Can Quincy Acy Make It Back To The NBA?

Note: This piece is the first part in an ongoing series where we look NBA players turned D-Leaguers to determine what they could do to make it back to the Association. In our first piece in this segment, we take a look at former Mavericks forward Quincy Acy. To keep track with the series, follow @ridicupside on Twitter.

On November 17th, the Dallas Mavericks announced that they waived forward Quincy Acy to acquire Jonathan Gibson. This move was made because the Mavericks desperately needed more healthy backcourt bodies, as Seth Curry was the only active point guard on the team’s roster at the time of the move.

Although that act of desperation put a temporary band-aid on the team’s backcourt, it still left some members of the Mavericks with a bad taste in their mouth. One of those folks included Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said the following to Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko

Whether or not Acy will return to the Mavericks still remains uncertain, we are sure about the next step in his career. On late Sunday night, ESPN’s Marc Stein announced that the LA D-Fenders would acquire Quincy Acy off the NBADL waive wire, as they sat at the top of the list. However, Acy wouldn’t get an opportunity to leave his wallet in El Segundo.

That was due to the D-Fenders and Texas Legends finalizing a deal that would send Acy to the Legends alongside a ‘17 3rd round pick in exchange for the rights to Jamil Wilson and a ‘17 1st round pick.

This move makes a whole bunch of sense, as Acy will remain in the Mavericks system with the Legends. As Acy continues to hone his skills in the D-League, the Mavericks will be able to keep a close eye on his performance with the team. A solid D-League performance could eventually led him to making a return to the Mavericks, or any other NBA team.

So that begs one obvious question; What does Acy need to do to return to the NBA? Honestly, Acy already stands as a player that’s good enough to be a stable rotation player on most NBA teams. The main reason why he’s currently in the D-League has less to do with his overall skill-set, and more to do with outside situations that Acy wasn’t able to control. (i.e Mavs’ lack of healthy point guards).

Over the course of his NBA career, Acy has played with four separate teams which include: Toronto Raptors, averaged 10.6 points and 8.4 rebounds (2.6 offensive boards) on 49% from the field per 36 minutes. Acy was able to do that by being a solid 6’7 forward that can battle on the offensive glass, get out in transition or be a solid pick-and-roll screener. Those skills are also seen in the video below.

While those skills have allowed Acy to have a solid four-year NBA career, I believe there’s one thing that he can do to strengthen his position in the NBA: improve his perimeter jumper. During most of his NBA career, Acy did much of his offensive work inside the paint, while also hitting the occasional 18-foot jumper. However, that changed a little bit during his time with the Kings in 2015-16 where he started to spread out to the perimeter. Although he only put up two perimeter attempts per 36 minutes, Acy was effective as he shot 38% from beyond the arc.

Although that’s still a pretty minuscule sample size, it should still stand a sign that Acy’s continuing to work on his all-around game. Acy’s work as a perimeter shooter is arguably the biggest thing to keep an eye on as he transitions to the D-League. If Acy can maintain his efficiency from Sacramento on around 2-3 perimeter attempts per game, then there might be plenty of NBA teams hopping in his agent’s DMs.

As Acy looks to transition to the Texas Legends, the 6’7 forward will probably slide next to Jameel Warney in the team’s front-court. Even before they step out on the court together, they might already stand as arguably the best rebounding duo in the entire D-League. Alongside that, both Warney and Acy stand as viable rim protectors, despite them being shorter than 6’9.

At this point, it just seems like a matter of time before Quincy Acy returns to the NBA. He stands as that prototypical rotation piece that can play 10-15 minutes per game that can grab offensive rebounds and be that effective off-ball cutter. However, that status could improve tremendously if he adds a perimeter jumper, which could really give Acy a versatile offensive game. No matter what happens, Acy will be a player to keep your eyes on over the next few weeks.