Woj: Youssou Ndoye has agreed to camp deal

[Chinook]

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.

That WNBA money helped produce Becky, so it's not a complete waste.

[Darkwaters]

I still love the idea of the Spurs owning their own franchise in Spain. Especially a decent club that plays the Euroleague regularly. Just stash players on the Madrid Spurs!

[ChumpDumper]

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.

Actually the main value for NBA franchises is to develop a teams own existing players, not free agents. If a team like Atlanta is inclined to do that, the nightmare that is the Fort Wayne affiliate system is not going to work.

[Uriel]

I still love the idea of the Spurs owning their own franchise in Spain. Especially a decent club that plays the Euroleague regularly. Just stash players on the Madrid Spurs!

Well, we kind of have something like that with ASVEL, where we stashed LJC.

[littlecoyotecoin]

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.

You are right. I don't watch a lot of college basketball, but I saw him play a couple games, so I checked out what I could on youtube, as well, when I saw he was going to be on our summer league team. I was excited to see him, and posted a message in the summer league thread about him before summer league to crickets response. He is very agile for a guy his size that goes undrafted. He, at times, is really impressive, for a nobody. I don't think he'll remain a nobody. He is, of course raw. Based on his bio, I seriously doubt he was playing organized basketball at a young age. Tim was a late bloomer when it comes to basketball, but not everyone is Tim Duncan. Ndoye seems like the very kind of guy that it's worth taking a gamble on because he could really benefit from some more coaching and development. He's got some nice physical tools. As glad as I was to see him on the summer league roster, even more happy he got a training camp invite and Austin possibilities.

All that said, he was almost invisible until the last two games of summer league. Not sure what was going on there. But, I think it was that second to the last game, something clicked.

[Obstructed_View]

All that said, he was almost invisible until the last two games of summer league. Not sure what was going on there. But, I think it was that second to the last game, something clicked.

Yeah, I don't know what it was, but I saw it too. They got down by a bundle to the Hawks, and suddenly he and several other guys just came alive and started making hustle plays.

[ceperez]

Yeah, I don't know what it was, but I saw it too. They got down by a bundle to the Hawks, and suddenly he and several other guys just came alive and started making hustle plays.

Last two games in SL, the Spurs were getting blown out due to superior talent, only to be bailed out big time by the second unit on hustle play.

Something just clicked with Ndoye and he decided to start hustling his ass off! Maybe it was desperation and realization that the starters couldn't pull it off by themselves so he and the bench took charge! Sometimes you get complacent when you other players are going to deliver the win, but when you're down double digits in the first quarter, you realize that you got to take matters into your own hands. Something definitely clicked.... great coaching by Hammon.

[AFMadison]

The guy can shoot free throws and it seems like he has a pretty high motor. He's gotta stay out of foul trouble though. In games where he played 10-16 minutes he had 3-4 fouls. Versus Boston he almost fouled out in 14 minutes and against ATL he had 3 fouls and 3 turnovers in 16 minutes. Ndoye will get better though.

[kobyz]

He play aggresive and like being the ins uter, good prospect...

[dweaver99027]

Decent shot at getting a roster spot in 2-3 years. Seems like a no brainer to give him a chance to develop in Austin.

[tesseractive]

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.

One big difference is that MLB teams have a number of extra contracts they can carry specifically for minor league players, so you have more guys you can hold onto with less pressure as they develop without taking up your major league slots. It would be interesting as part of a set of reforms (along with increased salary and expanding so every club had a team) if there were, say, 3 more league-minimum salary slots for each NBA team with the understanding that there had to be at least 3 of 18 guys assigned to the D League. It would completely change how second round picks were handled.

Obviously this is a completely pie-in-the-sky idea, but it would completely change basketball development, I think for the better.

[dweaver99027]

The amount of MLB readiness the average MLB draftee possesses at the time of his selection is way, way lower than the average NBA draftee's pro readiness. Add to that the fact that pro Central, South American and Japanese leagues are also too high-level for a fresh draftee, baseball minor leagues' proven track record as the main pathway to the MLB and the whole 'going to the ballpark for some family time', and the D-League is light years behind the baseball minors.

[Obstructed_View]

If you could draft a guy right out of high school, pay him a development contract, assign him to a team, be able to hold onto his rights for long enough that you're willing to invest the time and money required and then call him up at any time to a bigger contract when he's ready to contribute, it would change how almost everything is handled. Imagine being able to draft a guy with a lottery pick, assign him to the D-league for not a lot of money and see if he turns out to be a team cancer or a future all-star. then actually still have his rights three years later when he develops into a productive player, but he hasn't been eating up a quarter of your cap or a spot on your bench while he was developing.

The NBA could just wreck college basketball by setting up a smart farm system to develop players.

[BackHome]

Watched a lot of his vids from what i see he is a pretty decent prospect - He has good hands, moves well for a guy seven feet tall and looks like he can play defense and I love his shot blocking abilities. I am glad they signed him to the Toros I think with the right coaching/motivation he will be called up a couple of times this season. If he can grasp the Spurs defense and offense rotations he can help and do some serious damage on the pick and roll.