Are you desperate for some news about the Timberwolves that has nothing to do with speculating on trades for Ricky Rubio? Well you’re in luck! Today, the Wolves announced that they have purchased the D-League team Iowa Energy, becoming the 18th team in the league with a D-League affiliate.
Though the 2011 D-League Champions will remain partners with the Grizzlies until the end of the 2016-2017 season, this is undoubtedly good news for a young team full of players who still need development. The main guys obviously wouldn’t be heading to Des Moines either way, but I can’t help but wonder how beneficial it could’ve been for guys like Tyus Jones and Adreian Payne and especially Kris Dunn to be able to get some burn when they couldn’t crack the rotation this season. It also could help drum up trade value for a ugly duckling player like Payne–success in the D-League is sort of like success in Summer League. GM’s know they can’t really trust it, but it can still get a players’ foot in the door.
Aside from helping the bench warmers stay fresh, a D-League affiliate is a great scouting tool. Starting next season, the Wolves will be able to put in a system that roughly mirrors their NBA equivalent and see how young, possibly overlooked players do in said system. The Wolves currently have 14 of 15 available roster sports filled, and the D-League is a great place to find players to take a 10-day flier on. While stumbling across another Hassan Whiteside may be unlikely, there are plenty of successful NBA players who got their starts in the D-League, including two of my favorite NBA Lou’s: Rafer “Skip 2 My Lou” Alston and Lou Amundson, as well as Birdman, CJ Watson and others.
Last, this brings Minnesota basketball to a market untouched by professional sports, which is great! A whole new population of potential Timberwolves fans just opened up, and hopefully they will soon be as rabid and die-hard as the Twin Cities faithful I see tweeting to #freeTyusJones. For a team that has at times struggled to develop their young talent (see: Williams, Derrick), this could be big for the Timberwolves moving forward.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
