Greensboro Swarm: The G-League Thread

[BigSlam]

Good games form both Kai and Bouk tonight. Kai was in early foul trouble (picked up 2 in the 1st qtr) but bounced back with a really strong game.

Bouk:
22 points
5 rebounds
10 assists
5 steals
1 block

Kai:
17 points
11 rebounds
1 assist
1 steal
1 block

[CuseMayne]

Good games form both Kai and Bouk tonight. Kai was in early foul trouble (picked up 2 in the 1st qtr) but bounced back with a really strong game.

Bouk:
22 points
5 rebounds
10 assists
5 steals
1 block

Kai:
17 points
11 rebounds
1 assist
1 steal
1 block

Kai went 8-8 from the field...these last several games have seemingly been amazing showings from him. Very excited to see where he's at in October.

[SWedd523]

I realize this is super wishful thinking, but if Kai really does click and can be our big of the now and future, he really would unlock the potential of this team.

I fully believe they're an above average Center away from being a consistent top 4 team in the East

[yosemiteben]

Um ok

Read on Twitter

[BigSlam]

Kai is enjoying quite a productive 3rd qtr.

[BigSlam]

Gelo who???

Arnie has shot the ball lights out tonight.

[BigSlam]

Also, Crutcher continues to be very good - as he has been all season.

[BigSlam]

Kai:
30 points
9 rebounds
2 assists
1 steal
3 blocks

[Snidely FC]

Gelo who???

Arnie has shot the ball lights out tonight.

highlights:

Watch on YouTube

[Diop]

at the start of the season I was hoping/expecting more of this from him. he can shoot, just needs to be able to defend a little

[fatlever]

fun fact... the swarm have never had a winning season. 6 seasons, all but 1 have been awful. 1 season they were 24-26.
why is this team so bad historically? does it reflect in any way on the franchise as a whole? its not like we havent been stashing quality draftees in gboro each year. or zero correlation to hornets?

[Snidely FC]

fun fact... the swarm have never had a winning season. 6 seasons, all but 1 have been awful. 1 season they were 24-26.
why is this team so bad historically? does it reflect in any way on the franchise as a whole? its not like we havent been stashing quality draftees in gboro each year. or zero correlation to hornets?

I touched on this in the Kai thread where I mentioned that I don't think winning is necessarily a priority with teams in the G League, that the league is more about showcasing individual talent. But I want to qualify that.

I think there are two approaches to how parent teams treat their G League affiliate rosters. The Swarm seem to focus on their drafted guys, like Bouk, Kai, Thor. Other NBA teams - Golden State, Houston, Philly spring to mind - use their G League teams to actually try to find NBA level talent. Often those guys are undrafted or free agents, and HUNGRY. Those are the teams you see consistently at the top of the G League standings.

Houston's affiliate, Rio Grand Valley, just won their 4th G League title, led by undrafted Trevelin Queen and Anthony Lamb, as well as free agent Mfiondu Kabengele, who looks like he might be an NBA big.

If you think winning in the G is important then we should sign Kabengele this summer. He dominated the finals. But, bear in mind he is 6'9. I mentioned in the Kai thread the lack of size and the prevalence of ball dominant guards in the G League, and the recent G League finals are good examples. Check out the Delaware (Philly affiliate) lineup Kabengele dominated. The Blue Coats started 6'7" Patrick McCaw (former GS/TOR guard) at Center, 6'3 Karim Mane at SF, 6'5 Aaron Henry PF, 6'4 Shaq Harrison PG, and 6'3 Jarred Brownridge SG, with 6'2 Myles Powell and 6' Shamorie Ponds their primary subs

NBA journeyman 6'4 Shaq Harrison, by the way, was just awarded G League defensive player of the year, which gives you an idea of the level of defense being played.

I hear you about the Swarm. It seems like with talented players like Kai, Bouk and Thor they might do more winning, but by focusing on relatively callow Hornets draftees, the Swarm seem to lack the one thing that really leads to winning in the G League: hunger

[fatlever]

Thanks snidely

This is the type of feedback and insight I was looking for when I posed my question. You confirmed my suspicions that the Swarm seem to operate the team differently than some of the teams that dominate the G league and consistently seem to find NBA rotation type players out of there G League Squad, whereas that has never happened on our end.

I just couldn't understand why the Swarm has been bad for six straight seasons. There was even one year where we had Devonte Graham, Dwayne bacon, Jalen McDaniels Etc on that team for a good portion of the season and still couldn't finish above 500.

Have they under utilized the team in terms of trying to find some of these nba-ready rotational type players? Or are they correct in terms of continuing to prioritize developing our youngsters?

Obviously, I don't think any of us would want some random 29 year old journeyman trying to take minutes away from Kai Jones last season.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Snidely FC]

Thanks snidely

This is the type of feedback and insight I was looking for when I posed my question. You confirmed my suspicions that the Swarm seem to operate the team differently than some of the teams that dominate the G league and consistently seem to find NBA rotation type players out of there G League Squad, whereas that has never happened on our end.

