Yet another D-league thread

doclinkin · Post #1 » by **doclinkin** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:17 am

Couldn't find either of the others.

Dakota Wizards Announce Open Tryout

BISMARCK, N.D., September 15, 2009 – The Dakota Wizards, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies, will be conducting an open tryout October 10 and 11 on the Washington Wizards homecourt at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C

Open tryouts offer athletes an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of NBA Development League coaches while they compete to earn a position in the team’s official training camp which is scheduled to begin in mid-November.

New Wizards head coach Rory White and assistant coach Kevin Rice can bring up to 17 players to training camp before trimming opening day rosters to 10 players, some of whom may have participated in the open tryout.

“The NBA D-League is all about giving young, hard-working players opportunities,” White said. “At the Wizards open tryouts, we’ll be looking for those talented players who are under the radar, but skilled enough to play at this level, and hopefully, beyond.” Interested players should complete a registration form, as well as a player release and eligibility form. These are available at DakotaWizards.com.

Interesting that the D-League Wizard tryouts will be held here in DC. Would be nice if this were actually a suggestion that the team might be building a regional squad, but no, it's just far easier for most ballers to get to the DC area than Memphis or Dakota.

closg00 · Post #2 » by **closg00** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 10:03 am

I hope THIS D-League thread survives, all of my attempts at having discussions on the D-League have failed

Zerocious · Post #3 » by **Zerocious** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:52 pm

closg00 wrote::clap: I hope THIS D-League thread survives, all of my attempts at having discussions on the D-League have failed

Halcyon · Post #4 » by **Halcyon** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 2:38 am

ZonkertheBrainless · Post #5 » by **ZonkertheBrainless** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 3:20 am

That's actually pretty good for a third grader. Wish my daughter's handwriting were that good.
[edit: was, I mean, wish my daughter's handwriting was that good. Sigh, I wish I had graduated third grade grammer]
[oh wait, were is the conjunctive. You know what, I'm just gonna go to bed now]

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #6 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 4:08 am

Yeah, that is decent for third grade work. My second grader's not down with finger spacing yet. He still reverses numbers and letters when he's rushed. The printing above is about on a level with my fourth grader. (Not the spelling--he's a great speller).

Severn Hoos · Post #7 » by **Severn Hoos** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:22 am

Get that kid a job at ACORN - already knows the core competency!

closg00 · Post #8 » by **closg00** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 7:15 pm

The Oklahoma City Thunder have assigned rookie center Byron Mullens(notes) and guard Kyle Weaver(notes) to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Mullens was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 24th pick in this year’s draft before Oklahoma City acquired him that night in a trade. He has yet to play in a game this season.

Weaver, a second-year player, scored 11 points in his season debut Wednesday against Orlando. He also played the final minute of the Thunder’s victory Friday night against Washington, when the game was already in hand.

Do you think OKC knows a thing or two about player development? OKC, Boston, and Houston have also sent players to the D-League

verbal8 · Post #9 » by **verbal8** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 9:09 pm

closg00 wrote:
The Oklahoma City Thunder have assigned rookie center Byron Mullens(notes) and guard Kyle Weaver(notes) to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

Mullens was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 24th pick in this year’s draft before Oklahoma City acquired him that night in a trade. He has yet to play in a game this season.

Weaver, a second-year player, scored 11 points in his season debut Wednesday against Orlando. He also played the final minute of the Thunder’s victory Friday night against Washington, when the game was already in hand.

Do you think OKC knows a thing or two about player development? OKC, Boston, and Houston have also sent players to the D-League

In general I agree that OKC seems to be a well run team. I think Mullens being sent to the D-League is a sign that he is far from being ready to contribute in the NBA. However you can't expect a late first rounder to jump right in and contribute.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #10 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:12 pm

I liked Kyle Weaver a lot in the draft when he was at Washington State. I think he's the ideal type guard to pair with Gilbert Arenas. Weaver's not likely to beat out Sefolosha or Harden for playing time, but he's a quality player. It's good for Weaver that OKC is letting him play somewhere.

The Thunder are using the D-League well and have drafted extremely well. I bet Etan's happy to be on a team that appears to have a very bright future.

fishercob · Post #11 » by **fishercob** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:26 pm

Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:
The Thunder are using the D-League well and have drafted extremely well. I bet Etan's happy to be on a team that appears to have a very bright future.

It won't last -- especially if they sign Haywood this summer :-)

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #12 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:49 pm

That's just cold blooded, fish. True, but cold blooded.

closg00 · Post #13 » by **closg00** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:45 pm

The Phoenix Suns have recalled rookie forward Taylor Griffin from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr. Originally assigned to Iowa on Dec. 7, the 6-7, 238-pound Griffin started both games he appeared in, averaging 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals in 37.0 minutes. Griffin shot 68.8 percent from the field in those contests, both Energy wins.

One of the reasons why I believe Ernie Grunfeld should be fired is because of poor player- development and lack of a big-man coach for our bigs these past years. The Suns sent Taylor Griffin to the D-League for two games so he could play a couple of full games, then they recalled him.

