D-League Rule Change Could Pay Big Dividends

by Tom Ziller on Sep 25, 2010 1:52 PM PDT in Commentary

Scott Schroeder (@scottschroeder) of Ridiculous Upside and FanHouse broke a really great story at The Big Black Machine this morning. I'll let him introduce the news, since he wrote so well in the first place:

In accordance with the NBA, the NBA Development League will implement a rule change with regard to how D-League rosters are assembled. Beginning this season, up to three players cut last from the roster of an NBA team before the D-League Draft will be allocated to that team's D-League affiliate provided they sign the standard D-League contract.

Let's use the Kings as an example. Say Marcus Landry, Donald Sloan and J.R. Giddens are the final three cuts from the Kings' training camp roster. Let's say all three sign D-League contracts instead of chasing money in Europe or Asia. The Kings could allocate those three players to the Reno Bighorns, where the Kings (theoretically) have a relationship with the coaching staff and management.

Basically, the players could be kept "in the program" and watched more closely (literally speaking, in our case).

It's not a true farm system element, though, in that the Kings wouldn't have exclusive call-up rights. Any NBA team with less than 15 players could offer a call-up. So it's not quite like having 18 roster spots -- if you really really want a prospect on your team, you need to keep him on your 15-man roster at the end of training camp.

Will this help the Kings? Not until the Kings get serious about the D-League, something I expect to happen shortly after Geoff Petrie retires. Seriously, Petrie has shown almost no interest in seriously using the D-League, and he's a man of his ways when it comes to team management (ask Jason Levien). The blame isn't all Petrie's -- the owners haven't ponied up to buy the Bighorns, or start an expansion team closer to Sacramento (Stockton?), or get involved with the Bighorns in a hybrid format. (Of course, why would the Maloofs do any of those things without pressure from Petrie to do so?)

The teams that will really benefit from this rule change are the teams that run their own D-League affiliates. Teams like Houston, San Antonio and Oklahoma City have already done well for themselves in using the D-League, and this helps them even more.

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All that said, how does this affect the order of training camp cuts, if at all? If Landry or Joe Crawford don't make the team, they should be two of the final three cuts and assigned to Reno. I doubt Luther Head will stick around the D-League if he doesn't make the team. If Giddens will, I think you make him one of your three Bighorns allocations instead of Sloan. If Giddens is looking overseas, you decide between Sloan and Darnell Jackson, assuming those fellows don't make the team.

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Like the idea a lot.

Would love to see the Kings use the D-League a lot more. Just watching some of the players that the Warriors pull from the D-League makes me wonder if we even pay much attention to it.

by chriswebb86 on Sep 25, 2010 1:59 PM PDT reply actions

Not that I have researched

but only Don Nelson and the Warriors come in mind when talking about teams that have taken advantage of the D-League.

by ZenBaller on Sep 25, 2010 3:02 PM PDT reply actions

Utah

Charlotte.. Clips… there are teams who take advantage.

by VenomySnicket on Sep 25, 2010 7:17 PM PDT up reply actions

I think that the Spurs have had some success over the years

Of course, the biggest winners of the NBDL sweepstakes might be Houston. Mario Elie probably had the biggest impact of the NBDL grads.

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by section214 on Sep 25, 2010 7:28 PM PDT up reply actions

Wha? Elie a NBDL grad?

Didn’t he retire before the league started? He didn’t coach there, did he?

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by Biscuit on Sep 26, 2010 12:04 AM PDT up reply actions

the Continental Basketball Association is the progenitor of the current NBDL

Mr. I. Thomas purchased the CBA in it’s entirety for $10M in 1999 and applied his infamous “brown touch” (the opposite of Midas’ gold) and.bankruptcy ensued by 2001. David Stern and the NBA resurrected the basketball version of the minor league system with the owner associated present NBDL. Interestingly, the CBA is still present with an even more obscure list of locations and team names.

The most successful CBA/NBDL alumnus, IMO, is Phil Jackson, former coach of the Albany Patroons. And yes, you know I had to find out what a patroon is and link y’all to the wiki site.
Other well known NBA coaches who had their start in the former CBA were the Musselmans (Bill and son Eric), George Karl, and Flip Saunders.

by betweentheeyes on Sep 26, 2010 7:39 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs

Well done

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by section214 on Sep 26, 2010 9:01 AM PDT up reply actions

How many of those last 3 cuts can get a contract overseas.

I don’t know what the current salary structure is, but in 2008 it went like this

To become eligible for the D-League draft, a player must contact the league office, and sign a general player contract with the league. The league determines if the player receives an A, B, or C level contract. Every team is only allowed a select number of A and B players, so they must use those spots wisely. D-League salaries have increased slightly this year. The C contract will be worth $15,000 this season, up from $12,000 last season. The B level contract pays $20,000 this season (up from 18k), and the A contract will be worth $25,000 (up from 24k). These contracts become voided if a team gets a call-up from an NBA team, but are signed for one year otherwise. If a D-League player wants to leave for Europe, they must first arrange a buyout for their contract. The buyout is $30,000.00 from December 31st to the end of the Season in April 2008, $15,000.00 if you get out the contract before the Draft on November 1, 2007, and $20,000.00 from November 2, 2007 to December 30, 2007.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com/article/2007-08-D-League-Draft-Season-Preview-2300/#ixzz10aLQrrOt
http://www.draftexpress.com

I think the vast majority would take a 6 figure deal overseas rather than sign a 1 year deal with the D-league for between $15-25K. My guess is that a player would have to be pretty sure that he will be brought up to the big league, before he gives up an overseas gig for more money.

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by HighTops on Sep 25, 2010 4:09 PM PDT reply actions