Did someone say Dakota?

by JakeTheSnake on Jul 31, 2008 5:31 PM EDT in The clubhouse Comment 6 comments

Last season, had to be a bit of a relief for Ernie Grunfeld. While other GM's had to try and shuffle rosters depending on injuries, D-League callups, and the like, Grunfeld roster set-up was quite simple. The Wizards only carried 13 players on the roster (except for Mike Wilks' two week ) and Etan Thomas was on the Inactive list all season, so Ernie was left with 12 players to fill 12 spots on the active roster

Now with Etan getting healthy, as well as the addition of JaVale McGee, the Wizards have 14 players to fit into 12 spots on the active roster. In other words, two players are going to have to get used to watching the game from the bench in suits. In my mind, the only rational choices for the inactive list are JaVale McGee and Oleksiy Pecherov. While part of the reason I say that is because they're the 13th and 14th best players on the team, the more important factor in my reasoning is a valuable asset that we can use to our advantage like never before: the D-League.

The D-League was made for players like McGee and O-Pec who need experience to help realize their potential. Players in their first 2 years (a qualification both players meet) can be optioned down 3 times in a season, so we can let McGee and Pech get playing time that they need and wouldn't get in Washington and still have them available for when/if someone gets injured. If there's a drawback in letting those two develop their games in Dakota, I haven't seen it.

The Wizards haven't used the D-League a lot in previous seasons, partly because of a lack of prospects and partly because of a lack of warm bodies. Now that both of those issues have been resolved (for now), there's no reason why we shouldn't be using of the Developmental League to help develop our players this season.

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Great point.

Seriously, both players need a ton of seasoning and I’d rather they dont have to get it here. Hopefully Etan can come back strong this year – that will make this decision really easy.

Getting buckets since 2003.

by Icantfeelmyface on Jul 31, 2008 6:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Additionally

The D-League last season hired a “Big Man” coach to work with the rookie assignment players on things like strength conditioning, footwork, and defense.

Sound like something JaVale could use? Plus the Wizards team will pretty much always be good, the organization is very communicative, and the coaching staff is top notch.

Oh, and they’re the ones that turned Rod Benson from a skinny chicken legged pest into a guy that grabbed 28 rebounds in a game last season.

Oh, and they produced two D-League callups last season.

Seriously, Dakota is a prime D-League affiliate. And if you want to motivate the kid? Putting him in a situation where he has to improve if he wants to get out of Bismark in February can be a great motivational tool.

by Ridiculous Matt on Jul 31, 2008 6:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Who would want out of Bismark in February?

LOL

by Rook6980 on Jul 31, 2008 7:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dammit Jake

You stole one of my prime ideas for a post!

Seriously, well done. I was going to argue the same thing as you and Matt. Dakota’s been such a good D-League organization that it’s so silly we don’t use them, especially considering the projects we have on our roster. JaVale McGee would be a perfect candidate for Dakota, considering he needs more game experience.

It’s wrong that we don’t use them.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jul 31, 2008 7:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I would second that motion, although....

There’s something to be said about the youth (McGee) being directly under the wing of vets such as Jamison and Butler and seeing how they conduct themselves in the NBA environment.

.....then again, I might not want JaVale exposed to Blatche & Young.

In any case, Pechy has seen what the league is like, it’s time for him to get on the court…..send him straight to the D-League at the beginning of the season.

As far as McGee, he would benefit from a combination of both venues…..in my opinion.

Representing DC with Wizards & Stuff - Truth About It Dot Net

by Truth About It on Aug 1, 2008 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely

My hope would be that McGee and Pech get some playing time on both levels so that they can get playing time, but also get a feel for what it’s like filling a role off the bench. Let’s just hope any promotions aren’t necessitated by an injury.

Bullets Forever: Where fancy numbers and YouTube come together.

by JakeTheSnake on Aug 1, 2008 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs