How good is the D-league

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Hall of Famer
Other than playing time i don't see much compatition in the d league. Get this Erik Daniels former king is averging 18.8 points and 8.5 reb per game. We all know he isn't that good
 
We didn't know what he was. He wasn't in as good condition then as he is now (and since this past summer), and he only played 72 minutes the whole 04-05 season ;). And just barely played in pre-season with us.

Here's a piece from NBADraft.net on him from 1/5/06:

Combo forward Erik Daniels is just what the NY Knicks need. Hard-nosed defender, who happens to be putting up almost 20 ppg.

http://www.nbadraft.net/vaks001.asp
 
Not very good, and I think a bit of a disappointment so far. Basically anybody who can play is already going to be on somebody's 12 man. So the onyl guys who spend long stretches in the D league right now are very questionable types. Every once ina while a team will send down a real prospect for a few weeks, but only if they don't have the goods to make it in an NBA game.

It may yet develop in the future, but the balance is just considererably different in basketball than baseball (big guaranteed contracts put pressure to get money out of the players, smaller rosters, ready to contribute earlier), and its not clear it will ever come anywhere neaar to approaching the baseball minors.
 
That former Phoenix Suns bench warmer who was/is keeping a journal for ESPN had an interesting take on the NBDL... he said it wasn't as appealing to players because there are no guarantees. You have a family and move all around the country to the hodunk towns (some of them anyways) where an NBDL franchise is. Even if you make the team there's no guarantee you won't be cut in a week. When there's guaranteed money elsewhere (even if it's in Europe), it's going to be a lot more appealing for a guy both trying to make it to the NBA and also make a living.
 
I just semi-ranted about the NBDL in another thread, and after reading my rant it makes sense, and I think I'll post it here...

The NBA needs to change the crappy "If you've been in the league for more than two years, you can't be assigned to the D-League" rule.

I was talking about Jamal Sampson when this came to me...As a King, he doesn't see the floor...Period...The poor guy gets 2 minutes in a 30-point blowout...Why do you want a young kid that has some potential wasting away as the 12th man on any team? If the two-year rule was dropped this would do a few tings for the NBA and the NBDL.

1: The NBDL could actually be a minor-league system...A place where you send young players who need to improve...Taking Sampson again...In his breif stints, he has shown he can rebound. And he has shown ability to block shots...As of right now, he doesn't get any minutes to try to develop his game. If the rule was changed, and he was to be assigned to the NBDL, he would get constant minutes, the Kings would get to see his true abilites, and he may actually grow as a player...Minor leagues are where you should be able to develop your players...And there are a helluva lot more players that need development that have been in this leage for more than 2 years,

2: The NBDL would actually start to get some recognition...I know, huge names such as Jamal Sampson and Linton Johnson aren't about to garnish much fanfare, right? But what Im saying is, these guys potentiall have a chance to do something...If you have guys on NBA rosters, that have a chance to be something playing in the NBDL, you may get more fanfare. I mean, if your an NBA fan living in Fayetsville, you know that you would rather go watch Jamal Sampson that Erick Daniels at the next Flyers home game...I mean, it's not much at all, but getting "bigger" names down there could potentially do wonders...

3: Also, what if one of these players were to actually blossom? You send someone whos underachieved his way through 5 seasons...He now has no confidense and believes he really wasnt worth all the hype...D-League, he plays against border-line NBA-ers, smokes them, realizes the talent is there, gets called back up and realizes his potentiall and becomes someone of note in the NBA...Instant credability.

I mean, Im not saying that changing that rule would do all that, but the potentiall for it is there...I mean, is there any risk involved at all?

No.
 
Variant said:
That former Phoenix Suns bench warmer who was/is keeping a journal for ESPN had an interesting take on the NBDL... he said it wasn't as appealing to players because there are no guarantees. You have a family and move all around the country to the hodunk towns (some of them anyways) quote] Have you ever been to Yakama Washington?
 
Never have, but I went to school in Walla Walla, Washington. If you wanted to see a movie, you had to drive 40 minutes over to Pasco!
 
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