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Why New NBA D-League Season Is Poised to Bring Forth Barrage of New Talent Worth Paying Attention To

A brand new NBA D-League season means doors will come flying open for a brand new band of intriguing prospects in the weeks and months to follow.

By Keith Schlosser
Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

As the 2013-14 NBA D-League season officially gets underway on Friday night, a rather unique door immediately opens up for a brand new band of promising prospects. Needless to say, the season (and of course, the ones that follow as well) ahead is filled with endless possibilities.

With all NBADL opening night rosters set in stone, it's easy to find plenty of new names and faces across the board for such minor league squads. As fantastic of a platform as the D-League continues to be, the fact of the matter is, most players don't go on to find a permanent home there. The goal is to allow such prospects to flourish into legitimate players capable of handling themselves in more serious roles elsewhere, be it in the NBA or overseas instead.

Be that as it may, perhaps a quick turnaround rate is what makes the D-League so great. The promise for advancement is undoubtedly present at all times. Make no mistake: some of the most unknown young guns will waste no time at all, choosing to strut their stuff and turn some worthy heads for the first time during opening weekend. They may be unknown today, but they could prove to be tomorrow's stars (see Jeremy Lin and/or Danny Green, among others). It'll be interesting to see who emerges right out the gates.

Continue below for a highlight reel of some of last season's top plays. On one hand, it reminds us all that many of these very players featured in the clip are not set to return to the D-League this coming season. Even so, it also reminds us how they've been able to capitalize on such past success to move on to greener pastures. When watching these very highlights, one should not focus on the voids that the absences of such players will create, but rather how exciting it will be to watch such voids be filled by the most intriguing of promising prospects just staying ready as they wait in the wings.

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