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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz organization is becoming San Antonio Northwest, and that’s a good thing.
First, the Jazz hired prized Spurs front-office mind Dennis Lindsey to be their general manager; then they hired former Spurs player-development coach Quin Snyder to be their eighth head coach. Now, Utah has taken another page out of the Spurs’ very successful book, signing an official affiliation agreement with the Idaho Stampede, the organization’s first exclusive D-League affiliation since the Utah Flash agreement ended in 2011.
After the Flash agreement ended, Utah was forced to send players to Bakersfield, California, but it wasn’t an exclusive agreement. Former Jazz coach Ty Corbin frequently stated there was an inherent, noticeable difference between the Jam’s style of play and Utah’s, not matter how much both did to bridge the gap. The fact remains that a team with multiple affiliations can’t completely gear its offense to mimic just one team, and that sometimes meant the development wasn’t as thorough as it needed to be.
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The best way to develop players is to have a league where basic skills, plays and professional habits can be taught. Not all players are obviously ready for the NBA, despite having upsides that could put them into the league. Rudy Gobert, for instance, is a player who has the height and length to become an imposing force in the paint … if he can develop his offensive skills.
Since there is now an exclusively affiliated team built to prepare players to play for Utah, Gobert won’t have to focus on anything but learning how to be effective in Snyder’s offense.
Doubt remains, however, over how effective a training ground the D-League is. Sure, there have been players who have successfully gone back and forth, but how many surefire stars worked their way into the NBA from the D- League?
The following are some players who have had notable careers/moments in the NBA who either got their start or had lengthy tenures in the D-League.
Jeremy Lin: Reno Bighorns and Erie BayHawks
Before Lin wowed the crowds inside basketball’s Mecca, Madison Square Garden, he was a struggling player who fought his way into the league by playing at D-League franchises in Reno, Nevada, and Erie, Pennsylvania. After he bounced around Summer League rosters and was cut by Golden State, the New York Knicks picked up Lin, where again he was almost cut.
However, a string of injuries forced then-Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni to play Lin, and his coming-out party in New York happened against the Utah Jazz in February 2011, as he scored 28 points in a Knicks win. Lin next led the Knicks to a win over the Lakers, where he outscored Kobe Bryant, and then on Valentine’s Day, he hit a game-winning shot against the Toronto Raptors.
New York, due to salary issues at the end of the season, was unable to keep Lin, and he signed a $25 million three-year contract with Houston. Lin started every game a season ago for the Rockets but was delegated to the second team this year due to the rise of guard Patrick Beverley. Still, Lin has averaged 12.5 points and 4.1 assists this past season and will enter the final year of his deal with Houston this upcoming season.
Danny Green: Erie BayHawks, Reno Bighorns and Austin Toros
Green has become a respected role player in the NBA, thanks to a very successful stint in San Antonio. With the Spurs, Green started every single game of the 2013 playoffs and started 59 games for San Antonio this past season, where he averaged 9.1 points a game. Also, Green set the NBA Finals record for the most made 3-point shots in 2013, with 25 made. In this year’s Finals against Miami, Green scored 15 points in a blowout Spurs victory in game three.
While Green is currently an important cog in the San Antonio machine, he was once a player looking for a steady role on a contending team. Green was drafted by Cleveland out of North Carolina but was delegated to the D- League. After bouncing around, San Antonio signed him and sent him to Austin. From there, Green was called up to San Antonio on April 3, 2011, and has been in the NBA ever since.
As a slashing swingman with the ability to hit shots, Green is a versatile weapon in the Spurs’ offense and has improved as a defender under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Sundiata Gaines: Idaho Stampede and Reno Bighorns
While Lin has had a career that morphed into that of a legitimate NBA player, Gaines’ career has been an example of a flash in the pan. However, that flash made noise around the league. Gaines was an undrafted free agent out of Georgia and was signed by the Jazz on Jan. 5, 2010, on a 10-day contract from the Stampede.
At the time, Utah was struggling with depth at the guard position, forcing Gaines to be on the floor at the end of a nationally televised game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 14, 2010. With time expiring on the clock, Gaines hit a 3-pointer to give the Jazz a victory over the Cavs. Gaines would end up becoming a part of the Utah rotation and finished the rest of the season with the team.
Utah didn’t resign Gaines for the 2010-2011 season, but he has played for three NBA teams since then (Minnesota, Toronto and New Jersey), as well as for international teams. He started 12 games in the lockout-shortened 2011- 2012 season with New Jersey, where he averaged 5.1 points. Regardless of his future in the league, the shot Gaines made will forever live on in Jazz lore.
D-League affiliation doesn’t mean that a team will get great players, nor does it mean that potentially great players will find their way into the league. However, it provides a means for players to develop with an NBA team’s plays as a framework, without the pressure of an NBA environment.
The Spurs have successfully used the system to their advantage; why can’t the Jazz?
