Eric Musselman Chose The Reno Bighorns' Playoff Opponent Out Of A Hat

I know many of you think the NBA's Development League is a bit wonky in the way it operates, but the fun thing is that there are always neat little surprises around every corner that always keeps the millions (and millions) of D-League fans on their collective toes.

Take, for instance, the complicated system former NBA head coach Eric Musselman used to select his Reno Bighorns' first round opponent in this week's D-League playoffs (via the Erie Times-News' Duane Rankin).

To decide its first-round opponent for the D-League playoffs, Reno had its player personnel assistant pick one out of a hat.

Sammy Glefand chose the Erie BayHawks.

"He's our money-ball guy," first-year Reno coach Eric Musselman said with enthusiasm.

Oh, well I guess Musselman just had an assistant pick his first round opponent of the D-League Playoffs out of a hat. Neat, huh?

Erie coach Jay Larranaga, however, didn't seem quite as amused judging by his comments to Rankin.

"I really don't care. I could say more, but I don't care. All I care is that we play Reno in the first round. We need to be prepared for them," Larranaga said. "Reno chose us because they think we were the easiest matchup for them."

While I tend to agree with Larranaga in that Reno consciously chose the BayHawks as opposed to picking them out of a hat (mind games!), Musselman did provide Rankin with a believable back story.

"We had a seven-hour bus ride (Saturday) night (from Bakersfield) and had a meeting with the entire 10-man roster," Musselman told the Times-News. "We went through the four teams and could not even come close to a general consensus. We brought the top five veteran players to the front of the bus. We met with them for over an hour-and-a-half. There was no consensus. Among our coaching staff, there was no consensus."

"The reason we couldn't come up with a conclusion is because we respect all the teams," Musselman continued. "Erie has great talent. They have veterans. They play hard. They're extremely well coached."

We'll have a preview of this series up before the BayHawks and Bighorns begin their three-series on Sunday in Erie.