Baller Bio: Kenny Satterfield

Kenny Satterfield is 31 years old. He only played a few seasons in the NBA, but he's been able to make a career out of professional basketball.

Satterfield was born on April 10, 1981 in New York City. He played at Rice High School in the Big Apple. He was named a 1999 McDonald's All-American in his senior year. In that same year, he was also named to the Parade All-American Third Team and USA TODAY's All-USA Third Team. He was also named the 1999 New York City Player of the Year.

He committed to Cincinnati and joined the Bearcats as a freshman in 1999 and put up averages of 9.2 points and 5.4 assists in 33 games. That season, he helped them reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He was an early entry in the 2000 NBA Draft, but withdrew before the deadline. In his sophomore season, Satterfield received more minutes and saw most of his averages and percentages go up. He played 35 games and averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. Satterfield shined in his second season with the Bearcats and helped lead Cincinnati to the Sweet 16 of the 2001 NCAA Tournament before losing to Stanford.

Satterfield's draft stock was as high as ever and he decided to apply for the 2001 NBA Draft. He was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 53rd pick of the draft in the second round. After being drafted, he played in the Rocky Mountain Summer League with the Mavs. Later, on September 25, 2001, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets for a future second round draft pick before the season started.

As a rookie with the pre-Melo Nuggets, Satterfield mostly played a back-up role, but saw his minutes steadily increase over the course of the season. He was hit with a few injuries, left knee patella tendinitis and a sprained left thumb, and missed more games than he would have liked to.

In his first career start (on March 30th, 2002), he took advantage of the opportunity and finished with 12 points and 11 assists, the first and only double-double of his NBA career, in a win vs. the Bulls in Chicago. He made a statement and proved that he could be trusted with a starting role. He started the next game and scored 17 points and dished out 7 assists in a loss in Detroit. He wouldn't start again until the second-to-last game of the season in which he scored only 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting, but finished with a career-high 12 assists. In the last game of the season, he scored a career-high 21 points and dished out 6 assists as the Nuggets lost to the playoff-bound Timberwolves on the road.

After gaining momentum at the end of his rookie campaign, Satterfield re-signed with Denver and received solid minutes at the beginning of his second season as a Nugget. However, as the season went on, his minutes and stats went up and down until he was waived by the team on December 18, 2002.

His NBA career was in jeopardy, but he bounced back and was picked up by the Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers less than a week later on December 23rd. Satterfield played 19 minutes off-the-bench in his first game as a Sixer, a blowout loss to the Jazz, but that ended up being the last game that he would ever play more than 10 minutes. Coach Larry Brown gave Satterfield only limited minutes and not enough time to prove that he could help the team. In his last NBA game, Satterfield went scoreless and finished with 2 assists in a bittersweet win against his former team, the Nuggets. It marked nine wins in a row for the 76ers, but Satterfield played in less than 10 minutes or didn't play at all in each game during the winning streak.

He was placed on waivers by the the Sixers before the regular season ended as they signed free agent Tyrone Hill. He probably hoped to be claimed, but wasn't and officially became a free agent on March 5, 2003.  In his 17-game stint with Philly, he had produced only 9 points and 15 assists. As the playoffs eventually started and ended (with the Spurs winning the title), Satterfield was hoping to get another chance to play in the NBA.

He got that chance later that year and signed a contract with the Washington Wizards in September. He was named to their training camp roster and hoped to become a member of their team for the upcoming season. This post-Jordan Wizards squad included a newly-signed Gilbert Arenas, a struggling, young Kwame Brown, Jerry Stackhouse in the prime of his career, and others. However, the Wizards didn't see Satterfield in their future and waived him in October of 2003 before the season started.

Satterfield decided to go overseas and sign with a team in France (Limoges) in November. He was waived in January of 2004.

He later brought his talents back to the U.S. and signed with the now-defunct Fayetteville Patriots of the D-League on February 18th. He emerged as their starting point guard and averaged 18.6 points, 6.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 18 games with the team. Satterfield hoped to be called up by an NBA team, but he wasn't and the Patriots lost in the semifinals of the playoffs to the Asheville Attitude, despite a great game from Satterfield in which he scored 33 points, dished out 6 assists, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 6 steals, blocked 5 shots, shot perfect from the free-throw line, and made six 3-pointers in 44 minutes. A bright spot was that he led his team in points per game and finished second in the D-League in assists per game behind Omar Cook.

For the next years, after his stint in the NBA's official minor league, Satterfield played professionally all over the world in foreign countries like Greece, Venezuela, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Argentina. He even played for the Brooklyn Comets of the ABA from 2006-2007. During the summers he would come back to the states and play in NYC, his old stomping grounds. He played in the Rucker Park Summer League, the Hoops in the Sun Summer League, and the Dyckman League. He became known on the streetball circuit as "Serious Satellite."

