Over the next month or so, I will be a writing a series of articles exploring the depth charts of NBA teams, and more specifically, where the rookies from the 2011 draft fit into those depth charts. Thanks to MTD for the idea.

This is the second installment of my post-draft series, and with the lockout officially beginning I may have a bit more time to get these written.

This time I am taking a look at the depth chart of the team that picked second this year: the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is probably going to be one of the more difficult situations to sort out, when you throw in the #5 pick from 2009 Ricky Rubio making his NBA debut, a likely coaching change, and an absolute mess of a roster. Here we go!

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The news of the NBA lockout became official when the clock hit midnight, unfortunately, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. After looking at how the lockout would affect the D-League on Thursday, the next question relevant to this site is what the lockout means to those players selected in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem a definitive answer exists as of yet. Since I've been asked if rookies could play in the D-League, however, that'll be this morning's topic of discussion.

 Technically, if the players didn't sign their contracts -- and I don't believe there were any rookie signings reported -- they wouldn't be bound by the lockout and therefore would be able to sign with any non-NBA team interested.

This would include Europe, of course, but also the D-League if the NBA's official minor league is going to keep going with its 'business as usual' approach. If the players' union will allow the rookies to sign in the D-League is a whole other story, but would seem to be a viable alternative if the lockout causes any regular season games to be missed.

Again, I have no knowledge of how the rookies plan to navigate this situation -- and the D-League wasn't an option during the last lockout which causes a lack of precedent now -- but the Development League would seem to offer plenty of positive benefits for those not under current NBA contract, especially those new to the NBA.

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If you read one thing about the D-League every morning, make it my Twitter account (I'd say Ridiculous Upside, but I'm slowly transitioning to FanHouse as well). If you read multiple things about the NBA Development League in the morning, I encourage you to check out all of the other regulars as well one site that I don't think gets enough credit in the blogosphere: the unaptly named Potter's New Blog (it's been running since October. Last October).

Jeff Potter, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants' team president, blogs about everything from Miley Cyrus to Project Runway to marathons to even basketball and occasionally drops interesting nuggets like he did in yesterday's column.

Magnum Rolle of the Indiana Pacers was cut yesterday, and I got myself quite happy with the thought of this young big man donning a Mad Ants jersey for us this fall. However, there is a little known codicil in the Faber Constitution that give the D-League powers to smash my dreams. The deadline for players to be cut and eligible for the new allocation rule was last Thursday. Because Magnum was cut yesterday, if he signs in the D-League, he will go straight to the draft.

Um, that's kind of big news for those that had planned for Rolle to be allocated directly to the Mad Ants following his release.  It also will have an effect on a few other recent cuts:

• Los Angeles Clippers - Marqus Blakely (Bakersfield Jam)
• Miami Heat - Da'Sean Butler, Patrick Beverley (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
• New Jersey Nets - Brian Zoubek (Springfield Armor)

It wouldn't be surprising to see Blakely and Zoubek in the D-League (and Beverley if he isn't picked up soon), so this is kind of a large missed opportunity assuming the NBA teams knew about this rule.  Butler probably wouldn't have been worth occupying the Sioux Falls Skyforce 10-man roster as he's still a bit away from a full recovery.

Brian Skinner and Jeff Pendergraph were also waived, though Skinner is old and Pendergraph is out for the season so I can't imagine either might have joined the D-League regardless of when they were released.

The opening night of the NBA is, well, tonight and even though that makes me happier than Screech the time he and Lisa were husband and wife for a class project, I can't help but look at the past month's roster cuts and think about what might have been.

I mean wouldn't it have been fun if Matt Rogers, the 6-foot-11 center out of Division II Southwestern Baptist University who describes himself as "tall, goofy and different", were able to make the Charlotte Bobcats roster?  Who didn't want to see Anthony Mason (Junior!) sitting on the Miami Heat bench when Pat Riley decides to make his return to coaching? Lance Allred fit right in on the Indiana Pacers, but the NBA's silly 15-player maximum rule did him in and last, but not least, what if Tweety Carter and Longar Longer would have made the Oklahoma City Thunder's roster? We could have a "who has the best name in the NBA" contest and only have included Thunder players!

Instead, we'll be subject to see Melvin Ely, Brian Scalabrine, Joe Alexander, D.J. Mbenga and the always exciting Malik Allen - among others - sitting on the bench while browsing through NBA League Pass Broadband while bored on a Friday night.

Life isn't fair, really. There were 154 players that received some sort of contract during this preseason and just 44 of those players lasted until yesterday's roster cut deadline. There were 42 rookies in camp without guaranteed contracts, but only 11 were able to start their career in the NBA. There were 32 players that played in the D-League last season, but only five start the season with an NBA contract with a return to the D-League being the decision facing the other 27 who were thisclose to sticking this season.

As a reminder as to why life isn't fair, I've decided to list every player that didn't have a guaranteed contract after the jump (with some help from the always lovely ShamSports), breaking it down by players that were able to make today's opening day rosters as well as those that weren't so lucky (have fun in Serbia, Oliver Lafayette!).

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When Rashad McCants was signed by the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week, it was largely suggested that he would soon be headed to play for the Texas Legends under the NBA Development League's new allocation rule.

