The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Los Angeles Lakers, whose D-League affiliate is the Los Angeles D-Fenders:
The Lakers made 15 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending three players to the D-League for a total of 45 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Los Angeles for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 17th: Assigned Anthony Brown (1st) — Recalled November 17th
- November 18th: Assigned Anthony Brown (2nd) — Recalled November 18th
- November 19th: Assigned Anthony Brown (3rd) — Recalled November 20th
- November 21st: Assigned Anthony Brown (4th) — Recalled November 22nd
- November 27th: Assigned Anthony Brown (5th) — Recalled November 28th
- December 13th: Assigned Tarik Black (1st) — Recalled December 14th
- December 13th: Assigned Ryan Kelly (1st) — Recalled December 14th
- December 13th: Assigned Anthony Brown (6th) — Recalled December 14th
- December 18th: Assigned Tarik Black (2nd) — Recalled December 23rd
- December 18th: Assigned Ryan Kelly (2nd) — Recalled December 23rd
- January 2nd: Assigned Anthony Brown (7th) — Recalled January 3rd
- January 2nd: Assigned Tarik Black (3rd) — Recalled January 3rd
- January 2nd: Assigned Ryan Kelly (3rd) — Recalled January 3rd
- January 8th: Assigned Tarik Black (4th) — Recalled January 31st
- January 8th: Assigned Ryan Kelly (4th) — Recalled January 14th
Here is how the Lakers’ players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Tarik Black: Black appeared in eight games and averaged 16.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 32.1 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .574/.000/.605.
- Anthony Brown: In seven appearances Brown averaged 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 33.6 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .392/.319/.688.
- Ryan Kelly: Kelly made seven appearances and averaged 27.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 35.8 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .529/.375/.778.
I really wish Black got more minutes this season. He was arguably better than Hibbert in the games he played.
If Kelly actually work on his shot or trust his shot. He could be a Ryan Anderson type player
A few more stints in the D-League would be beneficial to A. Brown. T.Black and R. Kelly just need to improve on their games at the NBA level. Both are fairly decent role players. This season will be pivotal for both.
D what