The 'D' is for development. Not demotion.
"It's right there in the name," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said of the NBA Development League. "I don't know why more teams don't use it to help players develop."
That's what the Grizzlies did when they shipped 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet out to the Dakota Wizards of the D-League for a brief stint. What they got back to their lineup was a rookie who played with more power, more energy and perhaps a better understanding of what it's going to take to one day succeed in the NBA.
"The experience helped a lot," Thabeet said. "Just to be able to go out onto the court and run with the guys and get into the rhythm of a game situation. When they sent me to the D-League, I was on a mission."
The Grizzlies' mission was to finally jumpstart Thabeet's game and get more out of the player they had selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 Draft.
Through the first 49 games that he played this season, Thabeet had been underwhelming and sank to third on the Memphis depth chart at center. He was not aggressive enough around the basket and, of greater concern, had demonstrated a work ethic that was often lacking.
"We worked with Thabeet all summer, all fall, then we go to training camp and we're forming our team and trying to win and rookies don't normally play well," Hollins said. "So on nights that he plays well, he gets more minutes and on nights that he doesn't, he doesn't. It comes to a point where they go into a shell and they don't do anything right and you need to sit them.
"He had no choice in the decision. I didn't try to sell him. I just told him you can take this two ways. You can take it as a demotion and not go out there and work or you can take it as an opportunity to go and grow. He took the latter."
So Thabeet went from bright lights of the NBA one night to boarding a plane for the hinterlands of Bismarck, N.D. the next. In five games with the Dakota Wizards, Thabeet averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds and 5.6 blocked shots. He had rung up three double-doubles and the Wizards went 4-1 with the NBA big man in the middle.
"It was definitely a great experience," Thabeet said. "You go out there and everybody competes. Everybody wants to get to the big league. I ended up playing well and I came back."
Since he's returned to the Grizzlies, Thabeet has demonstrated better work habits and produced some results. He's been stronger and showed more force around the basket. When Marc Gasol was sidelined with a strained neck, Thabeet got the first starts of his NBA career and right away turned in a back-to-back of 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots against Chicago and eight points and 10 rebounds and four blocks at Houston. He shot 4-for-5, scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots in Tuesday's win over Sacramento.
"It's about confidence, getting comfortable," Hollins said. "When you don't get on the court, it's hard to get comfortable. It's hard to get into a rhythm and know what you can and can't do.
"There are a lot of guys that get drafted and then don't get the chance to play. Houston has one in Jordan Hill (No. 8 pick in the draft). When he was in New York, he never played. So how are you gonna develop?"
The D-League would seem to be the place, if not for the stigma that has been attached to it by young so-called stars, especially draft picks as high as Thabeet.
"I just think if we have the league, it should be taken advantage of," Hollins said. "I think too often teams don't want their guys to go down for whatever reason. Maybe it's the negative publicity or the criticism for sending a high pick down. They say maybe he's a bust. But maybe it's something else. I just think it's important that these guys play."
Especially in a league where the players entering have gotten younger and younger over the past decade, where the majority of draft picks no longer have the foundation that comes from playing three or four years in college.
"The league is so young and even the kids that have been here for two or three years are still young and immature," Hollins said. "So they're not even ready for the social part of this business. They come here and they don't know how to be on time. They don't know how to get where they're supposed to be, just the responsibility of being a professional.
"You're dealing with all of that constantly now. So the D-League is an opportunity for guys to go there and be on your own a little bit more. You learn how to manage your life a little bit, how to be responsible. And, of course, you work on your game."
Thabeet's work has been noticed by his teammates, who still on him to chase down every rebound, try to block or change every shot that comes down the lane.
"I definitely do not look at the D-League experience as a demotion," Thabeet said. "They gave me a reason why they wanted me to go there. They wanted to see progress. They said, 'we're going to send you somewhere you can play a lot of minutes and show us that you've really been working.' So that's what I did."
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