Another year, another draft, another 4,000 words of nonsensical gibberish about a draft nobody could possibly predict, but which is always entertaining. Stick with me while I recap NBATV’s draft coverage, make fun of commercials, and wander off on tangents you couldn’t possibly be interested in. It’s going to be exciting!
If you’re really nice I’ll even try and throw in a bit of analysis about the players, picks, teams, etc. But I mean REALLY nice – like flowers, chocolates and foot massage nice. After all, analysis is what we do here at DraftExpress…. right?
6:50pm – There’s no way there’s any pre-draft coverage this year, right? I mean, it’s not like they have their own channel that plays their own content and which they need to fill 24/7/365. Dutifully though, like the ignorant D-League fan I am, I flip over to NBATV hoping to catch a few tidbits on the return of uber-veteran Carlos Powell, or at least some hype surrounding Latavious Williams. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It’s some sort of “this week in the NBA” retread with a spotlight on Joakim Noah. Literally dozens of fellow D-League fans around the nation sigh and roll their eyes.
6:59pm – Back to NBATV I realize they’re in the middle of Top 10 Plays of the Week, so I quickly rewind…
6:57pm – Why are these things never in the right order? Is it that hard to evaluate what the “cooler” play is? For example, why is Brandon Roy’s pull up from just behind the arc ranked #7 and Gilbert Arenas’ half court shot at #8? That makes no sense.
In D-League news Shannon Brown’s put back dunk at #5 is SPECTACULAR. I’m pretty sure his head is above the rim. True story: despite being absolutely ripped, Shannon Brown doesn’t lift weights – he focuses almost solely on pushups. That’s right, a guy with a 45 inch vertical doesn’t do leg exercises. That’s just unfair.
(A few years ago during the Showcase, DX super scout Jim Hlavac lovingly referred to him as a “chucker”. Probably due to the 20 field goal attempts he averaged per game – while coming off of the bench!)
7:00pm – Finally, we arrive at the NBATV studios and find our good buddy Rick Kamla and league president Dan Reed seated and ready to go. Kamla quickly informs us that we’re “going to have a blast” and if Dan Reed’s reaction is anything to judge by then I believe him! (Not really.)
Reed tells us that historically 1 out of 5 D-Leaguers will end up on an NBA roster within a year. This seems not only unlikely, but patently absurd. Somebody really needs to proof-read their scripts and point out that he surely must be including summer league and training camp rosters.
I wonder who those players are from Albuquerque last year? Erie? Heck, the Anaheim Arsenal? Oh right, James White, that’s about it though. Interestingly though the Anaheim A-List girls managed a ridiculous number of “call-ups” to teams such as the Lakers, Clippers and Chargers. That’s right, the cheerleaders outperformed the basketball team. No wonder they folded – err, uhh, moved to Springfield.
(By “moved“ I of course mean “got new owners, a new city, a new arena, a new team name, a new mascot, and new players”. And just in case you were wondering, they also replaced the cheerleaders, so they don’t even have that going for them anymore.)
7:03pm – In reference to the enhanced media presence planned for the season Dan Reed just said that he thinks “it will be great for the millions of fans out there who really want to follow the NBA Development League.” Umm… no comment.
7:07pm – Single affiliation partnerships. Where to begin? Of course the league is promoting this as a “win-win”. The NBA teams get to control who the teams pick, what kind of system they run, who they trade, who they waive, etc. And the local team gets…? Someone pulling their strings? Controlling their operations from a distance? Making basketball decisions that are bad business decisions? Reaping all of the benefits of having a minor league team without any of the financial risks?
For example, the Rockets, who now control the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, have absolutely no incentive to draft a player who makes the Vipers a better team. Their only real interest is making the Rockets a better team. Drafting a multi-year veteran contributor who could help lead a team to the D-League playoffs, but will never make an NBA roster, doesn’t help them in the least. Drafting a project player with few skills and potential upside, and then painfully playing him 35 minutes a game in your system to try and whip him into call-up shape, seems much more likely to me. The NBA teams win, the D-League teams lose, and most importantly, the fans get the shaft.
(For those of you scoring at home, instead of a win-win that’s a win-lose-shaft.)
7:08pm – First commercial: NBA2k 10. Okay, that’s pretty legit. Second commercial though? Heel-Tastic! In all seriousness, how many people watching this show have heels so dry they’re embarrassed to wear sandals? Clearly more than I think there is, that’s for sure.
Side note: I love these kinds of lines: “Call now and get Heel-Tastic for just $20! But order now and we’ll cut the price to just $10!” But… you just said that right “now” it’s $20? How can “now” mean two different things? I’m trapped in some sort of NBATV/D-League multi-dimensional timewarp thingy.
Ya know, my heels are a bit dry… I think I’ll hold out until the “now” where it’s free.
7:10pm – A quick package about former Development League success stories leads us to one of my favorites that the league brings up constantly in Jordan Farmar. The dude played 3 games! 3! We’re grasping at straws here people!
7:11pm – Back to the studio and Chris Alpert has magically replaced Dan Reed at the NBATV Desk of Content Filler. A fun game if you have 10 minutes is to try and figure out Alpert’s full job title. Because you’ve already wasted 11 minutes just getting to this point I’ll go ahead and save you the trouble:
Chris Alpert, National Basketball Association Development League Vice President of Basketball Operations and Player Personnel
AKA Chris Aplert, NBADLVPBOPP for short.
(I’ve heard insider talk that every year he stays in the league they reward him by tacking on another word to his title.)
7:13pm – In preparation for the first pick they quickly cut to a map of the United States and then zoom in to New Mexico and throw a Thunderbirds graphic over Albuquerque. Just in case you weren’t sure where it was. Don’t worry, by the time they get to the Erie BayHawks you’ll be thanking them.
Dan Reed: “WITH THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2009 NBA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE DRAFT THE ABUQUERQUE THUNDERBIRDS SELECT: Carlos Powell.”
What?! No way! Unpossible!
I’m being entirely sarcastic of course. In his previous stint in the league he was selected #2 and went on to become an All-Star who put up 22/6/5. I think most experts pegged him to go first, even if he didn’t necessarily fill any holes the T-Birds have.
Fun fact: Carlos’ real name is Ricardo Auturo Powell.
7:16pm – You get a vibe from the John Coffino interview that they’re planning on playing him at the 4 with Kevin Pittsnogle at the 5. If that’s the case then who rebounds? Keith McLeod? You have to think with their second round pick they’re going to go big regardless of who’s on the board.
7:18pm – The Erie BayHawks need backcourt help and decide on Donell Taylor. He spent a couple of years as a backup for the Wizards (Washington, not Dakota) and certainly has NBA height at 6’6”, plus he averaged 13ppg for Egaleo in Greece last year. Both the NBA and ourselves have him ranked fairly high, although that seems to be based mostly on his time in Europe and not during his alleged stint on the Spurs summer league team that I don’t remember him being on.
Alpert loves him though, so consider me sold.
Fun fact: Donell Taylor has a twin brother named Ronell Taylor who also played in the D-League. You can’t make this stuff up.
7:20pm – I’m absolutely elated to see that in a full year since the 2008 draft they haven’t managed to shake the awning commercials. But where in the world is Better Basketball?!
7:22pm – Earlier today, sources say, the Los Angeles D-Fenders traded Earl Barron to Iowa for Anthony Tolliver and then promptly flipped him to another undisclosed team in a 3-way deal that should be announced later on today. Even still, the D-Fenders have the most complete team based on returning and allocated players, and because the Lakers aren’t too concerned about how many games they win (see the Rockets/Vipers discussion above and multiply it by 10) they’re able to take a free pass on a player with a lot of upside, so they choose Deron Washington. I don’t know about upside, but the guy certainly has ups. DX Godfather Jonathan Givony proclaimed him to be the heir to James White’s D-League Dunk Contest throne. That’s a lot of pressure. It’ll be interesting to see what a year of working with Rasheed Hazzard does for the rest of his game.
Speaking of dunk contests, I’m actually more excited this year about the D-League’s Dunk Contest and All-Star game than the NBA’s. Why is that? Well they’re hosting the NBA’s events at the new Dallas Cowboy’s stadium, which is absolutely massive and will probably be at least half empty, whereas the D-League stuff will be in a smaller and more intimate arena that the fans can really get involved in and interact with the players.
Now that I think about it, that sounds pretty much like the PR spin that Reed and Alpert love to get caught up in. “We’re very excited to be playing on a tiny court with bleacher seats shoved into the corner of a convention center as opposed to in that brand new state-of-the-art $1.8 billion mega-stadium with a TV screen the size of Rhode Island.”
I’m starting to scare myself.
7:26pm – The fourth pick in the draft falls to the Bakersfield Jam, whose only requirement for a successful draft is to ACTUALLY MAKE A PICK.
(You may recall the story of then-head coach Jim Harrick famously paying attention to the slightly delayed television coverage, and not to the league office conference call, and then standing idly by as the Jam’s first round pick came and went. An infuriated Harrick unleashed a tirade over the phone, eventually getting his revenge against them by spending the rest of the season collecting a paycheck, playing golf, and leaving poor Sean Rooks to do all of the work.)
Anywho… the Jam select Amara Sy. This is a very interesting guy for the league in that he’s been an overseas professional his entire career. At 28 years old, if he’s successful in his route to the NBA via the D-League it could open the floodgates for other European veterans.
The real question though is whether or not Sy will quickly get bored in Bakersfield and fall back to a cushy $300k contract in Europe.
