Ten days ago in this space, we discussed the Maine Red Claws’ acquisition of former Kansas Jayhawk Russell Robinson from Reno. Robinson is off to a good start in the northeast, averaging 13.3 points and 6.5 assists against just 2.3 turnovers per game while posting a 57.1 true shooting mark over his first four games (please insert your own customizable sample size reminder here), three of which ended victoriously for the ‘Claws.
Our talk about Robinson also led one reader to think about D-League transactions from a broader perspective. Nick Agneta asked the following:
Would a big league club like say the Bobcats or the Celtics have the power to ask their affiliate, the Red Claws, to trade for a guy so that they could get a closer look at him in their system and see if he is worth getting a look at?
I remember Robinson at Kansas and he was a thick, quick, strong PG with great defensive skills, and since the neither the Bobcats or the Celtics have someone like that coming off their bench at the point I wonder if a call-up after seeing him play would be something that would be a possibility.
Nick, is this to say you don’t consider Eddie House thick, quick and strong with great defensive skills?
(Disclaimer: I love Eddie House. But he’s really best utilized as an undersized off-guard next to a ball-handler big enough to cross-match at the other end.)
On a more sincere note, rather than offering mere personal conjecture for Nick, I went right to the source on the Robinson trade, Red Claws President and GM Jon Jennings. He had this to pass along:
While we would be receptive to any requests from the Bobcats or the Celtics on player personnel, we basically run our team independent of our affiliates. They are very busy running their organizations, but we are in constant contact with both NBA teams on their personnel coming to Maine or updating them on players performing well in the NBA D-League.
While this isn’t an especially revealing response, it falls in line with everything Jennings has told me prior about the situation in Portland, and we appreciate his taking the time to share his thoughts.
It’s fair to say the arrangement is different in single-affiliate organizations. For instance, it’s no shock that the Rockets have made two call-ups from Rio Grande Valley this season (Mike Harris and Will Conroy), and Ridiculous Upside‘s Scott Schroeder reports a third (Garrett Temple) is imminent. RGV, which is run by the Rockets’ basketball operations department, traded for Conroy right around the turn of the calendar, and Conroy received the call to the Rockets less than a month later.
All that said, Nick touches on an intriguing question here, and I’ll be probing more in this direction with personnel from D-League teams with multiple NBA affiliates.
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Thanks for the reply Steve. While Mr Jennings response didn’t shed a lot of light it was good of him to let us know how things currently stand. So this move appears to be more motivated as an improvement for the Red Claws team and not so much as a transaction precipitated as a move for a future call up by one of the affiliates the way the Will Conroy trade was. And of course that makes sense since RGV is a Houston Rockets owned and run team.
I think the RGV situation is the way that each NBA team should go to at some point as it would make a great alternative for the development of second round draft picks and undrafted free agents without the need to signing them to pro contracts and taking up roster space, eventually.
“…we basically run our team independent of our affiliates.”
That seems to answer your exact question. How does it not shed a lot of light?
Easy. If teams were making moves based on their affiliates bidding, Jennings isn’t going to openly admit it especially since most teams in the league has two affiliates associated with them.
While I do believe Mr. Jennings, I also think there is a lot he is leaving unsaid so therefore, for me, it is not shedding a ton of light on the subject.