How Long Before Chris Douglas-Roberts Receives an NBA Call-Up This Season?

Picked up by the Texas Legends last season following an NBA training camp stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Chris Douglas-Roberts hit the ground running. He started things off with a 49 point performance in an early preseason matchup, and never looked back.

From there on out, the veteran swingman emerged as one of the top (and not to mention, most talented) scorers in all of the NBA D-League. He was subsequently picked up by the affiliated Dallas Mavericks, and though he appeared in six games last season, ultimately failed to stick around for the rest of the year.

But after all of that, Douglas-Roberts has returned to the NBADL for another go at things. Despite attending training camp with the New York Knicks this fall, the Legends still own CDR's minor league rights. Thus, he's returned to relatively familiar stomping grounds.

There should no doubt in anyone's mind that the swingman will rise up as a star in the D-League rather quickly yet again this year. Last season, he proved capable of dominating the league with ease. Douglas-Roberts is as smart, savvy, and efficient as a scorer as they come. Determined to score the basketball, as a member of the Nets and Bucks in past seasons, CDR's previous troubles came from an evident indecisive nature with the rock once defenders came flocking. When his route to the basket was blocked, Douglas-Roberts had always seemed to reach a dead end.

But as even just a handful of games in the D-League proved last season, the 26 year old is no longer simply a one-dimension player. When combated with imposing defenders, CDR has the instincts necessary to find open teammates. What's more, now one to follow his own shot more aggressively, Douglas-Roberts emerged as one of the better rebounders in the minor league last season.

Now the question becomes, how much longer will Douglas-Robers have to wait before he receives that coveted call? There have already been three NBADL to NBA call-ups thus far this year, and the minor league's season is only set to begin on Friday. Perhaps it's only a matter of time before a team in need of a shooting guard comes calling CDR's way when they realize he's the cream of the crop. Timing, along with the right situation or circumstances, can sometimes prove to be everything.

Douglas-Roberts has been through the motions with Dallas before, and wasn't exactly given a proper opportunity to strut his stuff with the Knicks. That said, any team that opts to pick up him in the near future will soon realize he's a much more evolved player than the one he once was in the NBA just a few short seasons ago. Perhaps he can even credit the D-League a bit for allowing him the time and opportunity to work and refine his skills a bit even further.