Draft Grade Based on Just Making a Pick: A+
7:28pm – In what must be an homage to last year, poor Rick Kamla starts discussing Utah Flash owner Brandt Andersen and getting ready to dig into detail just as the camera pulls out and switches to the going-to-commercials graphics. Rick, like the true pro that he is, quickly rips through his spiel and throws us to the break. Fist bump Kamla, nicely done.
Top fist-bumpers associated with the D-League:
1) Rick Kamla – the dude is a fist-bumping legend.
2) Shawn Respert – so smooth you might not even know it happened.
3) Da Bull – when he’s not dunking in the middle of a Toros game, he’s always up for some knucks.
4) Reggie Geary – the Arsenal didn’t win a whole lot when he was coaching, but when they did he could pound fists with the best of them.
5) Mike Schmidt – at the top for possibly the most awkward fist bumps in the history of the D-League. If you’re in Iowa for a game this year be sure to seek him out and get a taste for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
7:29pm – The Fertilizer Mulch Cocoon in the Patch Perfect commercial is… just… well… inappropriate. You really have to see it for yourself.
7:31pm – Coming back to the studio we find out that the Utah Flash are picking Garret Siler out of D2 Augusta State. Last I checked in with the seven foot Siler he was weighing it at 300lbs, though rumors are he’s slimed down to 280. That can only benefit him as he’s slow off his feet and can’t guard anyone outside of the paint. That said, the guy did shoot 79% in college… so, there’s that.
With a smirk on his face Alpert points out that Mark Madsen is now a coach in Utah. [Insert dancing joke here.]
7:34pm – Alonzo Gee goes 6th to the Austin Toros. Gee barely played for the Spurs Summer League team this year, but I guess they liked what they saw. He has some skills, but hasn’t really ever brought them together. His biggest weakness is three point shooting. And free throw shooting. Well, just shooting in general really. Usually a pre-requisite for a shooting guard/small forward, but in the D-League anything goes.
7:36pm – Heel-Tastic! Is this “now” the free one? Nope. Guess I’ll wait for the next “now”.
(Since they have a Heel-Tastic that magically fixes heels do you think maybe they have an ACL-Tastic that Robert Swift can borrow for his knees?)
7:39pm – At #7 the Reno Bighorns grab Desmon Farmer who has proven his skills in the D-League time and time again. In his last stint he averaged just under 25ppg and could see time at both the 2 and 3 this season. At least until he gets called up. Or he gets fed up.
Currently the Reno Bighorns have two of my all time favorite D-Leaguers in Majic Dorsey and Mr. Boom Tho himself, Rod Benson. It remains to be seen, however, if they can score the coveted D-League Super Fun Times Trifecta by resurrecting Elton Brown from Germany for the upcoming season.
7:42pm – The first pick in history for the expansion Maine Red Claws. This is the type of thing that sets the tone for your franchise for decades to come. With this one pick they can define their destiny. What will it be Red Claws? Perennial mediocrity or everlasting glory?!
All right, that was a bit melodramatic. In the grand scheme of things this pick means nothing and don’t let anybody tell you differently.
The Red Claws grab Paul Harris at #8 who, while a bit undersized, will probably a very solid contributor at the D-League level. He’s surrounded by similarly solid D-League veterans in Billy Thomas, Noel Felix and Will Blalock, and is the type of player that should thrive because of that. He also has plenty of experience working with Maine assistant coach Mike Procopio, the lead trainer at Tim Grover’s gym the past few years.
The best part of this pick was Kamla’s reaction to the Red Claws logo. Definitely a candidate for this year’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants Awesomest Expansion Franchise Logo trophy.
(What you gots Springfield Armor? You best step up if you wanna compete with the Red Claws, yo!)
7:48pm – The Iowa Energy have some European scouting heavyweights guiding their team this season and so it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that they select Italian first division leading scorer Rashad Anderson with the #9 pick. He’s an A contract scorer who comes with only a B contract salary and in a lot of ways that makes him a steal.
Kamla questions whether or not he has NBA range, to which I would say that even if he doesn’t head coach Nick Nurse has a pill that will cure that.
7:52pm – The Mad Ants need a point guard and I’m inclined to think they’ll take Mustafa Shakur at #10, who is the best one on the board.
And my inclined was declined! They take Alade Aminu which I guess means they’re pretty happy heading into the season with Kyle McAlarney at the PG spot. Or they’re following the Dan Panaggio Draft Playbook strategy of “pick all big men and worry about gaps later.”
Aminu is a definite “upside” pick, but that upside is pretty high. Really needs to bulk up, so we’ll have to wait quite a while though to see if it pans out for the Mad Ants.
7:54pm – There’s that Mulch Cocoon again… yeah…
7:57pm – Donnie Nelson, co-owner of the new Frisco, Texas franchise joins us on the phone. The most interesting thing about this franchise is that they have one of the foremost experts and basketball analysts in the entire D-League already living in Frisco and yet they haven’t even bothered to contact him. You would think that would have been at the top of their agenda. Guess not.
Donnie reminds us that they’ve hired Nancy Lieberman as the first female coach in D-League history. The real story about this choice isn’t that she’s a she, it’s that she’s a damn fine coach and, maybe more importantly, they’ve hired her a full year out. Leadership and direction coming from a D-League franchise? That’s the real first. Well done, Frisco Fighters.
(Not big on “Fighters”, eh? Umm, Frisco Flames? Frisco Fang? Frisco Franchise? Firecrackers? Flamingos? Freebirds? I’m out of ideas, but I think we all know it’s going to be the Frisco Flyers.)
Best part of the interview comes when we find out that Donnie Nelson researched Lieberman by reading up on her Wikipedia page.
8:02pm – Curtis Withers goes to the Dakota Wizards at #11. They needed a big for sure, and while Withers is undersized, he can provide some rebounding and maybe do just enough scoring to keep their inside-out game intact this season.
8:04pm – Alpert reminds folks at home that players as deep as the third and fourth rounds in the last years have produced players good enough to get called up to the NBA and that fans should be excited at the opportunity to… draft a steal of a player who then ends up leaving them in the dust…? A better plan might to draft a guy just good enough to NOT make the NBA.
(You think I’m kidding, but this is the actual strategy of most D-League teams, which is why slotting these drafts is borderline impossible. “He needs to be good, but not so good that he gets called up or leaves for Europe!”)
8:05pm – The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are in a curious position with a lot of fringe intrigue players. Add to the mix new head coach Chris Finch (who a lot of folks speculate is already the best coach in the D-League without having had a game) and their team becomes even more interesting.
At #12 they decide on Antonio Anderson, who put up really well rounded numbers at Memphis while playing plus-defense en route to becoming conference player of the year. He can’t shoot a lick, but does a decent job of getting to the basket. Despite that fact all of the highlights they show of him are of knocking down threes while playing pre-season for the Bobcats. Some cherry-picked highlights if I’ve ever seen them. He’ll probably be a solid contributor for the Vipers this season, but not much beyond that.
8:09pm – An ITT Tech commercial! We’ve upgraded to middle-of-the-day Jerry Springer level advertising. Next year? As-seen-on-TV infomercials!
8:11pm – The Sioux Falls Skyforce nab Raymond Sykes at #13. I don’t really know a lot about him other than he’s supposedly a decent athlete for his size who should bring some energy to the court. Judging by Alpert’s recap he doesn’t know a whole lot about him either. This seems like a massive reach at 13.
I think my favorite part about the Skyforce is that their affiliates are the Minnesota Timberwolves and… wait for it… the Miami Heat! I’m not sure there are two more polar opposite places on the planet than Miami and Sioux Falls. But maybe I’m just being too hard on Miami.
(Zing!)
8:13pm – What’s up Springfield Armor? Or should I say Armour? All you could come up with for a logo is a fat dude in knight’s armor holding a basketball? What an incredible disappointment. The Maine Red Claws proudly hoist their FWMA Awesoment Expansion Franchise Logo trophy (presented by Heel-Tastic™!) and then promptly fart in your general direction.
(The Anaheim Arsenal are rolling over in their graves.)
But wait! With #14 the Armor take JamesOn Curry, one of the best prospects in the entire draft! A guy who could have easily gone at #1! Redemption so soon? We’ll have to wait and see, but the success of this pick will probably have to wait until after the Showcase when we find out if Curry gets busted again for urinating in public. Seriously.
(Odds Kamla brings up the urinating in public issue? 5 to 1. Odds Alpert brings it up? 1,000,000,000,000,0-------- INFINITE NUMBER OVERLOAD! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! CANNOT COMPUTE!)
8:15pm – The penultimate pick at #15 belongs to the Idaho Stampede, who select Sundiata Gaines. Frankly this team has a lot of ground to make up. In addition to losing all of their good players, they lost head coach Bryan Gates and assistant coach Randy Livingston. Gaines is a player we’ve had high on our radar for a while now and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares after having a very solid year overseas playing for Italy’s Cantù. Stampede fans probably won’t be too familiar with him, but I think he’s going to be a pleasant surprise for them this year.
Meanwhile Kamla and Alpert wander off into a discussion about how the D-League Showcase is returning to Boise this year, and while I do agree that Boise is a great fit (the hotel is attached to the arena after all), it would be nice to go somewhere else. Though, in fairness, previous Showcases in Provo, Utah and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, have been marred by an obscene amount of snow. Here’s a novel idea: why not host it somewhere warm? I know, where do I come up with stuff? Brilliant! LA or Austin would be perfect. They should really look into that.
While Armor head coach Dee Brown is being interviewed I can’t help but notice on the ticker bar that JamesOn written without proper capitalization reads as Jameson. Like Jameson Whiskey. Or Jamison Brewer. Weird.
8:23pm – This is it! The finale! El fin! The last pick! ...of the first round. Sadly only the first round is aired on television, but I mean, can you blame them? I mean, seriously people, there’s an All Access with Ahmad Rashad to be aired! I hear it’s a can’t miss episode!
