Does anyone know exactly what the D-League is? I mean is it essentially minor league basketball? Each NBA team has a D-League team affiliated with them, but some teams like our Vipers are only with us, while other teams like the Springfield Armor have 3 teams: 76ers, Nets, Knicks. Do those 3 teams have to fight to call up players from the Armor? Can we only call up players from the Vipers? I'm confused.
I think...... That a team like the rockets that have their own team can call up and send down players and those players on the vipers are exclusively theirs. Teams that share a team do not have exclusive rights to those players
NBADL teams have 2 kinds of players making up their roster, those who have NBA contracts and those who have NBADL contracts (which are given by the league, not the team). Players with NBA contracts can only be called up by the team that contract is with. The players without NBA contracts are basically free agents and can sign with/be called up by any team. So the Vipers players who aren't under contract with the Rockets can be picked up by other teams. For example. When Dorsey was in the NBADL he could only be called up by us because we own his contract. James White played for the Anaheim Arsenal when we signed him last year. He didn't have an NBA contract and thus was free to sign with any NBA team and not just the Clippers and Hawks (who were affiliated with the Arsenal, now the Springfield Armor). The thing about the Vipers being controlled solely by the Rockets is that we can run the Vipers exactly how we want. We can determine who will be coaching our players who've been sent down and we can make sure they use and develop them according to our terms. That's a luxury that may not be available when you have to share an NBADL team with 1 or 2 other franchises.
Thank you. Seems there would be more teams in the D-League to develop younger projects. Players like Thabeet should probably be down there getting more playing time and one on one development than in the NBA, but the Grizzles share a team with Wizards. Any advantage for players without NBA contracts playing in the D-League rather than overseas and likely making more cash, especially when tax is paid on their behalf?
Some guys have a dream of playing in the NBA, and going overseas wont fill that dream even with prospectively better pay. Its not always about the money.
Because Harris can't play PG, and KLow7 is out with the ankle injury. Rockets don't even have two teams to scrimmage with right now.
Actually guys,players on a D-League roster.. meaning players who have signed contracts with the D-League are all NBA Free Agents. Even Mike Harris, Garrett Temple, and Will Conroy who were called up at one point from us. They all could have and still can be signed by any NBA team if a team wishes to do so. The luxury our relationship with the Rockets provides Houston, is that it gives them a chance to work closely with D-League players they would like to have a closer look at. It also affords them the right to bring in a Garrett Temple to their D-League team because he was a rookie in Rockets training camp. The other teams in the D-League work the same way as the Vipers do, only they work independently on the basketball operations side and their relationship with their affiliate is striclty for NBA assignment players only. For example the Maine Red Claws have a local affiliate in Boston, and an additional affiliate in the Charlotte Bobcats. although that team has a huge Celtics presence, (Austin Ainge is the Head Coach, Jon Jennings is their team President, he is a former Assistant Coach of the Celtics ) They have enough of a relationship with the Bobcats that Charlotte sent them Alexis Ajinca this season for some playing time. The Red Claws also have had Bill Walker and J.R. GIddens for different times as well. Also as an example as to how even the single-affilaite teams may have a player but he signs with a different NBA team, Chicago just signed Chris Richard from the Tulsa club. Tulsa is owned and operated by the OKC Thunder. It can be confusing for people that don't normally follow the league. But, its done in this way for a number of reasons. Most specifically to give players the chance to take NBA job that comes their way.
