2013-14 NBA D League Thread

[dukelifer]

My favorite bit:



BTW, the color commentary for the broadcast was provided by none other than our own Alaa Abdelnaby. Duke guys are everywhere!

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/warr...014_04_11.html

Looks like it was a great environment. Curry has played in some very big games and had a knack for performing well. He looks like he has gotten a bit stronger. He has a shot to make a roster next year.

[COYS]

Looks like it was a great environment. Curry has played in some very big games and had a knack for performing well. He looks like he has gotten a bit stronger. He has a shot to make a roster next year.

Coach K said Seth would've led the NCAA in scoring his senior season if not for the leg injury. He had some big games for us but it seems we never got to see the a fully healthy Seth as the top banana on offense. I'm so glad he's tearing it up in the D-League and agree that he must certainly get a chance to make a roster next year.

Ryan Kelly's injury during the 2013 season certainly set the team back. But what could have been if both Seth and Ryan had stayed healthy all year?

[Son of Jarhead]

Seth had 21 points in 38 minutes as Santa Cruz completed the sweep 138-126 in El Segundo. You would have to think that Los Angeles is second guessing choosing to play Santa Cruz.

Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

Seth got better support in that second game than the first. He played well, didn't force it, got his teammates involved. He should be on an NBA roster next year, but as Alaa pointed out in his color commentary last night, it doesn't hurt to be able to improve in real game situations, the time spent in the NBDL can be a good thing, and there are plenty of players in the D League who are better players than some on the bench in the NBA.

[awhom111]

Here is the TV information for the semifinals, which start on Thursday:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/cbs_...014_04_15.html

[awhom111]

Seth had 22 points in 34 minutes as Santa Cruz beat Rio Grande Valley 135-104. They need to win one of the next two games in Texas to move on to the finals.

Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

[pfrduke]

Seth had 22 points in 34 minutes as Santa Cruz beat Rio Grande Valley 135-104. They need to win one of the next two games in Texas to move on to the finals.

Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

Interesting to see Kenny Kadji get a DNP-CD in that game. He's a good reminder that the advantages one has when playing college ball as a 24-year-old often disappear when one hits the professional ranks (and, relatedly, why GMs are obsessed with youth).

[richardjackson199]

Seth had 22 points in 34 minutes as Santa Cruz beat Rio Grande Valley 135-104. They need to win one of the next two games in Texas to move on to the finals.

Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

Charlotte sports talk radio is all over how much they would rather have Seth Curry on their team than Kidd-Gilchrist. They brutally berate Gilchrist as a bust and his 11% 3 pointer percentage. And MKG was the #2 pick in the draft. He now has potentially 1 more year in his NBA career, and without dramatic improvement, he is potentially done. So even being a top 3 draft pick isn't always such a no brainer to jump. Maybe the NBA isn't undeniably the best place to improve as a player and person.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Charlotte sports talk radio is all over how much they would rather have Seth Curry on their team than Kidd-Gilchrist. They brutally berate Gilchrist as a bust and his 11% 3 pointer percentage. And MKG was the #2 pick in the draft. He now has potentially 1 more year in his NBA career, and without dramatic improvement, he is potentially done. So even being a top 3 draft pick isn't always such a no brainer to jump. Maybe the NBA isn't undeniably the best place to improve as a player and person.

1) Gilchrist is not a bust. He is a terrible offensive player, but he's arguably the best defensive player on this year's Bobcats/Hornets. Charlotte had one of the highest jumps this year in defensive efficiencies. You think Al Jefferson is the reason for that?

2) Gilchrist will absolutely get a contract extension from the Bobcats/Hornets. His defense is too valuable.

3) MKG won the NCAA as the second most important player and the team leader. Jumping to the NBA was a no brainer and looked to be a great #2 pick. I think he has a lot going for him.

[MCFinARL]

Charlotte sports talk radio is all over how much they would rather have Seth Curry on their team than Kidd-Gilchrist. They brutally berate Gilchrist as a bust and his 11% 3 pointer percentage. And MKG was the #2 pick in the draft. He now has potentially 1 more year in his NBA career, and without dramatic improvement, he is potentially done. So even being a top 3 draft pick isn't always such a no brainer to jump. Maybe the NBA isn't undeniably the best place to improve as a player and person.

Yes, that is so tricky--leaving aside developing as a person, which is far too individual to discuss meaningfully, the opportunity to develop as a player seems to depend a lot on fit--a player who gets into the right situation--of coaches, teammates, etc.--and has a good work ethic has opportunities to develop as a player that the college game can seldom, if ever, provide. But a player who lands in the wrong situation may struggle to develop even with a good work ethic, and probably won't develop much at all if the work ethic is something he is waiting for coaches to instill.

