2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Jazz
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Jazz utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Idaho Stampede
Affiliation Type: One-to-one
D-League Team Record: 28-22
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 3
Total D-League Assignments: 5
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- Ian Clark: 1 assignment, 7 games, 14.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.7 APG. .425/.450/.667.
- Grant Jerrett: 2 assignments, 9 games, 12.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.8 APG. .444/.412/.571.
- Toure’ Murry: 2 assignments, 6 games, 14.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.0 APG. .424/.133/.667.
D-League Signings
- Jerrelle Benimon (Idaho Stampede-Jazz affiliate): Inked 10-day contract on March 6th.
- Patrick Christopher (Iowa Energy-Grizzlies affiliate): Signed contract on December 10th.
- Jack Cooley (Idaho Stampede-Jazz affiliate): Inked 1st 10-day pact on February 24th. Signed 2nd 10-day contract on March 16th. Signed multiyear deal on March 26th.
- Bryce Cotton (Austin Spurs-San Antonio affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day deal on February 24th. Inked 2nd 10-day pact on March 6th. Signed to multiyear deal on March 16th.
- Chris Johnson (Rio Grande Valley Vipers-Rockets affiliate): Inked 10-day pact on January 28th. Signed multiyear deal on March 26th.
- Elijah Millsap (Bakersfield Jam-Suns affiliate): Inked 1st 10-day contract on January 5th. Signed 2nd 10-day deal on January 15th. Signed three-year contract on January 25th.
- Elliot Williams (Santa Cruz Warriors-Golden State affiliate): Inked 1st 10-day pact on January 7th. Signed 2nd 10-day deal on January 17th.
Assignment/Recall Log
- November 13th: Assigned Toure’ Murry (Recalled December 2nd)
- December 31st: Assigned Toure’ Murry (Recalled January 3rd)
- February 24th: Assigned Ian Clark (Recalled March 17th)
- March 10th: Assigned Grant Jerrett* (Recalled March 19th)
- March 26th: Assigned Grant Jerrett (Recalled April 6th)
*Note: Jerrett had eight previous assignments as a member of the Thunder.
And-Ones: Saunders, Salier, Harrison
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor was non-committal regarding whether or not Flip Saunders would coach the team next season, Brett Pollakoff of NBCSports.com relays. “It’s not definite,” Taylor said. “But in my mind, with the effort that he put in this year to bring this team along, it’s probably 90%. If he sees somebody and he changes his mind, he certainly could convince me. I think eventually I want a different coach, and I want him to be the GM. My guess is that he’ll go another year.” Taylor also indicated that the franchise landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft won’t change matters, Pollakoff adds. “I think that Flip will change [his mind] if he sees somebody in the coaching ranks that he really respects, and thinks in the long run that they will be the right guy for this team, then I think he’ll make that decision,” Taylor said.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Tim Salier, the Spurs‘ Sports and Entertainment Vice President of Franchise Business Operations, was named the 2015 NBA D-League Team Executive of the Year today, the team announced. “We are very pleased to honor Tim with the Team Executive of the Year Award in recognition of his tremendous contributions to the NBA D-League, the NBA and the Austin community,” said D-League president Malcolm Turner. “Under Tim’s leadership, the Austin Spurs have become a prime example of a how an NBA D-League team should be run to both benefit its NBA parent club and be independently successful.”
- David Harrison, a former Pacers first-rounder, is looking to make a comeback to the NBA, and he has hired Zachary Charles of 3pt Sports Management for representation, Cameron Chung of The Sports Agent Blog reports. Charles made it clear that Harrison’s return is not about money, saying, “[Harrison] would play for free. He’s back in love with he game and just wants an opportunity to play. At the end of the day, he’s a 7′ center with a nice jump shot and dominating post moves. He’s a great guy who deserves a shot and his first shot unfairly taken from him. He’s looking at the NBA Summer League, D-League, and overseas.“
- Kiki Vandeweghe, the league’s senior vice-president of basketball operations, said that the NBA is unlikely to pass any sort of draft lottery reform to prevent tanking this offseason, Zach Lowe of Grantland writes. “I don’t see anything happening in the immediate future,” Vandeweghe said. “We will continue to study it.”