Easily the most interesting player in this draft for the simple reason that he’s coming out of high school and will be eligible next year for the NBA draft. We did a bit of a write up on him the other day, so I won’t repeat any of that, but suffice it to say every person in the D-League and NBA is going to be watching him keenly this season. Even more so than Amara Sy, a successful run by Williams could change the shape and meaning of the D-League for seasons to come.
Normally you would make the argument that he probably won’t contribute that much to the Tulsa 66ers, but that you expect he’ll be playing his ass off to try and earn that big time paycheck come June. I’ll also add, however, that this is exactly the type of pick I was talking about earlier when I mentioned teams like the Vipers, D-Fenders and Spurs being more interested in projects that will help their parent clubs than their NBADL counterparts. The 66ers are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder and you can bet money that they’re going to at least make an attempt to groom him into their own personal perfect NBA draftee. Which means minutes, minutes, and more minutes, regardless of how well he plays.
8:27pm – After some slobbering wrap-up rhetoric about being innovators by President Reed, we’re out.
So that does it! If you managed to get this far though my draft diary you’re probably a diehard D-League fan, a masochist, or my Mom.
(Hi, Mom!)
Stay tuned for another year of unbelievable D-League content!
The 2009 D-League draft pool is set, with the 200 players that will make up Thursday’s (7 PM EST, NBATV) 8-round, 16 team event. We’ll take a look at some of the most notable names appearing on the draft list, as well as evaluate the top prospects who could eventually earn a callup to an NBA roster this season.
Notable Names
The D-League draft marks not only the beginning of a new season of basketball, it also serves the very helpful purpose of reacquainting ourselves with players we lost track of. Among the most interesting include:
Latavious Williams- The name on this list most likely to garner national interest is that of Latavious Williams. To refresh your memory, Williams was the highly regarded power forward prep school recruit who committed to the University of Memphis, but decided to renege on the decision based on the expert advice of those around him.
“"It was a difficult decision," Williams said in a press release. "But after consulting with a number of people, and taking my family situation into consideration, playing overseas is the best move for me."
"It will not be an easy transition, but I have surrounded myself with a core of very competent people who I trust and who have my best interests at heart, so I am confident that things will work out very well."
Williams’ “mentor/advisor” Trey Godfrey, who he knows thanks to his AAU ties, told Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports back in July that the decision was purely a financial one.
"He made the decision when taking into account his family situation," said Godfrey. "He wants to put himself in a situation where he can help out and he saw this as a good opportunity."
Goodman also quoted Godfrey discussing his belief that Williams will be able to garner a contract in the “six-figure range”, and was mentioned having “a lot of interest from Europe and the Far East.”
Fast-forward three months, and Williams finds himself in the D-League draft pool, holding onto a B-level non-guaranteed contract for $19,000. Surely this isn’t the way he expected things to turn out?
The cold harsh reality is that European basketball teams are not all that interested in players of Williams’ caliber: a raw, unproven athlete without a defined position and plenty of off-court red flags. Being steered through the process with a rookie agent like Godfrey surely didn’t help.
The good news is that this is anything but the end of the road for Williams, even though he has no choice but to become automatically-eligible for the draft this upcoming June. He will be scouted extensively by all 30 NBA teams this season, and should receive plenty of opportunities to play and improve all year long. The level of competition he’ll be facing on a game by game basis going up against seasoned pros is surely higher than what he would have seen at the college level. Playing in the D-League could be a humbling experience for him as well, and could force him to mature rapidly.
This will surely be one of the most interesting story lines to follow in the 2009-2010 D-League season.
Nate Miles: Miles was at the center of an alleged massive recruiting violation scandal, as reported by Yahoo! Sports in late March. Miles was always deemed to be one of the most talented wing players in his high school class, but has struggled to land on solid ground after attending five high schools in four years and being expelled from UConn before his first college season even started. He opted to enter the draft this spring, and unsurprisingly went undrafted, also being unable to land any attractive offers from Europe this summer. If signing a non-guaranteed contract for $13,000 won’t wake you up and realize that the time is now, then nothing will.
The D-League is probably the perfect place for a player like Miles, and it will be interesting to see how well he’s able to adapt his game to the professional setting. He has just a year of experience at the college of Southern Idaho underneath his belt, so there could surely be a transition period.
Jeremy Wise- A second NBA-draft eligible player found on this list is former Southern Miss guard Jeremy Wise. One of the top scorers in Conference USA in his first three seasons, the 23-year old Wise elected to forfeit his final season of eligibility by hiring an agent last May. Seeing that he had no chance of being drafted, Wise wisely elected to pull his name out of the draft at the early-entry withdrawal deadline, which means he’s still eligible to be drafted in 2010. Wise likely found the European free agent market to be a bit cooler than he expected this summer, and thus will be forced to prove his mettle in the D-League before making the next step in his professional career. Would spending a fourth straight year beating up on Conference USA defenses have better prepared him for the rigors of professional basketball than the challenges that go along with playing in the D-League? We think not.
Dar Tucker- It really didn’t come as any shock to see Dar Tucker leave DePaul after his sophomore season as unceremoniously as he did, not to those that had followed this situation from afar. The fact that no one at DePaul seemed to be shedding any tears may have told us something as well. Tucker is a freakish athlete with all kinds of scoring ability, but his horrid shot-selection and high turnover rate likely scared off any potential NBA suitors. Now the super talented yet highly enigmatic shooting guard will have to ply his trade in a slightly less comfortable setting, after failing to garner any significant looks from NBA teams this past summer.
Yaroslav Korolev- Surely this has been one of the stranger career paths we’ve followed since the inception of this site back in 2004. From top-rated European prospect, to incredibly premature NBA draft entrant, to NBA lottery pick, and then being waived just two years later, you would never guess that Korolev is just 22 years old. He spent last season glued to the bench at Dynamo Moscow, again putting good money is his bank account, but wasting yet another important year in his development. With the goal of reversing that trend and making a run back at the NBA, Korolev has made the surprising decision to sign with the D-League. Based off what we’ve seen in the numerous times we’ve seen him play recently, the NBA dream is not a very realistic one at all, but it’s quite possible that Korolev will prove us wrong.
Amara Sy- Fresh off an impressive season playing for French champions ASVEL-Villeurbanne, it can’t come as anything but a surprise to see a European passport holding, 28-year old in his prime willingly sign a $19,000 contract. Sy is reportedly that confident in his ability to show his stuff to NBA decision makers, though, and likely feels like this is his last opportunity to give it a go before resolving himself to his fate. Sy is a 6-8, long and super athletic combo forward who has made strides with his offensive game over the past few years. It will be interesting to see how his game translates to the D-League setting, and whether or not he’ll be tempted by a European team buyout if that callup doesn’t come as quickly as he hoped.
Top 10 Draft Prospects
Sundiata Gaines- One of the top American rookies in Europe last season playing in the Italian first division. Reportedly receiving strong interest from Erie with the second overall pick. Alade Aminu- Long, tall, athletic big man with budding skills and plenty of upside Carlos Powell- Proven scorer at the D-League level, will fill it up every night. Rumored to have already received a promise to be drafted #1 overall by Albuquerque. Paul Harris- Versatile athlete who will play hard and stuff the stat-sheet in every category Amara Sy- Experienced European player with terrific physical attributes Mustafa Shakur- Point guard with size and athleticism who has spent the last few years polishing up his game in Europe Rashad Anderson- Big time shooter who led the Italian first division in scoring last season Delonte Holland- Scorer of the highest caliber in top-level Europe, fallen on hard times recently JamesOn Curry – Combo guard with terrific scoring ability and unlimited range Deron Washington- Freakish athlete who is the top candidate to succeed James White in the next D-League Dunk contest
Paul Harris Jason Richards Dar Tucker Antonio Anderson Alade Aminu Garret Siler Lewis Clinch Latavious Williams
Raymond Sykes Alonzo Gee Jeremy Wise John Bryant Chris Lowe
Lance Hurdle
Deveon Jenkins
Jeremiah Fort
Travis Gabbidon
Augustine Okosun
Allen Williams
Cornell Littlejohn
Paul Johnson
Kevin Goffney
Jeff Skemp Jeremy Wise
Tony Roberts
Travis Pinick
Jermaine Johnson Russell Hicks
Kenneth Burkes
Giovonne Woods
Willie Smiley
J'Nathan Bullock
D'Lancy Carter
Richie Williams
Travis Holmes
Rodney Alexander
Chris Hayes
Jeral Davis
Craig Austrie
Mike Battle
David Carson
DeSean White
Chris Davis
Booker Woodfox
David McClure
Joe Darger
Garrison Carr
Brandon Robinson
Ira Brown
Jon Meriweather
Deon Tresvant
AJ Ratliff
Ray Reese
Matt Clement
Derrick Mercer
Marcus Walker
C.J. Anderson
Justin Billingslea
Kenny Dawkins
Vincent Oliver Nate Miles
Harold Griffin Chris Lowe
Terry Martin
Chad Toppert
Reggie Peyton
Chad Troyer
Rashad Woods
Stephen McDowell
Zachary Sowers
Nicholas Moore
Josh Jenkins
Ryan Troutman
Mitchell Johnson
Channing Toney
Adam McCoy
Jamarcus Ellis
Anthony Goods
A complete look at the players returning to their D-League team from last season, as well as those who have been allocated based on territorial rights, and those who made teams via local tryouts.
Albuquerque has some solid firepower returning in their backcourt in the form of NBA veteran Keith McLeod and former Hofstra sharpshooter Antoine Agudio, and will likely be targeting size in tomorrow's draft.
