The New Jersey Nets have made some interesting NBA Development League moves in the past, but their latest call-up has done everything possible during his time in the D-League this season.

Andre Emmett will be signed by the Nets in the coming days, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Emmett originally entered the NBA as a second round pick of the Seattle SuperSonics in 2004, but has spent the majority of his career toiling overseas and in the D-League.

The 6-foot-5 wing has stood out all season for Paul Mokeski's Reno Bighorns this season, averaging 23.7 points, six rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 53 percent from the field and 46 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Emmett doesn't have the most ridiculous upside considering he's already 29, but he does have a skill set that's made him turn quite a few heads this season.

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Jeremy Lin has become the talk of the basketball world after recently being given the reins to Mike D'Antoni's offense in New York, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion that the Harvard grad would be able to come even close to what he's accomplished over the past week.

In fact, Lin nearly missed the opportunity to accomplish anything at all with the Knicks.

Before the Taiwanese-American guard's surprising breakout game against the New Jersey Nets last Saturday night, the team was seriously considering cutting the second-year guard prior to Jan. 10, the date on which player's contracts became guaranteed for the remainder of the season, in favor of veteran D-Leaguer Mike James.

Yep, Lin went from a player this close to being released in favor of a player plucked straight from the NBA Development League to leading off SportsCenter with his 38-point performance on Friday night following a win over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Monday morning is the earliest NBA teams can sign players to 10-day contracts and, apparently, they aren't going to waste any time going to work. Austin Toros forward Lance Thomas is the first D-League player to get a call-up as he's expected to re-sign with the New Orleans Hornets.

The former Duke Blue Devils forward actually began the season with the Hornets, but was released after appearing in just two games. A recent injury to fellow power forward Carl Landry opened the door for his return to New Orleans.

Since returning to the Development League, Thomas was averaging 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds while being lauded for his heady decision-making and positive attitude. It isn't exactly a surprise move as I wrote for SB Nation this morning that Thomas was one of the top two power forward prospects expected to gain NBA interest this week as 10-day contracts began.

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The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was "Piston Nation" last night with a surprise visit by former Fort Wayne Mad Ant point guard Walker Russell Jr. during last night’s game against the Maine Red Claws. Walker D, as they call him up in Detroit, was called up to the Pistons late last month and is working hard at making his stay in the NBA a permanent one.

At half-time, the Mad Ants led the Red Claws 58-56 and during the intermission I was able to catch up with Russell and talk to him about his NBA experience. When talking about playing in the NBA Russell was all smiles.

"So far so good, it’s a dream come true. I’m playing some solid minutes, and the coaches have a lot more confidence in me now," Russell said.

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Players have recently figured out that the fastest way to getting an NBA opportunity is by way of the Development League (or by being named Francisco Elson, of course). The newest player to figure that out was Ish Smith, though Smith didn't have to wait nearly as long as most players do in his situation.

Smith joined the Los Angeles D-Fenders earlier this week and, without playing a game, he was called up to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. Ridiculous Upside confirmed Smith left Los Angeles on Wednesday to join the Magic in a move related to the team releasing veteran guard Larry Hughes.

It's a move, I believe, that makes the former Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard the fastest call-up in D-League history.

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The NBA Development League likes to tout that it's the fastest way to get to the NBA and, on Thursday night, that motto proved true. The Detroit Pistons decided to make their first first ever foray into the D-League player pool, according to a source close to the situation, when they decided to call-up Walker Russell from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Russell is no stranger to the Pistons organization as he spent training camp with them this season, but it's been a long time coming for the 6-foot point guard as this his first in-season NBA opportunity after spending parts of five seasons -- dating back to 2006 -- in the D-League.

The former Jacksonville State standout has had a terrific year thus far as he's dished more than 12 assists five times on his way to averages of 16 points and 9.9 assists. His best game came at perhaps the most important time, too, as he scored 19 points and dished 19 assists at last week's NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, Nev., as scouts from all 30 NBA teams were in attendance.

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Larry Owens has never been one to put up impressive statistics during his three-year stint with the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA Development League, but that hasn't stopped him from getting noticed at things like last week's NBA D-League Showcase. Owens was averaging 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds through 10 games this season, but that was apparently plenty as the swingman was given good news on Tuesday.

Owens, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Oral Roberts, will be signed by the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday. Sources with knowledge of the situation say that the team released Dennis Horner on Tuesday afternoon to clear a spot for their new D-League player. ESPN's Marc Stein first reported the Owens call-up, but made no mention of the Horner release.

Horner is expected to re-join the Springfield Armor prior to their next game. It likely won't be too long before he's given another shot at a call-up, however, considering he impressed the Nets enough to make their team out of training camp after only becoming a D-League player by way of the Development League's national tryout.

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Greg Stiemsma was given a surprise start as he replaced an injured Jermaine O'Neal in the Boston Celtics' game against the Washington Wizards. Not much was expected when the shot blocker called-up from the NBA Development League less than a month ago, but Stiemsma seemingly showed he belonged in the NBA on Monday night.

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