NBDL Sets Standards for New League - MLN Sports Zone

NBDL

The NBDL is having a party and
1500 Hoopster Hopefuls Are Invited
Character as well as skill counts as the league begins
paring down to the great 88 that will start this fall.

Ray Z. Perea

As the inaugural season of the NBDL draws closer players and prospective fans want to know who's coming to the party this fall. Those who find themselves one step away from the promised-land, the NBA, will be a highly selective bunch, culled out by some of the best new coaches in professional sports.

To make an NBDL team, a player will have to be at least twenty years old, and have tremendous ability. Exceptions will be made to eighteen year olds who were drafted by an NBA team and then cut. The NBDL players' contracts are not owned directly by any team. NBDL players will be eligible to be called up by any NBA team. And yes, Virginia, there is a call-up rule.

There will be eighty-eight roster jobs up for grabs. The NBDL has over one-thousand willing participants in line for those spots. The league plans to hold a central training camp in Atlanta GA, at the "Swanee" workout facilities in October.

The players that are invited to the camp will be the players that the eight teams in the league want to screen for their rosters. They will receive personal invites to the camp by the NBDL, and not by the independent teams directly. Director of player personal Milt Newton has comprised a list over one-thousand players who will make it past the bouncer with the red rope and the clipboard.

"I'll be looking for players who can make plays and execute," Columbus Head Coach Jeff Malone says of the camp. Malone also said that he will be looking for players who have character on and off the court. "This organization will be run the right way. I've been through the fire and I know what it takes to have success at the professional level."

Malone has been involved in helping the community since his playing days and will expect the same from his players on the Riverdragons.

Malone will be at the first NBDL draft with his assistants, making a list of about sixty players for a second look.

Fayetteville Patriots Head Coach Nate "Tiny" Archibald will also be hunting for the best overall talent in the draft.

"I do not believe in the numbers system. I will be looking for the best available player and will want him to be fundamentally sound," said Archibald. "I want my players to be intelligent and willing to self-sacrifice."

Archibald enjoys basketball, but also enjoys teaching the game of basketball, and the game of life. Any player that gets to be involved with the Patriots will be treated to a pot full of knowledge.

Like Malone, Archibald will have his players in the thick of things when it comes to community affairs. Character issues will be a big part of the NBDL. "I think this is going to be a super league," Archibald says enthusiastically.

Who gets to dive into the player pool? Our happy campers will be players that are not currently under contract, college players who have graduated or lost their playing eligibility, and internationals looking for a fast door to the NBA. Each player that makes a team will be paid just under $30,000 dollars for the year.

The NBDL has said a draft will follow the fall camp. A date for the draft has not been announced. Brian Flynn, Manager of Communications for the NBDL, told MLN that the official announcement for the draft would be made public by the end of August.

The order in which the eight teams will draft in will be a random drawing, similar to the NBA's draft lottery.

Coaches will be allowed to contact players that were not at the camp after the draft to pursue them as players for their respective teams.

Trades will also factor into the equation of the NBDL rosters. Each team will be allowed ten transactions during the season.

The teams in the league will also be allocated two rookies and two free agents. Teams will be able to bring in two players who have not been paid any money to play basketball this year and two that have from any league. These four players will be in addition to the players selected in the draft.

The names of the assistant coaches for all eight teams will be announced in early September.

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