Using the D-League

TrueHoop Network blogger Matt Hubert of DLeagueDigest.com has compiled a great look at all the 30 NBA teams and their usage of the D-league.

Matt used a grading system that I’ll let him explain here:

I wanted this to be a comprehensive effort, so rather than just offering my take on the teams, I reached out to the excellent bloggers of the TrueHoop Network, asking each team blogger to grade their team’s usage of the D-League (25 of them complied by giving a grade). I also got grades of all 30 teams from Matt Moore, who covers the D-League for AOL Fanhouse, and a combined grade from Scott Schroeder and Jon L. of Ridiculous Upside.

Bloggers were asked to consider quantity and quality of each team’s assignments and call-ups, ownership and communication with the D-League affiliate, and any other factors that contribute to effective usage of the D-League. For each team, I took the THN blogger’s grade, Matt Moore’s grade, RU’s grade, and my grade, and found the average to calculate a final GPA. For the purposes of these posts, the grading scale breaks down as follows:

A: 4.0
A-: 3.67
B+: 3.33
B: 3
B-: 2.67
C+: 2.33
C: 2
C-: 1.67
D+: 1.33
D: 1
D-: 0.5
F: 0

So how did the Clippers grade out? Unfortunately, not well. In Matt’s final compilation post, the Clippers ranked 24th overall. In an earlier post, Matt and I explain why the Clippers received the low marks:

Los Angeles Clippers: 0.83 GPA
High Grade: D+ (RU)
Low Grade: D- (MH, THN)
Players Assigned: 0
Players Called Up: 10 (1 in last two years)

THN’s Take: (by D.J. Foster, ClipperBlog): The Clippers have used the D-League sparingly, opting instead to fill out the end of their bench with veterans on their last legs. JamesOn Curry getting called up last year was the first guy I can remember getting called up in quite some time, and fittingly enough he played less than a minute last year in his lone appearance. While they’ve been notorious in the past for not stashing players overseas (Big Sofo—Sofoklis Schortsanitis—in ’03 being the lone exception), they’ve been just as bad not using the D-League or calling guys up on 10-day contracts, even in lost seasons with nothing to lose.

Times might be changing though—the Clips signed undrafted rookie Marqus Blakely before another team could get their hands on him once he showed off in the D-League. For that reason, they get a D-, even though their past usage of the D-League is probably deserving of a worse grade.

Final Assessment (Matt Hubert): With the Lakers as the top ticket in town, it would make sense for the Clippers to try to shake things up a little and invest in the D-League. But owner Donald Sterling is notorious for not wanting to spend, and that reputation seems to carry over into the franchise’s feelings toward the D-League as well.

The Clippers have never assigned a player to the D-League, shocking for a team that is routinely restocking with draft picks. And their lone call-up last season lasted about as long as this sentence. They’ve had just one winning season since 1992, and their usage of the D-League suggests that they’re way behind in terms of utilizing it as a tool to help them get better in the future.

*****

The Clippers reluctance in the past to use the D-League isn’t the end of the world, but it should be noted that some nice talents have emerged from that league. The Clippers don’t need to look much further than their own division to find a team who effectively utilizes the D-League.

The Golden State Warriors just last year found scoring machine Reggie Williams, who scored 15 points a game on nearly 50 percent shooting from the field last season in 24 games, as well as Anthony Tolliver, a nice pick and pop big man who scored a contract with Minnesota. When the Warriors were decimated with injuries, they gave time to guys who shined in the D-League and in the process found a couple of nice pieces for their rotation.

It’s not surprising that most of the other teams who finished in the top of the rankings are perennial playoff teams and smartly ran franchises. Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Utah all use the D-League extremely well, so it’s hard not to make at least some correlation.

Neil Olshey has navigated the offseason exceptionally well in his first year in the big chair, but the signing of Brian Cook raised a few eyebrows around the league. Cook received a contract that included a player option on his second year, even when it seemed there was no real market for his services. If Cook is right mentally and physically, he brings a unique skill set to the table, but one has to wonder if there weren’t younger players with significantly less baggage available in the D-League who could do the same things. 

The point here isn’t Cook, whose contract for the veteran minimum won’t make a dent in any of the future plans. He’ll occupy a roster spot and play rarely barring injuries. The point is that the Clippers can continue awarding contracts to players on their way out of the league, or instead they can take some chances on young guys busting their butts to get in to it.

Gordon Does It Again

From ESPN’s Chris Sheridan:

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Eric Gordon played so well in the second half Thursday against Tunisia, he may have earned himself a spot in the starting lineup.