Given Flip's aversion to playing McGee, why won't the Wizards send McGee to the D-League for a couple of games with an assistant, then recall him? I hope the new ownership corrects this.

fishercob · Post #14 » by **fishercob** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 12:57 am

Given how much the Hershey Bears have fed directly into the Caps success, I would think that there's going to be a greater emphasis on having a true "farm system" under Leonsis than there was under Abe. But it i's also worth noting that assistant coaches and installing a farm team cost a lot of money.

The other thing is, I can't think of one player on a recent champion or contender whose contributions were greatly enhanced because of time in the D-league. I think if Ernie is fired it's not being to be because Javale McGee didnt progress quickly enough.

closg00 · Post #15 » by **closg00** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:56 am

fishercob wrote:Given how much the Hershey Bears have fed directly into the Caps success, I would think that there's going to be a greater emphasis on having a true "farm system" under Leonsis than there was under Abe. But it i's also worth noting that assistant coaches and installing a farm team cost a lot of money.

The other thing is, I can't think of one player on a recent champion or contender whose contributions were greatly enhanced because of time in the D-league. I think if Ernie is fired it's not being to be because Javale McGee didnt progress quickly enough.

The Wizards have a farm team, its our D-League affiliate the Dakota Wizards. The problems is we haven't used our D-League affiliate since PJR IIRC. Why not?????? It's good enough for Boston, Cleveland, Portland, and Dallas etc. The value is obvious and many successful NBA players have spent time in the D-League.

There are more than enough reasons to fire Ernie, not developing his young talent is just one of them.

closg00 · Post #16 » by **closg00** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 7:54 pm

The Boston Celtics announced Tuesday that guard Lester Hudson has been assigned to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

Hudson is the team's second assignment to the NBA Development League this season.

Hudson, a 6'3" guard, has appeared in 13 games for the Celtics this season and registered season-highs of six points and three assists against Philadelphia on November 3.

Player development in-action. Get a clue Ernie.

closg00 · Post #17 » by **closg00** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 5:11 pm

doclinkin wrote:Couldn't find either of the others.

Dakota Wizards Announce Open Tryout

BISMARCK, N.D., September 15, 2009 – The Dakota Wizards, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies, will be conducting an open tryout October 10 and 11 on the Washington Wizards homecourt at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C

Open tryouts offer athletes an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of NBA Development League coaches while they compete to earn a position in the team’s official training camp which is scheduled to begin in mid-November.

New Wizards head coach Rory White and assistant coach Kevin Rice can bring up to 17 players to training camp before trimming opening day rosters to 10 players, some of whom may have participated in the open tryout.

“The NBA D-League is all about giving young, hard-working players opportunities,” White said. “At the Wizards open tryouts, we’ll be looking for those talented players who are under the radar, but skilled enough to play at this level, and hopefully, beyond.” Interested players should complete a registration form, as well as a player release and eligibility form. These are available at DakotaWizards.com.

Interesting that the D-League Wizard tryouts will be held here in DC. Would be nice if this were actually a suggestion that the team might be building a regional squad, but no, it's just far easier for most ballers to get to the DC area than Memphis or Dakota.

I've tried, now you've tried Doc, perhaps the times have finally caught-up with this board and we can try again to have the D-League thread out there again.

My candidate for a 10-day? Michael Sweetney

There is always a chance for redemption. I thought it would have been nice to have Mike and his 260 pounds last night to battle Boozer in the post.
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/i ... e_sweetney

Another guy I'd give a 10-day to and could possible be more useful than Orberto is John Bryant.
http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/g ... ohn_bryant

mnWI · Post #18 » by **mnWI** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:44 pm

Bryant's a very nice player but would get destroyed defensively in the NBA. He's painfully slow, particularly with his lateral movement. We had Earl Barron get 22 and 10 against him in a half by just isolating him and letting him drive around Bryant. Earl finished the game with 35 pts and 24 rebs. Bryant has soft hands, nice touch, and a sweet mid-range jumper, but it will be very difficult for him to get it done at the NBA level.

closg00 · Post #19 » by **closg00** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:51 pm

mnWI wrote:Bryant's a very nice player but would get destroyed defensively in the NBA. He's painfully slow, particularly with his lateral movement. We had Earl Barron get 22 and 10 against him in a half by just isolating him and letting him drive around Bryant. Earl finished the game with 35 pts and 24 rebs. Bryant has soft hands, nice touch, and a sweet mid-range jumper, but it will be very difficult for him to get it done at the NBA level.

Thanks for the inside info, he did look painfully slow in a clip I saw, then-again Haywood was known as "The sloth" by some.

doclinkin · Post #20 » by **doclinkin** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 2:19 am

Shawn Livingston. Alonzo Gee. Mike Harris. I'm happy to finally have a few open roster slots so that the team can add an influx of energy from cheap contracts and players desperate to prove something.

I used to love the fire and fury of CBA call-ups, makes sense to keep that low payroll and a couple spots open at the end of the bench to try out call-ups to add to chemistry and mid-season energy as needed or to give a rest to injured players. If a player proves a nice fit, then you can likely ink 'em for a relatively low deal, especially if you see them developing offcourt and think you'd like to have them for a longer contract.