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Raptors
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Raptors utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Affiliation Type: Shared
D-League Team Record: 28-22
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 2
Total D-League Assignments: 4
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- Bruno Caboclo: 2 assignments, 7 games, 3.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.7 BPG. .290/.333/1.000.
- Lucas Nogueira: 2 assignments, 4 games, 8.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 2.0 BPG. .429/.000/.500.
D-League Signings
- No D-League signings.
Assignment/Recall Log
- December 25th: Assigned Bruno Caboclo (Recalled January 1st)
- February 18th: Assigned Bruno Caboclo (Recalled March 8th)
- March 12th: Assigned Lucas Nogueira (Recalled March 16th)
- March 17th: Assigned Lucas Nogueira (Recalled March 26th)
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Spurs
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Spurs utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Austin Spurs
Affiliation Type: One-to-one
D-League Team Record: 32-18
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 1
Total D-League Assignments: 7
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- Kyle Anderson: 7 assignments, 26 games, 21.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.8 APG. .447/.354/.789.
D-League Signings
- Reggie Williams (Oklahoma City Blue-Thunder affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day deal on January 28th. Inked 2nd 10-day pact on February 8th. Signed for the remainder of the campaign on February 20th.
- JaMychal Green (Austin Spurs-San Antonio’s affiliate): Signed 10-day deal on January 18th.
Assignment/Recall Log
- November 23rd: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled November 24th)
- January 20th: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled February 20th)
- February 21st: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled March 9th)
- March 12th: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled March 16th)
- March 26th: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled April 8th)
- April 11th: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled April 12th)
- April 17th: Assigned Kyle Anderson (Recalled April 22nd)
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Suns
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Suns utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Bakersfield Jam
Affiliation Type: One-to-one
D-League Team Record: 34-16
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 4
Total D-League Assignments: 14
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- Reggie Bullock: 2 assignments, 4 games, 23.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 2.8 APG. .507/.462/.812.
- Tyler Ennis: 4 assignments, 9 games, 18.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.3 APG. .479/.333/.810.
- Archie Goodwin: 4 assignments, 10 games, 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.0 APG. .436/.271/.655.
- T.J. Warren: 4 assignments, 9 games, 26.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.6 APG. .544/.286/.729.
D-League Signings
- Earl Barron (Bakersfield Jam-Suns affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day deal on February 21st. Inked 2nd 10-day pact on March 3rd. Signed for the remainder of the season on March 13th.
- Seth Curry (Erie BayHawks-Magic affiliate): Signed 10-day contract on March 11th.
- Jerel McNeal (Bakersfield Jam-Suns affiliate): Signed 10-day deal on April 1st. Inked multiyear arrangement on April 11th.
Assignment/Recall Log
- November 13th: Assigned Tyler Ennis (Recalled November 17th)
- November 13th: Assigned T.J. Warren (Recalled November 17th)
- December 25th: Assigned Tyler Ennis (Recalled December 31st)
- December 25th: Assigned T.J. Warren (Recalled December 31st)
- December 25th: Assigned Archie Goodwin (Recalled December 31st)
- January 14th: Assigned Archie Goodwin (Recalled January 20th)
- January 22nd: Assigned Tyler Ennis (Recalled January 25th)
- January 22nd: Assigned T.J. Warren (Recalled January 25th)
- January 29th: Assigned Archie Goodwin (Recalled February 1st)
- January 29th: Assigned Reggie Bullock (Recalled February 1st)
- February 4th: Assigned Tyler Ennis (Recalled February 7th)
- February 4th: Assigned T.J. Warren (Recalled February 7th)
- February 7th: Assigned Archie Goodwin (Recalled February 11th)
- February 7th: Assigned Reggie Bullock (Recalled February 11th)
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Kings
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Kings utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Reno Bighorns
Affiliation Type: One-to-one
D-League Team Record: 20-30
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 1
Total D-League Assignments: 5
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- Eric Moreland: 5 assignments, 7 games, 13.7 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 1.4 APG. .592/.000/.375.