San Antonio Spurs' affiliate Austin has two solid options at the point in Baylor's Curtis Jerrells and UAB's Squeaky Johnson, as well as a rare big man with size, strength and athleticism in Dwayne Jones, after he was mysteriously cut by the Serbian team he signed with just a few days after arriving.
Robert Swift would be the big name here. It will be interesting to see how he looks after missing so much time over the past few years with injuries. Justin Hawkins will provide them with some scoring at the forward positions.
Dakota is in excellent shape, returning a good part of their core that seems to be coming back year after year. Mo Baker is about as experienced a player as you'll find at this level, while Romel Beck brings serious scoring power. Renaldo Major is another proven player at this level, known for his defense and athleticism, while 3-point specialist David Bell could be another solid cog.
Evaluation: Erie's frontcourt seems to be fairly set, with the very reliable shooting and rebounding of Rob Kurz mixed in with the sweet touch of combo forward Ivan Harris and the low-post game of Texas A&M's Joseph Jones. The backcourt will likely be their biggest priority in tomorrow's draft.
Fort Wayne has a nice mix of players to build around, starting with the extremely productive low-post presence of Chris Hunter, a major rarity in this league. Swingman Ron Howard is a solid all-around player at this level, while Notre Dame's Kyle McAlarney will surely light it up from time to time from beyond the 3-point line.
Not a lot to talk about here, which makes sense considering the team lost their head coach Bryan Gates to the Sacramento Kings and their influential top assistant Randy Livingston to the Maine Red Claws. Roberto Bergersen is a veteran at this level, while former Kansas Jayhawk Jeff Graves has a big body and some scoring touch but has struggled with injuries.
Iowa doesn't appear to have as many holes to fill as some other teams, as they seem to have a solid group of players at a couple of different positions. Daryl Watkins is a big body who will take up space in the paint and use his athleticism to make the occasional play, while Curtis Stinson is a proven option at the point who knows how to get the job done. Anthony Tolliver is one of the best shooting power forwards in the D-League and also brings some NBA experience (with the San Antonio Spurs) to the table. Mark Tyndale is a versatile and athletic defender who could be a solid rotation player in the right setting.
The Defenders are unlikely to be as down as they were last season, featuring a number of "big-name" players at this level with solid NBA resumes under their belts. Earl Barron is a sweet shooting 5-man who spent a couple of years with Miami. Gabe Pruitt is a young and athletic combo guard who was drafted by the Boston Celtics and could be one of the top guards in the D-League this season. Joe Crawford is an ultra aggressive scoring shooting guard who will likely be amongst the league leaders in scoring once again this year. Finally, St. Mary's Diamon Simpson is a hustling, rebounding power forward who is exactly the type of scrappy role player you want to have alongside this many scorers.
Maine's brand new team has some decent experience right off the bat, as Noel Felix, Billy Thomas and Will Blalock have all been around the D-League for multiple years and know what it takes to be successful. Thomas in particular is a big asset with his hard-working demeanor, NBA experience and 3-point shooting skills. Boston College's Tyrelle Blair was amongst the NCAA leader in blocked shots a few years back, and should provide the team with some solid minutes of interior defense.
The Houston Rockets affiliate has some work to do in tomorrow's draft, but can already look forward to the presence of one of the top power forwards in the league in Mike Harris. LSU's Garrett Temple is another player to keep an eye on here, his versatility as a defender and passer could make him a call-up option at some point.
Reno returns a couple of solid players from last year's team, mainly in the form of glass-cleaner Rod Benson and the much improved Russell Robinson, who looks much more comfortable as a scorer now. Mo Charlo will put points up from the 3/4 spot, and Dave Noel and Majic Dorsey are both solid role players with plenty of experience.
Charles Easterling (Veteran) - Local tryout player
Dante Milligan (Veteran) - Local tryout player
Trey Whitted (Veteran) - Local tryout player
Evaluation:
Springfield is another team that appears to be in transition. Kentrell Gransberry was a terrific player in the Big East but has been a bust at the professional level thus far. Adam Harrington is one of the best shooters you'll find at this level.
Sioux Falls returns a few very important cogs, mainly the presence of their point guard, David Bailey, who provides them with plenty of experience and scoring power. Athletic big man Greg Stiemsma is another interesting name to keep an eye on.
Tulsa will be looking to have a big night in the draft, in order to compliment the group of solid role players they have returning. Byron Eaton is a nice pickup for them at the point, while former Oral Roberts combo forward Larry Owens brings length and athleticism. Steven Hill has made an NBA roster already due to his size and athleticism on the defensive end.
Evaluation:
The Utah Flash start off this season in much better position than they did last year, especially with the acquisition of two key rookies. BYU's Lee Cummard and Utah's Luke Nevill were two of the top players at their position in college basketball last season, and should provide an immediate return in both the win column as well as at the box office, feeding off their teams' rabid fan bases. Dontell Jefferson is one of the more talented guard prospects in the D-League, and will bring the team quite a bit with his athleticism and versatility. Andre Ingram and Gavin Grant are two more talented players who are more than capable of contributing on any given night, while James Lang has been with this team for some time now and should provide a solid presence in the paint.
The D-League playoffs start Tuesday and with it, the experimental new rule that the top seeds get to pick their opponent. The Colorado 14ers had the league’s best record so they were allowed to pick their opponent from the bottom four playoff teams – Idaho, Erie, Dakota and Bakersfield. The second seeded Utah Flash were then allowed to choose their opponent. The rosters fluctuate so much in the D-League that teams’ win-loss record is not the best way to determine who should face off in the playoffs. Only time will tell if this is a good idea or not.
Here is a rundown of the four first round match-ups. The first two rounds are single elimination with the finals being a best of three series.
COLORADO 14ers (34-16) vs ERIE Bayhawks (27-23) Colorado won the season series 2-0 by an average margin of 10. Colorado selected 7th seed Erie over 8th seed Bakersfield
Colorado (Home - .800, Road - .560, vs Playoff Teams .632)
The 14ers are the team to beat. Averaging 119 points per game, they are a throwback to the Nuggets of the 1980's who tried to run opponents out of their high altitude home court. Three NBA veterans, Eddie Gill, Billy Thomas and Josh Davis lead the well-balanced attack. Coming off the bench for Colorado are two players who would start on most other teams - point guard John Lucas and wing Sonny Weems who is on assignment from the Nuggets. With their up-tempo style of play, it is no surprise that they led the league in many categories including rebounds, assists, fouls, blocks, steals and turnovers.
Erie (Home - .640, Road - .440, vs Playoff Teams .500)
In contrast to Colorado, Erie boasted the league's top defense, allowing just 95.7 points per game. Unfortunately, they also scored the fewest points of any team, with 97.1 points per game. Consistency has been a key for the Bayhawks, as 4 of their 5 opening day starters played the entire season. The expansion franchise was led by Erik Daniels (21.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg) who was the only player to finish in the top seven in scoring and rebounding this season in the D-League.
UTAH Flash (32-18) vs BAKERSFIELD Jam (26-24) Utah won the last 4 meetings to win the season series 4-2. Utah selected 8th seed Bakersfield
Utah (Home - .680, Road - .600, vs Playoff Teams .455)
The Flash have the most assigned players of any team in the playoffs and have a legitimate chance at challenging Colorado for the title. They are led by their three assigned players - J.R. Giddens (Celtics), Morris Almond (Jazz) and Kosta Koufos (Jazz) - who contribute 57.8 points and 18.6 rebounds per game. Almond has missed the past two games with a sprained back, but should be ready to play on Wednesday.
Bakersfield (Home - .640, Road - .400, vs Playoff Teams .455)
The Jam limp into the playoffs having won just once in their past 6 games. Coinciding with their slide has been the recent poor performance of Derrick Byars who is 4-for-23 in his past two games. He has also lost his touch from behind the arc going 5-for-38 (.132) in his past 10 games. For the Jam to win, Byars needs to play like he did in February when he averaged 23.1 points per game and shot 50% (26-for-52) from downtown.
IOWA Energy (28-22) vs DAKOTA Wizards (27-23) Iowa won the season series 5-2. 3rd seeded Iowa selected 6th seeded Dakota
Iowa (Home - .680, Road - .440, vs Playoff Teams .500)
When Cartier Martin was called up to the Bobcats, Iowa was 16-6; since then they have gone 12-16. Curtis Stinson and Othyus Jeffers have carried most of the load for the Energy recently. Stinson averaged 22.7 points, 11.7 assists and 7.2 rebounds in April, and Jeffers was one of just two players to rank in the top ten in scoring and rebounding this season. Courtney Sims' call-up to the Knicks has left a big hole in the middle for Iowa, who have yet to find a dependable replacement.
Dakota (Home - .640, Road - .440, vs Playoff Teams .458)
This matchup will be the 8th time Dakota and Iowa square off this season. Dakota has yet to win at Iowa, including a 10-point loss last Friday when the division title was on the line. Former NBA players Richard Hendrix and Blake Ahearn form the inside-outside punch for the Wizards. Hendrix was second in the D-League with 11.4 rebounds per game and 4th in the league with 1.5 blocks per game. Ahearn was 6th in scoring, shooting 43% from the 3-point line and a league-leading 95.5% from the free throw line.
AUSTIN Toros (32-18) vs IDAHO Stampede (31-19) Idaho won the season series 2-0 by an average margin of 7.
Austin (Home - .680, Road - .600, vs Playoff Teams .421)
In a rematch of last season's finals, Austin and Idaho clash in a one game playoff on Wednesday. The Toros will lean heavily on Malik Hairston, who had back to back 40+ games to end the season. Hairston spent most of the year with the Spurs, but was waived when they signed Marcus Williams, also of Austin. Dwayne Jones was the league's leading rebounder this season and has been a beast in April, averaging 21.3 points and 15.8 rebounds in six games. The Toros also have Ian Mahinmi, who has just come back following ankle surgery, but he has yet to play.
Idaho (Home - .800, Road - .440, vs Playoff Teams .591)
Idaho is the league's best defensive team, allowing their opponents to shoot just .439 from the field. They also led the league in rebounding percentage and had the D-League's Defensive Player Of The Year, Brent Petway. Offensively, they are led by Lance Allred, who is starting to play like he did last year when he finished the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Allred's averaged 19.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in his last ten games to fill the scoring void created when Luke Jackson went down with an ankle injury. This team definitely misses the presence of Coby Karl, though—he left the team for Spain after the Showcase.
The NBA D-League held its annual slam dunk contest last Friday night in Phoenix, Arizona. The '09 incarnation brought us an epic battle between the Anaheim Arsenal's James White and the Tulsa 66ers' Keith Clark. You may remember James "Flight" White from his college days at Cincinnati, the high price paid for him on draft night, or his stint with the San Antonio Spurs in 2006-07. Clark, however, is not as well known. He decided to play in the D-League after being declared academically ineligible at Oklahoma. He is following the path of the Los Angeles Clippers' Mike Taylor and will be eligible for the 2009 NBA Draft -- which makes him of particular interest to us here at DraftExpress.
Also making its debut from the D-League Dunk Contest is a new type of video we're tentatively dubbing DX-Mo. Let us know what you think.
James White Dunk #1
White led off the contest with a dunk from the free throw line. What made this dunk great is that he actually took off from behind the free throw line unlike many of his predecessors including this 1988 contest winner where Michael Jordan’s whole foot is inside the free throw line. How White’s dunk only got a 48 from the judges is mind-blowing.
On the other hand, the crowd was so impressed that the announcer deemed the contest already over, and it was only dunk one.
Keith Clark Dunk #1
While James White is a freak athlete who primarily jumps off of one foot, Keith Clark tends to jump off of two feet, leading each of them to completely different styles and making the contest more interesting. He introduced himself to the basketball world, and draft-hungry NBA GMs, by tossing the ball off the backboard, grabbing it and throwing down a big windmill. The judges scored it a 45.
James White Dunk #2
For White’s second dunk, he again displayed his long jumping abilities taking off from about three feet from inside the line, but added a two-handed windmill to the end of it. The judges scored it a 42.
Keith Clark Dunk #2
To make the final round, Clark just had to make his second dunk due to multiple misses by Iowa’s Othyus Jeffers and defending champion Brent Petway of Idaho. Instead of being conservative, Clark had teammate Gary Forbes throw the ball off the side of the backboard as he grabbed it, cocked it back and threw it down so hard that he had a crash landing.
Clark admitted afterwards that this was the first dunk contest he had ever participated in.
“I really never worked on any of them. [Gary Forbes and I] were just sitting there thinking about dunks and the side of the backboard just came out and it looked good,” said Clark after the contest.
Unfortunately our angle doesn’t do this dunk justice as the judges gave Clark a perfect 50.
James White Dunk #3
White had the lower combined score in the first round so he had to lead off the final round. White had Albuquerque’s Will Conroy sit in a chair outside of the key and toss the ball up. White then leapt over Conroy and slammed it home for a perfect 50. It was Conroy’s best pass of the year, but mostly because it wasn’t a turnover. (Not to pick on Conroy, he’s a DraftExpress favorite, but he is averaging 4.3 turnovers per game this season…)
Keith Clark Dunk #3
With White leading off with a perfect score, the dunk contest rookie Clark had to come up with something big, and once again called on Forbes for the assist. Forbes threw the ball from out of bounds and Clark caught it, went between his legs and then added a windmill. You definitely need the DX-Mo to see everything he does on this perfect 50 dunk.
James White Dunk #4
With White down to his final attempt, he returned to his bread and butter – the long distance dunk. He started at the other end and jumped from just inside the free throw line, managing not just to dunk it, but to throw in a windmill for good measure. The judges again gave White a perfect 50 and all that was left was Clark’s final attempt.
Keith Clark’s magical dunking debut finally came to an end as he missed both dunk attempts on his final turn.
Afterwards, the champion White complimented Clark. “He did some nice dunks. He gave me a run for my money.”
“I just wanted to come out here and have fun,” said White afterwards. He wasn’t the only one who had fun as the show thrilled the crowd and players alike.
The only thing left to decide is how White would have fared in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Maybe next year the Friday night D-League champion should take on the big boys Saturday night.
Blake Ahearn had 13 points and 13 assists to lead the Red Team to a 113-103 victory over the Blue Team in the 2009 NBA D-League All-Star Game.
“My deal was to get my teammates involved. All-Star games are usually one-on-one competitions but we wanted to play good team ball,” said Ahearn.
Ahearn shared MVP honors with Iowa Energy star Courtney Sims who had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Sims was signed by the Phoenix Suns this weekend, and then quickly reassigned to the D-League to allow him to play in the All-Star game.
“I’ve been watching the All-Star Weekend my whole life and to be a part of it is just a blessing,” said Sims.
A big crowd in Phoenix was treated to an entertaining All-Star game. - Jim Hlavac
Reno’s Antonio Meeking led the Blue Team with 17 points as he connected on 5 of 6 from behind the three point line.
The Red Team trailed 51-43 at halftime, but opened the second half with a 25-7 run in which Ahearn hit three shots from behind the arc. The Red Team never looked back as eight of their ten players scored in double figures.
2009 D-League H.O.R.S.E Competition
On Friday night, the D-League held their annual Dream Factory Friday Night where the three events were all won by D-League All-Stars with NBA experience.
Albuquerque’s Will Conroy won the H.O.R.S.E. competition. His winning shot was a complicated combo shot: he tossed the ball of the backboard, grabbed it in midair, went through his legs and laid the ball in. Oh yeah, and he did it left handed.
“I knew I could do something under the legs off the backboard to make it hard on some of the other guys,” said Conroy. “I just wanted to win. Everything I do I want to win.”
Joe Crawford of the Los Angeles D-Fenders finished second when his final attempt rimmed out. Despite the loss, Crawford enjoyed his time.
“It was a fun event. It makes you use your creativity…I really didn’t practice any shots. I just tried to come out here and wing it.”
Defending H.O.R.S.E. champion Lance Allred finished third. “I already got a big trophy from last year, so I’m fine that I didn’t win this year,” said Allred.
Allred was slightly critical of the event this year. “On the first shot, Conroy got to redo it when he missed it, I didn’t get to redo it.”
“I’m going to file an official complaint,” he joked.
The redo was not the only controversy. In one sequence Erik Daniels led with a made free throw, Allred made his shot and then Crawford missed. It should have then been Conroy’s attempt from the free throw line, but the official ruled that Conroy did shoot and it was Lance’s shot. Conroy got away without having to take a free throw and Daniels was robbed of his chance to take a shot from anywhere.
The players were divided on the format of the game. After a player made a shot, all of the remaining players had to attempt that shot rather than waiting for someone to miss it. Allred had a suggestion to improve the game. “If everyone makes it, the guy who made the first shot gets a letter.”
Conroy also had a suggestion: “make it P.I.G.”
2009 D-League 3-Point Contest
The 3-point contest was won by Dakota’s Blake Ahearn who has seen time with the San Antonio Spurs earlier this year. Ahearn hit 8 of his final 9 shots in the championship round to win the contest.
“The big deal with this is the money balls. That last rack helps a lot. My second round I didn’t miss too many money balls,” said Ahearn.
Like the NBA’s 3-point contest the last ball in each rack is a money ball worth two points, however, in an attempt to innovate, the D-League decided to make the final rack more decisive by having all five be money balls. They also diverged from the NBA by not ponying up for full-sized racks, instead using practice racks that could only hold four balls, causing the fifth ball to be held by an assistant until the player needed it. Why they
couldn’t be bothered to bring the NBA racks in from across the street is a mystery and just another reason we love the D-League.
Ahearn was the favorite for the event, but did not enter it overconfident. “I’ve played against all of them and they all have the capability of getting hot. That’s the scary thing - anybody can get hot and anybody can win.”
Luckily for Ahearn, he was money.
Keep an eye out for special coverage of the 2009 D-League Slam Dunk contest in the next few days.
In a league that prides itself in developing players, no one player has shown as much improvement this season as NBA D-League All-Star James White of the Anaheim Arsenal. The 6’7” White is second in the league in scoring with 25.8 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in 21 consecutive games. White will be one of four players participating in the D-League's Slam-Dunk Contest on Friday night, as well as the D-League All-Star game on Saturday afternoon (NBA TV, 4 PM EST).
“Coach [Sam] Vincent put me in a role as being one of the primary scorers on the team”, said White. “I’m getting shots up and just looking for my shot more, which I’ve really never been able to do on any other team I played for.”
The trust placed upon him by Vincent has paid off for White and the Arsenal, as he has connected on 55.5% of his shots and 40% from behind the arc.
Icon SMI
Assistant Coach Paul Mokeski agrees, “Every game I look up, he’s got 30 points.”
White’s biggest development, however, has been his attitude and approach to the game. He has a bad reputation, and whether it is deserving or not, it has stuck to him.
When White entered the NBA draft out of Cincinnati, he was the 31st pick overall. Yet in this year’s D-League draft, this first round talent saw 24 players picked ahead of him. And there was some concern in the Anaheim war room of taking him at all.