Emphasis on the words “may have.”

“Yeah, we’ll take a look at it. We’re always open for everything,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team played sluggishly for the majority of the game before pulling away in the final 14 minutes — led by Gordon’s shooting — to defeat winless Tunisia 92-57 and finish preliminary-round play 5-0.

“I do think we’re going to make quicker subs,” Krzyzewski continued. “We’re going to get back to more of how we started and how we played the first two games of this pool. I didn’t think the confidence level of our bench was where it needed to be during the first part of the pool play, but I think it is now. And for us to win we’re going to need all 12 of those guys playing well, not just the starting unit.”

Gordon scored a team-high 21 points, including a flurry of eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws in the first 41 seconds of the fourth quarter, while playing nearly 25 minutes, the same team-high amount as Russell Westbrook. And with the Americans needing a consistent 3-point threat, it would be illogical not to consider moving Gordon into the starting lineup, perhaps in place of Chauncey Billups, who is playing out of position at shooting guard instead of his natural position of point guard.

“I just had a lot of open shots and I had to knock ‘em down,” said Gordon, who is leading the Americans in 3-pointers made (11) and is second to Kevin Durant in 3-point percentage (Gordon is at 47 percent; Durant 50) among players who have attempted more than two shots from behind the arc.

Billups was 1-for-3 on 3-pointers, which actually raised his percentage for the tournament to 21.1 percent (4-for-19). Starting point guard Derrick Rose has gone only 2-for-7 from long range.

“I’m not really worried about that. I wasn’t expecting to start any games here,” Gordon said. “My role is to just come in the game and be effective shooting the ball. That’s what I came here to do.”

But what Gordon came here to do and what the team needs him to do is somewhat of an evolutionary process, and the Americans’ need to get off to quicker starts and shoot better from 3-point range are two of the things the coaching staff will be taking a close look at over the next three days before they face Angola on Monday in the single-elimination round of 16.

“Eric tonight played like he’s been playing most of the time with us, except for the last two games. For some reason, he was hesitant to shoot. I talked to him before the game and said, ‘Just shoot, and if you do make a move to the basket don’t look to pass.’ He’s a scorer, and his teammates know that,” Krzyzewski said. “Actually I’m watching tape this morning, we gave ‘em some feedback, and there was a play from yesterday and Eric was wide open. So I stopped it and I said, ‘How many of you guys don’t want him to shoot?’ And nobody raised their hand.

“I said, ‘Eric, see? Everybody wants you to shoot.’”

Would Gordon get the same response from the Clippers locker room? It’s a little disheartening that the answer to that isn’t definitive, but let’s not have that distract us from what Gordon is doing in international play right now. Gordon has always been an efficient scorer, and with an absolute green light from his coaching staff and teammates, he’s flourished because he’s been allowed to.

That isn’t to say that the previous coaching regime stifled Gordon’s abilities, but the players on the court didn’t exactly provide the proper environment for him to do his best work, and a large majority of the offensive plays weren’t dialed up with Gordon exclusively in mind. The lane has always been crowded, the player on the opposite wing has never been a playmaking threat, and in his time as a Clipper, ball movement has been a theory more than a practice.

It’s still extremely difficult to get a gauge on where Gordon stands as a player. Is he an average shooting guard? Above average? Does he have the potential to be one of the best in the league? An all-star? A nice role player? No one really knows, and at 21 years of age, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

We’ll see what kind of future is in store for Gordon, but assertive performances like this one lead you to believe it will be a bright one.

Carmelo and the Clippers

You’ve heard the rumors. Carmelo Anthony wants out of Denver, and the Clippers have emerged as one of the likely destinations. Could a marriage between Melo and Los Angeles work?

When considering a potential deal, there’s a couple of things to keep in mind. First off, Anthony would absolutely have to sign a contract extension. I’d say it’s safe to assume that the Clippers would have no interest in forfeiting future and current assets for a one year rental on Anthony. If the Clippers make a move towards Anthony he’d have to sign the 3-year, $65 million dollar contract extension as part of the deal. That’s the first hurdle. Is Anthony willing to lock into a long-term deal with the Clippers as opposed to hitting free agency?

For argument’s sake, let’s assume Anthony is enticed by the Clippers core and the bright lights of Los Angeles, which offer far more opportunities for him and his wife in the offseason. What do the Clippers give up to get him?

