Comments on: Detroit Pistons receive D-plus for D-League usage

By: chester michalski

chester michalski — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:46:02 +0000

all i have to say is what is why have a d-league team if you are not going to use the guys, why would you want to be on a team that will never call you up. thanks chet

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:41:16 +0000

I would actually prefer they start looking at Europe more. I think there are some really good players — American and European — who could help teams, understand how to be role players and be cost effective.

Will Bynum is a great example of a guy who got significantly better playing overseas. Anthony Parker is another — that guy would be a good role player on any team.

By: gmehl1977

gmehl1977 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:15:20 +0000

@Patrick
Yeah i was only refering to D-League usage for acquiring players not developing players. Looking at it that way yeah guys like Daye, Summers & White would definately benefit from having stints there to get there confidence and fitness up. With the areas of need that we have (C, PF & PG) we are not really going to find a guy that is going to contribute that much. One thing i must admit though is that you would think that Joe would of used it more than he has. We all know that he is great at finding talent in guys that no body wants.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:58:33 +0000

@Stephen:

There are teams that do this. Not sure why the Pistons haven't developed the reputation with their affiliate, but the Lakers D-League affiliate, for example, runs the triangle offense. I think the D-League teams are very willing to work with their NBA partners b/c getting NBA talent assigned there benefits that team by getting better attendance if the assignee is a notable young player, and it also helps them win more games since it is an influx of talent. I would assume the D-League teams would do just about anything the NBA club told them to.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:56:29 +0000

@gmehl:

It's absolutely worth talking about. It's not just a matter of looking for talent in the D-League, it's a matter of using it to develop the young players who are already on your roster. As Nuetes says, players like White and Daye would both benefit from occasional D-League assignments to simply get some minutes every couple weeks, very similar to what OKC did with BJ Mullens last year. It gives the young guys a chance to be around, practice with, and learn from the veterans a majority of their time while also getting a chance to get extended minutes and test what they are learning every three weeks or so.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:15:23 +0000

To really get any benefits from sending a player to the D-League,having your own coach teaching your system and making sure the player works on what you want him to work on seems essential.

By: nuetes

nuetes — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:06:38 +0000

I wouldn’t say it’s not worth discussing. I can’t imagine Daye wouldn’t have benefited by seeing consistent minutes last season, regardless of the opposing competition. Some of these guys are pretty raw. White and Daye are still raw. Summers on the other hand seems to be what he is. Amir Johnson and Bynum are the two case studies. It does go to show how weak the d-league is when Amir Johnson can tear it up like he did, and that is maybe a deterrent. Thabeet also tore the d-league up a bit when he was sent down last year after stinking up the joint in the NBA. It’s hard to assess the talent when those kind of things happen. When a player is especially raw with many things to work on I think the d-league can be beneficial. Talent has come from the d-league so ignoring it as an avenue to improve a roster altogether isn’t the wisest decision.

By: gmehl1977

gmehl1977 — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:04:07 +0000

I can’t believe this is even worth talking about Dan. I know the team is a mess but i would say the reason we don’t use the D-league is the fact that we have 2 units (starters & bench) players that are ok. Neither group stands out amongst the pack and neither are that bad which leads me to believe that unless there is a game changing player that is to be had from the D-league then we would just be adding another average player to an average line up. I mean if you are a contender and you need a hustle type guy then yeah the D-league is great way to add a hungry guy with a lot to prove. I guess you have the other side of the equation where Golden State has done well and added a couple of guys from the D-league. They however lost so many players that they really had no choice.

Finally on a funny note, i guess Joe would only add a SG or a SF just to annoy us sad and sorry piston fans.