“He had a reputation of being kind of volatile,” says Mokeski. A reputation that Mokeski hasn’t seen this season. “I really like James. He works hard and he’s a professional”
White wasn’t even supposed to play in the D-League this season. After winning a championship in Turkey with Fenerbahce Ulker last season and an NBA championship with the Spurs the year before, White expected to be signed by an NBA team for this season. When that fell through, he signed to play in China. However when he arrived in China, he wasn’t paid, and decided to return back to the United States to pursue a career in the NBA.
The trip to China was not a lost cause, as his Dad gave him a book to read, “Mind Gym” by Gary Mack and David Casstevens.
“It’s a book that talks about focusing and visualizing and things like that,” says White. “I’ve been incorporating it into my game. I’m staying focused and looking at the plays before they happen. It’s really helped me slow the game down.”
White has always been, and will always be, an emotional player. He just needs to refine his emotions on the court and the book has helped him see that.
“Everybody thinks I have a bad attitude or I’m a bad guy because I show emotion. But that’s what fuels me to play, my emotion.”
He also now understands that he needs to control his emotion on the court. Earlier in the season, White would often contest calls the referees made, but he realizes that they are just doing their job and he needs to stay focused.
“I’m trying to calm down and leave the refs alone. The last three or four weeks I’ve really been working at it.”
His efforts have not gone unnoticed by Coach Mokeski. “The non-reactions he has now to the bad calls are a big difference. It’s not the big blown up reaction, it’s just a little reaction and that’s been a huge difference. It’s really helped his game.”
So now White just waits for the rest of the basketball world to see how he has developed this season. “I’ve figured out the scoring part at this level, so I’m going to pick it up on defense a little, get more rebounds, do more stuff other than scoring.”
With all the raw talent and athleticism that made White the 31st pick overall in 2006, he should be getting a look at the NBA before the end of the year. If that comes, White will be ready.
“I can’t do the same thing for them (NBA) that I do here (in the D-League), but in practice, I can show them that I can play. Whatever role they ask me to play, I’ll play that role.”
“In Europe, I was more like an energy guy. It was a different role I played. But that’s what they asked me to play.”
So while White waits for the call-up, he continues to work on his attitude all thanks to a little “Mind Gym.”
Continuing to explore the play of the allocated NBA players here at the D-League Showcase, we took an extended look at Bill Walker of the Boston Celtics/Utah Flash.
Walker is having a very good season in the D-League thus far, averaging 19 points and 5 rebounds, shooting an excellent 55% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. His assist to turnover ratio is not where you would want it to be, averaging over twice as many turnovers as assists, but to his credit, he does have a very large share in his team’s offense, and is really being extremely aggressive with his touches.
Walker had an outstanding game yesterday, as he went 10-12 from the field on his way to a team high 26 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the process as well. Perhaps even more impressive than that however was the way in which he did it. He had several thunderous dunks throughout the game, including a baseline drive in the 3rd quarter where he rose above two players for a three point play. Plays like this erase any doubts about the status of his knees, as he looked extremely comfortable finishing above the rim and also on his hard cuts to the basket. Along with James White, Walker appears to be the most athletic player we’ve seen in the Showcase thus far.
His ability to slash to the basket and get in the paint was on full display. He doesn’t have the ball-handling skills to fully utilize his athleticism yet, but he is clever in his approach – using several maneuvers to get his defender off balance and gain a half a step, driving left most of the time. He also uses his strength very well, driving into the paint and then turning the move into a post up to bully his way to the rim. His mentality is to try and dunk the ball every time, which is definitely how you want to see a player with his tools approach the game.
The one three pointer he took went in, but it was only one, which would suggest a lack of confidence and capability in that area. His stroke looked good, even from the FT line where he went 5-5, but he seemed hesitant to pull the trigger when left open – resorting to pump fakes and drives to the basket. If he can really improve this area of his game he will be a very tough player to match up with. He’s only attempting two 3-pointers per-game in the D-League thus far—hitting 40% of his attempts—but the sample size does leave something to be desired just 15 games in. This is obviously a very important part of his development.
His overall guard skills can use some improvement as well, as he didn’t look all that comfortable dribbling the ball under pressure and threw some questionable passes in the half-court. His defense was solid all game long, as he was active with his hands and was the first person to several loose balls.
Editor's Note: We incorrectly stated that Danny Ainge left the game after the first quarter. That was incorrect. As we just learned, he had gotten up and moved to a different seat and even stayed to talk to his players after the game was over. We apologize for the error.
What to make of Courtney Sims’ Numbers?
Jonathan Givony
It’s hard not to take notice of the amazing numbers Courtney Sims has been putting up in the D-League so far. Through 12 games, he’s averaging 23 points, nearly 13 rebounds, 3 turnovers and 2.8 blocks in 40 minutes per game, shooting an outstanding 58.5% from the field—making him the #1 rebounder in the league, the #2 shot-blocker, the #3 scorer, and #2 in PER. Already a per-minute monster last season, as you can see in his advanced stats profile page now he’s doing it for entire games. Is his production something that will translate to an NBA setting? We’re watching him closely in Orem to try and gather as many clues as we can to help make that assessment. This is what we managed to piece together.
Sims is a pretty unique prospect as far as the D-League is concerned. He has great size, nice length and a decent (although certainly improvable) frame, to go along with solid athleticism. His hands are very good and his touch is absolutely terrific, making him an excellent presence in the post at this level of competition. Right off the bat he showed a very good feel for the game, making some heady post-entry passes on high/low plays.
What really separates him from other D-League big men is his ability to create his own shot. He can put the ball on the floor and has very nice footwork and wherewithal in the post, executing pivot moves and spinning to either shoulder to get his shot off. He lacks strength finishing around the rim or trying to back down his man while grinding in the post, but the skill-level of his finesse moves allow him to create high percentage opportunities on a regular basis when he’s getting touches. He also showed the ability to step out to mid-range and knock down 18 foot jumpers, again showing great touch, which is certainly reflected in his free throw stroke—at over 75% on the season. He gets to the line at a great rate (his ability to attack defenses off the dribble plays a huge role here), which is a big reason why he’s been scoring at such a nice rate this season.
Defensively, Sims still has plenty of room for improvement, as he gave up position far too easily in the paint and also did a poor job for the most part rotating to meet slashers in the paint. He has the length to contest shots, but does not have very good awareness on this end of the floor, probably lacking some toughness as well as strength. Considering what his role would be in the NBA, this is definitely an issue if he’s to see quality minutes as a rotation player. He seems to lose his focus quite easily, especially when a bad call goes against him—leading him to completely lose his composure.
Sims already has some very minimal experience in the NBA, having made Indiana’s roster last year. He looks like he’s improved quite a bit since then, and it wouldn’t shock us at all to see some team decide to call him up sometime soon to see just how good he actually is.
Which brings us to our next storyline: What to make of D-League numbers? Naysayers will say that there are no big men in the D-League, that no one plays any defense, that half the teams don’t look like they are being coached, practices are a joke, that team scoring averages are about 20% higher than the NBA, the pace is much faster than in “real basketball”, that players blatantly stat-pad and cherry pick, wins and losses mean absolutely nothing to most, and that the intensity level and competitiveness of players are often close to nil.
Some of this may very well have merit, and it’s something that D-League coaches and officials are quick to point out that they need to fix. It’s difficult when the league has been so rapidly expanding year by year—not due to demand—which necessitates bringing in more and more players each year, and thus waters down the pool of talent on a nightly basis. More competitive salaries (D-League salaries for 08-09 stand at $25,500, for “A” players [usually two on a team], $19,000 for “B” players [also two] and $13,000 for “C” players) would help matters greatly, but when former D-Leaguers like Kris Lang and Terrell McIntyre are pulling in over a million dollars per year, while dozens are others are easily netting six figures in Europe, it’s tough to lure them with the remote hope of an NBA call-up.
From what we can see after two days, and from the many conversations we’ve had with NBA executives here, the D-League still has a long ways to go before being considered a legit farm system for NBA teams. They want to see better competition here, which can only stem from fixing some of the many issues laid out above. The most important thing from what we can see is increasing the salaries to lure better talent, stop expanding and watering down the talent level year after year, and doing a better job preparing players for how to be successful on a competitive team (which means maybe not even keeping stats, to discourage the constant trend of players just trying to put up numbers).
Is James White for Real?
Jim Hlavac and Richard Walker
James White is an interesting developing story in Anaheim. He is second in the league in scoring, averaging 22.9 points per game, while shooting a sensational 55.3% from the field. And he’s not just dunking the ball to keep the percentage high. He is using his superior foot speed and first dribble to drive by the defender and finish at the rim with a variety of lay-ups and short shots.
Additionally, his midrange game has also greatly improved, as he has consistently hit his jump shots, often by keeping the defender on his heels with the threat of his deadly drive, allowing him to pull up sharply and hit the open jumper—in truly impressive fashion. His form is significantly improved and he gets his shot off quickly while using his athleticism to create outstanding separation from his defender. His long range shooting percentage is not as consistent as we would like to see, but he is still shooting a respectable 35% from behind the arc, on about 3.5 attempts per game. The improvement to his form and the open shots he’s drawing should start to nudge that number up over the course of the season.
Defensively, he looks pretty solid, able to read the passing lanes effectively and use his superior athleticism and wingspan to guard most D-league players, ranging from point guards to power forwards even. Coming off the bench as a lock down defender with elite athleticism is probably where his role in the NBA would have to be right now—which means focusing even more on his abilities on the defensive end. However, his developing offensive game and ball handling skills certainly give him a tremendous amount of upside even this late into his career, despite being already 26 years old.