If there’s one thing you come away with after reading this, let it be this: Blake Griffin is untouchable. He’s not going anywhere. If Carmelo is the acquired target, you could probably put Eric Gordon in that category as well, although that’s not as certain as Griffin is. If Griffin and Gordon aren’t being moved, what do the Clippers have to offer?

Because of Carmelo’s $17 million dollar contract the Clippers would simply have to move Baron Davis or Chris Kaman to make the salaries match. The Clippers can’t trade anyone signed this offseason until December, and if Anthony has his way, he’ll force his way out long before then. Even if Carmelo remains on the market until December, the Clippers don’t have many salaries to trade that will add up to that big deal. So while we’re making assumptions, it’s also probably safe to say that to acquire Anthony, Kaman or Davis would have to be involved in some capacity. 

And that presents another hurdle. It’s hard to believe the Nuggets have interest in Baron, as they already have Chauncey Billups and their point guard of the future waiting in the wings in Ty Lawson. Acquiring Baron just doesn’t make sense for them. If it’s Baron being traded, a third team would almost certainly have to get involved. Maybe a team like Charlotte, who would probably take a chance on Baron, could serve as a potential trading partner. The list of teams without their starting point guard penciled in is slim even when you don’t consider the length and money left on Baron’s contract. Moving Baron to get Anthony would be extremely difficult, even if his reputation around the league is much better than some members of Clippers Nación would like to believe.

If Baron is out of the equation, that leaves Chris Kaman as the lone piece who could make it work. Enter hurdle number three. Do the Nuggets really want or even need Kaman? Kenyon Martin’s gargantuan contract expires next year so there is an empty hole in the Nuggets frontcourt rotation. It’s debatable whether Nene and Kaman could co-exist but we’ll move past that for now. If the Nuggets are rebuilding, and trading Anthony would seem to indicate that they are, what good will Kaman and his contract do them? If their goal is to build around young and cheap talent (like Lawson and Afflalo) while maintaining cap flexibility and acquiring draft picks, Kaman helps them in neither area. Since Kaman alone doesn’t seem to do Denver a whole lot of good, again the Clippers would be looking at involving a third team, perhaps a team like Detroit or another team starved for a center. If the Clippers don’t involve a third team they would likely have to give up much more than just Kaman or just Baron to get the Nuggets to bite, most likely in the form of draft picks. The good news there is that the Clippers have a doozy of a draft pick in their pocket.

The Minnesota pick, which is top 10 protected this year and completely unprotected in 2012, looks like one of the most valuable draft picks around the league. Timberwolves GM David Kahn has put together an odd group in Minnesota and the prospects of that team getting out of the early lottery range in the next two years seem highly unlikely. That’s the gem Denver would likely look to acquire in all of this.

Is Carmelo Anthony worth that pick and the additional assets that would have to go with it? The snap reaction is probably yes, but there’s been a lot of smart basketball people pointing out that Carmelo isn’t nearly as elite as you would think. While the argument against Carmelo is a compelling one, there are periphereals that have to be considered. The Clippers have had two winning seasons in 27 years in Los Angeles. Carmelo Anthony has led the Nuggets to seven straight winning seasons and has never been part of a losing one. The Clippers have been to the playoffs four times since they’ve been in Los Angeles. Carmelo? Seven seasons played, seven playoff appearances. That should, despite his inefficient shooting and Twitter issues, count for something.

It makes sense that the Clippers would want a player like Anthony. For years and years they’ve had a giant hole at the small forward position. Since Elton Brand and Sam Cassell left, they’ve desperately needed a player who could bail the team out on the offensive end with timely buckets. And for even longer the Clippers haven’t had a marquee player, a face to market, a guy who can bring immediate relevancy to a franchise starved for it. Sure, there’s a good chance Blake Griffin might become that guy, but Carmelo already is.

Despite all the obvious hurdles, the union appears to make sense on paper. Of course, the reputation a player carries isn’t nearly as important as his actual on court performance, and that’s something we’ll dig into in detail later this week.

Meet Marqus Blakely

Only a small handful NBA teams have a transcendent all-star who can elevate a team to relevance. The rest of the league makes do by finding talent where other might not, then cultivating it. The Clippers did that this summer when they signed undrafted rookie Marqus Blakely to a two-year deal.

Can Marqus Blakely make the jump from undrafted rookie to NBA rotation player?

