson.