HEllenson to the D-league

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I honestly have no idea what HE will become in the NBA.  I see a pretty wide spectrum of outcomes.  That may seem like a cop out but there is honestly no way to tell right now.  He has some great strengths as well as some areas he really needs to improve upon.

I do wonder if him being a Marquette alum does color some of the more positive viewpoints though. 

[forgetful]

I don't necessarily have a problem with the prediction, but the bolded statements.  How do you know what his work ethic and drive are?  He's 19 years old.  He may not fully understand what he needs to do to succeed, but did any of us at his age?

I'm agreeing with you way too much lately for comfort, I'll add some more commentary though. 

I've been very hard on HE, because I think he has a ton of potential and didn't push as hard last year as he could.  That is a long long way from saying he didn't work hard though. 

Like you say, he is 19, he was in a one year stopover in college to have fun and play with his brother.  He has years to grow as a person and a player.  For all anyone here knows he has been growing leaps and bounds in terms of his game, strength and defense every day.

Right now saying he will flop due to a poor work ethic is just as accurate as saying he is clearly going to be the next Lebron James.  Hell, he could blow out a knee in practice and spend a career with injuries.  Way too many unknowns.

All we know right now, is HE has a unique combination of size, athleticism and skills that provide him the potential to be a very good NBA player.  The rest will play out as it does.  If he spends some time in the D-league, it will be because people being paid far more than us to develop players think it is the best way to get him ready for major contributions.  Lets wait and see before we through him under the bus.

[Golden Avalanche]

I honestly have no idea what HE will become in the NBA.  I see a pretty wide spectrum of outcomes.  That may seem like a cop out but there is honestly no way to tell right now.  He has some great strengths as well as some areas he really needs to improve upon.

I do wonder if him being a Marquette alum does color some of the more positive negative viewpoints though.

FTFY

[CTWarrior]

All we know right now, is HE has a unique combination of size, athleticism and skills that provide him the potential to be a very good NBA player.  The rest will play out as it does. 

He has size and skill, but I'm not so sure about the athleticism part, which has always been my concern for him at the next level.  He's got good hands and will be a good shooter, but not sure he's athletic enough to defend anybody in the NBA.  I hope he excels, but I think a big guy off the bench providing a dozen OK minutes a game is the kind of player he'll end up being.  That will be enough to set him up for life if he's smart.

[BallBoy]

Called it.

Obviously wasn't hoping for that, but people that thought Henry was ready to guard NBA 4s were simply high.

I was never thought HE was ready for the NBA but guaranteed money at the 18th pick versus $0 in college.  Seems like an obvious choice.

[Marcus92]

If Henry gets assigned to the D-League, I'm not sure what the big deal is.

On average, that happens to 62 NBA players a year — roughly 1 in 7 of the players on a 15-man roster. Last year, about half of 2014 first-round picks (14 out of 30) spent time in the D-League. Players selected at a similar position in the draft, such as Terry Rozier (#16 in 2015), James Young (#17 in 2014), Sam Dekker (#18 in 2015) and Delon Wright (#20 in 2015), were assigned to the D-League multiple times.

If Henry was a complete package coming out of college, he would have been drafted higher. Instead, like the players noted above (and many others), he has talent and potential that need development. That's what the "D" in D-League stands for. That's exactly what the D-League is designed for.

[Pakuni]

I was never thought HE was ready for the NBA but guaranteed money at the 18th pick versus $0 in college.  Seems like an obvious choice.

If the draft consisted only of players ready for the NBA, it would last about 12 picks.

[MUHoopsFan2]

If you ask me, the NBA-DL is not used nearly enough in the NBA.

I think every team should have an affiliate and all rookies [Fr, Soph,]  should go there and spend time there the first month and a half of the season.

The NBA should not just let rookies play right away I don't care who you are. The league gets too young and dumb every year with players entering the league who are  year removed from high school and AAU ball and do not know how to be Pro's.

Come on now. No one wonder the NBA brand is failing...and all the teams do is just play the stacking game. All the stars follow each other and stack the league to two or three great team where you know before the season starts who is going to be in the finals. In MLB you don't know that and it is harder to predict. Same in the NFL by and large.

I could ramble on but the worse mistake the Bucks made was not sending Giannis to the D-league. Henry can use it and so could the Bucks Thon Maker..   

Malcolm Brogdan on the other hand is ready to go. He is 23 and is a 5th year senior who played under Bennett at Virginia. I would move Middleton to 6th man  and let him start actually...

[MUHoopsFan2]

If the draft consisted only of players ready for the NBA, it would last about 12 picks.

Agreed. But I also say it's Less than that. It would last 3 picks....tops!

12 only if those players were upperclassmen [Junior's and Seniors in college].

Send ALL OF THEM TO THE D- LEAGUE TO WORK THEIR WAY UP TO THE NBA.

[GGGG]

Come on now. No one wonder the NBA brand is failing...

http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/20/media/nba-finals-game-7-ratings/

Just failing...

[🏀]

No one wonder the NBA brand is failing...

Uhhhhhh....

[WarriorFan]

I don't think the NBA is failing, but it is getting young and dumb.  There are simply players who are too dumb to win in the league, and it's mostly because of inexperience, not due to their mental state.  I live 12 hours opposite the central time zone and every morning when I work out during the season I watch an NBA game on NBA gametime.  I'll watch a few teams that are well coached, have a system and have players who buy in (Boston, Miami, GSW, Dallas, San Antonio) and even not great teams that have a system and players who buy in (Toronto, Portland) but when it's two teams with bad coaching and dumb players (Sacramento, Denver, NOLA, Orlando) it's just not worth it.  I think this is the "failing" referred to previously.

