Questions about the “Draft Rights Player” rule and assignment to D-League

[Rick Robeys Return]

Given the signing of Brown, Bentil and Jackson, there are 18 names currently on the C's roster.  And with the announcement that Colton Iverson is getting a camp invite, and with Abdel Nader (and Marcus Thornton) still unsigned, I have a question about how the team gets down to the final 15 roster spots, and the potential use of D-League assignments. The assumption behind my questions is that there are no trades that bring down the roster below 15 anyway.

The D-League FAQ (http://dleague.nba.com/faq/) has the following:

"NBA teams can draft players and sign them to NBA D-League contracts, thus retaining their rights through the “Draft Rights Player” rule.

NBA teams can designate up to four players that they cut during training camp as “affiliate players,” meaning those players will join that team’s NBA D-League affiliate (should the players choose to sign into the NBA D-League). These players are signed under contract with the league rather than the team, however, meaning they are technically free agents who can be called up to any of the 30 NBA teams."

Here are the questions:

1. With the signing of Bentil and Jackson, have the Cs lost the chance to use the "Draft Rights Player" rule to assign them to the d-league, while keeping them under team control? I'm assuming the answer is yes, and this is why Nader has not been signed, as he is likely to fall under this rule, but I wanted to confirm.

2. For a player like CI, who only gets a camp invite contract, is he still eligible for  the “Draft Rights Player” rule, i.e. to stay under team control?

3. Is there a limit to the number of players who can be assigned undef the  the “Draft Rights Player” rule?

Obviously, the problem with choosing to designate players, rather than using the  the “Draft Rights Player” rule, is that the players essentially become free agents, and therefore are not under team control. 

[BitterJim]

If a player signs an NBA contract (whether guaranteed or not, and whether they play in the NBA or not) their rights are gone.  This applies to Iverson, Bentil, and Jackson.  Because we've signed them, their draft rights are gone forever, and the Draft Rights Rule does not apply to them

If a player doesn't sign an NBA contract, we retain their rights and they're free to play anywhere.  The D-League is one place where they could play, but they don't have to.  They could either play elsewhere (Europe, China, or Australia), in which case we retain their rights, or take a year off (which is almost never a good idea) and enter next year's draft.  For example, Nader can choose to play in the DLeague, or go oversees like Colton Iverson or Marcus Thornton.  There's no limit on how many players we can do that with (AFAIK)

The second part you quoted is affiliate players, which (if I'm not mistaken) are different.  Those are simply players that, after cutting them from our camp roster, are allowed to either play overseas or play for our DLeague team (they can't play for another DLeague team).  We don't have their rights, though, so they are eligible to sign with any NBA team.  In 2014, we did this with Tim Frazier, Rodney McGruder, and Christian Watford.  Bentil would be eligible for this, but I think he'll either find a spot on another NBA team or play overseas if he doesn't stick with us

[indeedproceed]

Teams do the draft rights rule because they get to funnel the players to their own d-league affiliate. They'll know of any growth or if the player seems ready to contribute before anyone else will.

Now if another team swoops in and offers a guaranteed contract in the league before the Celtics do, there is nothing that can be done.

In the piece quoted above, the limit seems to be 4.

[Surferdad]

...NBA teams can designate up to four players that they cut during training camp as “affiliate players,” meaning those players will join that team’s NBA D-League affiliate (should the players choose to sign into the NBA D-League). These players are signed under contract with the league rather than the team, however, meaning they are technically free agents who can be called up to any of the 30 NBA teams."
...

The money sucks in the D-league, something like $25K per season, which is why many players go overseas.  However, I would imagine that teams can scout the D-league heavily since the travel costs are so much less.  This could be enticement for decent players who stand a chance of catching on to NBA teams with one or more 10-day contracts.  Any one know how much they can make on a typical 10-day contract?

[HuskerCeltic]

Are there any doubts that a trade (or trades) are going to happen? Do we really think DA is going to sign draft picks and then go cut guys with no return?

[BitterJim]

...NBA teams can designate up to four players that they cut during training camp as “affiliate players,” meaning those players will join that team’s NBA D-League affiliate (should the players choose to sign into the NBA D-League). These players are signed under contract with the league rather than the team, however, meaning they are technically free agents who can be called up to any of the 30 NBA teams."
...

The money sucks in the D-league, something like $25K per season, which is why many players go overseas.  However, I would imagine that teams can scout the D-league heavily since the travel costs are so much less.  This could be enticement for decent players who stand a chance of catching on to NBA teams with one or more 10-day contracts.  Any one know how much they can make on a typical 10-day contract?

It's a prorated league minimum (I believe based on the number of games), so figuring they're on the roster for 5 games that works out to about $60k, which is great money compared to the DLeague

The biggest advantage of the DLeague is those contracts (and the possibility of a contract like Holland got), since you can just sign with the NBA from the DLeague, but if you were playing overseas your contract would prevent that

Are there any doubts that a trade (or trades) are going to happen? Do we really think DA is going to sign draft picks and then go cut guys with no return?

Danny would LOVE to make a trade instead of cutting guys, but it takes two to tango.  Sure, Danny could overpay to avoid cutting non-guaranteed contracts of second round picks, but why would he do that? If any trade happens, it will be Young (and maybe a second rounder) for a future (heavily protected) second

So, yes, there are doubts about a trade happening

[Rick Robeys Return]

woops...

[Rick Robeys Return]

Thanks for the info, everyone. My guess is that Danny knows he has trade possibilities, which give some assurance of not having to cut players with guaranteed contracts