[awhom111]

Seth had 8 points in 22 minutes as Santa Cruz fell 136-113 in Game 2.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

That means that the winner of Monday's game at 8:00pm EDT on CBS Sports Network will move on to the finals.

[richardjackson199]

1) Gilchrist is not a bust. He is a terrible offensive player, but he's arguably the best defensive player on this year's Bobcats/Hornets. Charlotte had one of the highest jumps this year in defensive efficiencies. You think Al Jefferson is the reason for that?

2) Gilchrist will absolutely get a contract extension from the Bobcats/Hornets. His defense is too valuable.

3) MKG won the NCAA as the second most important player and the team leader. Jumping to the NBA was a no brainer and looked to be a great #2 pick. I think he has a lot going for him.

No doubt MKG was the heart and soul of that Kentucky team. But the jury is still out on whether or not he is a bust in the NBA. He has not done well so far, and I can promise you the folks in Charlotte have noticed. Mark Price talked about it in a radio interview last week and said MKG better spend this entire summer working on shooting mechanics.
Defense is important, but they want more than that from a #2 pick. A top 2 pick is expected to help his franchise sooner rather than later. MKG is really feeling the heat right now, and it can't be fun for a kid to be ripped daily by local sports radio media and be looking at possibly getting cut if things don't change in a hurry. He has 1 more year.

As good as MKG was at Kentucky, there were signs there that he needed more development. At Kentucky he shot 25% from 3. His first NBA season he shot 22% from 3 point range and this year he shot 11% from 3. That is awful. His offensive field goal percentage actually regressed in his 2nd NBA year and he averages 7.2 ppg as a starter. That does not point to this no-brainer development in the NBA vs. college.

Don't you think the Bobcats wished they had used that #2 pick on either Brad Beal, Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger, or Andre Drummond? They would have even been better off with Draymond Green or Miles Plumlee. I brought this up because on the radio they were saying they would have preferred undrafted Seth Curry!

Granted the folks in Charlotte are restless because in 2011 they also made a major draft blunder. They wasted their #7 pick on Bismack Biyombo who was certainly a bust. Don't they wish they'd used that pick on Klay Thompson or Kawhi Leonard?

Guys like MKG and Jabari are told they just have to leave and maximize their future earnings. Not everybody is going to be Kevin Garnett, and some kids benefit from more development in college. Mason Plumlee was told he could be a lottery pick after his freshman, sophomore, and junior season. Just look what 4 years of development in college did for him and his future NBA career longevity and earnings. Miles Plumlee is also looking good in NBA after developing 4 years in college.

Most agree the 2 and 20 rule is a step in the right direction. Sucks for Duke this rule will likely go into effect for the 2016 draft, 1 year after a possible mass exodus to the NBA of next year's team.

[richardjackson199]

Don't get me wrong - I like MKG and hope he does well. Guys like MKG and Brandon Knight seem like great kids just like Jabari.

I just believe Cal's OAD factory has already shown plenty of evidence that jumping asap is not in a kid's best interest in many cases. MKG may have been the heart and soul of that 2012 Kentucky national championship team. But make no mistake - they won that Natty because of Anthony Davis. As an exaggerated analogy to my point with MKG, Coach K felt Tyler Thornton was the heart and soul of this year's team, especially defensively. But everybody could see that this doesn't mean TT is ready to play in the NBA. In fact, other than Anthony Davis, Terrence Jones is the only player on that 2012 Kentucky National championship team who has shown he was ready to leave college early for the NBA. So of the 5 who left early off that team, 2 were ready, but 3 were not. In addition to MKG, I'd say that Doron Lamb and certainly Marquis Teague have shown that they were not ready to leave early to contribute in the NBA. Their development thus far has also been questionable.

Then going back, remember that 2010 team when Cal celebrated how Kentucky gets you to the NBA because he got 5 kids drafted in the first round. Daniel Orton was a OAD on that team. Look at him now - waived and gone with no college degree. Cousins was ready physically, but certainly not mentally. Compare Cousins mental development over the last few years vs that of a guy like Andre Dawkins. Do you think college was the right place for Dawkins to develop more off the court? His smiles, attitude, and degrees this year despite limited playing time as a senior answered that question for me, and was the highlight of this year's season as far as I'm concerned.

I'm very biased, but Calipari's book tour for "Player's First" just makes me want to vomit. Cal talks about how for him it's all about "helping families." This is the same guy who forced Wiltjer and Harrow to leave Kentucky, blaming his NIT season on them. Harrow sounded like he was having a mental breakdown after Cal berated him for costing them the season. Cal announced Patrick Patterson was going pro before Patterson even made the decision. Cal encouraged Deandre Liggins to declare for the NBA draft early without a degree. Liggins has since been waived and is still playing in the D League. Liggins had started for Kentucky his junior year, but Cal knew he had better freshmen coming in.

