NBA D-League 1st Round Review

TOTALLY THOUGHT IT STARTED AT 8EST. My bad, D-League! My bad!

So far we’ve got:

1.T-Birds: Powell. BPA. Great scoring ability, relentless, polished. That this guy hasn’t been called up yet is a nightmare.

2. Eerie Bayhawks: Donnell Taylor

3. LA D-Fenders: Deron Washington. Went to camp with the Pistons. Great speed, good handle, great pick for the system the D-Fenders run. Guards excel there.

4. Bakersfield Jam: Amara Sy. French. I have no idea. I won’t call it a bust, but there are known talents available that were taken after.

5. Utah Flash : Garret Siler. Made camp with the Hawks. Obviously he and his agent think he’s close enough to be a candidate for call-up. Great fit for the D-League.

6. Austin Toros: Alonzo Gee. Quin Snyder ain’t no fool, that system’s got too man resources. Expect to be impressed with his play in the D.

7. Reno Bighorns: Desmon Farmer. Scoring, speed, handle, and a much improved ability to run an offense. Defense still and will probably always need work. But a fantastic pick. Reno’s got a guy that can run the floor.

8. Maine Red Claws: Paul Harris. I got nothin’. I do what I can, but I got nothin’.

9. Iowa Energy: Rashad Anderson. Draft pick prospect in 06. Iowa won their division last year. I think the realignment really helped them. We’ll see if they can repeat.

10. NIGHTMARE ANT: Alade Aminu. Thought this guy would be the steal of the draft. Made it deep with the Heat. 6-10, 208, athletic, high motor, killer upside. This guy could be a call-up. If he’s not, the Mad Ants are going to have a dominant forward. Expect a ton of double doubles for this guy.

UPDATE: Bayhawks Tweeter chimes in to let us know they’v traded Rob Kurz for Aminu. Kurz is a better veteran, so it looks like Nightmare Ant wants to win this year.

11. Dakota Wizards: Curtis Withers. Has some experience in Europe, played ball in Charlotte. Dakota’s going to have killer depth, which is key in the D-League with all the call-ups and departures.

12. Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Antonio Anderson. One of the Memphis crew that, you know, didn’t make the championship game as far as the books are concerned. But Anderson has a ton of size as a guard at 6-6. I told Sham Sports on Twitter, between Marcus Williams in Austin and Anderson in RGV, when they play each other there’s going to be a ton of size in the backcourts.

13. Sioux Falls Skyforce: Raymond Sykes. You know. Of the Hampton’ Sykes. No relation to Wanda. I think.

14. Springfield Armor: JamesOn Curry. JAMESON’S BACK, BABY! So excited he’s back. He’s my favorite near-NBA-but-not-really guy in the D-League. A solid pick for the Armor to start with.

15. Idaho Stampede: Sundiata Gaines. Not a topical cream. That I know of.

16. Tulsa 66ers: Latavious Williams. Spent a year in China, comes to the D-League straight out of High School. The fact that he was drafted by the 66ers, owned by the Thunder, is telling. This is the first real step towards a true development minor league path for undrafted high school players.

Check out the rest of the draft here. Leave any info  you have on the draftees in the comments.