In need of a tough-minded point guard with a strong work ethic and substantial NBA experience to back up Jason Kidd? Contact Sam’s of Mobile. In the market for a small forward to help fill the void created by injuries to Lamar Odom and Corey Maggette? Better get on the horn with Jeff’s of Columbus.

NBDL Player of the Month for November Tremaine Fowlkes jumped his way up to the Los Angeles Clippers from the Columbus Riverdragons. (Kent Smith NBAE/Getty Images) • Call-Up photo gallery

How quickly these policies pay out on a claim, of course, depends upon each particular situation, in this case, through Mobile coach Sam Vincent and Columbus coach Jeff Malone.

For Anthony Johnson, who signed on for the remainder of the season with the New Jersey Nets on January 28, after two 10-day contracts, the Nets will likely only have to fork over the monthly premiums – Kidd averages 38 minutes and is having a superb season.

It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles Clippers to put in a claim on its policy with Tremaine Fowlkes. Saddled with key injuries at the small forward position, the Clippers signed Fowlkes to a 10-day contract on February 23, and he found himself in the starting lineup two days later against Memphis. Fowlkes has since been signed for the remainder of the season and has made 14 starts in 15 games, averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds.

So far this season, the NBDL has produced six NBA call-ups – Johnson, Fowlkes, Jason Hart (San Antonio), Chris Andersen (Denver), Rusty LaRue (Utah) and Isaac Fontaine (Memphis). Not all have seen significant action, but each case offers proof that the NBDL is a place for players to get noticed and for NBA teams to fill needs.

“I was looking at it as a short-term thing,” said Johnson, who appeared in 15 games with the Mobile Revelers before the Nets made the call. “I wanted to go down there and get myself focused on doing what I had to do to show the NBA representatives that I’m an NBA player and I deserved to be on a roster.”

Not an outlandish claim, considering Johnson had spent his first four professional seasons in the NBA with Sacramento, Atlanta, Orlando and Cleveland. As a rookie with the Kings in 1997-98, Johnson appeared in 77 games, averaging 7.5 points and 4.3 assists. He was cut by Seattle before the start of this season.

Fowlkes had never appeared in an NBA game after being selected by Denver in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft. But after a strong showing with the Columbus Riverdragons, for whom he earned All-NBDL First Team honors, Fowlkes finally landed his first NBA break.

“I was sitting in my hotel room in North Charleston, South Carolina, watching television,” said Fowlkes, who averaged 16.7 points in 42 games with Columbus. “The phone rang and it was my agent saying the Clippers were offering a contract. I couldn’t believe it. This is what you work for.”