All, Little feature on Maarty Leunen, who's definitely been one of the pleasant surprises of summer league so far: http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Maartyrsquos_Mission-278255-34.html Thanks for reading! JCF
yeah the guy will play in the NBA at some point what he does translates to NBA 10 to 12 man nothing to get excited about.
I was waiting to hear how the Rockets were feeling about Leunen. It's a shame that he probably won't make the roster unless some of our forwards are included in a trade. He's been very impressive in the summer league.
Great article, Jason. I especially enjoyed Dean Cooper's insight into Maarty. I think most people on this BBS don't realize the internal thought processes behind Rockets management. It is good to see that the Rockets think highly of Maarty and did not "waste" the pick on him just because they knew he'd agree to play in Europe. That being said, his willingness to play in Europe is quite a luxury for a team that has no room for him right now. He will cost the Rockets nothing to hang onto; plus, he will be yet another trade asset for the Rockets should another team come calling.
Good article. What are the rules concerning a player that doesn't get signed? If he plays in Europe we retain his rights, but what if he plays over here in the NBDL, can he go back into the draft next year? DD
im not sure about the nbdl, but there was a guy drafted out of there this summer. as for europe, what if he goes there and gets big? he might be offered more money to stay there than he will be to join the rockets as a late second round pick.
Good question. As long as Leunen is not brought to training camp, the team owns his rights indefinitely. Once he is brought in, however, the clock starts ticking and the team holds his rights for only two years. JCF
I don't think so. As far as I know the only way to go back into the NBA draft is to sit out of organized bball for a year. Which is why David Robinson had the option to re-enter the draft after serving in the Navy, which he declined and stuck with the Spurs. I'd assume that he could play in the NBDL, but it would have to be his choice, since he couldn't be assigned by the team without an NBA contract. So I doubt that this is an option since Europe would pay a lot more for his services.
If the rockets dont sign him and he gets an nbdl contract, they retain his draft rights w/o him taking up a roster spot. Im pretty sure it works the same as if he was signing an overseas contract.
The guy who got drafted out of the NBDL was undrafted. He was playing in the NBDL, but no team owned his rights. It was also the first year he was eligible to be drafted. I don't remember exactly how that happened, but I think it had something to do with not being eligible for college or getting kicked out or something like that.
If he really does hit it big in Europe, then we'll just break into our MLE to sign him like Vspan and Scola. That's really the best case scenario, to have him really season and develop over there and maybe hit it big, than sign him as our 12-15th man.
The only potential problem with that scenario (albeit a good one), is that any team that signs him and sees potential in him will probably try to make it hard for the rockets to buy him out of his contract. They would probably sign him for like 2-3 yrs with only the last year being available for a buy out.
The difference between Maarty and foreign players, is that he's an American who really wants to play in the NBA. So he'll definitely have outs in his contract, and as long as the Rockets give him a somewhat competitive offer, he'll surely sign with us.
