The dream league Total Commitment, Extreme Experiments, and Sudden Stardom in the NBA Development League. The dream league Total Commitment, Extreme Experiments, and Sudden Stardom in the NBA Development League.

2 Introduction

4 Playing for your life Inside the NBA D-League.

8 The Brooklyn Dodgers of Your friendly neighborhood pros.

(Insert) Great Moments of the d-league

10 What the future looks like Experiments with the game.

12 Welcome to extreme basketball Bombs away in the .

14 Now try this The D-League gets everything first.

16 A crucible for coaches How bad do you want this job? Two coaches who did.

20 Everybody on a journey It’s a long way to the front office. 2 Introduction If you distilled the game of basketball into its purest, most intense form, you’d have the NBA D-League. The reason for the intensity is simple. Guys here can play at the NBA level, but there isn’t room for everybody in the NBA.

The result is a Darwinian five-month struggle for professional survival. Every game matters. Every minute matters. Every play matters: The men on the court are fighting for an NBA roster spot before their one-year contracts run out in May. So are the coaches who sent in the play, and the officials who made the call.

The rule that the officials called may be on trial as well—an NBA experiment. And, like the rules, the equipment used here is often a generation ahead: a preview of a future NBA.

Welcome to life on the bubble: 180 pros with 2,400 minutes to show who belongs in the NBA and who’s left still working toward that dream. Playing for your life 5 Playing for your life Inside the NBA D-League.

D-League players are gladiators. Every game is an exercise in professional survival, but all they have is each other. It’s an unselfish, supportive, almost communal way of life. Except for 48 minutes on the floor.

Life in the D-League is a unique mix of competition and camaraderie. Everybody on the floor shares the same dream, and the knowledge that only a few will attain what all of them want. Every man plays every minute like it’s his last chance. No one backs off, ever. The minutes that decide their fate are the minutes between whistles. The rest of the time D-League players help each other all they can.

Apart from their sublime skills, D-League players could be you and me. Only a few have NBA contracts. Most collect No one about the same pay as the average American. They play at backs a discount for the love of the game and the chance to make it big. When the season ends, they stay on the court—in the off, NBA Summer League, international play, and development camps for rising young stars—their future competition. ever. On the road, everybody flies coach and bunks two to a room in regular-guy hotels, the kind where the breakfast buffet makes your per diem go farther. Top players can make ten times the money overseas. The trade-off is access to the most scouted basketball league in the world, and the opportunity to master an NBA system like Phil Jackson’s Triangle Offense in Westchester. 6 Playing for your life Playing for your life 7

Pros aiming for NBA roster spots play a chess game, calcu- lating the advantages of each move. In the last few years, more international stars like Thanasis Antetokounmpo (older brother of rising NBA star ) have been coming to the D-League, absorbing the pay cut for the chance to play in the NBA.

NBA players come to the D-League “on assignment” for different reasons. Jeremy Lamb spent most of a year in Tulsa because he wasn’t quite ready for the . He didn’t love it, but he got better.

Being in the D-League is often the difference between playing and not playing. The Thunder was deep at Lamb’s position. The ’ asked for assignment. He wanted more game minutes, and got them with the Austin Toros, now the . Back up in San Antonio he’s playing twice as much as he was before.

“D-League therapy” can be humbling for assigned NBA players. They miss the NBA lifestyle, but it’s the competition that comes as a shock. You’re playing with guys you’ve never When D-League heard of who could be better than you. Or hungrier. Or both. When D-League players match up against the guy with the players match up contract, they bring it. against the guy with the contract, When you’re called up to the NBA, the best they bring it. day of your life is a blur of logistics. The voice on the phone isn’t Phil Jackson saying how glad he is to have you. It’s your agent with a flight number: “Drop everything. You’re going to New York.”

