The Maine Red Claws, presented by Quirk Chevrolet, are currently gearing up for their second season as an NBDL franchise. Last season, in their first year as a franchise, the Red Claws had the opportunity to display the talents of five different NBA players through their affiliations with the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats.
For those of you still not familiar with the NBA Development League, think of it as the "minor league" level of professional basketball. While there is nothing "minor" about it, the NBA uses the teams in the league as a farm system for developing NBA-ready players.
Being in this type of professional sporting league is difficult for coaches and members of the organization because not only do they have to worry about winning games and pleasing their fan-base, they also have to worry about developing players to move onto the next level.
Last season, the Maine Red Claws behind head coach Austin Ainge (son of Danny Ainge) seemed to manage a perfect balance of those two different aspects and a year after the start of their inagural season it's starting to show.
Today, the Red Claws announced that seven former players are currently suiting up for different NBA teams during their training camps.
The number of former Red Claws players who are participating in NBA training camps is indicative of the quality of players that we had in Maine last season,” said Red Claws President and General Manager Jon Jennings. “For a first-year team to have seven players being looked at by NBA clubs is an honor, and we wish each of the players tremendous success.”
Out of those seven players that have worked their way into NBA Training Camps, five of them have ties to the Boston Celtics. Here's the list, via Maine Red Claws press release.
Maurice Ager..................................................... Minnesota Timberwolves
Alexis Ajinca* .................................................. Dallas Mavericks
J.R. Giddens* ................................................... Sacramento Kings
Lester Hudson* ............................................... Washington Wizards
Marcus Landry* .............................................. Sacramento Kings
Bill Walker* ...................................................... NY Knicks
Mario West ....................................................... Boston Celtics
J.R Giddens, Lester Hudson, Marcus Landry, and Bill Walker were all Celtics last season at one point or another. Giddens and Walker were shipped to New York in the Nate Robinson/Marcus Landry deal, and Lester Hudson was waived by the team towards the middle of the season.
Now, the only current player with ties to the Celtics is Mario West, who just happened to spend a good amount of time with the Red Claws last season before being picked up by the Atlanta Hawks.
The chances of West making the Celtics final roster is pretty slim, and if he doesn't make the team the Red Claws still maintain West's D-League rights. While the Red Claws would like to see West succeed at the next level, at the same time I can almost gurantee you they wouldn't be disappointed to see him back. He's one of the best talents to wear a Red Claws uniform, and he puts on a heck of a show for the sell-out crowds at the Portland Expo.
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