NBA Development League becomes coaches' proving ground

NBA Development League becomes coaches' proving ground

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...asey-hill-development-league-coaches/4396669/

RENO — Nevada Smith isn't dreaming about the NBA yet because, well, he's living the dream as it is.

Four months ago, the 33-year-old was coaching a unique brand of basketball at Division III Keystone College in La Plume, Pa., completely unaware that the crack staff of the Houston Rockets was closing in on him as a candidate for their NBA Development League head coaching position. Now, he's part of a coaching circle that is finding its way to the big-time more than ever before while playing an increasingly crucial role in the program of their respective parent clubs.

Semi-Pro 2, this is not.

For all the focus on the D-League's improvement and how — at last count — 122 NBA players have D-League experience of some kind, the coaches are having the most substantive impact on the NBA. There are many layers to their influence, from the 19 NBA coaches with D-League roots — including one head coach, the Memphis Grizzlies' Dave Joerger — to the reality that the newfound synergy between D-League teams and their NBA teams means they're a more legitimate part of this process than ever.

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The rise in single-affiliation clubs has been a major factor in this new corporate structure: In the past three years, 10 of the league's 17 teams have become, a la baseball's structure, single affiliation; three teams are run by more than one NBA team.

This isn't a dream job when it comes to getting rich, especially when compared to NBA coaching counterparts.

Whereas the Los Angeles Clippers' Doc Rivers and the San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich are thought to be the league's highest-paid coaches at about $7 million a season, D-League coaches make, on average $75,000 annually. But the opportunities have never been better.

Smith has become the darling of the D-League. The innovative Rockets brass, led by general manager Daryl Morey, canvassed the country for candidates, then cold-called Smith because of the fascinating way his teams relied almost entirely on the three-pointer or the layup.

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Four months later, after Smith beat out 34 other candidates for the job, his Rio Grande Valley (Hidalgo, Texas) Vipers (15-5) are an entertaining and successful petri dish of sorts for the Rockets. They average an unheard-of 46.2 three-point attempts a game (the second-ranked team was shooting 33.1) and 124.7 points a game (No. 2 is 117.4) and are a one-of-a-kind basketball laboratory for Morey and company.

"We get to experiment with some different styles on offense and defense," Morey said at last week's D-League Showcase, where all 17 teams took part. "Since we've had the Vipers (as single-affiliation) over the four years, we've tried to do different things and incorporate them with the Rockets over time. It's just seeing how teams react (to the three-pointers), how to defend it, so that you can learn how to counter their counter.

"There have definitely been things that we've done in the D-League that we've then done with the Rockets. … It's been really great for us."

 

Care to explain the 20 moves behind? You might be onto something.