Bledsoe has now managed to succeed in the NBA after lots of time in the D-league. But Bledsoe is a guy who's grades were changed on high school transcripts to meet NCAA qualification requirements. A grade of C in algebra was later changed to an A, and other grades were changed as well IIRC. Everybody knows Cal has had final fours at both Memphis and UMass vacated. Player Marcus Camby was paid $40,000 by an agent while at UMass. After being at Memphis, Calipari agreed to pay $100,000 settlement to avoid a lawsuit over the Tigers' season that ended in the 2008 Final Four with the wins later vacated by the NCAA. This of course was because it was learned someone else took the SAT for Derrick Rose so he was deemed ineligible for that season. While coaching the Nets, Calipari was fined $25,000 by the NBA for referring to Newark Star-Ledger sports reporter Dan Garcia as a "****g Mexican idiot". Calipari later apologized for his racist comment.

That is why this book tour for "Players First" and Cal's crap about helping families is such garbage. His book should be titled "Calipari First" because that is the one thing that has been consistent over his career. Previously he was forcing his players out. Now he says he stays out of their decisions. So WCS, a first-round draft pick announces his return, and Kentucky despite having 7 NBA draft picks on that team has thus far only had one guy declare. Despite Cal's recruiting finally cooling off for next year (meaning he got the #2 class instead of #1), he still might be looking at yet another preseason #1 team depending on who declares. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great when guys like WCS do stay, develop more, and get their degree. I just think Cal has shown that his maneuvering is consistently about Cal, not his players.

I hope these families he is helping and Players First consider the facts of Cal's history before choosing Kentucky. Otherwise they might find themselves without a degree and funneled to the D league (to kinda get back to thread's topic).

[richardjackson199]

No doubt MKG was the heart and soul of that Kentucky team. But the jury is still out on whether or not he is a bust in the NBA. He has not done well so far, and I can promise you the folks in Charlotte have noticed. Mark Price talked about it in a radio interview last week and said MKG better spend this entire summer working on shooting mechanics.

Defense is important, but they want more than that from a #2 pick. A top 2 pick is expected to help his franchise sooner rather than later. MKG is really feeling the heat right now, and it can't be fun for a kid to be ripped daily by local sports radio media and be looking at possibly getting cut if things don't change in a hurry. He has 1 more year.

MKG was also feeling the Heat this afternoon.

[awhom111]

Seth had 28 points and 8 assists in 41 minutes as Santa Cruz moves into the finals with a 147-128 win over Rio Grande Valley in Game 3.

Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

Finals information:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/fort...014_04_21.html

[awhom111]

Seth had 18 points and 7 rebounds, all in the second half, as he dealt with first half foul trouble and played 34 minutes. Santa Cruz now needs to win two games on the road after losing 102-92 to Fort Wayne at home.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

[MCFinARL]

Seth had 18 points and 7 rebounds, all in the second half, as he dealt with first half foul trouble and played 34 minutes. Santa Cruz now needs to win two games on the road after losing 102-92 to Fort Wayne at home.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html

The box score for this game shows Seth with 7 rebounds (second highest on the team), 3 assists (tied for the most), and 3 steals (also tied for the most). Seems like he is working very hard and playing effectively. Hope he can get another shot at the NBA level next year.

[awhom111]

Santa Cruz almost did it in the second half, but lost 119-113 to end the season. Seth had 29 points in 44 minutes to lead the team one last time.
Boxscore:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/201.../gameinfo.html
His season stats:
http://stats.nbadleague.com/playerGa...owsPerPage=100

We are only a few months away from another shot for him to prove himself in the Summer League and get another shot at training camp.

[Jim3k]

to awhom111 for his Herculean work on following Duke players in both the D-League and in foreign play. He is worth all of the szporks the DBR crowd can give him.

Outstanding work Andrew, and thank you. Huzzah!!! GTHC!

Plus, he's a real A's fan like me.

[MCFinARL]

to awhom111 for his Herculean work on following Duke players in both the D-League and in foreign play. He is worth all of the szporks the DBR crowd can give him.

Outstanding work Andrew, and thank you. Huzzah!!! GTHC!

Plus, he's a real A's fan like me.

Don't care one way or the other about the A's (sorry), but I second your props to awhom111, who well deserves them.

[FerryFor50]

Seth Curry makes All NBA D-League rookie team and 3rd team:

http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/nba_...014_05_01.html