NBA D-League "Rookie of the Year" Tony Mitchell To Play in Philippines

Last week, we dove into a discussion regarding the low pay of NBA D-League athletes. Though the most exposure to NBA executives comes while playing close to home in the NBADL, there's no denying the salaries for which they play for make it difficult for these prospects to make a decent living.

Thus, plenty of promising talents are tempted to play overseas for larger paychecks instead. However, perhaps those who are smart choose to go both routes, simply one after the other.

With the 2012-13 NBADL season now in the books, there seems to be little rest for the weary. With 50 games in the minors to add to their basketball resumes, some young guns have already ventured over international waters to keep playing ball. As previously mentioned, Courtney Fortson is playing in Venezuela, and now, D-League "Rookie of the Year" Tony Mitchell is heading to the Philippines to help Talk 'N Text during its postseason, according to most recent reports.

Mitchell will reportedly replace fellow NBADL All-Star Jerome Jordan on his new squad's roster, just in time for an intense playoff matchup.

Talk 'N Text previously served as the home of NBADL-hopeful Japeth Aguilar, who last fall tried out for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He was subsequently only kept on as a practice-player. Aguilar finished up the season playing for another team in the PBA after returning from Santa Cruz instead.

Mitchell and Talk 'N Text will now face off against fellow D-League forward Vernon Macklin, who is leading Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.