The next twelve hours are about airports, paperwork, and a physical exam. For players on the cusp between D-League and NBA teams, life can get crazy. scored 28 points for the one afternoon and 8 more with the that night. 8 the brooklyn dodgers of basketball The Brooklyn Dodgers of basketball Your friendly neighborhood pros.

There are no velvet ropes in the D-League. Fans get to know these players up close. They’re at the food store and the gas station, people you say hello to on the street.

One D-League exec compares these players to the old Brooklyn Dodgers: regular Joes who lived in the FANS GET TO neighborhood, walked to the ball park and made KNOW THESE the same money as everyone else.

PLAYERS Along with NBA-caliber play, fans get a lot of drama UP CLOSE. for their ticket money. So much talent cycles through a D-League team in a season that predictions are worthless. A talent-rich squad can struggle in the stretch as NBA coaches cherry-pick the best players.

Rosters change often, sometimes up to an hour before game time, and fans get used to surprises. hey! We’ve Hey, we’ve got tonight! NBA regulars like CJ McCollum (Idaho, 2013-14) got Shabazz or (Austin, 2014) come to the D-League to work on something, in the same way that golf muhammad and tennis pros go to an undisclosed location to work on their swing. NBA and D-League teams tonight! often overlap: The 13, 14, and 15 man on an NBA team are essentially the 1, 2, and 3 guys on a D-League team. Every call-up, every second, third, or fourth chance, every career rehabilitated, resuscitated, Here are six: or rejuvinated is another in a long list of D-League Great Moments. history of the nba development league great moments of the d-league history of the nba development league february 4 2012 1999: The NBA Board of Governors votes May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head to approve formation of the NBA coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming Development League. the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as an NBA head coach. November 16, 2001: The first season of the NBA Development January 8, 2008: When the Clippers League tips off as the North Charleston and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and Lowgators face the Greenville Groove. C.J. Watson, respectively, history was made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE November 21, 2001: , Call-Ups in D-League history. first player taken in first D-League draft, becomes the first player to be called January 14 2010: up to the NBA when he signs with Sundiata Gaines, in the . He is now a just his fifth NBA game, 12-year NBA veteran and 2013 NBA hits a 3-pointer at the Champion with his current team, buzzer to give the Jazz the Heat. a dramatic 97-96 win over the January 9-10, 2005: The first Cavaliers. It is the ever D-League Showcase event is first 3-pointer of his played in Columbus, Georgia. The NBA career. Showcase is a four-day event in which each team plays two games apiece. Since 2005 there have been 15 players November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its called-up or recalled during or immediately first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, following the Showcase. including a slate of ten regular season games, two games from the D-League Showcase, May 2, 2005: Bobby Simmons becomes as well as playoff games and the first D-League alum to earn an NBA exclusive coverage of the individual post-season honor when he D-League Finals. wins the NBA’s Most Improved Player award for the 2005-06 season. linsanity November 20, 2012: The NBA and YouTube announced September 19, 2005: Current era of D-League begins: a new deal that will provide Under new affiliation/assignment system, players with fans with more than 350 two or fewer seasons of NBA experience can be assigned D-League games streamed to a D-League team up to three times, while each NBA live during the 2012-13 regular franchise will be affiliated with a D-League team. Also season on the D-League the league changes its shorthand name from NBDL to YouTube channel. the NBA D-League to further emphasize the “D” which stands for “Development.” October 20, 2014: erupts for a D-League single-game April 21, 2006: NBA Board of Governors votes record 58 points—including 27 to approve the as the owners in the fourth quarter—as the of a new NBA Development League team, later Idaho Stampede beat the to be known as the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The 136-122. Lakers become the first NBA team to own and The 58 points breaks the operate their own D-League team. previous record which was held by who scored 53 February 17, 2007: The inaugural points in 2008 and D-League All-Star Game tips off on who scored 53 points in 2009. Court at the NBA All-Star Jam Session at the Mandalay Bay Resort November 8, 2014: The 14th season and Casino in Las Vegas. The East won of the D-League tips off in Austin and in 114 to 100, with Pops Mensah-Bonsu Oklahoma City. named the game’s MVP. great moments of the d-league great moments of the d-league history of the nba development league february 4 2012 december 26 2012 May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as an NBA head coach.

