Is NBA D-League Newcomer Quincy Douby Pondering a Return to China Already?

With each and every new D-League season comes a handful of past NBA veterans who are looking to jumpstart their careers back up by playing in the minor league as a way to get noticed once more. This year, the likes of Ricky Davis and Quincy Douby headline such a list.

Ironically enough, both players worked out for the New York Knicks this past offseason. Davis was part of a group workout in September (Cole Aldrich, a current member of the team, as well as training camp invitees Josh Powell and Ike Diogu also took part in this workout). Though the swingman didn't earn a camp invite himself, the affiliated Erie BayHawks still drafted him in the sixth round of the D-League Draft earlier this month.

Douby met with Knicks officials in Las Vegas during NBA Summer League, but nothing ever came of it. From there, the guard worked out for a small handful of other NBA teams. Later in the summer (August), Douby signed a two-week contract with a team in China (where he spent last season, coincidentally enough) where he stepped in briefly to help a team during their postseason run.

But after making a few extra bucks overseas before the fall months arrived, Douby returned to the states in an effort to stay true to his ultimate goal: making it back to the NBA. Drafted by the Sioux Falls Skyforce (affiliate of the Miami Heat) earlier this month, the 29 year old has opted to give the D-League a try.

As previously mentioned, most players realize that the NBADL is their best shot at getting noticed and staying fresh in the minds of NBA executives. Sticking things out for a potential big league gig later on opens up the door for a more lucrative contract when the time comes, but how long a player is willing to wait becomes an obvious question to ponder relatively quickly. By choosing to play international ball, one might be out of sight and out of the minds of NBA executives, but at least they earn more money at a quicker pace than if they were to stay in the NBADL and wait for that coveted call.

With that in mind, a source tells RidiculousUpside.com that Douby may still be eyeing a return to China, though nothing has been finalized as of yet. A separate league source informed us that while each and every player signs a one-year contract with the D-League at the beginning of the season (not the individual teams, rather), there are various "out" clauses, should something materialize "with an NBA team or in Europe." We can only assume something similar applies when a player is approached to play in the CBA (or elsewhere overseas) as well.

When approached by RidiculousUpside.com about Douby's status, the Sioux Falls Skyforce put it rather simply, saying that as of November 18th, "Quincy Douby is currently on our training camp roster."

Final cuts are being considered (and will be subsequently made) by each team in the D-League with the 2013-14 season beginning on Friday and the roster limit set at ten players. It appears unlikely that Douby will be cut from Sioux Falls regardless, because it's not as though he needs to be officially let go by the team to explore an overseas opportunity mid NBADL season. He can choose to terminate his contract early, a la Henry Sims and the BayHawks last season, as the big man did when he opted to venture off to the Philippines with Erie's playoff hopes on the line.