He received an opportunity for an NBA comeback and played in the Reebok Las Vegas Summer League with the Chicago Bulls in 2005. He played okay and averaged 5 points, 3.2 assists, and 2 rebounds in 19.6 minutes over the course of 5 games, but didn't play well enough to separate himself from the rest of the players on the team and score an invitation to training camp. He was not signed by the Bulls.

In 2010, he returned to New York again, but traveled upstate to the capital region to join the Albany Legends of the IBL for their inaugural season. He quickly emerged as a team leader and had some great games: 13 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds in a loss to the Tacoma Tide on April 30th and 31 points and 18 assists in a win against the Holland Blast on May 22nd.

He helped lead the Legends to the 2010 IBL Championship and led them to victory over the Bellingham Slam. He led the team in points, assists, and free throws made that game (30 points, 7 assists, 8-17 field goals, 12-for-12 free throws, 2-for-2 three-pointers), but was snubbed as big-man Deandre Thomas, who finished with 21 points, 10-of-14 field goals, and 19 rebounds, was named the Championship MVP instead of Satterfield. I was on the court at the Washington Avenue Armory during the celebration and remember seeing Satterfield after Thomas was named the MVP. From what I could tell, there wasn't a look of disappointment on his face. He just casually walked off the court, probably thinking about what his next basketball-playing gig would be.

He went off to Japan to play more pro ball later that year and is still on the grind today. He's 31 years old and another shot at the NBA is too unlikely to consider, but Satterfield will be remembered as a local legend in New York. In my opinion, he had the talent to be productive in the league, but got a bit unlucky, lost in the shuffle, and the NBA just didn't work out for him. Here's a short promo video of him for Team NIKE back in 2011:



While Sattterfield's stint in the NBA wasn't as long as he would have wanted it to be, his legacy could live through his daughter, Kaelynn. Earlier this year, she won top honors among 9 and 10 year old girls at the NBA/WNBA FIT Dribble, Dish & Swish competition in Orlando, Florida during the 2012 All-Star weekend. Kaelynn said she hopes to play in the WNBA with the New York Liberty or become a doctor.

As the years go by, Kenny Satterfield will continue to age and eventually retire, maybe even trying a run at coaching, but his daughter may just be beginning a career in basketball.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Satterfield
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kenny_satterfield/printable_player_files.html
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/cincinnati/kenny-satterfield/game_stats
http://basketball.realgm.com/player/Kenny_Satterfield/Summary/675
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/satteke01.html
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/transactions/league/2003
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Washington_Wizards/30/Rosters/Training_Camp/2004
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbdl/players/s/satteke01d.html
http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/transactions_03-04.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbdl/years/2004.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbdl/teams/FAY/2004.html
http://www.streetbasketballassociation.net/management/proplayer/index.html?player_id=15
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-03-01/news/31112047_1_girls-basketball-dish-swish-basketball-court
http://basketball.realgm.com/nba/teams/Chicago_Bulls/4/Rosters/Summer_League/2005

Have any thoughts on Kenny Satterfield or any suggestions for who I should do a Baller Bio on next? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

NBA: Breaking Down the Dwight Howard Trade

(Photo Courtesy: chicagotribune.com)

After many months of speculation, deliberation, and analyzing, the Orlando Magic have finally traded Dwight Howard in a blockbuster, 4-team, 12-player trade......to the Los Angeles Lakers. I shall break down the trade for each team involved:

Lakers Lose: Andrew Bynum, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga
Lakers Receive: Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon, Earl Clark

The Lakers are the obvious winners of this trade. They swapped their all-star center Andrew Bynum for the best center in the league, Dwight Howard. This trade makes them serious contenders.

The role players that they lost shouldn't end up being a huge factor. McRoberts struggled last season, his first and only for the Lakers, and though Eyenga is only 23 years old and has some potential, he wasn't a great fit with Los Angeles. He only played in one game with the team and served as a benchwarmer.

Clark and Duhon are both servicable. Clark is young, 24 years old, and hasn't gotten a lot of playing time in his career yet. The former McDonald's All-American could end up finding some good minutes with the Lakers, but could just as easily end up riding the bench all season. Duhon has had some flashes of greatness in his career, but has also had long spells of mediocrity. Though he averaged 10 points and 7 assists as a starter for the Knicks in the 08-09 season, he's spent the last two seasons with the Magic not playing as well with inconsistent minutes.

I think Clark and Duhon are both wild cards. Clark could end being a Cinderella starter and Duhon could be a great back-up point guard to Steve Nash, but they could very well end up sitting on the end of the bench next to each other the whole season.