January 8, 2008: When the Clippers and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and C.J. Watson, respectively, history was made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE Call-Ups in D-League history.

January 14 2010: When Jeremy Shu-How came out of nowhere Sundiata Gaines, in to become the first NBA player ever to average 20+ points just his fifth NBA game, hits a 3-pointer at the and 7 assists in his first five starts, “nowhere” wasn’t Harvard. buzzer to give the Jazz a dramatic 97-96 win Linsanity was an international fan phenomenon, but the over the Cleveland basketball story is about the Erie BayHawks, and the Reno Cavaliers. It is the Bighorns before that. Waived by the first 3-pointer of his NBA career. and waived by the Houston Rockets, Lin used his time in the D-League to build up his body and his game. November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, Before the slumping Knicks started him against including a slate of ten regular season games, two games All-Star , Lin had only played 55 minutes in his from the D-League Showcase, as well as playoff games and Knicks uniform. But he was ready. Lin poured in 25 points, squeaking exclusive coverage of the grabbed 5 rebounds, and issued 7 assists in a Knicks win. D-League Finals. Overnight, the NBA had a billion new fans and, out of nowhere, Lin’s #17 was the world’s best-selling jersey. November 20, 2012: The NBA and YouTube announced a new deal that will provide in fans with more than 350 D-League games streamed live during the 2012-13 regular season on the D-League YouTube channel.

October 20, 2014: Pierre Jackson erupts for a D-League single-game record 58 points—including 27 in the fourth quarter—as the Idaho Stampede beat the Texas Legends 136-122. The 58 points breaks the previous record which was held by Morris Almond who scored 53 points in 2008 and Will Conroy who scored 53 points in 2009.

November 8, 2014: The 14th season of the D-League tips off in Austin and in Oklahoma City. great moments of the d-league great moments of the d-league history of the nba development league december 26 2012 april 25 2014 May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as an NBA head coach.

January 8, 2008: When the Clippers and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and C.J. Watson, respectively, history was made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE Call-Ups in D-League history. When Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson prayed to the basketball gods he didn’t ask for much. All he wanted January 14 2010: Sundiata Gaines, in was one game in the NBA. just his fifth NBA game, hits a 3-pointer at the Just one game to tell his grandchildren about and a line in buzzer to give the Jazz the NBA Almanac that he could to. He’d had a hard a dramatic 97-96 win road. His dad passed when he was seventeen. The year he over the . It is the turned pro his home was erased by Hurricane Katrina. He first 3-pointer of his played for three teams in Mexico and two in Belgium; but NBA career. it was the three stints in the D-League that got him the shot. November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its He got a look from the Spurs and finally the call from the first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans). Johnson got “his” including a slate of ten regular season games, two games game the day after Christmas. Two minutes, no points— from the D-League Showcase, and a dream come true. as well as playoff games and exclusive coverage of the D-League Finals. Two nights later he played for his home town team in New Orleans, with fifty friends and family there to see him get his one shot November 20, 2012: The first NBA basket. Squeaky Johnson stayed with the Hornets for NBA and YouTube announced two months, collecting more stories for his grandchildren. a new deal that will provide fans with more than 350 D-League games streamed live during the 2012-13 regular season on the D-League YouTube channel.

October 20, 2014: Pierre Jackson erupts for a D-League single-game record 58 points—including 27 in the fourth quarter—as the Idaho Stampede beat the Texas Legends 136-122. The 58 points breaks the previous record which was held by Morris Almond who scored 53 points in 2008 and Will Conroy who scored 53 points in 2009.

