D-League Players Blame LeBron For Lack Of NBA Jobs
LeBron James (photo. Mannion)
You can see it all over the League. Rosters have less than 15 players, GMs are unwilling to make deals for players that have contracts past this season and the luxury tax/rebate is on everyone’s mind. Iowa Energy shooting guard Othyus Jeffers (last season’s D-League Rookie of the Year) calls this the “LeBron Act,” blaming the reigning MVP for the reason why there are not more D-League players in the NBA.
“There are a lot of things going on right now in 2010 with the ‘LeBron Act’ so they didn’t want to spend money this year,” says Jeffers. “They’re pinching pennies. They don’t want to give up any extra money. They don’t want to go over the luxury tax even though they could use (D-League players) right now.
“They said, ‘We’ll take our losses cause we need our money,’ but there is nothing people in the D-League can do about it. You just have to bide your time, wait, stay consistent and be ready when they call.”
But while I can see where Jeffers is coming from, I don’t think the blame can be placed solely on LeBron’s shoulders. There have been 11 call-ups this season in which a D-League player has signed a 10-day contract with an NBA team, and three of them – Fort Wayne’s Chris Hunter (Warriors), Idaho’s Sundiata Gaines (Jazz) and Maine’s Mario West (Hawks) – have signed for the rest of the season. Even LeBron’s Cavs have got in the mix, as Erie BayHawks point guard Cedric Jackson is in the middle of his second 10-day contract.
What do you think? Do you think there’s a correlation between “The Summer of 2010″ and lack of D-League players making it to the NBA this year?
Source: Erie Times-News
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February 5th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
No I don’t see the problem really teams that have needed D-league players have signed them. Look at my dubs. Problem is there is just not enough room for every mediocre D-league player that wants a job.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
nola says:
stop bitching because you suck at basketball. find a real job then.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
SK says:
It’s not like NBA teams sign D-League players to multi-year contracts. 10-day contracts wont affect any Lebron plans. This guy just needs to play better.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Heckler says:
truth is, NBA GMs, scouts and Presidents dont respect the d-league.
they just dont.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Aron Phillips says:
@nola
Wow. I’ve never seen you play, but I’m pretty sure Othyus Jeffers would give you buckets! Check out a feature on him in Dime #49. Maybe I can get Austin to post it later today.
Of all teams, NOLA needs to sign some D-Leaguers!
February 5th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
LakeShow84 says:
D-League players are usually only called up because of injuries.. And even when they called up they get 10 day contracts..
Aint got nothing to do with free agency seeing only a good 3 teams are in the “Lebron act”.. should be called the Summer of DAMN.. too much talent out there.. or as we say in bones, THERES A WHOLE LOTTA ASS OUT THERE ON THE TABLE lol
February 5th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ Nola
Im go out on a limb and say ALL THE PLAYERS in the Dleague would ball on you..
February 5th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Diego says:
SK is right. The concern by owners is with their payroll THIS year. Attendance is hurting as $ is tight, so teams are pinching pennies and just don’t want to pay for more than the league minimum 13 players.
And as one of the Dime writers (probably Austin) pointed out a while back, teams often sign old vets, like a washed-up Lo Wright, because is is a safe, known guy, with no probability of locker-room issues. Those 1 or 2 such guys on each team really cost D League opportunity in the league. (But old man Howard on the Trailblazers is showing that sometimes these old guys do indeed still have a bit of game in them.)
February 5th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
da real says:
IF there is a spot open in the league and a D-League player is the best fit for it, they will get signed, it’s that simple. LeBron aint stoppin no 10-contracts from happening, dumbass, lol
February 5th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Chicagorilla says:
sounds like his Agent ran “game” on him with this whole Lebron Act thing as an excuse to why he ain’t in the L as reigning ROTY. If he was 7ft and could post up i’m sure the Bulls would take him. Just gotta learn how to bring something to the table that the NBA wants… and scoring ain’t it.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
control says:
Sounds like someone was told by an agent or team rep “yeah, we’d probably consider signing you, but we have to save that 300k/year to stay in the running for LeBron James” instead of just saying “sorry, we ain’t interested, hit ya if that changes”.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
control says:
I hate when I say something right after someone else and it’s exactly the same…
February 5th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Austin Burton says:
I now Othyus to be a pretty down-to-Earth dude. I don’t think he has his head in the clouds thinking he should be an NBA starter or anything, but dude can play.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
POPPI GEE says:
I like that. I think I am going to blame stuff on “The LeBron Act” here at my job when stuff goes wrong lol.
For real though so many teams saving pennies is taking its toll on things like trades and bringing dudes up from D-League and other things. I just cant wait till all the stuff is over. When will the next great free agency period be after “The LeBron Act”?
February 5th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
justlovethegame says:
lol @ control. Great minds think alike l guess
February 5th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
eyes says:
@4 &13…Why beat around the bush. Most NBA whatever they are don’t know what they’re doing. The business & image are the most important. They don’t care about the talent or who’s deserving. It’s who they want & choose. You could be the best with a perceived negative background. Then you’re screwed. Take Lance Stephenson. By them cutting him from that U.S.A. team it hurt him & sent a clear message. He’s already public enemy #1. In the eyes of the league. I’ll just use Chris Duhon in this case or Jayson Williams. No matter how bad he plays on the court he’s considered a good guy. One because he went to Duke & 2 probably because he’s fortunate enough to come from a 2family home that was stable & both parents have college degress. It doesn’t bode well for his basketball skills.
Take Jay Williams. You’ll never here them bring up the motorcycle accident. He’s portrayed as this great college analyst that was the best guard ever in college. Perception. The DLeague for the most part is a waste of time. They just called up Jason Hart. Jason Who of all people. They could do so much more with this league to both actually help the players & league itself. Do people actually watch games anymore. Yesterday it could have easily been a 2 on 2 game or One on One. What happen to teams & team basketball. A league when most players were exceptionally good.
Did that 1 year of college mandatory really help the league and it’s players. I could tell you about how many players it affected. You want to protect your investment. You want to own a team to generate money & forget about the sport aspect of it. How selfish & irresponsible is that to a fan of your team.
It ain’t Lebron fault. It’s the League itself. They’re so conservative it’s gotten out of hand. They’re so afraid of losing it’s sponsors and fans who actually can afford tickets to games. They don’t care about the people who just have MSG or watch the games on ESPN.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Mark says:
I like the headline. I go as far as to blame LeBron for the lack of jobs nationwide.
Just kidding, but I’d think the opposite, seeing how teams are pinching pennies and looking for expiring contracts. They’d be more willing to sign cheaper, unproven players who will hustle and give it their all every game (if the player is serious about their career). Sure nobody wants to see an unknown player throw bricks, but if I were a GM, I’d gamble signing a solid D-Leaguer versus signing a veteran’s minimum.
February 6th, 2010 at 2:08 am
Kevin says:
Ummmm…can it just be that its a recession and that owners want to save money? They don’t have guaranteed income like the players, and they are the ones hurting with reduced attendance rates
February 6th, 2010 at 8:53 am
AB_40 says:
yeah kinda… money is scarse in terms of what the nba had a few years back. and if they wanted money they shouldvé gone to spain or italy or something
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
MC Welk says:
His ship just came in … called up to Utah.
March 23rd, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Shannon Brown says:
I played in the d-league and i play with the lakers now, but i dont see the problem because if u dont get better whats the point of signing you to real team