Why the Kings Ought to Use the D-League
by Tom Ziller on Mar 23, 2010 11:19 AM PDT
in Commentary
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PrintOver at FanHouse, Matt Moore has a great breakdown of how the Rockets franchise has used its NBA D-League partner, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, to great success.
Before this season began, the D-League unveiled a new option for NBA teams who don't own a team (Oklahoma City, the Lakers, and San Antonio own their affiliates) to use when dealing with the D-League. [...] The new hybrid system allows a team to manage, staff and control the basketball operations of the team, while the local office maintains control of the business operations. The Rockets were the only team to try this new system out, and to say it has been a success would be a drastic understatement.
The Rockets installed Chris Finch as their head coach and have migrated basketball operations roles for the Vipers to their current front office personnel as dual roles. Instead of setting up a lower-level office in McAllen (where the Vipers offices are), they've integrated management of the D-League team into the NBA operations. [...]You will notice a lot of short assignments for players to affiliates without ownership or a hybrid relationship with the NBA team. When talking to NBA team officials, there's a concern over the lack of control they have over the systems, principles and conditions. Instead, players that need real gametime experience and concentrated development rot on benches and hope for some practice or (gasp) a few precious minutes of garbage time. [...]
With the Rockets, it's all part of the same system. The hybrid system is the future of the D-League. It's a low-cost investment that creates as close to a true minor league system as you can get, and without the added expenses of marketing, game operations, sales, and other staffing.
Basically, the Rockets have a true farm team, or as close as the NBA allows. The Rockets' front office manages the Vipers, which ensures that the players Houston sends down (Aaron Brooks in the past, Joey Dorsey last season and early this season, among others) get the type of development the team wants. This isn't sending Donte Greene to Reno with Pete Carril for a weekend -- this is sending a rookie or second-year player over to the D-League for a month or so and knowing he'll be in a stable situation with targeted development. It's brilliant.
The Kings, with all these young players, with a D-League affiliate three hours away, need to be heading down this path.
Be sure to read Matt's entire piece -- it will open your mind and heart.
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It's definitely a wise investment
It’s a really low cost way to develop talent that would allow the team to make call ups when necessary. Plus, it might be a good idea to install a head coach that could employ a similar system as Westphal so that if a player is called up he fits in well. There’s also the chance of striking gold with undrafted guys.
Another team that has utilized the D-League is the Warriors: Anthony Tolliver, Anthony Morrow, CJ Watson, and Reggie Williams. All of them except Morrow went to the D-League, none of them drafted. Granted, the Warriors system allows them to plug in pretty much anybody with some athleticism that can shoot the three. But still, they’ve utilized the D-League quite well.
www.mancancook.net
They've also HAD to utilize the D-League with all their injuries
But its nice to note that they opted to fill their slots with hungry D-Leaguers instead of spent vets on the FA market.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
that is all true - the FO is cheap and the players less costly
but the production has been enticing. As JR often says – even the worst team in the League has a leading scorer – but these guys are impressive and remember that Kelenna Azuibuke is also a former D-Leaguer.
The Dubs are the most exciting highest losing team around.
by betweentheeyes on Mar 23, 2010 12:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Azuibuke is an example of "striking gold" as I mentioned above
A few of those other guys look good because they play in Nelly’s system. Azuibuke and Watson are genuinely talented NBA players. The other, I’m not too sure about.
www.mancancook.net
Reggie Williams has looked amazing.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
Ridiculous Upside (SB's D-League Blog)
has been touting him for the Warriors for a while and it looks like they were 100% right.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
Not gonna matter if you play me :P
Maybe next year.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
Yeah that's pretty good
But I still like Durant, Tyreke, D-Will, Westbrook and ABZ. Don Nelson should be my coach.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
We'll have to introduce some new blood next year though.
Have the Commish evict some of the guys who haven’t touched their teams.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
But no one will take over some of those teams that have been fleeced
I’m thinking we need to get a group of StR members to do one of their leagues where you do a fantasy draft. So it’s more like a regular fantasy league but with the Mock GM style of play and rules, which I like especially since they fixed some of the server issues.
www.mancancook.net
Thats what Love, Millsap and Gooden are for
Also Ilyasova.
Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order and Originator of the "Brock Ness Monster".
DId you see the Dubs Suns game last night
that kid straight tore it up along with Tolliver. I believe Williams had something like 16 of his 26 in the fourth quarter. Just was unstoppable off the dribble with the pull up three.
I have been on the D-league bandwagon for awhile.
This is a great article.
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
Would love to see the D-League further develop as a farm league
I just wish the Kings were taking advantage of this opportunity. Unfortunately, I get the impression that ours is a relatively bare bones front office that, despite a penchant for unorthodox picks and surprising trades, either is not committed to or (more likely) doesn’t have the resources for innovation, such as d-league development or advanced stats. I don’t have a real source for this, just an impression I’ve gleaned from various articles recentl.
Ziller
I totally agree with you. I think we ARE headed that direction. We hired Gates as an assistant and hopefully the Front Office sees value in a move towards a true farm team.