I just couldn't understand why the Swarm has been bad for six straight seasons. There was even one year where we had Devonte Graham, Dwayne bacon, Jalen McDaniels Etc on that team for a good portion of the season and still couldn't finish above 500.

Have they under utilized the team in terms of trying to find some of these nba-ready rotational type players? Or are they correct in terms of continuing to prioritize developing our youngsters?

Obviously, I don't think any of us would want some random 29 year old journeyman trying to take minutes away from Kai Jones last season.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM Forums mobile app

I don't think the Hornets have underutilized Gboro. But I do hope that as the Hornets' roster evolves so will the way they utilize Greensboro.

In the early days of G League the Rockets had a quality roster so Daryl Morey used Rio Grand as his mad science lab to see how many 3 pters a team could launch in a game. Now Houston is in a talent acquisition phase and needs their young top draft picks to play 40 mpg for the Rockets, which means their G League affiliate can focus on unearthing undrafted talent. Teams like Philly and GS have superstars who need the right mix of role players around them. The G League is perfect for finding guys like that.

Gboro rostering vets who can show the younguns how to win might be helpful, but those guys aren't as easy to find as you'd think because typically they're looking for more attractive employment elsewhere. Shaq Harrison is a good example. He sees that if he plays well in Delaware, Philly might pull him up to their parent club, maybe even for their playoff roster, whereas there's no track record of that with Gboro.

Charlotte's current rotation doesn't have any room to add a G League find. As you've seen the Hornets don't even have playing time for their star rookies. Perhaps though, as the Hornets become a regular playoff team, fewer draft picks and the need to unearth complimentary role players to help win playoff games will necessitate a change in the way the team utilizes the Swarm.

I have noticed that young players exposed to the speed of play and intensity of the NBA who return to the G League tend to explode at that lower slower level, so I think it's important for the parent team to continue to not only shuffle guys like Kai back and forth, but also to give them as much playing time at NBA speed as possible. In the meantime, with Charlotte's immutable belief that NBA teams win with veterans, Gboro is the only place guys like Kai and Bouk can get the copious minutes needed to boost their play.

[fatlever]

some dude on swarm had a triple double with 22 assists. 2nd most assists in gleague history. wow. and a 40pt win.

[yosemiteben]

some dude on swarm had a triple double with 22 assists. 2nd most assists in gleague history. wow. and a 40pt win.

Noticed that, looked him up and had no idea he was even on our team. No clue who he is, but it appears that he's only played two games for us total.

Check out his game log, his last game was, uh, not quite as impressive.

https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1630204/boxscores-traditional/

[Bassman]

some dude on swarm had a triple double with 22 assists. 2nd most assists in gleague history. wow. and a 40pt win.

Noticed that, looked him up and had no idea he was even on our team. No clue who he is, but it appears that he's only played two games for us total.

Check out his game log, his last game was, uh, not quite as impressive.

https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1630204/boxscores-traditional/

Per the link it was his first limited minutes game (11/20) with a different team that wasn’t so good. Suddenly he shows up on the Swarm and posts dimes like that? Pretty amazing to accomplish that with a team you barely know.

Still, his college record was nothing much (caught up in Covid, protocol violation). Went undrafted, was on a couple of teams as an early preseason player then cut. Good athlete evidently. Can always hope for a Kurt Warner-type fairy tale story to develop here. Definitely hope they see what he can do over the course of the season.

[BeesWax]

some dude on swarm had a triple double with 22 assists. 2nd most assists in gleague history. wow. and a 40pt win.

Noticed that, looked him up and had no idea he was even on our team. No clue who he is, but it appears that he's only played two games for us total.

Check out his game log, his last game was, uh, not quite as impressive.

https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1630204/boxscores-traditional/

Per the link it was his first limited minutes game (11/20) with a different team that wasn’t so good. Suddenly he shows up on the Swarm and posts dimes like that? Pretty amazing to accomplish that with a team you barely know.

Still, his college record was nothing much (caught up in Covid, protocol violation). Went undrafted, was on a couple of teams as an early preseason player then cut. Good athlete evidently. Can always hope for a Kurt Warner-type fairy tale story to develop here. Definitely hope they see what he can do over the course of the season.

I mean there was talent there. He was a five star recruit out of high school in the same class and higher ranked than Herro. I know that doesn't mean a ton but maybe he is just a late bloomer and needed to get his head on straight.

[JDR720]

He played 30mpg at Kentucky and was a highly ranked recruit (92 score on ESPN). Averaged 6 assists his last season but he can't shoot (25% 3pt).

Watch on YouTube

[Liver_Pooty]

He played 30mpg at Kentucky and was a highly ranked recruit (92 score on ESPN). Averaged 6 assists his last season but he can't shoot (25% 3pt).

Watch on YouTube

Can't shoot a lick. Was a hell of a defender though.