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NBA D-League Update

Published on February 21, 2014 under NBA G League (G League) News Release


TRADE WINDS BLOWING IN THE D

The Springfield Armor, Bakersfield Jam and Texas Legends completed a three-way trade on Thursday that included five NBA D-League prospects with NBA experience.

Springfield acquired Devin Ebanks from the Legends; Bakersfield received Terrel Harris from Texas and Dennis Horner from Springfield; and Texas got Damion James and James Nunnally from Bakersfield.

All five were starters for their respective teams this season, while three (Ebanks, Horner and Nunnally) were NBA D-League All-Stars. Nunnally received a Call-Up from the Atlanta Hawks earlier this season. He appeared in four games with the Hawks, averaging 4.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 13.5 minutes.

Ebanks, who was averaging 24.1 points and 8.9 rebounds as the Legends' go-to scorer, will give the Armor more offensive firepower to complement guards Darius Johnson-Odom and Khalif Wyatt and breakout small forward Adonis Thomas. Ebanks was the 43rd overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft by the L.A. Lakers, and spent his first three professional seasons with the club.

The move also gives Texas one of the league's top wing scorers in Nunnally (18.4 ppg) to take the load off rookie shooting guard P.J. Hairston, who is averaging 24.1 points in 10 games for the Legends. Hairston is eligible to be selected in the 2014 NBA Draft, having left North Carolina and signed a professional contract.

Meanwhile, Horner provides Bakersfield with a more traditional stretch four to complement bruisers Ike Diogu and Mac Koshwal in a crowded frontcourt. Horner, a career 36 percent three-point shooter, was averaging 15.0 points and 6.1 rebounds for Springfield and had been in the Nets organization since 2011, when he received two GATORADE Call-Ups.

James spent parts of three seasons with the Nets, while Harris has appeared with Miami and New Orleans over the past two seasons.

The NBA D-League trade deadline is March 7.

Prospect Report

Vander Blue, Delaware 87ers -- Blue has bounced around quite a bit for a guy in his first professional season, after going undrafted in 2013 out of Marquette. He was with Houston and Memphis over the summer; went to camp with Philadelphia; signed to play in Israel; came back to the States to sign with the 87ers; got a Call-Up from Boston a few weeks back; and is now back in Delaware hoping for his next shot. There's a lot to like about Blue from an NBA perspective, namely his size (6-5), athleticism and penchant for playing tough defense. He has a quick first step, is very effective in transition and plays with a high motor. Where Blue comes up a little short is as a perimeter shooter, passer and ball-handler. Successful combo guards at the NBA level usually do one, two or all three of those things well. Still, Blue has intriguing raw tools along with a solid work ethic. He also thrived in big games for Marquette, showing he wasn't afraid of the moment. If he doesn't earn a rest-of-season deal over the next few months, he's done enough this season to show he's a player worth keeping an eye on for a while.

NEWS & NOTES

NBA D-League to Implement Experimental In-Game Flopping Penalties

The NBA Development League will begin assessing technical fouls for in-game flopping, league President Dan Reed announced today. The technical foul penalty for flopping will begin to be implemented in games played on Thursday, Feb. 20, and will continue through the completion of the 2013-14 NBA D-League season. Application of the new experimental flopping rule will involve NBA D-League officials assessing technical fouls to any player who, in their judgment, has flopped. Officials will be required to confirm all flopping calls on instant replay monitors. The instant replay review will be conducted at the first timeout or quarter break following the flop call, and if confirmed, the technical foul will be assessed at that time. Any flopping calls made in the game's last two minutes will be reviewed and assessed immediately. Flopping is defined as any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referee to call a foul on another player. Such determinations are made if a player's physical reaction to contact with another player is inconsistent with what would reasonably be expected given the force or direction of the contact. The flopping penalty joins a number of basketball rules being tested in the NBA D-League this season, including the use of the international goaltending rule and shortened timeouts.

AROUND THE D-LEAGUE

The Golden State Warriors have assigned center Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League, the team announced today. Kuzmic will be in uniform tonight when the Warriors host the Springfield Armor. Kuzmic has compiled averages of 6.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 21.4 minutes in nine games (one start) on previous assignments to Santa Cruz this season. He has appeared in 17 games for Golden State ... Pierre Jackson, the Idaho Stampede's leading scorer and arguably the NBA Development League's top prospect, signed a contact with a Turkish team Thursday. Jackson, a 5-11 point guard who averaged 29.1 points in 31 games with Idaho, was hoping for an NBA call-up, either by New Orleans (which holds his rights) or through a trade. When it didn't happen by the NBA's Thursday trade deadline, Jackson -- who scored an NBA D-League record 58 points in a game on Feb. 4 -- opted to go overseas ... The Atlanta Hawks have recalled guard Jared Cunningham from the Bakersfield Jam. Cunningham, who was re-assigned to Bakersfield on Feb. 4, has averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 31.1 minutes in 22 games (19 starts) over four stints with the Jam this season. He has appeared in five games with the Hawks this year.

Today's Quote

Fort Wayne coach CONNER HENRY, on the NBA D-League experimenting with in-game flopping penalties:

"Like any rule change, usually the refs are on it so aggressively initially. The delay-of-game rule, the charge line, mouthing off and gesturing to the referees. What it did was improve the game."

The News-Sentinel, Feb. 21, 2014

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