Given that roster spots are at such a premium, NBA teams don’t need much to disqualify a guy. Whether it’s his work-in-progress jump shot or his four-year status at a small-conference school on the Canadian border, Blakely was passed over. But if you asked enough scouts and basketball operations folks in Las Vegas which player at summer league was most likely to become the next Wes Matthews, Blakely was a common response.

Blakely is a member of a dying breed in the NBA — the four-year collegiate starter. For the last three seasons, he’s been the best player in the America East Conference, where he’s starred for the University of Vermont. A web search for Blakely will turn up some spectacular dunks (Blakely was the NCAA slam dunk champ), but these highlights belie Blakely’s appeal as a potential NBA player.

Blakely didn’t log a single minute in the Clippers’ opening summer league game, but when Nik Caner-Medley was sidelined with a wrist injury, Blakely found himself starting for the Clippers at one forward spot. He immediately established himself as the grown-up on the court. Blakely averaged 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and a couple of steals in 23.3 minutes — and shot 65.5 percent from the floor. More important, he made smart decisions on both sides of the ball.

With a slew of forwards on the roster, the Clippers might not have many minutes for Blakely in his rookie season — assuming he makes the team out of training camp. But if they’re looking to develop a defensive stopper whose athleticism and off-the-ball work make him a player who can’t be ignored on the offensive end, the Clippers won’t find many 21 year olds with a better work ethic and self-awareness than Blakely.

We had a chance to visit with Blakely as he spends the summer training in Los Angeles:

How did you end up at Vermont?
I really didn’t get a lot of looks until my junior year. I was 5-8 or 5-9 my sophomore year. Then I grew to about 6-3 during my junior year, and that’s when I started playing AAU and getting out there.

So you’re basically the best player in your conference for three years. You had a great experience there. You loved the community, but I’m also guessing that a guy with your talent at a big conference powerhouse probably gets drafted. Do you have those thoughts? Does it matter?
Not really. I mean, right now I’m in a situation where I’m in the same place as a lot of guys who got drafted. I didn’t really care. I thought, “Worst comes to worst, I go overseas, travel a little bit, play basketball.” That’s not a bad situation at all, but I’ve got an even better one now. Especially being in L.A. I’ve never really been to the west coast.

You like it out here?
Oh, yeah. It’s cool. It’s huge, though. A lot of traffic.

Hint: Traffic is a great time to return phone calls.
I just have to get used to it. But coming from Vermont, the weather here is great. In Vermont, six months out of the year it’s freezing. But at the same time, I could see myself having a summer house in Vermont one day. It’s nice up there.

Were you worried after you didn’t play in the first summer league game with the Clips? That’s has to be a little stressful, feeling like you can’t show what you can do?
I wasn’t really worried about it. I knew there would be an opportunity, and practices were going well.

Have you had a chance to talk with Vinny Del Negro yet?
I talked with him a lot at summer league.

Tell me about the rant after the Chicago loss. Was it as epic as it sounded?
He’s a competitor and he wants to win. He’s going to tell you what you need to do and when you’re not doing it, he’s going to let you know. We weren’t playing our best basketball out there. And after he talked to us, it definitely changed things and turned us around. We won a game. We stopped turning the ball over so much.

The Clippers clearly like you, but you still have an uphill battle. What’s Marqus Blakely’s route from training camp as an undrafted rookie with a partially-guaranteed contract to six, seven years from now being a solid rotation player in the league?
It probably starts with my defense. I’m going to get after it defensively. Offensively, I’m a better passer than a lot of people think. I rebound the ball really well. I’ve been working on my jump shot a lot out here at the training facility. But it starts with my defense. Defensively, I don’t want to compare myself to anyone else, but if I had to say who my game would be modeled after it would maybe be Bruce Bowen.

Really? Are you willing to get down in the dirt to accomplish that?
Then let’s say Tony Allen. But it’s a mindset more than anything. You have to know that in the NBA, there are so many great players like Kobe and LeBron and Dwyane Wade. They’re there to score and you’re there to take points off the board. A lot of people will look at the stat sheet and say, “Oh, well he had twentysomething points.” But I want to look at an average and hold him below it. Taking points off the board is definitely something I look at when I first step on the floor. I feel like all the rest of it is going to come easier if you play defense. Especially my game, which is much more geared toward getting out in transition and driving to the rim.

At Vermont, you guys played man and you pressed a lot, but NBA defensive systems are so different. How do you translate an America East Conference experience to guarding the kinds of guys you just mentioned?
I’m not saying that it’s going to happen this year. But I understand that defense is a system. Like Boston. They all fit the system and nobody does any more than anyone else does. On the defensive side, that’s something I can bring to the team — individual defense, but also fitting what’s going on in the system.

