NBA teams take wait-and-see approach to NBDL
For a player who admittedly knows little about the likes of the Arkansas RimRockers, Florida Flame or Roanoke Dazzle, Lakers guard Von Wafer nevertheless might be the poster child for the NBA Development League.
Wafer left Florida State after only two seasons and was taken by the Lakers in the second round of June's NBA Draft. He has played only 11 minutes so far in a rookie season split between the inactive list and the end of the bench.
The 20-year-old even has a relatively optimistic attitude about possibly being assigned to the D-League, something NBA teams can do for the first time this season.
"I never thought about going to the D-League," Wafer said, "but if that's where they send me, then I'll just go into it 100 percent with my head held high."
Yet Wafer isn't going anywhere, at least for now, and he is far from alone. The Lakers are in the majority of NBA teams that have taken a wait-and-see approach even as basketball has taken steps to follow baseball and hockey in setting up a minor-league system.
As part of its new collective bargaining agreement, the NBA now allows teams to send their first- and second-year players to affiliates in the D-League. As many as two players at any time can be sent down, though they will continue to be paid full NBA salaries.
The only problem is that it's going to take some convincing on the part of NBA general managers that the D- League is the right place to send their players.
"How teams are going to use that league will not be determined this year," said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, whose team is affiliated with the Fort Worth (Texas) Flyers.
The D-League opened its season last month, but the influx of young players from the NBA has yet to arrive. Out of the 130 players eligible to be sent down - 60 could at any given time - only nine have been assigned, and they are far from household names.
Along with the NBA's new 19-year-old age limit, the D-League has the potential to change how the business of professional basketball is conducted, creating a proving ground for young players entering the league.
Yet only seven of 30 NBA teams have committed players to the league so far.
"There are two issues with the D-League right now," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "One is having your guys around to learn your system. Maybe after they know your system very well, then you can send them down. The other issue is that it's not a one-on-one thing."
Instead, three or four NBA teams will share a D-League affiliate, with control issues a foremost concern.