November 8, 2014: The 14th season of the D-League tips off in Austin and in Oklahoma City. great moments of the d-league great moments of the d-league history of the nba development league april 25 2014 april 26 2014 May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as an NBA head coach.

January 8, 2008: When the Clippers and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and C.J. Watson, respectively, history was Reaching the NBA isn’t the end of the journey. The made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE hard part is getting off the bench. Sometimes, one shot Call-Ups in D-League history. changes everything. January 14 2010: Troy Daniels spent most of his first year as a pro in Hidalgo, Sundiata Gaines, in just his fifth NBA game, Texas, with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, turning in enough hits a 3-pointer at the 20-point games to make himself an All-Star. His NBA debut buzzer to give the Jazz with the Houston Rockets was over in 92 seconds and he was a dramatic 97-96 win up and down three times during the season. Mostly down, over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is the which turned out to be a very good thing for Troy Daniels. first 3-pointer of his NBA career. The Vipers’ offense is built on 3-point shooting. Daniels had spent most of the year making 3’s automatic and the Rockets November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its had him on the bench during Game 3 against the Portland first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, including a slate of ten regular season games, two games Trail Blazers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. When his from the D-League Showcase, moment came, Daniels grabbed a pass from Jeremy Lin as well as playoff games and and did what he’d been doing all year. His 3 put the Rockets exclusive coverage of the D-League Finals. up with less than 12 seconds left in overtime. Few in Houston knew who this guy was, but Daniels’ shot ignited a solar flare committed November 20, 2012: The on Twitter. The entire D-League was watching one of their NBA and YouTube announced own nail the win and—three months later—an NBA contract. a new deal that will provide fans with more than 350 Their messages all said the same thing: That’s us up there. D-League games streamed Troy Daniels is all of us. live during the 2012-13 regular season on the D-League YouTube channel.

October 20, 2014: Pierre Jackson erupts for a D-League single-game record 58 points—including 27 in the fourth quarter—as the Idaho Stampede beat the Texas Legends 136-122. The 58 points breaks the previous record which was held by Morris Almond who scored 53 points in 2008 and Will Conroy who scored 53 points in 2009.

November 8, 2014: The 14th season of the D-League tips off in Austin and in Oklahoma City. great moments of the d-league great moments of the d-league history of the nba development league april 26 2014 june 15 2014 May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as an NBA head coach.

January 8, 2008: When the Clippers and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and C.J. Watson, respectively, history was made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE Call-Ups in D-League history. When Ron “Mr. Mad Ant” Howard became the D-League’s all-time leading scorer in March, 2014, he January 14 2010: Sundiata Gaines, in was in his seventh season with the , the just his fifth NBA game, longest single-city run in the league’s history. hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Jazz Howard was one of the original Mad Ants. Chances with the a dramatic 97-96 win Bucks, Pacers, and Knicks hadn’t worked out. An aggressive over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is the ball handler, resolute defender, deadly from mid-range, he first 3-pointer of his was often better than some of the roster guards but it’s hard NBA career. to displace a guy with a three-year contract. November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its Like it or not, Howard is built for long relationships. He and first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, including a slate of ten regular season games, two games Reesha have been together since high school. They have from the D-League Showcase, two girls and run a sports camp in Fort Wayne. The city has as well as playoff games and given the Howards its heart and a home, and on April 26, role exclusive coverage of the D-League Finals. 2014, gave Fort Wayne its first championship. After 7,500 game minutes he held up the trophy—co-MVP November 20, 2012: The for the Finals and the season. And, maybe best of all, they NBA and YouTube announced won at home. a new deal that will provide Rehearsal fans with more than 350 D-League games streamed live during the 2012-13 regular season on the D-League YouTube channel.

October 20, 2014: Pierre Jackson erupts for a D-League single-game record 58 points—including 27 in the fourth quarter—as the Idaho Stampede beat the Texas Legends 136-122. The 58 points breaks the previous record which was held by Morris Almond who scored 53 points in 2008 and Will Conroy who scored 53 points in 2009.

