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True. The D-league program hasn't been delivering dividends for the Spurs in the past. Hope that's changed with Simmons.
Alonzo Gee and Lance Thomas come to mind, but the exceptions prove the rule. It's still like AA baseball for the most part.
True. The D-league program hasn't been delivering dividends for the Spurs in the past. Hope that's changed with Simmons.
I think the point was that nobody developed by the Austin Toros has provided any real value to an NBA team.
Danny Green was assigned to the Toros but I think he was already under Spurs contract. Same as other Spurs like CoJo, Baynes and Anderson.
The record of the Austin Toros for developing talent has been pretty pathetic. Simmons is probably the most successful and we haven't even seen him play in the NBA.
You're right, I forget about them.
Obligatory Ryan Richards comment.
If you really want to get technical we also have the rights to Robertas Javtokas and Georgios Printezis (although hes more of a 4). Oh yea, and technically Erazem Lorbek too.
With the new TV money coming to the league after next season, they definitely need to increase salaries in the D League. They should at minimum be paid $65k to $150k depending on skill and experience level. This will help keep many young players from having to bet on an overseas deal that may or may not work out for them. Honestly, I think it's a shame the league doesn't support this league to the same extent as WNBA, which is totally unwatchable and has been a perennial money loser for the NBA. The WNBA would never survive if it had to stand up on it's own. I truly believe that the d league could potentially thrive if they were able to attract better talent on a yearly basis. Increased salaries would be a good step in that direction to retain better talent.
I'd rather see a system where team can assign 2-3 spots exclusively for d-league prospects. They'd be one-year tenders at half the rookie minimum. A team could only designate a player twice, and the second year, the tender is half of the second-year vet min. The rights to those players are tradeable, but those guys are protected from being called up by other teams.
$250k or so is pretty compe ive with starting salaries on most overseas clubs, I think. And it would allow teams to get a look at guys without much fear of them being poached. I would still support raising regular d-league salaries, but only to about $45k or so. That's good enough to have a decent living and wouldn't increase the d-league budget as much as raising the salaries to $150 would.
Players union has every incentive to keep player salaries high. Your proposal will allow teams to 'handcuff' young players to $250k salaries.
This would then be a disincentive to picking up a first round draft pick since you can pay like 4-8 salaries for the price of one first round pick. It is already obvious to many in the league that the typical 20 year old rookie isn't mature enough to play in the league. Anyone footing the bill to develop the player on a rookie salary is praying that they become serviceable before they have to unload them into free agency.
Look at OKC, they had to dump their projects (i.e. lamb and jones) with nothing really to show for developing them.
probably quite a bit less.
Not really. Those players don't count toward the team's active roster. So it's just paying d-leaguers and potential expats compe ive salaries. The trade off is exclusivity, but that's true if they take that money in Europe anyway.
Doesn't make a ton of sense. Teams aren't dumping their picks left and right to take on rookie-min guys as it is. Plus, those guys couldn't be called up to their active roster, so it's not like it's saving them a ton of money.This would then be a disincentive to picking up a first round draft pick since you can pay like 4-8 salaries for the price of one first round pick.
A team has four years to develop their first-rounders. It shouldn't be hard to get something out of them. The Spurs seem to be able to do find with their guys. But my proposal doesn't affect them much anyway. We're talking about true d-leaguers here. I guess this benefits teams like the Spurs who own their affiliates. The Spurs would be able to have a starting lineup of exclusive players in a system they completely control. It would be great for developing chemistry as well as having a more compe ive league.Anyone footing the bill to develop the player on a rookie salary is praying that they become serviceable before they have to unload them into free agency.
We'll probably have to wait for complete one-to-one affiliation before any real reform can take place. There are still like ten NBA teams that will be affiliated with Fort Wayne next season.
Question is if the d-league can take more expansion. It's hard to see that happening without them raising the salaries (since they need to draw a bigger talent pool). But it's even harder to see the d-league with higher salaries AND more teams/players. The League and Players should really take this influx of money and use it to improve their infrastructure. But they won't.
If they really want it to be a "development" league, NBA teams should pay D-league teams some percentage over any player that signs an NBA contract. This gives D-league teams some ownership of the development of their players.
It is kind of disconcerting watching D-league when players keep coming and going from a team.
It makes more sense for teams to just own their own affiliates like the Spurs own the Toros. The Toros have every incentive to develop their guys exactly as the Spurs want them to.
Ndoye doesn't move like a guy that height. He's got really quick feet, and he's a difference-maker when he's playing with some speed. He didn't really make an impression until the last few games. I think the big question is going to be his motor. I haven't seen him play prior to summer league, but I imagine he'd have attracted more attention if he played with that effort all the time.
Well his feet are flying all over the place, not typical of a big man.
I just think he has to build some strength on those legs, the guys is just toppling over all the time!
I don't think the NBA is overly concerned about the level of play right now, which is good and bad. My perception is that NBA teams that haven't bought in with a single affiliate or ownership don't see it as worth the bother from either a business or developmental standpoint. That will change over time because there are now so many examples of how to make each work. A one-to-one system could work out pretty well if every team sends three training camp cuts to their affiliates every year. Keeping them is of course a challenge, but at that point the NBA can decide what to do with salaries.
I guess you and I are seeing different things, because it sounds like you're implying he's weak or clumsy. He jumps sideways rather than up and down because he doesn't need to elevate due to his length. The tactic works as he can cover a lot of ground and make plays, either blocks or rebounds or putbacks. Most guys that size can't throw their bodies around like that.
A team is going to have to have consistent success developing players before the other teams buy in to the concept.
I just think it's a catch-22. Because teams may not really see the benefit of having d-league guys develop on their dimes because the best young prospects not in the NBA often go overseas for high salaries (and the prospects who were already over there won't come over). Unless the d-league finds a way to get a better talent pool, I don't see what could improve the quality enough to get a 1:1 system to become a reality.
Exactly, and with the salaries, the best prospects aren't going to want to be part of that. So the d-league has to try to turn crap into gold while all the gold ore is sitting in Europe.
Do minor league baseball players make a lot of money? That system seems to work even though there are probably other leagues for guys to play. At some point maybe the fix would be for the league to stop paying buyouts for Euro players.
Good insurence if Boban injury is serious, might even be better than Boban...
I don't think you can compare baseball to basketball in terms of minor-league systems and international leagues. The MLB has almost no serious alternatives. And they have an already-entrenched system that has good results. So players know they can choose to go that route and get a decent chance.
I don't think taking away buyouts is a good answer. If anything, it would make more sense to double down and actually contract prospects to mid-level European teams. That way, they have an incentive to develop players for the NBA (since there'd be decent money to be made coaching NBA guys up if they're good at it) while also having an incentive to win (since they are independent teams with bottom lines to worry about).
That's not a bad idea. There's going to be some outside the box solution rather than just jacking up salaries for prospects. If only they could use all that WNBA money they've been wasting all these years.
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