D-League Signings
- David Stockton (Reno Bighorns-Kings affiliate): Signed 10-day contract on February 20th. Inked multiyear deal on April 12th.
- Sim Bhullar (Reno Bighorns-Kings affiliate): Inked 10-day pact on April 2nd.
- David Wear (Reno Bighorns-Kings affiliate): Signed 10-day arrangement on March 23rd.
- Quincy Miller (Reno Bighorns-Kings affiliate)*: Inked 1st 10-day deal on January 17th. Signed 2nd 10-day deal on January 30th.
*Miller also played for the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ affiliate, after signing with Detroit.
Assignment/Recall Log
- November 4th: Assigned Eric Moreland (Recalled November 17th)
- November 21st: Assigned Eric Moreland (Recalled November 25th)
- November 28th: Assigned Eric Moreland (Recalled November 30th)
- December 12th: Assigned Eric Moreland (Recalled December 13th)
- December 14th: Assigned Eric Moreland (Recalled December 16th)
2014 NBA First-Round Picks In The D-League
The goal of many at this week’s NBA draft combine is to become a first-round draft pick. Two seasons of guaranteed salary go along with that distinction, as long as teams sign the first-rounders they have the rights to, and that gives those prospects a better footing on NBA rosters. It doesn’t guarantee they won’t spend time in the D-League, however.
Nearly half of the 30 first-round picks from 2014 spent time in the D-League this past season. That includes Josh Huestis, who agreed to sign a D-League contract instead of an NBA deal in exchange for Oklahoma City drafting him 29th overall, an unprecedented arrangement. The 13 other first-rounders from last year who appeared in the D-League in 2014/15 did so on assignment from their NBA teams. No. 25 overall pick Clint Capela, who’s been part of Houston’s rotation in the playoffs, spent so much time on assignment that he was a member of the D-League’s All-Defensive First Team.
Perhaps the key to avoiding D-League time is to end up in the lottery. T.J. Warren, the last lottery selection in 2014, saw nine games in the D-League, but no other player taken within the top 14 picks went on assignment more than once. The Celtics put Marcus Smart, the sixth overall pick, into only one D-League game, though that still made him the highest draft pick from last year to play in the D-League.
Here’s a look at all of the 2014 first-rounders and the time they spent in the D-League this season, with an assist from our D-League Assignments/Recalls Log:
- Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves: None
- Jabari Parker, Bucks: None
- Joel Embiid, Sixers: None
- Aaron Gordon, Magic: None
- Dante Exum, Jazz: None
- Marcus Smart, Celtics: 1 assignment, 1 game
- Julius Randle, Lakers: None
- Nik Stauskas, Kings: None
- Noah Vonleh, Hornets: 1 assignment, 2 games
- Elfrid Payton, Magic: None
- Doug McDermott, Bulls: None
- Dario Saric, Sixers: Overseas
- Zach LaVine, Timberwolves: None
- T.J. Warren, Suns: 4 assignments, 9 games
- Adreian Payne, Hawks/Timberwolves: 4 assignments, 17 games
- Jusuf Nurkic, Nuggets: None
- James Young, Celtics: 11 assignments, 17 regular season games and 2 playoff games
- Tyler Ennis, Suns/Bucks: 4 assignments, 9 games
- Gary Harris, Nuggets: None
- Bruno Caboclo, Raptors: 2 assignments, 7 games
- Mitch McGary, Thunder: 4 assignments, 8 games
- Jordan Adams, Grizzlies: 5 assignments, 11 games
- Rodney Hood, Jazz: None
- Shabazz Napier, Heat: 2 assignments, 4 games
- Clint Capela, Rockets: 5 assignments, 38 games
- P.J. Hairston, Hornets: None (Played in D-League during 2013/14 season)
- Bogdan Bogdanovic, Suns: Overseas
- C.J. Wilcox, Clippers: 1 assignment, 5 games
- Josh Huestis, Thunder: 44 regular season games and 2 playoff games on D-League contract
- Kyle Anderson, Spurs: 7 assignments, 26 regular season games and 5 playoff games
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Sixers
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Sixers utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Delaware 87ers
Affiliation Type: One-to-one
D-League Team Record: 20-30
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 1
Total D-League Assignments: 1
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- JaKarr Sampson: 1 assignment, 2 games, 15.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG. .367/.250/.667.