November 8, 2014: The 14th season of the D-League tips off in Austin and in Oklahoma City. great moments of the d-league great moments of the d-league history of the nba development league june 15 2014 june 26 2014 May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as left the University of North Carolina in an NBA head coach. 2009 as an NCAA Champion and the Cleveland Cavaliers January 8, 2008: When the Clippers drafted him in the second round. He played in only 20 and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and games in his rookie season before being waived early in his C.J. Watson, respectively, history was sophomore campaign. Later that season, the Spurs waived made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE Call-Ups in D-League history. him after only two games. January 14 2010: Green was a winner, but not quite ready. Yet. Sundiata Gaines, in just his fifth NBA game, The Reno Bighorns believed in him. They traded their star, hits a 3-pointer at the , Jr., to get him and give him what he needed buzzer to give the Jazz a dramatic 97-96 win to become a pro. This boiled down to minutes and instruc- over the Cleveland tion. Minutes were no problem. Green scored 22 point in Cavaliers. It is the his first game with Reno and kept it up. Meanwhile, three first 3-pointer of his develop-ment coaches worked with him before and after NBA career. every practice. Green asked for more: feedback, film work, November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its stat breakdowns. first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, including a slate of ten regular season games, two games The Bighorns were winning* and overseas teams started from the D-League Showcase, calling about Danny Green, offering big money. Green kept as well as playoff games and exclusive coverage of the his focus tight, studying film in Reno. Good choice. When D-League Finals. the Spurs offered him a role, he knew how to play it and retribution November 20, 2012: The logged 66 games, most of them starts. In the 2013 NBA NBA and YouTube announced Finals, he airmailed a record 81 points from beyond the arc a new deal that will provide in a “We’ll be back” loss to the Heat. A year later, the Spurs fans with more than 350 swept Miami in four games, with five D-League alumni on D-League games streamed the roster: , Cory Joseph, , . live during the 2012-13 regular season on the D-League And Danny Green, consummate pro. YouTube channel.

* Small world: Jeremy Lin was a Reno teammate with Green for five games. But that’s another story. October 20, 2014: Pierre Jackson erupts for a D-League single-game record 58 points—including 27 in the fourth quarter—as the Idaho Stampede beat the Texas Legends 136-122. The 58 points breaks the previous record which was held by Morris Almond who scored 53 points in 2008 and Will Conroy who scored 53 points in 2009.

