Well, the Rockets' decision to take over basketball operations of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers is looking better and better nowadays. http://espn.go.com/blog/TrueHoop/post/_/id/20157/the-new-road-from-training-camp-to-the-d-league Based on these new D-League rules, even if the Rockets ended up signing Erick Dampier to take up the 15th and last remaining roster spot, I would imagine the Rockets, er . . . I mean, VIPERS would quickly look to retain the services of Ishmael Smith and probably also Alexander Johnson. Remember, the Vipers do not need to use any of their three options on either Mike Harris or Antonio Anderson, since those two guys played for RGV last season. Sure, there's at least a somewhat decent chance that another NBA team or a European/Chinese team snags one of those guys. But it's nice to know that the D-League rules are shifting more and more towards those of a real minor league. And with the Rockets already in control of the Vipers' basketball operations, they're well ahead of the curve.
Thanks, man. I actually wrote my honors thesis in college about this topic. At the time, Isiah Thomas had just purchased the entire Continental Basketball Association (CBA), which was then serving the same function that the D-League serves now. There was a lot of thought at the time about the CBA converting into a true developmental league. (As part of my thesis, I actually got to spend a week with the Fort Wayne Fury, which then featured soon-thereafter-to-be-Rockets Moochie Norris and Juaquin Hawkins.) Unfortunately, Isiah decided to shirk his responsibilities as league owner when the Indiana Pacers head coaching job opened up, leading to the CBA eventually going bankrupt (since the market value for all teams was ruined when Isiah was forced to sell the league due to his resulting conflict of interest). Also, the NBA announced the formation of the NBA Development League around the same time. Needless to say, I was not a big Isiah fan after he basically ruined my thesis. And this was BEFORE he became the Knicks' GM. Still, though, it has been quite gratifying to see the D-League slowly become what I was hoping the CBA would become when I wrote my thesis.
Nice find man thanks for sharing This is great stuff can only help the rockets evaluate their players better.
Hey, BT - off subject: A TE can be used only up to the amount of the TE and not +25% + $100K, yes? If a $6.3mm TE were used to acquire a (say) $3mm player is the other $3.3mm 'lost' as an asset? Thanks...x...
It can actually be used up to the amount of the TE + $100k. In your example, the Rockets would still be able to do one or more additional trades with the TE for up to $3.4M.
A good step to further motivate teams to use the D-League. As stated in the article, the teams with its own D-League affiliates have even more of an advantage under these rules now. Of course, D-League guyes (like G. Temple last year) can sign with another team, but it's still useful to have a few possible spare players who know your system. The players themselves, too, benefit from being more familiar with NBA-level play (and having the opportunity to pick up some extra money if called up, even for a 10-day period). Of course, your D-Leaguers may not amount to much, but then again, the investment would seem to be fairly minimal and you can use the affiliate to not only develop players, but also front office guys, coaches, etc.
Bima, you're going to disagree, but patterson is the 1 big who will be down in the d-league. If johnson shows some ability with his and his rights not with the rox,he is more likely to stay up on the roster.
No way Patterson is in the d-league till the All-Star Break. I fully think that he will be the 2nd big behind Scola and will eventually fight for minutes with Hayes.
good stuff, its always puzzled me why the NBA doesnt have a minor league system or a practice squad type like the NFL.. The Rox have a major advantage on most other teams with the Vipes.. the NBA is the hardest league in the world to make, there shouldve long been a system like this, but Isiah turns everything he touches into sewer waste so maybe it wouldve happened sooner
He's not going to beat hill out for minutes unless something drastic happens. I feel like young guys need to play. If he's riding the pine,not playing,you get out of basketball shape and get rusty.
Patterson is a different issue that what the post is talking about. Patterson still counts against the 15 man Rockets roster because he is signed by the Rockets. The 3 d-league assignments would be signed by the vipers, e.g. no Rockets contract.
This is great news, the Rockets management saw this coming and had it all set up already. It'll give them a huge advantage the way Morey is stockpiling young assets. Plus other teams with not much cash flow and or bad managment will have a hard time trying to get setup, while the Rockets wheels are already turning. :grin:
I see this as a minor advantage for the teams, and not much of a help at all for the players. Yes, it takes less effort for the Rockets to keep tabs on players, but they surely were up on all the D League players, and will still keep tabs everywhere. The only advantage is that they can train up players specifically to fit there system. If they sign a player to the team, they will have less of a learning curve. Doesn't mean that the best player to call up will actually be in our system. As far as the players go, does it really help. If there is an unofficial sense that a player is 'owned' by another team, they are less marketable. If they go to train camp for team A, then play D ball on the other side of the country...more exposure. Heck, if a team were ruthless, they could covet a player by signing him to the D League, then not playing him much in an attempt to disguise his value. Doubt that will really happen though. Really, this is just a stepping stone in getting to a full minor league system. It won't really get there till all NBA teams have there own sole affiliate, and a team can sign a player to their D league team outright. Meaning that the player can't be signed to another NBA team or even international team without a trade or buyout from the NBA team that owns them. I'd like to see a 3rd and maybe 4th round added to the draft specifically for D league players. Any player drafted in this round would get a 2 year contract to play for the D league team. If they are called up to the main team, their contract would still be intact and would not count against the salary cap or 15 man roster. That would encourage teams to use these players more and eliminate the injury exceptions for roster spots. It could deter some players from entering the draft if they don't think it's wise for them to commit to a 2 year contract.
I don't disagree. I think there's a good chance that Patterson ends up in the D-League at least for one short stretch by mid- to late season. Not that I think that he's not worthy of being on the 12-man game roster for all 82 games. It's more a product of the Rockets' unbelievable depth this season. You're right, but I think leebigez realizes that. He's just taking the opportunity to disagree with me about something. :grin:
