D-League Players On NBA Rosters and the WNBA

NBA teams are beginning to cut their rosters down to 15 players and many of the cuts include NBA D-League players. Ridiculous Upside is quite upset about many of these cuts.

One cut that also surprises me is Julius Hodge who was mentioned a while back here. Hodge was trying to make the New Jersey Nets roster and the direction of the organization, a rebuilding effort, presumably worked in Hodge's favor. However, Hodge was still cut by the Nets despite a strong preseason and training camp performance. He will almost surely catch on somewhere soon.

TrueHoop is finding out why people have a problem with the WNBA. One common response not revolving around gender is that the WNBA loses money . . . money which could be used to improve the D-League.

D-League president, Dan Reed, posted on his blog about the salaries in the NBA D-League. He defends the low salaries (compared to overseas basketball players not everyday jobs), "Where else can you go to obtain a 25% chance of making an NBA roster, play in front of NBA scouts every night, and get world-class coaching and development opportunities??? No other basketball league in the world offers that opportunity."

Higher salaries would help draw in overseas players to the D-League; raising the competition level which would ultimately help D-League players improve their game and chance of making it to the NBA. But currently there is nothing suggesting the NBA doesn't want to continue the WNBA. In fact, the WNBA is looking to grow.

Please comment on your thoughts about the WNBA and NBA D-League.

Zach Bowers