November 8, 2014: The 14th season of the D-League tips off in Austin and in Oklahoma City. great moments of the d-league 2014-15 Teams: history of the nba development league june 26 2014 D-League Team Austin Spurs the D-League San Antonio Affiliation(s) May 25, 2007: Sam Vincent is named head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming At a glance Bakersfield Jam Phoenix the first D-League coach “call-up” hired as an NBA head coach. Canton Charge Out of the 446 players on 2014 NBA opening day rosters, Cleveland an all-time high have D-League experience, representing January 8, 2008: When the Clippers more than a quarter of the league’s talent pool. To put and Warriors signed Guillermo Diaz and Delaware 87ers that in perspective, opening rosters 10 years ago featured Philadelphia C.J. Watson, respectively, history was NBA prospect blogs had been buzzing about just 15 players with D-League experience. made with the 99th and 100th GATORADE Call-Ups in D-League history. P.J. Hairston since he came out of high school. Then it all Erie BayHawks Orlando blew up. The D-League was his road back. January 14 2010: Sundiata Gaines, in Hairston arrived at the University of North Carolina as a Fort Wayne Mad Ants just his fifth NBA game, , Brooklyn, native son and maybe the future. Half-way through, NCAA hits a 3-pointer at the Charlotte, Chicago, buzzer to give the Jazz infractions cost him his eligibility. The university didn’t want Denver, , LA Clippers, Milwaukee, a dramatic 97-96 win him. He could go pro or go home. Minnesota, New Orleans, Detroit over the Cleveland Portland, Toronto, Cavaliers. It is the The Texas Legends saw a guy with NBA size, an NBA stroke, Washington first 3-pointer of his Idaho Stampede NBA career. and the ability to shake free of defenders to use it. The land Utah of second chances welcomed Hairston with open arms November 14, 2012: The D-League announces its and he didn’t disappoint. In his first three games as a pro Iowa Energy first ever television agreement with CBS Sports Network, he showed steady improvement: 22 points, 40 points, then Memphis including a slate of ten regular season games, two games For the first time ever, every team in the NBA features from the D-League Showcase, 45 points. Hairston worked hard to show he belonged in a at least one player with D-League experience. The Los Angeles Defenders as well as playoff games and league sharing the court with NBA talent, and that he 2013-14 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs had six LA Lakers exclusive coverage of the wanted it more than anybody. D-League players on their opening day roster. D-League Finals. 29 NBA Champions have D-League experience. Maine Red Claws November 20, 2012: The On the night of June 26, 2014, P.J. Hairston was the 26th pick Boston NBA and YouTube announced of the NBA Draft, becoming the first D-League player to be a new deal that will provide drafted in the first round. Hairston was going back to North fans with more than 350 Call-ups have increased steadily Carolina, this time to play for the . Oklahoma City D-League games streamed since the inception of the D-League. live during the 2012-13 regular The 2011-2012 season saw a record season on the D-League 60 call-ups among 43 players. Reno Bighorns Sacramento YouTube channel.

October 20, 2014: Pierre Jackson Rio Grande Valley Vipers erupts for a D-League single-game Houston record 58 points—including 27 in the fourth quarter—as the Idaho Stampede beat the Golden State Texas Legends 136-122. The 58 points breaks the previous record which was held Sioux Falls Sky Force by Morris Almond who scored 53 Miami points in 2008 and Will Conroy who scored 53 points in 2009.

8 players players10 players14 9 players players13 players16 players18 players20 players27 players20 43 players players31 players37 Teas Legends Dallas November 8, 2014: The 14th season of the D-League tips off in Austin and in 8 call-ups call-ups49 14 call-ups14 call-ups17 call-ups11 call-ups18 22 call-ups 29 call-ups 40 call-ups call-ups27 60 call-ups call-ups36 24 call-ups24

Oklahoma City. New York '01-'02 '02-'03 '03-'04 '04-'05 '05-'06 '06-'07 '07-'08 '08-'09 '09-'10 '10-'11 '11-'12 '12-'13 '13-'14 10 what the future looks like What the future looks like Innovations in the game.

Watch what happens around the rim in a D-League game. They’re testing a new rule for possible use in the NBA. The ‘cylinder’ is no longer sacred.

Similar to the rules in international basketball, once the ball hits the rim it’s live, available for big men to jam through or swat away. The league is gathering data on how often this happens, how it influences outcomes, and what fans think. Judging from the decibel level, fans like it a lot. Since 2002, Overtime periods here are three minutes instead of five like in the NBA, an innovation aimed at bringing some pace back to the end of close games. Last season D-League officials every NBA tried out calling players for flopping—which the NBA chastely calls “embellishment”—issuing on-the-spot technicals rather referee has than assessing fines days later. The jury is still out on this one. come from When a new rule comes down, D-League officials figure out how to administer it in real the D-League. time. They look at a lot of film of close calls and then try to make them on the floor.

Sometimes a rule is too difficult for human beings to call on the fly, so the rule has to be re-tooled. The D-League officials use the season to fine-tune techniques for getting it right. These go into the training package for the NBA refs. Often D-League refs bring the new rule with them to the NBA. Since 2002, every NBA referee has come from the D-League. Welcome to extreme basketball 13 Welcome to extreme basketball The Rio Grande Valley Vipers play like they’re double-parked.

