D-League Rewind: Timberwolves rookie Tyus Jones shines in Idaho

This week, we’re taking a deeper look at some of the story lines surrounding NBA assignment players. A total of 56 players were assigned to the D-League last season and there have already been 42 players assigned this season. The up and comers without an NBA contract are the lifeblood of the league, but these guys are working just as hard to improve in the hopes of becoming rotational players at the next level.

Call-Ups

Again, no call ups this week, but we did get our first rumor. Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com reported on Friday that the Utah Jazz were considering signing Tour’e Murry from the Texas Legends.

Acquisitions

Jorge Gutierrez as returning player — Canton Charge

Bryce Dejean-Jones off waivers — Idaho Stampede

Manny Harris via trade with L.A. D-Fenders — Texas Legends

Returning player rights to Damion James via trade with Texas Legends — L.A. D-Fenders

The J.P. Tokoto Spot

Tokoto had some competition this week, but his 360 against the Santa Cruz Warriors was so aesthetically pleasing that I couldn’t pass it up.

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In second place is Christian Wood, who looks like me when I’m playing on my Nerf hoop in the basement.

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What in the world…

NBA D-League Performer of the Week

Sean Kilpatrick has been lighting the D-League up all season long. This past week he led Delaware to a 2-1 record while averaging 32.7 points and 3.7 rebounds on 62.5 percent shooting from the field. He also notched a league high 45 points in a win against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

This is Kilpatrick’s second time winning this honor this season, meaning that he’s won half of the available weekly awards.

Shayne Whittington finding his stroke

The Indiana Pacers signed Whittington last year after he went undrafted. He appeared in 20 games for the team but only averaged 5.4 minutes per contest. This offseason the Pacers purchased their own D-League affiliate in the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and they are utilizing that shiny new resource for their young guys. Both Whittington and Rakeem Christmas have been with the NBADL affiliate for nearly the entire season and project to be there awhile.

It looks like the Pacers are trying to turn Whittington into a stretch four. Seeing as he only made eight 3-pointers in his four years in college, he didn’t come into the pro ranks with that as a pinpointed skill. However, he is attempting 4.7 3-pointers per game with Fort Wayne, so it’s clear there’s a focus on making this work. He’s 11-47 on the season, which is less than ideal but it’s still early and a rib injury may be contributing to those ugly numbers.

There is definitely some light peaking through that dark tunnel, though — the last four games have been greatly improved for the second year big man.

• First six games: 7.2 points and 7.2 rebounds on 22 FG% and 23 3P%
• Last four games: 15.5 points and 10 rebounds on 53 FG% and 25 3P%

With Whittington not being especially nimble on foot, adding a 3-pointer to his repertoire will only help him become a rotational player for the Pacers in the future. For now, he’s in Fort Wayne for the long haul and I’m sure the Pacers want to see that 3-point number climb to a more respectable number as the season progresses.

Jeremy Evans asks for assignment

Last week the Dallas Mavericks assigned Evans to their affiliate the Texas Legends. The move was out of the ordinary because assignments are usually players with three or less years of experience — Evans is in his sixth season in the NBA, his first with Dallas. Earl Sneed of Mavs.com reported, however, that Evans asked to be placed on assignment so that he could work on his perimeter game.

What a breath of fresh air. The D-League is growing rapidly and with that growth comes more understanding from front offices, coaches, fans and most of all, players on the value of a minor league system. Evans is a 6-9 wing with unlimited athleticism, but he gets it. In today’s NBA, wing players need to be able to knock down shots with some semblance of consistency if they want to see time on the court. In his first five seasons, Evans attempted a total of 10 3-point field goals while making just two.

This season Evans has appeared in 17 games with the Mavericks, averaging just over eight minutes in those contest. He’s gone 3-5 from outside, which is noteworthy since he went 2-5 from distance all of last season.

Players with more than three years of NBA experience have to give their NBA clubs consent to be assigned to the D-League, which is clearly not an issue for Evans since he wanted to get some live-game work. Subsequently, Evans played 36 minutes for the Legends in his one game and scored 17 points on 7-13 shooting and 2-4 from 3-point range.

Tyus Jones shines in Idaho

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of 11 teams that do not have their own D-League affiliate, so they’re subject to the league’s flex assignment rule. The Wolves utilized this option with their 19-year-old point guard Tyus Jones last week and he ended up in Idaho with the Stampede.

Jones, who is behind Ricky Rubio, Andre Miller and Zach LaVine on the depth chart, has looked like a typical rookie point guard with Idaho. He’s had some strengths and some weaknesses, but even his shortcomings are encouraging. The numbers are arbitrary, but they are pretty good at 21.3 points, five assists and 2.7 turnovers through his first three games.

The Stampede have a good situation for him because they have a number of former NBA guys — Jeff Ayres and Phil Pressey — who will help him find his groove.

D-League guru Adam Johnson of D-League Digest broke down Jones’ debut with Idaho and it’s definitely worth a read.

Cleanthony Early should be in Westchester

The New York Knicks made some changes in Westchester after their inaugural season didn’t go to plan. They went out and hired Mike Miller from the Austin Spurs as their head coach, brought in some solid affiliate players after training camp and drafted enigmatic guard Jimmer Fredette in the D-League Draft. All of their moves thus far look golden, as the team is 9-3 and off to a blistering start. Consider that they only won 10 games (10-40) in their expansion season and their record is even more impressive.

All of those things are great, but there’s one thing the organization is missing: Cleanthony Early, who should be logging heavy minutes in Westchester. Early made the roster last season as an early second round pick and appeared in 39 games while averaging almost 17 minutes a night. He looks like a promising 24-year-old but the Knicks are still figuring out whether or not he has a future on the team.

Why bring in your own D-League affiliate if you aren’t going to cultivate young players there? I’m sure New York Knicks brass — or their fans, for that matter — could care less that the D-League team is 9-3 right now because the big club is 11-14 and 11th in the East.

The Knicks need to know if Early is a viable rotation player for them moving forward and seeing him in action within their system is a perfect way to do so. That wouldn’t guarantee success, but it would at least give him a better opportunity to grow and adapt to the NBA speed and style.

Come on, New York. Listen to your most famous fan and do the right thing. You know you want to.