White still has a tendency to complain animatedly after any foul call made against him – a big red flag for NBA teams. He also occasionally shrugs his shoulder when the offensive play is not called for him and looks uninvolved, a problem which plagued him on occasion in college where he would go through long stretches without being involved in the action. His body language has never been his strong suit after all. These attitude problems are going to need to be investigated by NBA teams before they call him up, as teams are hesitant to add role players mid-season that might bring drama or baggage. However, his all-around game and athleticism is certainly worthy of a call-up to the big leagues this season.
We’re back for our third straight D-League Showcase, undoubtedly one of our favorite events on the basketball calendar. This is a setting for the hardcore only—you better be very serious about basketball if you decided to make it over here—and is always a good place to catch up on the latest in the industry with the numerous scouts, International teams, agents and players that make the trip.
The very poor weather—it was snowing for basically the entire day, caused a lot of flight delays and made it very difficult for many to arrive on time for the first day. The turnout was thus fairly poor—certainly from the NBA side but especially from Europe, so we’ll have to see if that is a trend or just a cause of the location and climate. Again we heard all kinds of grumblings about why they couldn’t have picked a warmer D-League city—such as Austin, Los Angeles or Anaheim—and considering the way the gym looked on the first day, it was hard to argue with that.
The first game was delayed by about 40 minutes because of a malfunctioning shot-clock (the announcer was a virtual shot-clock in the first quarter, counting down seconds at the end of possessions). The games were very sluggish to start off, too many whistles, too many bad shots, and a very minor league feel to the overall play. You heard a player yelling out “by yourself” to a teammate on pretty much every other possession, and most of them don’t need to be told twice to go one on one. Still, you learn to make the most of what you have here—there are all kinds of interesting people to talk with, there are certainly some intriguing prospects scattered about the rosters, and it still beats what most people have to do to make a living at the end of the day.
It can actually be quite entertaining if you come here with the right mindset—a classic example would be Carl Elliott taking an in-bounds pass and running the wrong way to score on his own basket, before being redirected by his entire team jumping up and down from the bench to make him realize his mistake. He promptly turned around, drove all the way to the other end completely unopposed and scored easily—a classic D-League play.
The D-League Showcase or NBA Showcase?
New Jersey’s somewhat surprising decision to send Sean Williams down to the D-League (he was one of the best players in last year’s Rookie-Sophomore Challenge, beating out Al Thornton, Spencer Hawes and Rodney Stuckey for a spot on the team) might signal a trend for future NBA teams. Will we begin seeing teams use the D-League showcase as their own private showcase to increase the trade value of their players?
It’s not a bad idea if you think about it, considering that every NBA team is represented here in Orem, along with numerous GMs, Presidents, Directors of Scouting and Directors of Player Personnel, among other executives.
The biggest curveball here might be Williams’ reaction—unilaterally deciding that while down in Colorado, he wants to play small forward. This coming from a guy who has been a center his entire life, has virtually no perimeter skills to speak of, and whom his best assets are his shot-blocking and offensive rebounding skills—which usually entail being as close to the basket as possible. The Nets publicly said “sure” but that hasn’t been exactly the case in the Showcase. No one will ever question Williams’ talent—it’s his intangibles and on and off the court focus that have always been his worst enemy. We discussed these issues at length before the draft in his DraftExpress profile, for a more recent take, see Hoopsworld’s article.
Any way you slice it, though, there is no questioning the fact that Sean Williams is the most naturally talented and physically gifted player at the D-League Showcase. As we all know, though, there is a lot more to being a successful basketball player than just being talented.
In his first game here in Orem, Williams struggled a bit with foul trouble and ended up having just a decent all-around showing considering the level of competition—10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 6 fouls and 2 turnovers on 4-7 shooting in 28 minutes. He spent most of his time within 15 feet of the basket, putting his freakish athleticism on display literally from the opening tip, jumping to the sky like a pogo stick to tap the ball to a teammate. He was able to establish himself as a legit shot-blocking presence and also made an impact on the offensive glass, but also showed pretty vividly why he has been unable to crack New Jersey’s rotation this season thus far.
His on-ball defense was pretty poor—being scored on numerous times by both Charles Gaines and Andre Brown, and committing some very silly fouls. His perimeter skills looked very raw (turning the ball over when trying to do anything advanced with the ball, bricking a mid-range jumper badly) and his entire game appears to be strictly off instincts.
At this level that can definitely work—and he made some extremely intriguing plays to back that up (some nice turnaround jumpers in the post, getting his hands on all kinds of loose balls), but the poor body language he displayed and the questionable IQ often negated some of those plays. Williams often looked like he was in his own world—not warming up with his teammates for example—and generally didn’t do a great deal to show that he is “worth the hassle” considering his off-court issues.
Hairston was solid, although unspectacular, not surprising considering his role as a very complete and all-around player. He showed the ability to get to the basket at will as Colorado had no one who could keep him out of the paint. That’s a very good sign considering that his ball-handling skills have always been considered one of his bigger weaknesses. He has a solid first step off the catch – facing a guy up, jab stepping and attacking, which was evident in the first half when he took two dribbles from the top of the key, left Trey Gilder way behind him and threw down a ferocious dunk for a three point play. When he begins his dribble however, he is not nearly as quick—his handle is good, but certainly not spectacular—but he uses crafty moves coupled with his strength to get to the hoop. He’ll pivot and spin in the lane to push his defender away and find himself at the rim—showing a very high IQ in the process.
His shot looked good yesterday as well, albeit on not that many attempts, with the majority of his shots coming in the paint. His free throws however and the few mid range shots that he attempted displayed good arc and a soft touch, despite the slight hitch that is in his shot – pausing at the top prior to the release. His range extends to about 20 feet and is not comfortable from the 3 point line just yet.
His ball-handling skills seemed a little shaky when he was pressured, picking up his dribble prematurely on several occasions and forcing a few passes in the half-court which led to turnovers. Additionally, his head was down most of the time when he went to the basket, almost making up his mind before the move instead of weighing all of his options. His athleticism is certainly improving as he continues to improve his body, he is a very quick leaper with great hops, which contributes to his adeptness in the lane.
Hairston is in-between being a 2 and 3 right now. He does a lot of things well but doesn’t have one particularly great skill that would fill a need for an NBA team at the moment. Saying that however, he is a very good scorer (Almost 20 ppg), a solid athlete, plays with a good spirit and energy, and is a month and a half away from his 22nd birthday. As he continues to polish his all-around game, it would not be surprising to see him develop into a solid rotation player, which is exactly why San Antonio decided to call him up and make sure no one else does that first.
Dorsey’s first appearance in the D-League Showcase did not go over quite as well…Suffering from Plantar Fasciitis, Dorsey came into the game looking like he clearly did not want to be here. He looked wholly disinterested in doing anything when the ball was not in his hands, playing absolutely no defense, refusing to box out for rebounds (grabbing an incredibly uncharacteristic 4 defensive rebounds in 39 minutes) and completely ignoring his responsibilities getting back on defense. He looked very unfocused, showed bad body language, and generally made a mockery out of his “assignment” down here.
The worst part that he did all this with his general manager Daryl Morey (the man who traded for him on draft night, praised him effusively and gave him a 3-year contract) was sitting in the second row—obviously not happy with what he was seeing. “Disappointed” was all he was willing to say to us…on the record. There really wasn’t much more to be said, it was that bad. The big problem is that it’s exactly these type of issues that teams were worried about during the pre-draft process—his background, character and intangibles, and he’s unfortunately not doing much to show that he deserved otherwise. Dorsey needs to realize that his place in the NBA is anything but secured at this point in his career—there have been plenty of second round picks who didn’t last more than half a season in the NBA and never got another shot again. If he’s not careful, he could find himself meeting the same fate if he refuses to change his ways.
Other Performances from Day One
The top two players in the first game of the Showcase were Gary Forbes and Will Conroy, both players who are on a number of team’s shortlists for call-ups.
Forbes had 30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 turnovers on 12-17 shooting from the field and 6-11 from beyond the arc. He came off the bench for Sioux Falls and gave them a huge spark offensively, creating his own shot repeatedly from the perimeter and getting to the basket for some excellent finishes. He’s not the most athletic player you’ll find (he plays below the rim), but his ball-handling skills, body control and scoring instincts are terrific. He even played some point, doing a nice job probing the defense with his dribble and then finding open players on the perimeter for spot-up jumpers. His perimeter shot was probably the biggest revelation—it’s only one game obviously, but for anyone to hit six NBA 3-pointers is extremely impressive. His release is quick and compact, and he was terrific with his feet set and a second to get his shot off—which he can get all the time against D-League type defenses. All in all, this was an extremely impressive performance, and if he keeps playing this way, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see him get a call-up. He helped himself as much as any player in day one.
[p=Will Conroy]On the other side of the ball, the top player for Albuquerque was clearly Will Conroy, also in large part thanks to the excellent shooting display he put on. Conroy’s shot was looking about as good as we’ve ever seen, he went 4-6 from beyond the arc to go along with 26 points and 11 assists, as well as 5 turnovers and 6 rebounds, playing all 48 minutes. He’s shooting 37% from beyond the arc on the season, on quite a few attempts, so it’s probably safe to say that his shot has improved from his time in college, where he was known as a mediocre shooter. He also did a very good job running his team in transition, making some crisp passes, as well as some very nice post-entry looks, but forced the issue a little bit too much in the half-court, which led to quite a few turnovers. This has always been Conroy’s biggest problem, and is clearly the number one issue holding him back from making an NBA team. Unfortunately he’s turning the ball over more than ever this season. If he can just cut down on the 2-3 careless decisions he makes with the ball every game he’d be in much better shape. He’s still not the greatest athlete around, relying too much on his strength rather than on pure quickness or explosiveness. All things considered, though, Conroy has to be looked at as one of the better point guards the D-League has to offer.