So you build your reputation as a defender. What happens next?
I’m efficient, which is a huge deal. I’m not sure what my career percentages were at Vermont, but I think it was more than 52, maybe –

–You never shot below 54 percent and were up in the 60s your junior year. Don’t sell yourself short. That said, what are your limitations right now?
I have to work on my jump shot, but that’s what I’ve been doing every day out here and getting better at. But once you understand the system, you can find other ways to be effective. You don’t have shoot every time you touch the ball. You don’t have to prove something that you can do something you can’t. Know what you can do and do it to the best of your abilities and be that much better at doing it than someone else. A lot of that comes with seeing the floor and reading defenses. I think I do that well. And I think that’s how I get there.

Afternoon Roundup: Eric Gordon Edition

• The estimable Steve Perrin at Clipsnation with a breakdown on Eric Gordon’s 18 point performance against Greece on Wednesday: “In the first game where he wasn’t worrying about his spot on the roster, Eric Gordon led Team USA with 18 points.  He also had two steals, and could have been credited with more than that by my reckoning.  He probably had eight deflections on defense.  EJ was feeling it from the moment in checked in, getting a steal and a tough finish on his first sequence”
• Eric Gordon has a long distance chat with Clippers.com, and again displays more verbal confidence than we’ve seen before. Here’s Gordon responding to a question about his role off the bench: ”(…)To make it happen on a nightly basis it can really help your confidence out. Whatever you need to do to help the team. What I have learned is that, even with the Clippers, I just know how to get things done in a short period of time.”
• A look at the upcoming schedule for Team USA.
• Jerry Colangelo on Eric Gordon, via John Schuhmana of NBA.com: “I’m not going to say he’s a surprise,” Colangelo said. “What I’m going to say is we’re really pleased with the way he’s playing. And he’s to a point now where he takes a shot, we expect it to go down. It’s not a question in our minds. There are very few players playing on any level where you feel if they’ve got the ball, they’re going to score. He’s one of them. “He’s a pure shooter, just needs a little bit of room. He’s quick. The other thing is his body type is perfect for international play. Big and strong.”
• There’s a common theme brewing in the praise of Eric Gordon. Yes, he’s a spectacular outside shooter, but smart basketball people have been raving about Gordon’s efforts on the defensive end. By teaming up the improved Gordon with Blake Griffin, who was regarded by Mike Dunleavy as the smartest defensive rookie he had ever coached, the Clippers should provide a little more resistance than they did last season.  

Eric Gordon Named to Team USA’s Final Roster

From USA Basketball’s press release:

ATHENS, Greece (August 24,  2010) – With one exhibition game remaining and just four days out from the tip of the FIBA World Championship for Men, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo today announced the 12 players who will represent the United States at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Named to the 12-man 2010 USA World Championship Team were: Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom(Los Angeles Lakers); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).

The 2010-12 USA National Team coaching staff is led by Duke University’s Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, and features as USA assistant coaches Syracuse University’s Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan and Toronto Raptors head mentor Jay Triano.

“Rajon came to us and said he was going to withdraw from the team, that he had some family matters to attend to and some things to take care of before the NBA season.  He did an outstanding job during our training, we appreciate the effort and commitment he made to our program and he completely has our support,” said Colangelo.

The USA World Championship Team will complete their exhibition tour facing Greece in Athens on Wednesday (12 noon EDT).  The U.S. will then travel to Istanbul on Aug. 26 and train prior to starting the World Championship.

The 12 members of the USA World Championship Team, by the end of the FIBA World Championship (Sept. 12), average out to be 24.66 years old. The roster features six players 22 years old or younger – four players who are just 21 years old (Durant, Rose, Gordon, Westbrook) and two who are 22 years old (Curry, Love).  The oldest player on the USA roster is Chauncey Billups, who is 33 years old.

By comparison, the 2006 team averaged 24.58 years of age; 26.16 in 2002; 27.83 (NBA lockout year) in 1998; 26.33 in 1994 and in 1990, the last team consisting of collegians, was 20.08 years old.

The 2010 USA World Championship squad averages 5.0 seasons of NBA experience, with one player having one season (Curry), four players (Gordon, Love, Rose, Westbrook) possessing two seasons, one with three (Durant), one (Gay) with four, one with five (Granger), one with six (Iguodala),one with nine (Chandler), one with 11 (Odom) and one with 13 seasons (Billups).