Sifting through G League

[rollie mass]

Are there players of NBA calibre being overlooked in G League with new draftees being like a shiny new toys.?

[nickagneta]

I don't think so. Most of their best players are NBA two-way players or players on NBA rosters getting playing time in the G League because it's better than sitting on the bench not in uniform in the NBA.

Then, those players who's rights are not owned by NBA teams that are good in the G League, tend not to be NBA talent. There just are very few NBA rotation players that went undrafted, started in the G League then got good enough to make an NBA team and become good enough to crack an NBA rotation.

Yeah, every once in a while you find a "Birdman" Andersen or Hassan Whiteside but that is extremely rare.

[BitterJim]

Are there players of NBA calibre being overlooked in G League with new draftees being like a shiny new toys.?

That depends on your definition of "NBA caliber". There are plenty of guys down there that can fill the deep bench roles (spots 11-15) on teams, even contenders, as evidenced by the 10 day contract guys that end up sticking around. For the most part, though, they are older and/or have limited ceilings.

For a deep bench player that is unlikely to ever cracking the rotation, almost every team will take a younger/higher ceiling player over a slightly better player with low upside. If your 13th man needs to play significant minutes, then you're probably screwed anyway, so you may as well have those minutes go to development.

Now, there may be some guys down there that could really develop and be stars in the NBA if given the chance, but it's not likely

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Yeah, I'd argue the bottom 90-100 players of the league could be rotated with the top players in the G-league.

[tstorey_97]

TP to Rollie for posting basketball threads!

I watch G league and always have. Not very much and only Red Claws. Over the years it seems a "G league guy" is just that and might always be. I've watched a lot of our guys whom are pros now, but they weren't "G league guys" they were guys getting minutes in Maine waiting their turn in Boston.

Romeo Langford in Maine was OK, but nothing much.

Romeo Langford in Boston was..."hey, this kid looks like he might start some day."

G league doesn't seem to do much to help guys get ready to play under the bright lights. Playing in the Garden does that.

It seems that the Euro league kids do OK breaking into the rotation though. They're not going to start (except for Daniel!), but, they hold their own. Thies, Larkin, Wanamaker.

You figure Grant Williams isn't going to benefit from G league. He already played 4 years at Tennessee and can "hold down on defense in the NBA" which assures him a spot on the bench.

Waters lit up the G league well, but hasn't gotten much in Boston yet. Not sure if he ever will.

I think Tacko got better this year. I watch more college hoops than NBA. I only watch Celtics games. Tacko played 120 games for UCF over four years. He was actually, a solid center for them. He was not in anyway dominant, but, he played hard with his team mates and maybe, could improve at the next level.

Early on in Maine, Tacko didn't play that well, but, towards the end he started to play more like he had at UCF. He showed some fight.

Don't know if  "G league Tacko" will make the rotation in Boston, it would be fun to see if he could develop an NBA persona and unfortunately, he will need more NBA minutes to do that.