One of my favorite things about this time of year is seeing which players have been invited to training camps around the league. Some old friends have resurfaced in new places.
- Mateen Cleaves (2004-06) is in camp with the Nets, where he is apparently a long shot to make the team despite the fact that New Jersey's backup point guard, Marcus Williams, will miss time with a foot injury.
- Noel Felix (2005) will have a hard time making the Cleveland roster. He left Sonics training camp last fall to play abroad for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- Richie Frahm (2003-04) is going to camp with the Phoenix Suns. I'm not sure how good his chances are, but if he makes it, Frahm would be an excellent fit in Phoenix.
- Jelani McCoy (1998-2001) is trying to make the Denver roster after playing in the NBA Summer League for the Nuggets. And, oddly, the photo in the Rocky Mountain News story has McCoy in a Sonics uniform though he has played for several other teams more recently.
- Rashid Byrd never played for the Sonics, but I took note of him (and wrote a feature) when he played on their Rocky Mountain Revue squad a few years back. Now Byrd is in camp with the Kings, Sactown Royalty notes. Here's the funny thing: Byrd has always been compared to Mikki Moore. The Sonics signed Moore just after having Byrd in summer league; now Byrd is going to camp with the Kings, whose big off-season addition was ... Mikki Moore. Go figure.
- Sadly, one ex-Sonics player who has yet to resurface is Mike Wilks, who played so well at the end of last season when injuries sidelined point guards Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson.
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