If the teams had less pressure to play 1st and 2nd year players and could develop them on a profitable 2nd level team - they all would.  The problem is that the D league isn't good enough yet to support NBA rookie salaries, and needs 12 of the 14 guys to be on 20k /year to support the 2 that are on NBA contracts. 

Solution:  D league starts immediately after summer league and runs through the end of Feb.  NBA teams get two extra roster slots from March 15 onward, and players from their own system don't count against the salary cap.  Players develop system knowledge and call-ups and rehab assignments still happen.  The product improves as young players develop faster!

[cheebs09]

If you ask me, the NBA-DL is not used nearly enough in the NBA.

I think every team should have an affiliate and all rookies [Fr, Soph,]  should go there and spend time there the first month and a half of the season.

The NBA should not just let rookies play right away I don't care who you are. The league gets too young and dumb every year with players entering the league who are  year removed from high school and AAU ball and do not know how to be Pro's.

Come on now. No one wonder the NBA brand is failing...and all the teams do is just play the stacking game. All the stars follow each other and stack the league to two or three great team where you know before the season starts who is going to be in the finals. In MLB you don't know that and it is harder to predict. Same in the NFL by and large.

I could ramble on but the worse mistake the Bucks made was not sending Giannis to the D-league. Henry can use it and so could the Bucks Thon Maker..   

Malcolm Brogdan on the other hand is ready to go. He is 23 and is a 5th year senior who played under Bennett at Virginia. I would move Middleton to 6th man  and let him start actually...

I have a hard time agreeing that Giannis should have went to the D-league at any time based on this past season. He seems to be developing nicely. It may have happened quicker in the D-League but I'm not too disappointed about the results.

I think the D-League could be good for Henry only because the Pistons would be competing for a playoff spot and has some guys blocking him. If they think he would benefit from minutes in the D-League to work on his game and get used to a higher level of play, it could be beneficial. Same for a guy like Maker. I don't know if there's a hard and fast rule though. If the team is going to be terrible, let the young guys learn and play through mistakes.

Brogdon may be a serviceable player and a steal in the second round, but Middleton is a proven NBA player. Brogdon is still a second round rookie. I'd be shocked if he is even close to Middleton as a player at this point.

[GGGG]

I don't think the NBA is failing, but it is getting young and dumb.  There are simply players who are too dumb to win in the league, and it's mostly because of inexperience, not due to their mental state.  I live 12 hours opposite the central time zone and every morning when I work out during the season I watch an NBA game on NBA gametime.  I'll watch a few teams that are well coached, have a system and have players who buy in (Boston, Miami, GSW, Dallas, San Antonio) and even not great teams that have a system and players who buy in (Toronto, Portland) but when it's two teams with bad coaching and dumb players (Sacramento, Denver, NOLA, Orlando) it's just not worth it.  I think this is the "failing" referred to previously.

You could have typed this paragraph in 2006...1996...1986...and 1976.  (Probably 1966 but I wasn't watching then.)

[Nukem2]

You could have typed this paragraph in 2006...1996...1986...and 1976.  (Probably 1966 but I wasn't watching then.)

1966 was ok.  After that, would agree.

[Herman Cain]

I think it takes time for the developmental leagues to find their best role in sports. Golf is a great example. Players start out in Web.com, and in order to be successful they have to consistently be among the top 10. If they do that they can make it to the PGA Tour.  Every once in a while a great young player can make it directly to the PGA tour, which to me is like a lottery pick who makes it big early in the NBA.

[warriorchick]

I think it takes time for the developmental leagues to find their best role in sports. Golf is a great example. Players start out in Web.com, and in order to be successful they have to consistently be among the top 10. If they do that they can make it to the PGA Tour.  Every once in a while a great young player can make it directly to the PGA tour, which to me is like a lottery pick who makes it big early in the NBA.

I don't think that is a great analogy.  Golfers aren't drafted.  They don't play for any "owners", and the evaluation of their skill is much less subjective.  How many swings of the club it takes for them to finish a round of golf is the overriding metric.

[Herman Cain]

I don't think that is a great analogy.  Golfers aren't drafted.  They don't play for any "owners", and the evaluation of their skill is much less subjective.  How many swing of the club it takes for them to finish a round of golf is the overriding metric.

It took golf a while for that developmental league to find its role. As there originally was no direct path from web.com tour to main tour.  Every one had to go through q school. Now they have a direct path if they play well.

Basketball developmental league concept is relatively new.  Way back in the day they had some minor leagues. Then they developed into the CBA, D League with team tie ins is new.

Football has no minor league.

Baseball farm system was the original.

[Galway Eagle]

It took golf a while for that developmental league to find its role. As there originally was no direct path from web.com tour to main tour.  Every one had to go through q school. Now they have a direct path if they play well.

Basketball developmental league concept is relatively new.  Way back in the day they had some minor leagues. Then they developed into the CBA, D League with team tie ins is new.

Football has no minor league.

Baseball farm system was the original.

I think hockey has a considerably better farm system than baseball. I think the reason that college football and basketball get scared with minor leagues is because it could easily be argued that the success of minor leagues hurts the college brand of hockey and baseball.