HoopsTV Original Content

PUT UP OR SHUT UP TIME
Lead Story by: HOOPSTV

The start of the 2009-10 NBA season is right around the corner and for many players in the League this could be the most critical year of their career. For some it's because they're signed to one-year contracts and are now looking to lock in a more secure future with a big season. Others are on the comeback from injuries and looking to prove they can still play at an All-Star level. While still others are hoping to change their reputation as a locker room cancer or a baller with little to no work ethic. Whatever the case, HoopsTV has assembled a list of NBA cats who we think really have something to prove this season. For all of the players on our list the 2009-10 season signals the time to put up or shut up.

Here's our list of ten players in the NBA who are facing a make it or break it season in 2009-10 :

Hakim Warrick : Warrick accepted a two year offer from Milwaukee that was worth less money then Philadelphia had put on the table because he saw an opportunity to run in the first-five with the Bucks. Historically when Warrick had gotten the minutes, he has produced as 2006-07 proved when Warrick started a career high 43 games and put up career best numbers of 12.7 ppg. & 5 rpg. If Warrick can take advantage of the increased minutes he will receive in Milwaukee, it should lead to a big, multi-year contract in the 2011 off-season. However, if "The Helicopter" struggles or suffers an injury, his future earnings will take a hit. You can read HoopsTV's recent interview with Warrick here .

Ron Artest : Obviously we all know about "Ron-Ron's" prior transgressions and how he can cause some issues in the locker room, so his move to the NBA Champion Lakers will be heavily scrutinized. Of course it doesn't help that this past week Dikembe Mutombo said that he is "praying" for Phil Jackson and Kobe now that Artest is in LA. If Artest can not keep things under control in LA and the Lakers implode this year, Kobe will run him out of the League and he'll forever be known as a wacko. However, if Artest can play the role of choir boy and the Lakers win another title, it could change how Artest is viewed in the pages of NBA history.

Ronald "Flip" Murray : Coming off a standout 2008-09 season as the sixth man in Atlanta (12.2 ppg.), Flip was looking to get paid this past summer with a multi-year, big dollar contract, but things did not go as planned. Allegedly the Sixers and Flip were close to a deal, but it fell apart over the length of the contract, so Flip took a one-year deal at the NBA's bi-annual exception of $1.99 million from the Bobcats. If Flip can post another big year off of Larry Brown's bench, it should lead the multi-year deal he has been seeking for some time. But if Flip gets caught up in the mess that is the 'Cats and his numbers go south in 2009-10, he'll been staring at a lifetime of one-year deals.

A healthy and productive season by Brand would keep him off the list of overpaid "dogs" who have played for the Sixers such as Webber, Geiger and Bradley.

David Lee : It shocked many including Lee himself that he only ended up with a one year deal worth $7 million from the Knicks, so he'll be playing with a chip on his shoulder, no doubt. If that can help Lee match or improve on his statistical breakout from last season (16 points and 11.7 rebounds per game) and an NBA-best 65 double-doubles, Lee will have proved 2009 was no fluke and he can tell the Knicks to go kick sand because he'll have offers coming in from all over the League. In the event that Lee drops off in 2009-10, the haters around the NBA will have the proof they need to claim his 2009 season was a mirage and he'll most likely have the unfortunate task of continuing to help Mike D'Antoni rebuild the Knickerbockers.

Louis Williams : If Williams doesn't fall flat on his face this season in his efforts to transition from a 6th man who provides offensive spark off the bench to the starting point guard for Philadelphia, it could mean big dollars for LW down the road. The NBA knows Williams can run the open floor and score, but it remains to be seen if he can be the main ball handler for a team and orchestrate the half-court offense. If he proves the doubters wrong Williams will be a hot free agent in 2011. If he fails, look for Williams to spend the rest of his NBA career as a role player on some team's bench.

Brendan Haywood : Haywood was traded to the Wizards in August of 2001 and is one of only 10 active players in the NBA to spend at least eight seasons with one team. This season Haywood is in the last year of a five-year, $25 million extension and will enter free agency for the first time in his career. Haywood played in only six games last season after tearing a ligament in his right wrist, but if he can get back to the form he displayed in 2007-08 when he averaged 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, there's a big payday waiting for him in summer 2010. Now it took Haywood a while to become the athletic big with a soft touch that he was in 2007-08, so if he regresses to his prior "big stiff" status or gets hurt again, he may be stuck in Washington for the rest of his career.

Another standout year by Lee will lead to a big payday and punch his ticket out of NY.

Richard Jefferson : RJ's personality wore out his welcome in New Jersey, so they traded him to Milwaukee last year where the Bucks grew tired of him so quickly that they were openly shopping him even before the 2009 All-Star Game. Now he's in San Antonio, the gold standard of NBA franchises and he'll be in the same locker room as Tim Duncan who is the League's poster boy, a strong team leader and all-around great guy. If Jefferson rocks the boat in SA and pisses Duncan off, his reputation as a pain-in-the-ass will be cemented and he might as well prepare to play in Greece in 2010-11 because no one will want him on their NBA roster. However if RJ can keep his attitude in check and contribute on the court, thus helping to put another ring on Duncan's hand, it could lead to a long and successful career for him in San Antonio.

Elton Brand : In a recent HoopsTV interview Brand told us he is "100%" healthy . If he can return to his All-Star days of 20 & 10 a night and push the 76ers deep in the playoffs then he'll prove to the Sixers front office that he is worth the $80 million they invested in him and Brand will become a basketball god with the Philly fans. If he gets hurt again or fails to get the Sixers past the 1st Round of the NBA post season, Brand could join a list of thieves who have stolen boat loads of money from the Sixers organization over the years. It's a list that includes names like Chris Webber, Matt Geiger, Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson and Shawn Bradley and it's not a group you want to be associated with in Philly.

Amare Stoudemire : A perfect storm is rising in the desert : Amare is coming off surgery for a detached retina and still facing suspicions that he has been slowed from his 2005 microfracture knee surgery. In the off season Amare had his commitment to the game questioned by PHX front office people and he was nearly traded to Golden State. Plus Stoudemire can opt out of his deal after this season. So even though everyone is talking a nice game in Phoenix right now, tensions are high. But Amare can squash all of that if he can return to his former All-Star form and inspire PHX to give him a fat long term deal. On the flip side, if Amare struggles with eye issues, starts pouting and his game suffers accordingly, look for Amare to get traded and then have a tough time finding a team to meet his salary demands in summer 2010.

Delonte West : Delonte's run-in with the law this past off season was just the latest incident in a long list of West's personal problems that have had an impact on his NBA life. The Cavaliers have been more then patient and understanding of his "personal" situations and if he rewards Cleveland with another solid season, then West will be allowed to finish out his three year, $12 million deal with the Lebrons while continuing to help King james pursuit his NBA title dreams. Still in the event that West's lingering personal issues disrupt the Cavs season and he makes Danny Ferry look like a clown for staying patient with and loyal to him, then West will be lucky not to find himself in the D-League or Europe next season.

If West can overcome his personal issues and have a big season, his future in Cleveland would be secure.