All-Purpose Reno Bighorns thread

I wonder if the idea of this experimental system, is to have a chance to have a large sample of in game shooting, in order to find some good/great shooters who may have "slipped through" undrafted/unsigned.

In other words, an opportunity under the watchful eye of the Kings close by in Reno, to focus just on shooting and potential valuable NBA shooters. Maybe this guy Heslip is the first example of this? He's going to continue to get tons of shot attempts and if his percentage and shooting efficiency holds up over the course of a large sample, then maybe he earns an NBA look that he otherwise would not have had the chance for, because of other "limitations"?

Could possibly find a hidden Steve Kerr type player this way, or maybe more if fortunate?
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
“Reno’s more up and down, full court pressure, shoot a lot of 3’s and 2’s, no midranges, and Sacramento likes to get up and down as well but it’s a little more structural in Sacramento, and a lot more plays,” Moreland noted. “We don’t really have any plays in Reno, so it’s a lot different, they’re not the same at all.” - See more at: http://cowbellkingdom.com/eric-moreland-helping-the-kings-behind-the-scenes/#sthash.swFZCufN.dpuf

I really think we're doing our players a disservice by sending them to Reno, in terms of development. Moreland isn't learning anything of importance there, at least not anything that will help us back in Sacramento. Having made it through about 15 minutes of a game (I'm pretty proud of the fact that I made it that far), it might help someone who needs to practice taking a buttload of threes, but that's about it.
 
“Reno’s more up and down, full court pressure, shoot a lot of 3’s and 2’s, no midranges, and Sacramento likes to get up and down as well but it’s a little more structural in Sacramento, and a lot more plays,” Moreland noted. “We don’t really have any plays in Reno, so it’s a lot different, they’re not the same at all.” - See more at: http://cowbellkingdom.com/eric-moreland-helping-the-kings-behind-the-scenes/#sthash.swFZCufN.dpuf

I really think we're doing our players a disservice by sending them to Reno, in terms of development. Moreland isn't learning anything of importance there, at least not anything that will help us back in Sacramento. Having made it through about 15 minutes of a game (I'm pretty proud of the fact that I made it that far), it might help someone who needs to practice taking a buttload of threes, but that's about it.
It could possibly help a lot with cardio conditioning. A player like Moreland goes there, gets a lot of shot attempts while getting in better shape at the same time. Things that he would not get, if constantly staying with the team when they don't have time to practice
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
Just a solid all-around 41-36 first quarter.

And Sim Bhullar plays like his legs are encased in solid triple-weight concrete.
 
You guys complain too much about this system -- we have done a good thing:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/235615/Grizzlies-Re-Sign-Kalin-Lucas-Hassan-Whiteside


We may have singlehandedly earned Hassan another shot at the NBA after that 30-22-8 game against our, um, team. Pretty nice of us to take care of ex-Kings like that I think,
Whiteside might actually be someone to watch in that Memphis system. Dude has been tearing through the lower leagues the last few years (MVP in China right?), so it'd be interesting to see if he's actually got somewhat of a head screwed on him now.
 
Decided to look at Warriors vs D-Fenders to check Manny Harris, Elliott Williams and Joe Alexander, and broadcasting crew is talking "this team must show right from the start, that they buy into the coach's philosophy of "defense wins games"...WTH!!! :rolleyes::D
 
Marc J. Spears ‏@SpearsNBAYahoo
In the D-League, the LA D-Fenders beat the Reno Big Horns 175-152 in regulation on Saturday. LA scored 56 points in the 1st quarter.Defense?
Having seen this, I decided to watch the game.
Have never watched the Bighorns before and here's what I have to say: I'm shocked that somebody are actually trying to ran this type of game with a grown men's basketball team. I turned it off after the first half. Commentators have said, that Reno play like this all season. Feel bad for the players, to be honest.

I've not read all the posts in this thread, just shared an impression. Now proceeding to read the thread.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
If the only two things that Reno manages to do is
  1. make our owner realize that you can't win on offense alone, and
  2. make him realize that you can score a ****ton of points, and still be un-entertaining,
... then it will have been more effective than our general manager.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
Watching the ball go through the hoop 150 times in a game is not that exciting unless its against a tough defense where it is actually hard to score.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
At least in the All-Star game, you're watching 15-20 of the best basketball players in the world, plus 4-7 other guys who may or may not also deserve to be there. At a Bighorns game, you're watching Brady F. Heslip.
 
Maybe someone can clear the air for me and add their take: What made the Kings want to become the sole affiliate of the Bighorns? Does Ranadive actually own the Bighorns?

Also, half of the teams in the league are sharing one team or two teams. I don't think the NBA knows what on Earth it's doing regarding the D-League. It seems like a good idea, but it's like the NBA has no type of plan for it.

If the NBA actually thought highly of the D-League and what it could do for the pro teams and players, I would think there would be 30 D-League teams per the 30 NBA teams.

Thoughts?
 
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funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
Maybe someone can clear the air for me and add their take: What made the Kings want to become the sole affiliate of the Bighorns? Does Ranadive actually own the Bighorns?

Also, half of the teams in the league are sharing one team or two teams. I don't think the NBA knows what on Earth it's doing regarding the D-League. It seems like a good idea, but it's like the NBA has no type of plan for it.

If the NBA actually thought highly of the D-League and what it could do for the pro teams and players, I would think there would be 30 D-League teams per the 30 NBA teams.

Thoughts?
The NBA/D-League relationship is still evolving. At this point all but one of the 18 teams are directly affiliated with a single NBA team with the exception being the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Ranadive attempted to buy the Big Horns outright but the owners chose not to sell so instead they worked out a two year agreement for the Kings to take over basketball operations with a future right to buy if the Big Horns are put up for sale. And the NBA knows the value of the D-League. As of this season, every team in the NBA has at least one player with experience in the D-League on their roster and some have as many as six or seven.

The reason to become a sole affiliate is to have essentially a minor league team to help train young players (1st & 2nd round draft picks) and to develop players in a system that can be called up to help the big club. The Spurs in particular have a very solid plan for their D-League team. Geographically it's very close which makes transferring guys easier and the Austin affiliate runs a stripped down version of the Spurs offense so guys can be plugged in easier. The other two teams I know of that run the same stuff with their D-League team (treating it essentially like a J.V. version of the NBA club) are the Thunder and the Rockets. It doesn't surprise me at all that good teams make good use of their D-League teams whereas the Kings are running that junkball system and using it as a lab experiment.