NBA D-League preview: Grand Rapids Drive will lean on guard experience

Over the next couple of weeks, The Step Back will examine each of the 22 NBA D-League teams and bring you an in-depth look at their roster as well as any potential storylines to watch for. Teams can retain up to 12 players, while only 10 will be active for games. This is your first look at the prospects to watch out for all season.

Roster Breakdown

Affiliates: Trey Freeman, Nikola Jovanovic, Ray McCallum and Mamadou N’Diaye
Returners: Jordan Crawford (trade), Bruce Massey and Paul Williams
Draftees: Chris Horton, Shannon Brown, Pat Forsythe, Zeke Upshaw, Ladarius Tabb and Matthew Addicponia
Tryouts: Chris Anderson, Paul Graham III, Alex Johnson and Jeff Newberry
Potential NBA Assignees: Michael Gbinije, Henry Ellenson and Darrun Hilliard

The four horsemen

Grand Rapids made some headlines a couple of weeks ago by acquiring the returning rights to Jordan Crawford in exchange for this year’s first round draft pick. Steezus is back in the D-League, and this time he’s in his native Detroit area! Grand Rapids is a two-hour drive from his hometown and you better believe the Steezus followers will show up in full force. The 28-year-old spent last season tearing up China’s CBA to the tune of 43.1 points per contest, and last time he suited up in the NBADL he was dropping 22.6 points a night.

Not only do the Drive have Crawford, but they also brought in Trey Freeman — former Old Dominion and Conference USA standout — and Ray McCallum from Detroit Pistons training camp. McCallum and Crawford have proven they have NBA talent, but both have struggled with shooting efficiency over the years. Freeman was a scoring machine at ODU and he will be tasked with gelling with more experienced guards while also running a team as the lead guard.

The final horseman in this equation is NBA veteran — and NBA champion! — Shannon Brown, whom they drafted with the 41st pick in the D-League Draft. The explosive Brown turns 31 this month and hasn’t played professionally since the Miami Heat waived him back in November of 2014. There will likely be some rust, but after the cobwebs are pushed away, Brown should still be able to attack the rim with ferocity, excel on the fastbreak and knock down open 3s.

All four of these players have the same goal, but are in different junctions of their journey. If they can co-exist and play for the team and not only themselves, it could be a beauty to behold.

The Mammoth Trojan

Nikola Jovanovic is a 6-foot-11, 22-year-old out of USC who really didn’t see much time in summer league or NBA preseason. Now he finds himself as an affiliate player with Grand Rapids, where he can hopefully stand out. He led USC in rebounding as a senior and also showed solid shot mechanics in terms of mid-range looks. He has a really soft touch around the rim but has work to do in terms of quality post moves. Think of Jovanovic as a poor man’s Nikola Vucevic at this point in his development.

Jovanovic is from Serbia and has solid fundamentals in terms of footwork, decision-making skills and positional awareness on both sides of the ball. He’s a mobile rim-runner right now, who can benefit greatly from some extra time working in the post and out of the pick-and-roll. If he can develop even a couple go-to post moves — with either hand — then his future outlook become much more rosey.

Size, size and more size

The Pistons added Mamadou N’Diaye — who was actually draft eligible — to their camp late, and subsequently waived him to ensure they held his D-League rights in Grand Rapids. Smart move. N’Diaye is 7-foot-6 and played his college back at UC-Irvine. That alone tells a story as he’s a project player right now. He’s also only 23-years-old and posted 12.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks last season in the NCAA — all in just 23.2 minutes.

Fitness and stamina are the issues plaguing N’Diaye right now. He’s huge, so staying in shape and having enough endurance to play close to 30 minutes is a struggle. However, during pre-draft workouts, N’Diaye did look much more composed and less exhausted after extensive work, which is a great sign moving forward. Another real benefit he brings is his adept touch around the rim and when shooting his mid-range jump shot. Most players this large and bumbly and unorthodox, but he moves with decent mobility and should do well in this league.

Expect to see N’Diaye as the opening night starting center alongside Jovanovic, which is an imposing frontline in any league, let alone the guard-heavy D-League.

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