D-League Showcase: Day 2 Call-Up Candidates

Day Two is done and there was plenty of excitement at the Showcase surrounding the matchups, as well as some league news. Yesterday marked the first set of 10-day contracts earned as Shams Charania of Yahoo reported the Phoenix Suns will ink Lorenzo Brown to a deal, while his colleague Marc Spears dropped the news of the Memphis Grizzlies signing Elliot Williams to a 10-day spot.

Those departures likely open up valuable minutes for young guards Ryan Boatright (Grand Rapids Drive) and Aaron Craft (Santa Cruz Warriors). The latter was announced as a returning player by Santa Cruz yesterday and he will surely help to right the ship for the defending champs in Surf City.

The on-court product yesterday was stellar and one man really stole the show in the day’s opening number.

While I could spend 2,000 or so words discussing how much I love Raphiael Putney, I’ll forego that memoir for now and take a look at all of the top call up candidates and their performances.

Raphiael Putney – 6-10 – F – Rio Grande Valley Vipers

Putney came out and put everyone on notice yesterday with a dominant 38 point, 18 rebound performance. Both of those numbers are high marks for the Showcase thus far. The wiry forward was aggressive from jump and he let loose some “no, no, no…yes!” type of shots, but they were falling and once he started feeling it you could tell it was going to be a rough night for the opposition. There’s one thing that stands out when you watch Putney and it’s that he’s extremely long. He gathers up rebounds at an alarming rate for someone who looks like weighs 150 pounds soaking wet, but he’s a ball hawk and it’s evident every single game.

Putney has a high release that honestly looks a bit awkward, but the arch on his jump shot is something to behold and it’s clear that he’s worked on adding more arch since last season and it’s helped tremendously with his accuracy from outside. While the jumper was on full display, he also showed the ability to pump fake, get his defender off balance and then drive to the basket with ferocity.

The second year forward is now averaging 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point land on 7.5 attempts a night. Of players who have played at least 10 games in the D-League this season only Putney and Reno’s Vince Hunter are averaging at least 20/10. Hunter has been on the call up radar all season and I think it’s high time we put Putney on that list as well.

Xavier Munford – 6-2 – G – Bakersfield Jam

Munford is a blur on offense. The guy is ultra quick with the ball in his hands and he showed that to the NBA brass yesterday, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists in the Jam’s loss to Maine. Munford did all of this while matching up with Celtics first round draft pick Terry Rozier, further proving that he can hang with NBA talent.

Munford is also a second-year player in the D-League and the question coming into this year was whether or not he could consistently knock down the three-point shot. Last season he shot 32 percent on 3.2 attempts and this year in 21 games he’s shooting 41 percent on 4.4 attempts per game. In fact his usage has gone up (21.4 to 26.5) and all of his percentages have gone up as well. Needless to say the main concern with Munford is slowing going away and more people are starting to see him as a real call-up candidate.

This season the Jam have given him the reigns as the starting point guard and he consistently knifes through opposing defenses to set his teammates up. Yesterday’s game was no different, and he was able to take care of the ball as well, turning it over just once. Keep an eye on Munford as the season rolls on.

DeAndre Liggins – 6-6 – G – Sioux Falls Skyforce

Liggins is a recognizable name to NBA fans as he played at the NBA fast track known as the University of Kentucky and then was drafted in the second round in 2011. His versatility has always kept him on NBA radars but his downfall has always been his lack of shooting. In today’s NBA, it’s difficult to play a 6-6 guard who simply cannot shoot because defenses can lag off that player, thus ruining any hope for spacing for your other players to operate.

Well, Liggins is now 27-years-old and he has made some improvements. He’s shooting 44 percent from deep on 3.7 attempts per night and yesterday he went 4-4 from outside, knocking down a three in transition, one coming off a screen and another after facing up his opponent and hitting him with a jab step. If that’s not showing your full array of shooting ability I don’t know what is. He’s certainly not a “knock-down” shooter all of a sudden, however teams can no longer point to this as a reason for not giving him a shot.

He’s still a tenacious on-ball defender and his playmaking ability cannot go unnoticed. He’s averaging 13.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and seven assists per night and he’s already notched two triple-doubles on the year. The jump shot has been reformed, however now the issue that comes with his playmaking is that he’s turning the ball over 4.9 times a game, which is not ideal. He won’t be asked to be the main ball-handler on an NBA roster so this isn’t a deal-breaker but it still bears mentioning. His fit at the next level is as a “3-and-D” kind of guy and I think he can be that for the right team.

Ronald Roberts Jr. – 6-9 – F – Raptors 905

Roberts has the undersized label as a power forward and it’s becoming silly at this point. He has the strength, athleticism, footwork and basketball IQ to nullify that argument. Roberts and the 905 blew a 20-point lead against the aforementioned Liggins and Sioux Falls but he finished with 13 points, 14 boards and four blocks in that loss.

He’s at his best in the pick-and-roll so he can dive to the basket and finish around the rim with a thunderous dunk or a powerful layup, however he’s starting to show the ability to pick-and-pop as well which is an added bonus for a guy like him. He’s high energy on both ends of the floor and as he adds more weapons to his offensive arsenal he will get more and more attention from NBA executives.

The one thing that blew me away yesterday was Roberts hitting a 10-ft left handed hook shot (0:54 second mark in video above) like it was nothing. Rarely do you see the 905 using Roberts in traditional post sets, but if he can develop hook shots with both hands, there’s simply no reason for him to be in the minor leagues anymore.