Fansided

Report: Iowa Energy’s D.J. Stephens Gaining NBA Interest

By Chris Reichert

Mar 29, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard D.J. Stephens (15) dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Miami won 88-67. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 29, 2014; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard D.J. Stephens (15) dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Miami won 88-67. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

Trades in the NBA D-League tend to be a real crapshoot. Sometimes teams grab a guy who just needed a change of scenery and other times they realize why the opposing team was willing to part with the player they just picked up.

A couple weeks ago at the D-League trade deadline, the Iowa Energy pulled the trigger on a trade to bring D.J. Stephens to town. Stephens wasn’t having an explosive season by any means and the Canton Charge were willing to part with the 6-6 wing for a fifth round draft pick. Stephens was playing just under 20 minutes a night for Canton with averages of 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds.

Change of scenery was the answer. In his eight games with the Iowa Energy, the 25-year-old is playing 35 minutes per game and rewarding the Energy for their trust in him by putting up huge numbers of 17.9 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 steals. Even more vital for him moving forward with his pro career is that he’s shooting 43 percent from 3-point range on 4.4 attempts per night. In his limited minutes with Canton, he was shooting just 27 percent from deep.

The Iowa Energy clearly saw potential in the still young prospect and made a move to see if he could help them with their playoff push. The team is 6-2 since adding D.J. and he’s boasting a plus/minus of 8.8 as well.

Along the way Stephens has provided some ridiculous SportsCenter-level highlights by jumping off his imaginary trampoline and throwing down thunderous dunks seemingly on a nightly basis. A high energy wing has been his reputation since his University of Memphis days and after some overseas seasoning — he played in Greece, Turkey and Russia — he brought his talents to the D-League following a training camp stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.

Stephens looks to have the vaunted “3-and-D” potential NBA teams are always on the prowl for. His wingspan allows him to pick up steals and blocks regularly, and though eight games is a small sample size, if he can keep it up he could easily find himself on an NBA roster sooner rather than later.

On Sunday, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated & The Boston Globe reported that Stephens is drawing significant interest after this recent surge for Iowa. NBA D-League players are paid low wages, tread rough travel and play in front of relatively small crowds, but these are the opportunities that keep prospects around because a player can be in Iowa one night and in the NBA the very next day. Players get hot from time to time, but this seems to be one of those cases where a top-level talent is getting his opportunity and snatching it by leaving nothing on the floor.

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