The D-League is underway and most teams already have a couple of games underneath their belt. With an eye on overall roster strength, players returning from last year, the talent teams were able to acquire in the draft, NBA assignees, and overall chemistry, we take a stab at our very first post-draft D-League Power Rankings. The defending champions lead the way so far.
Potential callup candidates are marked with an asterisk.
Coby Karl got off to a nice start as the Idaho Stampede took a pair of home games from the Anaheim Arsenal. Karl dropped 25 and 24 on Anaheim, while adding 12 assists total. While his long range shooting wasn't on (2-for-7), his ability to draw fouls was on full display. Karl went to the free throw line 28 times in the two games. He gives them tremendous versatility as he can play a number of positions offensively, which really helps in this league. Along with Karl, two other Stampede players have a good chance of returning to the NBA this season - Jermareo Davidson and Lance Allred. Davidson had a productive weekend, averaging 17 points and 13.5 rebounds per game while his frontline counterpart, Lance Allred, added 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Idaho’s blend of returning players, their outstanding coaching staff, and the infusion of former NBA players in the mold of Karl and Davidson gives them the early nod at the top spot of our rankings—not to mention their status as defending champs.
Bakersfield went 2-0 on the road this week, seeing outstanding play from Golden State assignee Richard Hendrix. Hendrix was a beast on the offensive glass, using his strong body to muscle his opponents out of position, managing to snare 4.5 offensive rebounds per game. Hendrix grabbed 14 rebounds in each of his 2 games, despite playing just 27 minutes per game due to foul trouble. Against Los Angeles, he scored 31 points in a variety of ways. Along with some easy baskets around the rim and in transition, Hendrix showed nice form on his midrange shot and was a remarkable 3-for-3 from behind the NBA 3-point line.
Bakersfield has a terrific blend of veteran experience, fresh NBA talent, an excellent frontcourt, and plenty of depth. Their intangibles also look quite solid, and there are skilled players at nearly every position on the roster.
The Toros received a big boost this week when the Spurs assigned guard Blake Ahearn to the team. He did not play in either of their games this past weekend, but will be in the line up for their next game. Ahearn will join Malik Hairston in the back court. Hairston had 17 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists in his debut for the Toros and followed it up with 33 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against Tulsa. Marcus Williams was also big for Austin averaging 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Starting center Ian Mahinmi missed the Tulsa game with a sore right ankle, and was later recalled in favor of fellow Spur Anthony Tolliver. He gives them arguably the top shooting power forward in the D-League, even if they might miss Mahinmi’s size down low.
Dakota surrendered an 8-point 4th quarter lead in 106-103 home loss to the Iowa Energy. Renaldo Major led the Wizards with 19 points in his first regular season game in over a year after recovering from heart surgery. Maurice Baker had 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in Dakota's lone game last week. Hamed Haddadi was assigned to the Wizards by Memphis and dropped 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting in 21 minutes. Haddadi also grabbed 6 rebounds.
Dakota will be a very tough team this year, particularly if the players decide to buy in on the defensive end. Haddadi will help them out tremendously in that regard, while Renaldo Major’s credentials as a stopper are pretty clear.
The Flash have a pair of Celtics on their roster and could expect to see a couple of players assigned from the Utah Jazz later in the season. Boston teammates Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens were the leading scorers for the Flash with 24.5 and 18 points per game respectively. Giddens hit a shot at the buzzer in Austin to give the Flash an overtime win on Friday. He also is Utah’s leading rebounder with 9 rebounds per game. Dontell Jefferson who was acquired in a trade with Dakota leads the team with 5.5 assists per game, but countered that by committing 6 turnovers per game.
Utah got a big shot in the arm with the additions of Giddens and Walker, and will be competitive for as long as they stick around. Excluding Jefferson, the talent on this roster is a bit lacking otherwise.
Iowa also went 2-0 on the road this week, staging 4th quarter comebacks in both games. Nobody made a bigger splash this opening weekend than Courtney Sims. He opened with a triple double (22 pts, 17 reb and 11 blocks) at Sioux Falls and followed it up the next night with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks at Dakota. The 16 blocks are already more than he had in 15 games with Iowa last season. Sims was also effective getting to the line, making 19 of 24 free throws (.792) in the two games. D-League veteran Curtis Stinson also starred for Iowa averaging 19.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists this weekend.
Iowa looks good early on, but there are some questions to be answered about how they’ll be able to hold things together in the chemistry department over the course of the long D-League season.
First round selection Tierre Brown was Anaheim's most consistent player in their two losses at Idaho. Brown had 12 points and 11 assists in Saturday's contest and then came back with 25 points and 7 assists on Sunday. Fellow guard Cedric Bozeman scored 16 points each night while leading the team in rebounding with 9.5 boards per game. Bozeman also shot well from downtown, going 4-for-8 in the two games. Anaheim's lack of size was exposed against Idaho's big front line of Jermareo Davidson and Lance Allred. None of their forwards or centers had more than six rebounds in a game.
Anaheim has one of the most athletic teams in the league, and should rebound nicely from their two very early losses once the players learn to play together.
Four Skyforce players are currently averaging 18 points or more per game, after the team is coming off scoring 119 points in a double overtime thriller. Frank Williams leads the way with 27.5 points per game, but is only shooting 40.0% from the field. Bobby Jones is averaging 18.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. Gary Forbes (19.0) and Carl Elliott (18.0) are the other two players for the Skyforce.
This team can obviously score with the best of them, and possesses a great deal of talent at the 1-3 positions. The question marks are in the frontcourt.
Trent Strickland was RGV's best player as they got off to a 2-0 start. Strickland averaged 24 points per game while shooting 65.4% (17-for-26) from the field and 60.0% (3-for-5) from the 3-point line. Strickland, however, struggled from the free throw line, shooting 68.8% (11-for-16). NBA veteran Smush Parker added 20 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. Alton Ford averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as he works his way back in to basketball shape.
Without much depth, and with a number of players who sat out extensively over the past year, the jury is still out regarding whether RGV can keep up their hot start.
The high-flying Colorado 14ers took a home and home series from the Albuquerque Thunderbirds this past weekend. Six Colorado players averaged 14 or more points per game led by James Mays' 22 points per game. Mays also added 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8% (17-for-31) from the field. Josh Davis missed the road contest but came back big at home with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Backup center Joe Dabbert contributed a big double-double off the bench averaging 14 points and 13 rebounds per game. Dominique Coleman was hot from outside the arc connecting on 6 of 9 attempts as he dropped 21.5 points per game.
Colorado is holding things together for now, but they desperately need to add more talent to their roster, particularly in the backcourt. They could very well struggle from here.
Veteran Derrick Dial has been the lone bright spot offensively for the 66ers early on. Dial is averaging 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Portland assignee Steven Hill will likely not look like an NBA player on most nights, thus far scoring only 6.5 points and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Top pick Chris Richard has been a mild disappointment at this extremely early juncture. He was 0-for-7 from the field in Tulsa's opener, but did bounce back with 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in their loss to Austin.
Tulsa has some young players they will need to be patient with as they learn the ropes at the professional level. They do have nice potential to continue making strides down the road, though.
Will Conroy led the Thunderbirds with 21 points and 9 assists per game in their two losses to Colorado last week. Conroy has never been known as a shooter and made only 10 of 30 shots. One bright spot was David Monds, who grabbed 20 boards in the road loss. He also averaged 17 points, 15.5 rebounds and 3 blocks for Albuquerque. Cheyne Gadson chipped in totals of 24 and 16 on 50% shooting from the floor.
Albuquerque has a lot of talent on the perimeter, but they are sorely lacking in the frontcourt.
Point guard Walker Russell leads the D-League in assists with 9.5 per game. Russell also added 14 points per game in Fort Wayne's home split last weekend. Ron Howard led the team in scoring with 21.0 points per game while the two big men, Chris Hunter and Coleman Collins, averaged double doubles for the Mad Ants. Hunter had 15 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while Collins had 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
The expansion Bayhawks had a 9 point lead at halftime at Fort Wayne but eventually lost by 5 in their first game ever. Oliver Lafayette was the high scorer with 31 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Erik Daniels had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds but connected on just 5 of his 17 shot attempts.
This team has some decent options on the perimeter, but is lacking any type of effective size up front. Their starting center, Erik Daniels would probably prefer to be playing the small forward position, even if he can definitely log minutes at the 4. Expect them to struggle until they can add some big men to their roster.
The D-Fenders have three solid shooting guards and that's about it. Their leading rebounder is a guard, Dwayne Mitchell, who averages 10.5 boards per game. Mitchell also leads the team in assists with 5.5 per game and added 10 points per game as well. Joe Crawford is the leading scorer in the D-League at 31 ppg. Crawford is shooting 55.3% (21-for-38) from the field, 46.2% (6-for-13) from the 3-point line and 93.3% (14-for-15) from the line. Brandon Heath also shot well for the D-Fenders averaging 22 points per game on 46.2% (18-for-39) from the field and 50.0% (6-for-12) from behind the arc. First round pick Jasper Johnson is not getting the job done as an undersized center, relying on turnaround fade away jumpers to get his shot off against the consistently taller defenders. Johnson is shooting just 37.5% from the floor and is only averaging 9.5 points and 4 rebounds per game.
D-League veteran Damone Brown had a pair of double-doubles as Reno split their first two games in franchise history. Brown had 18 points and 13 rebounds in their home loss to Bakersfield and 27 points and 15 rebounds in their win at Los Angeles. Antonio Meeking led the team in scoring with 25.5 ppg while also grabbing 8 rebounds per contest. Jesse Smith averaged a double-double with 11.5 points and 14 rebounds per game.
