Value of the D-League?

Obviously, the D League seems to have value to the NBA teams that sponsor this league. Probably in several ways as well.

But, I am beginning to wonder if there is not so much difference in the levels of competition that the D League that it might not be very valuable.

All of my thinking started the other night when Phil Pressey rode up to Maine and scored 30+ points in the one game that he played for the Red Claws.
Pressey has not been able to hardly get off the Cs bench lately and he goes to Maine and scores over 30 with a bunch of assists, etc, etc.

Nothing against Pressey here because I like this kid. He always seems to be ready to give his best, seems to be a very hard worker and you never
hear anything that resembles complaining about not playing many minutes although everyone knows that sitting on the bench for any young
basketball player is not as much fun as playing and contributing more.

Then after returning to the Cs, he plays only one pretty much eventful minute in a game that ended up not being really close.

It just seems too easy of a league when so many guys (like Pressey on Thursday and Young several times) can go there and almost immediately
score tons of points.

Any thoughts on the D-League?

I bet that if Pressey got the PT he could compile respectable scoring stats on a rebuilding NBA team that would then lose even more games. The same could be said about Young.

Is it better for a player's development to get scrimmage time in team practices or play in the D-League? Then there are more logistical considerations. There are periods when teams do not get much chance to have full bore scrimmages due to injuries or fatigue or game schedules.

The D-League is not perfect but it is the next best thing.

Clyde,

I keep reading about how today's game has a much larger group of players to pick from than was true in the old days of eight teams. But, on a per-team basis, I think that's bunk. And I believe the "strip mining" of the D League by needy NBA teams is the main reason why there is not much of a top layer of talent in D League teams. In other words, the gap between the best DL players and the worst NBA players keeps widening. So, when a Pressey or Young goes down to the DL, he stands head and shoulders (not literally) above the other talent in the league.

I guess it's one of those "Show me something better" things. At least the DL does two things for marginal NBA players. (1) It gives them a chance to air it out, maintain their stoke, retain cardio conditioning, etc. and (2) It keeps them feeling pretty good about their ability levels compared with those around them, thus maintaining their morale.

Sam

Sam

I think if you want to improve the level of play in the D-league you need to LOWER the NBA player limit down to a max of 12 players.


have a new injured list for NBA players that will miss more than one week and allow a call up from the D-league to replace players on IR.

this will take the worst 50-70 NBA players and put them in the D-league.

LOWER the amount of teams in the D-league to 15 and have them as NBA league wide owned teams (not team affiliated).

this will knock out the 30 worst players form the d-league.



have 12 players for each of the 15 D-league teams with no more than two players allowed on NBA call-up at any one time.


that solves the problem of guys like Pressey looking like he's so much better than the average D-leaguer...he'd already be there playing , improving the quality of the product every day.

NBA teams would, have to learn to USE their rosters like the old days, instead of having older players take days off for being old.

12 players worked fine in the recent past, no reason it can't work now.

kdp59 wrote:I think if  you want to improve the level of play in the D-league you need to LOWER the NBA player limit down to a max of 12 players.


have a new injured list for NBA players that will miss more than one week and allow a call up from the D-league to replace players on IR.

this will take the worst 50-70 NBA players and put them in the D-league.

LOWER the amount of teams in the D-league to 15 and have them as NBA league wide owned teams (not team affiliated).

this will knock out the 30 worst players form the d-league.



have 12 players for each of the 15 D-league teams with no more than two players allowed on NBA call-up at any one time.


that solves the problem of guys like Pressey looking like he's so much better than the  average D-leaguer...he'd already be there playing , improving the quality of the product every day.

NBA teams would, have to learn to USE their rosters like the old days, instead of having older players take days off for being old.

12 players worked fine in the recent past, no reason it can't work now.

Kdp,

Great idea. Cannot happen until there is a new CBA, if ever. I suspect the Players Union will object unless they get to unionize the D-League. They will want something in return for accepting a smaller union.


bob


.

Phil took 25 shots and made only 11 of them. That was by far more shots than any of the other Red Claw players took. He got nine of his points at the line. He also played 42 minutes, again far more than any of the other RC players.

I think it was a plan by the coach and team to let him handle the ball a lot and to shoot a lot. He had 9 assists, but he also had 6 turnovers.

MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A +/- OREB DREB REB AST PF STL TO BS BA PTS
42 11-25 3-9 9-12 8 1 6 7 9 2 3 6 0 1 34

http://dleague.nba.com/games/20150205/IWAMNE/

The Red Claws did lose the game. They are one of the better teams in the league and the Iowa Energy has a worse record but has been hot as of late. The RC's were down early in the game and had to play catch up for much of the game. How much of that was a direct result of the team's decision to showcase Pressey?

http://dleague.nba.com/standings/

gyso

Why would the NBA lower the roster limit down from 15 to 12 for the D-League?
What happens when teams have 3 or 4 season ending injuries like the Lakers have had?
What about rookies that just aren't ready yet?

The D-League should not be viewed like the minor leagues in baseball.

To me, all the D-League is used for is for guys to get playing time against other players with similar skills, who probably aren't NBA ready.

The D-League can be tweaked as much as people want.
Just don't change anything about the NBA just for the D-League...

I answered the injury problem in my post.

the NBA went for a long time with 12 players per roster.

The D-League is good if you want some minutes. However, it's not very indicative of the opportunities you'll have in the NBA.

I've brought up the D-League before and I have my doubts as to whether it actually helps players to become successful.


KJ

The D League seems to have missed the target, so far, as a minor league for the NBA.  In order to approach the player training and competition status (not to mention population) of the MLB minor league system, the annual NBA draft would have to expand by several rounds and revisions to team/player agreements would need to change.

It doesn't help the NBADL that two other professional "minor leagues," the Premier League and APBL are in competition for players and arenas in small to mid-size cities as well.

A third league, the semi-pro CBL Exposure League is also in operation, with inexpensive franchise deals and a crowd funding effort under way. Want to buy a team on the cheap?

Similar to the NFL, it looks like the NCAA ranks will continue to be the feeder for the NBA for some time to come, with the NBADL the spot to stash project type players.  I personally don't watch many NBADL games because I always come away feeling like I just watched something a tier or two below a good NCAA Division 1 game.