Can you draft-and-stash 2nd round picks in the d-league?

[coyotes_geek]

Team drafts a player in the 2nd round. Team makes the required tender offer. Team tells player they have no roster spots for him this year, but believes they will next year. Player is feeling benevolent to team and agrees not to take the tender offer thus allowing the team to maintain draft rights. Is that player allowed to go to the d-league and play for that team's d-league affiliate on a d-league contract?

I guess in much simpler terms, can you draft and stash one of your draft picks in the d-league?

Thanks.

[Three34]

Yes, although it never happens much. Ejike Ugboaja did it briefly, though. The D-League doesn't pay very well, and when you've got "drafted NBA" on your CV you'll usually get a nice European job that pays about 8 times more, so that's why it doesn't happen a lot. Also, most unsigned second round picks are foreigners, and not many foreigners play in the D-League.

[Dunkenstein]

Is that player allowed to go to the d-league and play for that team's d-league affiliate on a d-league contract?

If a second round pick is not signed by the NBA team that drafted him and the player opts to play in the D League, he cannot choose what team he goes to, nor can the NBA team that drafted him place him on its affiliate. He will end up on the D League team that drafts him, and he will have no relations with the NBA team that drafted him. This is not like baseball's minor league system.

[coyotes_geek]

Thanks for the answers guys.

If a second round pick is not signed by the NBA team that drafted him and the player opts to play in the D League, he cannot choose what team he goes to, nor can the NBA team that drafted him place him on its affiliate. He will end up on the D League team that drafts him, and he will have no relations with the NBA team that drafted him. This is not like baseball's minor league system.

Just to clarify, you're saying the d-league affiliate is specifically prohibited from acquiring the player via any avenue. Can't draft him, can't trade for him, can't sign him should he somehow not get selected in the d-league draft. Correct?

Thanks again.

[answerthink]

I don't think that's what Dunkenstein is saying. I believe the rules regarding the D-League to be as follows:

Each NBA team may assign up to two of its signed players to its affiliated NBA D-League team. When assigned, the player is required to report to the assigned D-League team, and he is automatically transferred to the NBA team's inactive list. There is no minimum or maximum length of such an assignment. The player continues to receive his NBA salary while in the D-League. These rules are written in Art XLII of the CBA.

However, NBA teams that have retained the rights to unsigned players (including draft picks) have no rights as it relates to relegating such players to the D-League. Such a player's participation in the D-League would be voluntary and subject to the entry rules of the D-League. If such player wishes to play in the D-League, he would then need to be drafted by a D-League team (or sign on via local tryout, allocation through local connection or any other method permitted by the D-League). He would not be specifically prevented from playing for any D-League team which acquires him through appropriate means, including the team for which his NBA team happens to be affiliated.

But as Sham indicated, the D-League does not pay very well. Therefore, few players with enough talent to merit a second-round draft pick in the NBA draft end up playing in the D-League voluntarily, as there are other leagues that offer substantially better compensation.

[mnWI]

Is that player allowed to go to the d-league and play for that team's d-league affiliate on a d-league contract?

If a second round pick is not signed by the NBA team that drafted him and the player opts to play in the D League, he cannot choose what team he goes to, nor can the NBA team that drafted him place him on its affiliate. He will end up on the D League team that drafts him, and he will have no relations with the NBA team that drafted him. This is not like baseball's minor league system.

Mostly true. Both NBA teams and D-League affiliates complained about this, and the D-League responded by putting in a new rule saying that any draft pick that signs their first NBA contract with a team and is subsequently released from that deal before the start of the D-League season, that player is allocated to the D-League affiliate. This comes in handy for NBA teams like the Spurs, who have taken advantage of this to put Marcus Williams and Malik Hairston with the Austin Toros. It has happened in a few other cases as well, but the Spurs are very smart with this. They rotate these guys through their NBA squad for part of the year so they can boost their paychecks and keep other teams from signing the players, and it essentially gives the Spurs a 16-17 man roster in practice.

There is one more route I could potentially see where a NBA draft rights held player could end up with a D-League affiliate. The D-League allows each team to submit a 10 player allocation list for players of local or regional interest, and 2-3 of these players from the list are generally added to each D-League team without having to go through the draft. For example, Coby Karl played college basketball at Boise State, so the Idaho Stampede placed him on the allocation list, and his rights were given to Idaho before the draft. So I think the D-League would consider allocating a draft rights held player to the D-League affiliate if they put him on their list, and the NBA club wanted him with that particular D-League team.

Of course there are other ways to make sure a player ends up with a desired D-League team, but that's a completely different discussion.