Even with a diluted talent pool, gems can be mined from G League Draft
With the addition of two-way contracts and four more teams in the league, the draft has taken a hit in terms of overall talent.
The G League is in a tremendous growth phase right now. When the league was founded in 2001 there were a mere eight teams and this season there’s an all-time high 26 franchises.
With added teams comes the dilution of talent, but really it’s only the G League Draft where this will be seen. Each NBA team has a pair of two-way contracts to give out, four affiliate players to assign from their training camp cuts, and the league has a slew of quality returning players so the overall talent is not an issue.
Teams without a G League affiliate obviously cannot allocate players to a non-existent team after camp waivers, so other teams scoop up their talented players to retain their minor league rights. Add four new teams and that’s potentially 16 players snatched from the draft pool. Add in 60 two-way contract spots and the math starts to look overwhelming against talent hitting the draft pool.
When looking at the 2016 G League Draft, there is a steep falloff after the first round as well. The NBAGL Draft is four mandatory rounds with rounds five and six being optional for teams, so there are many more picks than in an NBA Draft.
There are pros and cons for last year’s data. Here are some of the high points of each:
- 19 of the 22 first round picks played 20 or more games
- Half of the first round picks played 40 or more games
- Only one player selected in the first round was waived without playing a single game
- 34 of the 82 players selected were waived without playing a single game
- After the first round, only 14 of 60 selected played 20 or more games
- Over half (33 out of 60) of the players drafted after the first round were waived without playing a single game
Only three G League draftees — Jimmer Fredette, Jeff Ayres and Anthony Brown — have earned call ups over the past two seasons as well. Keep in mind that trio had NBA experience before joining the G League and getting another shot.
The reality is most of these players are hoping to latch on, get an opportunity to get real minutes, and show out. However, the majority won’t last as long as the G League Showcase in January.
Even with the data showing how difficult it is to find talent after the first round of the G League Draft, teams were able to do so last year.
Long Island Nets hit on two post-first round picks
The expansion Nets had a rough season under first time head coach Ronald Nored as they went 17–33 and missed the playoffs. The silver lining was their draft wins as they found not one, but two starter-caliber players outside of the first round.
Trahson Burrell was the no. 36 pick overall and ended up being one of the real surprises of last year. The 6-foot-7 forward out of Memphis played 49 games for Long Island posting 13.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the season. Burrell showed playmaking ability, defensive prowess and was efficient (49.2 field goal percentage) for a perimeter wing.
J.J. Moore was selection no. 58 overall, and while his game is purely offensive at this juncture, he was stellar for Long Island. In 46 games, Moore averaged 14.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 49.6 percent overall and 32 percent from deep. Over the final 19 games of the season his output jumped to 18.4 points a night, but the team managed to win just five of those contests.
Burrell has already signed his contract for this season and will return to play for Long Island, while Moore is playing in Argentina to start the year.
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants land a sleeper
Jordan Loyd was quietly one of the most dynamic guards in the league last season. The 6-foot-4 wing out of Division II Indianapolis was selected no. 48 overall by his hometown squad and he quickly made good on their confidence in him.
Loyd played in 49 games helping the Mad Ants to a record of 30–20 and a playoff berth. He spent most of the season as their sixth man, but in his 19 starts he showed he could be much more than a role player. In those contests he averaged 18 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists while shooting 45 percent overall and nearly 41 percent from 3-point land. Nobody else in the league (minimum 20 games played) averaged at least 18/5/4 with that efficiency.
It’s no wonder Loyd moved on to bigger and better things in Israel for this season, but the Mad Ants hold his returning rights through 2018–19.
Other great picks after the first round in 2016: Will Davis II (28), Marcus Posley (44) and Charles Garcia (79).
