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Killa4luv
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Joined: 6/23/2002
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Why the NBDL should be nationally televised.
By Alex Labidou
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jun 30, 2005, 20:46
With David Stern planning to make the NBDL more like the baseball farm system (read Bill Ingram's chat with David Stern), the future of the NBA looks amazingly bright. The rules behind the minors is that teams now have the ability to place their players within their first 2 years into the minor league system. Imagine if the Nuggets had a minor league when they drafted Skita, maybe the confidence that a minor league instills. Furthermore, free agents can sign with minor league teams to get their names out there. So for example lets say Jay Williams wants to return into the NBA, he can now sign with a minor league team to get his name out and prove that he is capable of playing in the NBA. Instead of waiting for garbage time to play, a player like Jonathan Bender (if he agrees to it) can show that he was worth a lottery selection a couple of seasons ago. With all the big names that might be involved with the NBDL, I thought to myself, "Wow this might actually be entertaining to watch." Think about all the big name college players, European guys, and high school kids are going to playing with the highest level of competitive nature. These guys aren't just playing anymore to honor their contracts or to prove to a team that they are worth a look, these guys are playing to become steady contributors in the NBA. If they don't make in the NBDL, where are they going to make it? GMs, scouts will all be looking for hidden gems, so each player will play with tenacity. With that in mind, the NBDL might actually be more entertaining than the NBA (ok maybe I am going a little too far with this one).
To show how capable of league the NBDL could be, here is an example of what a nationally televised game could be like.
Announcer 1:Today on ESPN, the Boston Celtics minor team will face off with the Lakers minor league team. We have a bunch of future all star and big time college players on both teams, this should be an entertaining match up. The Celtics feature their young backcourt of recently signed Dajuan Wagner and Gerald Green, who was recently sent down because of the surplus the Celtics have at shooting guard. While Dajuan Wagner wasn't able to catch on with the Cavs, he has been amazing on the Celtics minor league team averaging almost 32 points per game and also adding 5.0 assist per game. Once again, his future seems bright again. Gerald Green has been on tear recently and has shown many scouts while they were wrong in overlooking him. In addition Kendrick Perkins to get some extra playing time has requested to be sent down. He and Ryan Gomes have been an amazing front court that is dominant on the boards and low post scoring.
Announcer 2: Yes the Celtics NBDL squad is a very well rounded group, lets not forget their bench which features Marcus Banks who also agreed to be sent down for some playing time. This team has been unstoppable and averaging almost a 105 points per game. But they are going to have their troubles against the Lakers.
Announcer 1: While the Celtics are a fast break, slashing type of offensive team; the Lakers are a gritty defensive team. It all started when the Lakers were searching all over for a servable point guard. Unable to add a starting point through the draft and in free agency, the Lakers had to look for alternative options. Wow were they lucky to bump into former Duke Blue Devil Jay Williams, who had progressed amazingly into recovery. Many predicted he would never play again. He might not be as fast as he once was, but in his off time he developed a reliable jump shot and worked on his passing ability. The result: Jay Williams is now averaging 23 points per game while have a 7 to 2 assist to turnover ratio! He is the vibrant leader of this Laker squad, but there are other parts that make this Laker team very deadly. Swingmen Sasha Vujacic and Von Wafer provide an very reliable inside/outside combo, and recently Laker lottery pick Andrew Bynum has been nothing short of amazing this year. The Lakers will have a new name to their historic pivots, and I predict that Andrew Bynum will be that person. He is swift, and a monster on the boards while he struggled early on, he now averages 14 boards a night.
Announcer 2: Its just a matter of time when that kid gets called up, he's that amazing!
Announcer 1: In any case, this seems to be a good match up, and we'll be back to recap the game at the end of the 4th quarter.
End of the game.
Announcer 1: Wow what an amazing game! The Celtics power forward Ryan Gomes hit an amazing 3 point shot to win the game for the Celtics 104-102.
Announcer 2: Who would have ever thought that Ryan Gomes would hit that 3 point shot.
Announcer 1: Actually earlier in Gomes college career, Gomes came in as a swingman and had a range in shot. Providence needed an inside presence so they switched Gomes into a power forward.
Announcer 2: To show how much Dajuan Wagner has matured as a player, he was the one who set up Gomes with the open look.
Announcer 1: I know! Earlier in his career, that play he made would have been a turnover or a bad shot. Now Wagner has matured to the point where teams can depend on him to make reliable decisions on the court.
Announcer 2: To add to the progression of Wagner, did you see that hounding defense he had on Jay Williams? I know Williams had 30 points, but 9 turnovers that's some good defense.
Announcer 1: This is a game that NBDL allows its viewers to see, good hustling brand of basketball. The NBA will truly benefit from this sort of emphasis on team play. To see highlights including Gerald Green's amazing dunk on Bynum, don't miss Sports Center.
The NBDL is a league that really excites me about the future of the NBA. Hopefully it is a league that isn't taken advantage of and is properly regulated. |
