Has anyone ever developed in the Dleague? People barely know Brooks ever played there. Has anyone ever had a long stint and gotten better because of it? It sounds more like a waste of time.
Rafer Alston, Louis Amundson, Chris Andersen, Kelenna Azubuike, Matt Barnes, Devin Brown, Will Bynum, Matt Carroll, Eddie Gill, Stephen Graham, Jason Hart, Chuck Hayes, Anthony Johnson, Dahntay Jones, Jamario Moon, Mikki Moore, Smush Parker, Bobby Simmons, Ime Udoka, Von Wafer, C. J. Watson, Mike Wilks, José Juan Barea, Brandon Bass, Andray Blatche, Jordan Farmar, Marcin Gortat, Ramon Sessions, Martell Webster, Anthony Tolliver, Chris Hunter and Reggie Williams, Sundiata Gaines, Chris Richard, Mario West, Pops Mensah-Bonsu
Wow! I thought at least one of these would prove your point. Now I am depressed they sent him down there.
Not a single decent starter on that list, not even the Chuckwagon. I'm sorry, I have higher hopes for Patterson than any of these guys. This list makes the Dleague look like the kiss of death.
This isn't last season where you could truly experiment; management put a lot of money into this year's season so it's serious. Patterson is a good rookie, but he wasn't going to get any minutes on a team with Yao, Hill, Scola, Miller, Hayes, and Jeffries. This is best for him because he has the ability to become a starter in the D League and will get minutes to develop his game. Plus the Vipers are pretty good at developing players. I'm sure the Rocket's want to keep a close eye on him in the D League.
Both of you must have ridiculous high expectations right away from a rookie that is in a logjam at the position he plays. Even after Morey and Adelman tempered way before the season started that minutes will be hard to come by for Patrick initially, you still are surprised? Really? What were you both expecting, ROY candidate from the start? BTW, the original question from MRButtocks didn't ask for a starter that came from the Dleague, and many of those names are or have been quality role players on teams. See answer above, you just haven't been following what Morey and Adelman have said about Patrick and minutes available.
Hasheem Thabeet? Look, the truth is that more and more rookies will be going to the Dleague, it is not very relevent to look at the past as the last couple of years have been more indicative of how teams will use it. The Rockets have sent down: Brooks Hayes Harris Taylor and now Patterson And more and more guys will go down too. DD
Andray Blatche is pretty good. I know he isn't on the list but Anthony Morrow is from the D-League and he is pretty good too.
DD is right. This is a new D-league. How many lottery picks are on teams that are affiliated with the D-league like the Rockets are?
You're forgetting the most important "development league" player I can think of - Mario Elie spent two years in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association), before playing for the Warriors and Blazers and getting traded to Houston. I don't think Mario would have been ready to bestow the "Kiss of Death" without paying his dues for years on the playground and the minor leagues.
This is another excellent point the Rockets are one of a few teams that have control over a minor league team, and can send guys down and run the same system. It is a better option for the Rockets than most other teams. DD
I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, the only teams who have full advantage of their D-league team are people like the Lakers, Spurs etc. They have no lottery picks, so it stands to reason that they don't need to use it for such. If the teams weren't so terrible, they wouldn't get lottery picks to begin with. Here we go I had to look it up... http://www.nba.com/2010/news/07/06/DLeague.affiliations/index.html Even the Lakers (who own the Bakersfield Jam) have another NBA affiliate with them in the Clippers. So basically the only teams who have complete control of their Dleague team are the Rockets, Mavericks, Spurs (Texas teams are progressive), Lakers (who share) and the OKC Thunder.
Am I the only one who finds irony in the fact that we're getting whupped over 10 games yet we still sent our lottery pick to develop in the d-league? Contending teams send out their rooks to the d-league to develop while they focus on winning. Losing teams play their rooks a lot because, well, they're losing anyway. We on the other hand are losing but still sent out our rook to the d-league to develop. We got the worst of both worlds