Houston Rockets GM has some unusual ideas, and uses the team’s D-League affiliate as a not-so-secret laboratory for what ESPN calls “Extreme Basketball.”

The Rockets affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, take half their shots from 3-point range and the rest from inside five feet. Only 3% of the team’s shooting is from mid-range. They don’t even warm up from there before games, and after tip-off, nobody pushes the ball faster. In 2013-2014, the Vipers averaged 109 possessions and 123 points a game, the vipers compared to NBA average 101 possessions and 98 points a game. either jack Funny thing. The Rockets now send up more 3’s than any other NBA team. During the 2013-2014 season, Nevada it from 3, Smith, Morey’s coach at Rio Grande Valley, is test-flying new inbounds plays, new defensive schemes, and playing faster than any NBA team in the last twenty years. Morey’s hope is or they that they will uncover innovative new tactics with the Vipers that can be implemented at the NBA level. dunk it.

Finding simpatico coaches willing to challenge conventional wisdom isn’t easy. The Vipers’ last two head coaches got NBA jobs. Morey looked at 35 college coaches before pulling Smith out of Division III.

It was love at first sight. Smith is a guy who will try anything. Nobody’s watching in D-III, he figured, so why not? In five seasons since affiliating with the Rockets, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers have been D-League champions or runners up three times. And Daryl Morey is still thinking up new ideas. 14 now try this Welcome to extremebasketball 13 Now try this The D-League gets everything first.

D-League players don’t get many When the 2014-15 season tips off, at least six luxuries, but there was a time D-League teams will be using these in-game wearable devices. By the Playoffs, many will before the 2010-11 season when be generating data, testing systems from four CMO’s see they had better uniforms than their different tech vendors. brothers in the NBA. the future NBA players and management all have skin in The new NBA Revolution 30 uniforms, developed this D-League experiment, because no one is first in a secret lab, were lighter, cooler, and sure what will come out of it. Everybody has a made rivers of sweat disappear—and that was stake in player health and injury prevention, but in the just the fabric. Virtually seamless construction at the leading edge of sports and performance eliminated friction, so players felt better and science there are, for now, as many questions d-league. moved better. The miracle uniforms went up to as answers. Stay tuned. the NBA fast. The National Basketball Association is a target Under their game jerseys, many D-League play- rich environment for marketers and a showcase ers wear a small sensor that sends gigabytes of for technologies that fuse entertainment and data to courtside. engagement around the game. CMO’s see the future first in the D-League. Cardio and musculoskeletal exertion, accel- eration and deceleration, calorie burn, hang Much like NBA players, new ad tech has to time, even the player’s path on the court goes prove itself in the D-League. The LED panels into the telemetry stream. Like early astronauts, on the horizontal stanchion that supports the everything these men do is analyzed to identify backboard spent two years in the D-League factors that can improve performance and while techies from Van Wagner Dorna fiddled safeguard health. with brightness levels and the ad guys experi- mented with messaging. (A Eureka moment: The NBA teams gather practice data, but the The basket signs could sync with other mes- teams don’t practice all that much as the sages in the arena or on TV.) season wears on. The D-League now measures game data as well. They’re learning how differ- The D-League players had the fun job of trying ent practice regimes prepare players for in- to slam the signs into oblivion. No one wanted game stresses; the physiological factors that a message from State Farm Insurance to die in matter most when money’s on the line; and a crash at the NBA level. The dunk testing made whether it’s possible to see injuries coming the signs—and the D-League’s big men—look and prevent them. good. You see a lot of the signs in NBA arenas now—and some of the men as well. a crucible for coaches 17 A crucible for coaches How bad do you want this job? Two coaches who did.

There is probably no greater coaching challenge in sports than a single season in the NBA Development League. This is a crucible for coaches.