Nuggets Lose: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington
Nuggets Receive: Andre Iguodala

I'm not sure how I feel about swap of players that the Nuggets made. Afflalo averaged 15 points a game last season as a starter for the Nugs last season and is in the prime of his career right now. Harrington is past his prime, but averaged 14 points and 6 rebounds off the bench for Denver last season.

Iguodala is a great player, don't get me wrong, and all of the NBA analysts I've seen on TV seem to think he'll fit in well in coach George Karl's system, but I don't know if he'll make up for the losses of Afflalo and Harrington. The Nuggets had a good team last season and I don't think that shaking up the roster like this will help the team win more games.


76ers Lose: Andre Iguodala, Moe Harkless, Nikola Vucevic
76ers Receive: Andrew Bynum, Jason Richardson

There is some risk for Philadelphia making this trade. Bynum is a 2-time NBA champion, was an All-Star starter last season with the Lakers, and should be an All-Star for years to come, but he has had problems with injuries in his career so far and his contract ends at the end of the season. Jason Richardson was a borderline All-Star back in the day, but is getting older every day while he'll keep getting paid more and more every year until 2015, assuming he picks up his player option. However, he could end up being rejuvenated as a starter or 6th man.

The 76ers gave up some valuable assets in this trade. Iguodala had played his entire career in Philly since being their first-round pick in 2004. He was an All-Star last season and is competing in the Olympics with the men's basketball team currently. Iggy was the face of their franchise after Allen Iverson left. He was a veteran leader and glue guy who was an important piece to the 76ers.

Harkless is an unproven rookie, but is only 19 years old and has some crazy potential. He averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds as a freshman at St. Johns last season. Vucevic is also young with a lot of potential. The 21-year old from Switzerland averaged about 5 points and 5 rebounds as a rookie for the Sixers last season in only 16 minutes a game.

This trade could pay off for Philadelphia in a big way, but on the other hand, it could end up disastrous for them. I personally liked the 76ers team that they had before with Lou Williams and Elton Brand.


Magic Lose: Dwight Howard, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon, Earl Clark
Magic Receive: Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Moe Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga

Dwight Howard leaving the Magic was inevitable and so the Magic were planning on trading him so they could get another star player in return to cut their losses. A flurry of swaps were talked about that involved the Magic getting Andrew Bynum, Amar'e Stoudemire, Brook Lopez, Monta Ellis, and Pau Gasol, but management in Orlando knew that they wouldn't get a player as good as Howard in return. So considering that the Magic weren't contenders even with D12, it was pretty much certain that they would be worse and even more mediocre than before with whatever star/franchise player(s) they got in return.

So they decided to go another route and used a different trading strategy that most people don't seem to understand, but I do. They traded almost entirely for the future. First off, they made sure they received a boatload of draft picks (first and second round), which they did.

They received 6 players and not all of them will be great for them, but I'm sure the Magic knew what they were doing when they traded for the players they did.

Al Harrington is 32 years old and past his prime, but is still serviceable right now and is coming off a good season. He will also serve as a veteran leader and should look to guide the Magic's 2012 first round draft pick, power forward Andrew Nicholson, and Kyle O'Quinn, the team's other rookie power forward, along with young big men Gustavo Ayon, Glen Davis, Nikola Vucevic, and Josh McRoberts.

Arron Afflalo is in his prime and is coming off the best season of his career so far. He averaged 15.2 points a game as a starter for the Nuggets and helped lead them to the playoffs where they forced a Game 7 against the Lakers. He should be a starter for the Magic this season and a team leader.

The only way that Affalo won't be a starter is if Moe Harkless has a stellar rookie season. There is a good chance that they will be starting together at shooting guard and small forward, especially since Jason Richardson is now gone and overpaid Hedo Turkoglu is a year older. Harkless is 19 years old and has a lot of potential. He could end up being an All-Star and has a bright future in the NBA. Since the Magic are probably gonna be a playoff team this season, Harkless should be given good minutes and develop nicely.

Nikola Vucevic is coming off a decent rookie season in Philly and should be helpful. He is young and could develop into a great player. Josh McRoberts is coming off a rough season with the Lakers, but played well the year before with the Pacers. Maybe he'll find a good niche with the Magic. Christian Eyenga is young and has played fairly well in his career so far. While he probably won't develop into a star, he could develop into a solid NBA contributor.


To sum it up, the Lakers made a great trade and will be one of the top teams in the NBA this season. I don't think this trade was a good move for the Nuggets, but I could be wrong. I think that this trade is risky for the 76ers. I think that the Magic did as well as they could have trading Dwight Howard.

Have any thoughts on the D12 trade? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.