Blessings.Love.Peace
by lifestyleforthesellout on Mar 23, 2010 12:01 PM PDT reply actions
Disagree with the Reno sentiment
If the Kings had a pure project like BJ Mullens I’d whole heartedly agree. But since the Kings have players who have shown they are capable of playing NBA minutes, and need to become consistent when getting those minutes, I fail to see how getting minutes in the D-League will make Donte or Omri more consistent at the NBA level.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
And, I too endorse Matt Moore's piece. Excellent points about why the D League is valuable.
It all comes down to how teams wish to invest in the team though. That’s the point that remains the most important aspect of the piece. Geoff Petrie, if asked, probably doesn’t believe that it’s in the Kings best interest to spend a lot of money on the D League when they can develop their young players at the NBA level. There really is no short-cuts to learning the NBA game. You either learn it at the NBA level, or you don’t.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
agreed
I like the idea, but I have a hard time figuring out who the Kings would send to the D-League. I think it could’ve been good for Donte to do a month or two last year, but I don’t think it would’ve been good for him to do that this season. And for next season, I hope that the Kings use their lottery pick on someone who is NBA ready.
by Pollard4LIfe on Mar 23, 2010 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions
My picks for D-league this season would have been, in no particular order:
Brockman (he can work on his offense a little bit, show himself off for other teams in case he doesn’t stick around with the Kings), Casspi (since he has been struggling since the All-Star Weekend, why not let him get back into a groove against lesser opponents for a couple weeks) McGuire (maybe see what he can do with time) Dorsey (we know he can rebound, tell him to work on a jumper) and I am sure I am missing somebody.
Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. Vonnegut
Agreed, except for Casspi
there’s no question that he’s NBA level talent. He just needs to be consistent. That’ll best be learned playing at the NBA level.
www.mancancook.net
Can't send McGuire down.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Brockman is too much a part of the Kings' marketing this year, they wouldn't send him down
"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.
by AnotherStupidSN on Mar 23, 2010 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions
It takes you 3 hours to get to Reno?
Pick up the pace, grandpa.
"Sometimes the capriciousness of youth anesthetizes common sense." -Let Geoff's words guide our patience this season.
by AnotherStupidSN on Mar 23, 2010 12:51 PM PDT reply actions
Ice Ice Baby
Rollin’ in my 5.0 with my rag-top down so my hair can blow
by OrangeLazarus on Mar 24, 2010 10:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Yes, but please remember that our Front Office is lazy.
Isn’t that the latest indictment?
That they are lazy and this was evidenced because of our recent trades? Yet they are are supposed to take on the work of running a D-League team? Hmm… (Mustang digs sarchasm hole, carefully disguising it, and invites other to step on out over the abyss.)
Can’t see it. Makes too much sense. I don’t know why, but ideas that make sense don’t seem to get done way too often.
is it bad that this was my first thought too?
Could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?
by wallywagon11 on Mar 23, 2010 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
They should move the D-League team to Stockton
Although I’m just selfish and want a D-League team here. It is much closer though.
Dip til I rip
by Muff209 on Mar 23, 2010 1:56 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Stockton definitely has some nice Arena's
to hold a D-League team, I love the way they have their downtown setup, although I’ve only really seen it while driving on I-5 (had to stop myself from saying the 5, damn southern california)
Putting the team in Stockton makes sense
With UOP and the St. Mary’s girls team we’re definitely a basketball town. Sadly, we have every minor league sport BUT basketball.
It’s funny watching the City try and claim we’re Hockeytown, USA every winter though.
Dip til I rip
by Muff209 on Mar 23, 2010 3:19 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Don't knock the Thunder!
I went to a hockey game this weekend and was surprised at the turnout. The crowd there was great.
Adding a D-League team would do wonders as far as revenue is concerned. The arena’s great. Sports tix are cheap. There’s not a bad seat in the house.
www.mancancook.net
This means more playing time for Chapu.
I’m all for it and glad to see everyone else is for it too!
"Oh, y ahora ¿quién podrá defenderme?" "¡Yo!"
i think we can all agree
Chapu does need to see more time in the D league.
Could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?
by wallywagon11 on Mar 23, 2010 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
ill hit the right button someday
I promise
by TheFifthMookie on Mar 23, 2010 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions
But just not today right?
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
2 out of 5
batting .250 wouldn’t even cut it in baseball. I better find some HGH
by TheFifthMookie on Mar 23, 2010 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions
but batting .400 would
and I’m going to retire, this is pathetic.
by TheFifthMookie on Mar 23, 2010 4:41 PM PDT up reply actions
5thMookie FTW!!!!
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
I was so ashamed by the constant posting errors
I banned myself for a day. Thanks for the laugh though!
by TheFifthMookie on Mar 24, 2010 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions
the dubs arent using the d-league as a farm system as the article advocates
they have just had to call up the best available guy from wherever after their latest injury… not exactly an endorsement of their FO that these guys have been, in some cases, WAY better than the injured vets/draft picks that they were replacing. williams is the real deal.
by lchristmas on Mar 23, 2010 4:30 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
did somebody say?
“The Rockets installed Chris Finch as their head coach”
FINCHY!!!!!
by Travis Mays Hayes on Mar 23, 2010 6:45 PM PDT reply actions
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