Like coaches everywhere, D-League coaches are judged on wins—and a universe of other factors that are largely beyond their control. As a D-League coach, you’re entrusted with developing NBA-assigned players as well as your own like the roster players and giving them mucho minutes. You have to devote coaching time to teaching them a system that may players, or may not be your system. The D-League is the ultimate test of coaching skills. The Coaches better your guys play, the more likely it is they’ll get beamed up to the NBA. Then you get a New Guy, maybe from the pay their NBA, maybe from overseas, college, who knows? Basically, D-League rosters turn over twice during a season. You’ll see dues, too. 25 guys during the year, all needing different things. How do you forge a team (fast) and get it to play its best (consistently) under these (ever changing) conditions?

Coaches that can move up because they can play any hand: Over 40 NBA coaches proved their savvy, their discipline, and their flexibility in the D-League.

Like their players, coaches move around to move up in the NBA—maybe starting as an assistant in player development or a big man coach—paying dues at every station of the cross. Coaches say the hardest thing is being the third or fourth guy on the bench instead of Number One. The best move up. The others find their own level. That’s basketball. 18 a crucible for coaches a crucible for coaches 19

Quin ’s journey to the head coach’s office included stops at four NBA Snyder teams, two Division I NCAA programs, the Head Coach, D-League, and Moscow. Utah Jazz Even in college he was the smartest guy in the room. At Duke, he went to the NCAA Final Four three times as a player, then picked up a law degree and an MBA. He had brains, energy and a basketball pedigree. Enough to land an assistant job with the and a reunion with Coach K at Duke. Missouri made him a D-I head coach in 1999. He won early. Then, not so much.

The D-League’s Austin Toros, now Austin Spurs, gave him the platform to do what he does best. During three years in Austin, Snyder mentored more players up to the NBA than any other coach and still won more games than they did. With “player development” written all over him, the needed him. So did the Los Angeles Lakers, and CSKA Moscow.

By the time he became head assistant for the , Snyder had seen and done everything at every level in the David David Joerger has a gift for developing game of basketball. Eight jobs and several million miles later, young players and devising systems that he was ready to run the whole show for the Jazz. Joerger make the most of the talent he has on hand. Head Coach, In seven years as a minor league coach, he won five championships and sent eighteen of his guys up to the NBA. Then it was his turn.

Five fast rings in any league gets peoples’ attention. After Joerger’s won the D-League championship in 2007, he was invited to come up to the Memphis Grizzlies and do something about a defense ranked 26th in the NBA. By the time he replaced Lionel Hollins as head coach, Memphis had the stingiest defense in the league. In his first full year as top guy, the Grizzlies went 50-32, finishing the season with fourteen consecutive home wins, then losing to Oklahoma City in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs. No one ever said it would be easy. But this is what all the work was for. Everyone on a journey It’s a long way to the front office.

The league itself is on a journey. For casual fans, the NBA D-League seems a long way from the spotlight. But for coaches, Seventeen of the NBA D-League’s trainers, and front office executives looking eighteen teams now have one- to move up, “Development” means life under a microscope. to-one affiliation with an NBA The Knicks’ Allan Houston learned to lead a team on the organization. The dream is that floor. Now he wears a suit and is doing it from the front office. Houston works two shifts. He’s the Assistant GM for the one day all 30 NBA teams will that play in The Garden, and the head man for the Westchester Knicks in White Plains. Houston has final have their own minor league say on basketball operations from tryouts to trades. At The Garden he’s part of the conversation. In White Plains he’s the boss, but everyone will be looking over his shoulder. franchise—a parallel universe

New Orleans GM Dell Demps, another retired player, has of professional basketball in its arrived where Houston hopes to go. He was Director of Pro Player Personnel for the San Antonio Spurs before also taking most intense form. over the Austin Toros, serving as GM. After five years of invest- ment in the Spurs organization, he got his opportunity in New Orleans. Over 100 of NBA teams’ front office executives Even the NBA has a dream. worked their way up from the NBA Development League.

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