Marc Stein reported that "McCants and Williams are both expected to sign with the Texas Legends -- who will be coached by Nancy Lieberman and who are co-owned by Mavs president Donnie Nelson -- after clearing waivers next week."

Rob Mahoney wrote at ProBasketballTalk that "The Mavs didn't ink those deals and then change their minds over the course of a few days; Donnie Nelson undoubtedly had his eye on the Texas Legends, the Mavs' D-League affiliate which he co-owns with Evan Wyly and soon-to-be-co-owner Sonny Xiao."

But then McCants, along with agent Lindsey Maxwell, seemingly became unhappy with not getting a shot at actually earning a roster spot with the Mavericks and are now not entirely sure of joining the D-League after Stein previously reported that McCants had plans to join the D-League draft.

"We are disappointed that it didn't work out with them and we look forward to Rashad getting a REAL shot at making it back into the NBA," Maxwell wrote in a e-mail to me while reporting for FanHouse. "He is the best free agent in basketball that is available right now. He is in the best shape of his life and his shot making ability is better than ever."

"If he decides to go to the D-League, he will have to play for that team," Maxwell continued. "I can't speak as to Dallas' motives, but (McCants) did not get much of a chance to 'compete for a roster spot' as Dallas had announced a couple of days ago. Right now, all of his options are open and he and his family have not yet arrived at any decisions."

So, uh, this might backfire.

The end.

The Orlando Magic announced that they waived forward Stanley Robinson after the Magic's 25-point preseason victory over the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday evening.  Orlando's roster now stands at 14 players, one below the league maximum, with Malik Allen the lone remaining player without a guaranteed contract.

Robinson, selected with the 59th pick in the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft after playing four seasons with the Connecticut Huskies, played in five preseason games with the Magic, though he earned just over eight minutes of action per game.

SB Nation's Orlando Pinstriped Post gave a brief rundown of Robinson's game after learning of his release from the Magic.

Robinson's a spectacular athlete who endeared himself to his teammates with his humble attitude and willingness to work. He doesn't have a ranged jumper just yet, but is a dynamic fastbreak finisher, an excellent rebounder for his position, and has the tools to be a plus perimeter defender. Last week, he told me he patterned his game after Charlotte Bobcats All-Star Gerald Wallace. Though I frankly don't see Robinson ever reaching Wallace's level as a player--when he was Robinson's age, Wallace was stuffing stat sheets wit 11.1 points, 5.5 boards, 2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1 block in 68 starts--it's true that he could be similarly effective if he fine-tuned his game. Not fouling would be a start.

Since the Magic didn't necessarily have to waive any players, it's interesting that they decided to bring him to camp in lieu of allowing him to sign overseas and retain his rights since he was obviously a player that would need considerable time to develop before being ready to contribute to an NBA roster.

Robinson is just the second draft pick to be released by his NBA team this preseason, joining Milwaukee Bucks' second round draft pick Tiny Gallon who was recently picked up by the Boston Celtics.  If Robinson isn't similarly picked up by another NBA team and decides to play in the NBA Development League this season, his rights would be owned by the New Mexico Thunderbirds.

Sean Williams, the troubled former first-round pick of the New Jersey Nets, is attending a tryout with the Dallas Mavericks according to a report from ESPN Dallas. 

ESPN's Marc Stein said on Twitter that Williams' signing is most likely to secure the power forward's NBA Development League rights for the Texas Legends, similar to the Rashad McCants' signing. Williams' last stint in the D-League didn't go too swimmingly.

Williams, a talented defender and rebounder, is a free agent primarily because, as Draft Express once put it, he "generally didn't do a great deal to show that he is 'worth the hassle' considering his off-court issues" in their most recent scouting report while evaluating Williams during a short stint in the D-League with the now-defunct Colorado 14ers.

Only 24, Williams' "off-court issues" are quite lengthy and include a couple of club fiascos, throwing a computer monitor while on a road trip in Denver, being banned from the campus of Boston College and not being able to graduate from said college because he was kicked off the basketball team due to a violation of team rules.

It'd be great to see him get himself back on track, but that's a rather lengthy rap sheet for barely being 24 years old and he's already shown that he's not a fan of the D-League.

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Golden State Warriors 92-87 in NBA preseason action Thursday night and then, instead of celebrating, they decided to release former NBA Development League players Dwayne Jones and Zabian Dowdell according to the Arizona Republic's Paul Coro.  With these transactions, Coro says that it is "likely" that Garret Siler and Matt Janning have both made the Suns regular season roster.

And then I nearly peed my pants (With excitement, obviously, and not just because I'm on this random grapefruit juice kick at the time).

See, Siler has been a player I've been touting since I found out that he existed simply because he's a likable guy: he's larger than life, he's had to work for every look he's received since coming out of a Division 2 college, he's fun to watch and even more fun to root for just because he doesn't look the part of a typical NBA player.  As far as Janning, well, he's a 6-foot-4 white kid from Minnesota who went undrafted out of Northeastern - what's not to like?

These are the types of players that I love to see get solid opportunities and I'm glad they were able to take advantage of them. Now, more than likely, I will assume the Phoenix Suns will probably keep at least one of them in the NBA Development League with the Iowa Energy this season because, well, they still need a bit of developing.

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