D-League Signings
- Larry Drew II (Sioux Falls SkyForce-Heat affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day deal on January 16th. Inked 2nd 10-day pact on January 26th.
- Tim Frazier (Maine Red Claws-Celtics affiliate): Inked 1st 10-day contract on February 5th. Signed 2nd 10-day agreement on February 20th.
- Malcolm Lee (Grand Rapids Drive-Pistons affiliate): Signed multiyear deal on December 5th. Lee was waived by Philadelphia on December 11th.
- Ronald Roberts (Delaware 87ers-Sixers affiliate)*: Signed for remainder of season on December 12th. Was waived by the Sixers on December 15th.
*Roberts was later dealt by the 87ers to the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s affiliate.
Assignment/Recall Log
- November 21st: Assigned JaKarr Sampson (Recalled November 24th)
And-Ones: Sidney, D-League, Turner
The top performing players during the 2015 NBA D-League Elite mini-camp were Aaron Craft, Adonis Thomas, Shawn Jones, and Casey Prather, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets. The NBA D-League’s camp offers standouts from the past season another chance to perform in front of NBA team personnel in advance of Summer Leagues and 2015 training camps, Brian Kotloff of NBA.com writes. “It’s really a great thing for our league to showcase the players,” Elite Mini Camp director Bob MacKinnon, a five-year NBA D-League coaching veteran, said. “Every NBA team will be represented with scouts in these two days. We changed the schedule to accommodate what NBA scouts have told us they want to see.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Eight NBA teams are attending a workout for former Mississippi State center Renardo Sidney tonight in Chicago, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The big man is a free agent and went undrafted back in 2012.
- The NBA draft combine allows teams to examine more than just the players’ on court abilities, and in some cases these secondary observations can mean the difference between a player getting drafted or needing to scramble to snag a training camp invite, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “The interviews are a big part of this week,” said a Western Conference official. “For teams, a lot of times it’s the first chance they get to sit down with players and find out the answers to some questions that might mean the difference between that kid staying on their board or taken off entirely.”
- Texas big man Myles Turner has a chance to contribute immediately and possibly become a building block for a future contending team, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. Turner is looking to make a splash in the league, saying, “Definitely a long-term goal is to get Rookie of the Year and get into the NBA All-Star Weekend. As far as short-term goals, I’d like to be able to have a great role within the team I’m drafted by to be able to go out there and get quality minutes instead of riding the bench the whole entire rookie season.” The 19-year-old is the No. 10 overall prospect according to Ford, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots him at No. 11. You can view Hoops Rumors’ expanded profile of Turner here.
2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Timberwolves
The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Timberwolves utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…
D-League Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Affiliation Type: Shared
D-League Team Record: 28-22
Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 0
Total D-League Assignments: 0
Player Stats While On Assignment:
- N/A
D-League Signings
- Lorenzo Brown (Grand Rapids Drive-Pistons affiliate): Signed 1st 10-day contract on January 28th. Inked 2nd 10-day pact on February 6th. Signed multiyear arrangement on February 19th.
- Sean Kilpatrick (Delaware 87ers-Sixers affiliate): Inked 10-day pact on March 19th. *
- Arinze Onuaku (Canton Charge-Cavs affiliate): Signed for remainder of the season on April 7th. *
*Both Kilpatrick and Onuaku were added to the Wolves’ roster via the hardship exception.
Assignment/Recall Log
- No players assigned to the D-League.