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.

Quite a few NBA players were cut yesterday, but since I'm still working on some things regarding that, I thought I'd showcase something from my man Jordan Schultz, a colleague over at AOL FanHouse. Schultz has been chronicling his time at the NBA Development League's national tryout in Chantilly, VA with a series of videos (up top being the series finale) and, though not directly, kind of making me realize just how good players have to be to even be able to make an NBA training camp.

Along with the above video, Schultz also wrote a great post chronicling his time at the tryout while pointing out just how difficult it is to even make the NBA's Development League.

At our opening meeting, you could see and feel hopes rise when Alpert mentioned how "one out of every four players (in the NBA this year) was a former D-League player."

With that in mind, you knew why the tensions in the last game were elevated. Following the game, guys couldn't help but wonder if they did enough, if they showed enough talent, if they had enough grit. When the final whistle blew, it all became a waiting game.

We listened intently as coach Whitted told us to expect to wait a week or two for a call-back, 200 guys all left wondering the same thing ...

"Did I make it? Am I next?"

Later, Schultz writes:

For the 160 or so who didn't get the call back, this was a setback. You can count on one hand how many will be on a D-League roster next season, but you can also count on the fact that all these guys will continue their pursuit of the ultimate dream. That's all they know, and it's fine by them, because basketball is life.

They wouldn't have it any other way.

I encourage you to go read the entire article.

The NBA Development League's regular season doesn't begin until November 20, but VERSUS will apparently be airing a yet-to-be-announced preseason game between the Texas Legends and Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Thursday, November 18. (Thanks, Google Alert!)

I'm unsure how far to read into this, but a 7 p.m. on Thursday airing would make it seem like this year's D-League television contract might be a bit more viewer-friendly compared to last season's tape-delayed until 10 p.m. Saturday night tilts.

Either way, set your TiVo or DVR or PVR or mom's video casette recorder or whatever else it is that you use to watch television because we're less than a month away from watching the D-League in High Definition on VERSUS!

Feel the excitement?

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.

Continue reading this post »

The Dallas Mavericks have signed former Minnesota Timberwolves lottery pick Rashad McCants to a non-guaranteed contract for the rest of the preseason according to the Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko. McCants, a 6-foot-4 scorer, didn't play professional basketball last season due to a wealth of problems as chronicled by Tom Ziller here.

ESPN's Marc Stein goes a bit further, reporting that "there is a far better chance McCants winds up playing for the Mavericks' D-League affiliate (Texas Legends) in nearby Frisco than with the parent club."

This, of course, would be a huge coup for the Legends because they'll now be able to bring him in through the new NBA Development League allocation rules instead of having to use their first round draft pick on him when the D-League draft takes place on November 1, a draft McCants was apparently planning to be involved with before the Mavericks called according to Stein.

McCants, according to sources, was planning to submit his name for the D-League draft this month. By signing with Dallas this week, McCants removes himself from the D-League draft pool and must play for the expansion Legends -- co-owned by Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson -- if he wants to be a D-Leaguer this season and they want him.

I'm assuming right about now every D-League team is working hard to develop a better relationship with their NBA affiliates because, if not, they're going to keep falling further behind as the NBA teams take advantage of these loopholes.

Not-so-fun fact: McCants' basketball career has rapidly gone down hill since breaking up with Khloe Kardashian. I'm guessing the quality of his girlfriends has improved, however.

Keith "Tiny" Gallon, the kind of controversial big man out of Oklahoma, is being looked at by the Boston Celtics according to a report from the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.  Since the Celtics already have 17 players under contract - including Glen Davis, Semih Erden, Luke Harangody, Jermaine O'Neal, Shaquille O'Neal and Kendrick Perkins in the front court - he is probably a long shot to make the team's regular season roster.

That said, it probably would make sense for the Celtics - if there's any interest at all in the talented big man - to at least sign him for a day so that the Maine Red Claws would retain his rights under the D-League's new allocation rules because currently his rights remain with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

As of now though, at least according to Danny Ainge, that doesn't seem to be the case.

"We're just taking a look at him," Ainge told the Globe. "I work for the Celtics, so I don't know anything about (sending him to the D-League)."

I find it interesting that Ainge claims no allegiances to the Red Claws despite his son, Austin, coaching the team and the Red Claws being one of the closest NBA-affiliated teams without the actual direct affiliation but I guess that's probably me simply reading too far into the quote.