d-league

admin

The Grand Rapids Drive, the official NBA Development League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, announced today the open tryout date for the upcoming 2016-17 season. Pre-Registration is now available.

On Saturday, Oct. 8th from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. the open tryout will be held in the Grand Rapids Area at the Courthouse located at 8455 Byron Commerce Dr. SW, Byron Center, MI 49315. Doors will open at 8 a.m. for pre-registered participant sign-in.

The Drive tryout is limited to 150 participants, who must all meet the NBA Development League eligibility requirements. Local player tryouts provide players the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of Grand Rapids Drive coaches and operations staff. All participants for the open tryout are eligible to receive an invitation to the Drive’s training camp in November.

To pre-register, participants should submit the required registration, disclosure and release forms, along with a $100 non-refundable fee. Acceptable forms of payment are cashier’s checks, money orders, credit card or cash.

All forms are available at NBAGRANDRAPIDS.COM (here) and should be mailed to Grand Rapids Drive, Attn: Open Tryout at 40 Monroe Center St. NW Suite 11, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

Pre-registration deadline is October 3, 2016.

Walkup registration is subject to availability and has a non-refundable fee of $125 at the door. Doors will open at 8 a.m. for walkup registration. The tryout will begin promptly at 9 a.m.

For registration and additional questions regarding the tryout, contact Rob Johnson, Director of Operations by emailing rjohnson@nbagrandrapids.com.

For media-related inquiries or any media wanting to attend, contact Sarah Jbara, Director of Public Relations by emailing spj@nbagrandrapids.com.

grand-rapids-drive-to-hold-open-tryouts-in-october

Grand Rapids Drive to Hold Open Tryouts in October

The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has assigned guard Darrun Hilliard and forward Reggie Bullock to the team’s NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.

Hilliard has appeared in seven games for the Pistons this season, averaging 3.0 points and 0.9 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per game.  Bullock has appeared in 14 games averaging 5.6 minutes a game.

In two games with the Drive, Hilliard has averaged 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.0 steals in 31.0 minutes per game.  He scored a team-high 23 points with four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 33 minutes in his last appearance vs. Fort Wayne (12/13).  Bullock is making his first appearance with the Drive this season.

For in-depth analysis by website editor Keith Langlois and special inside-access videos, visit www.pistons.com, the official source for news and features on the Detroit Pistons.

pistons-assign-darrun-hilliard-and-reggie-bullock-to-grand-rapids-drive

Pistons Assign Darrun Hilliard And Reggie Bullock To Grand Rapids Drive

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has recalled forward Tony Mitchell from the team’s NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, after a one-game assignment.

Mitchell recorded 12 points (5-9 FG), 12 rebounds and one steal in 30 minutes vs. the Los Angeles D-Fenders (11/26).  Drafted 37th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, he appeared in 21 games for the Pistons last season averaging 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.  Mitchell also had two D-League assignments last season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and averaged 7.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10 games.

detroit-pistons-recall-tony-mitchell-from-grand-rapids-drive-of-nba-d-league

Detroit Pistons Recall Tony Mitchell from Grand Rapids Drive of NBA D-League

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has assigned forward Tony Mitchell to the team’s NBA Development League (D-League) affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.

Mitchell, drafted 37th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, appeared in 21 games for the Pistons last season averaging 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.  He also had two D-League assignments last season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and averaged 7.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10 games.

detroit-pistons-assign-forward-tony-mitchell-to-grand-rapids-drive-of-nba-d-league

Detroit Pistons Assign Forward Tony Mitchell to Grand Rapids Drive of NBA D-League

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club is appointing Otis Smith as head coach of its NBA Development League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive.  Per team policy, terms of the deal which is pending NBA approval, were not disclosed.

“I’m pleased to welcome Otis Smith to the Detroit Pistons organization as the head coach of the Grand Rapids Drive,” said Van Gundy.  “Otis understands the vision and connectivity we want to create between the Detroit Pistons and the Grand Rapids Drive, our NBA D-League affiliate.  His experiences as a general manager, director of player development and NBA player will pay dividends as he spearheads our efforts in Grand Rapids.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Otis into the Grand Rapids Drive organization,” said Steve Jbara, President of the Grand Rapids Drive.  “His basketball and player development knowledge as well as his front office experience will be extremely beneficial moving forward with the franchise.  There is no doubt in my mind that Otis is the right man for the job.  Our fans and the local basketball community are in for a special season.”

Smith brings 25-plus years of basketball experience to the bench, most recently serving as the president of basketball operations and general manager of the Orlando Magic from 2010-12.  Smith first joined Orlando as director of player development in 2003-04 and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2005-06 before being named general manager in May of 2006.

Under Smith’s leadership Orlando made the playoffs six times, recorded a franchise-record four straight seasons with 50-plus wins (2007-11), won three Southeast Division Titles (2007-10) and reached the NBA Finals in 2009.  During his time with the Magic, the team accumulated a record of 299-177 (.628).

Prior to his time with Orlando, Smith spent the 2002-03 season as executive director of basketball operations with the Golden State Warriors.  He also served as director of community relations/Warriors foundation for Golden State from 1999-02 and as community relations manager with the Orlando Magic from 1996-98.  As a player, Smith appeared in 375 career NBA regular-season games with Denver, Golden State and Orlando, averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 20.6 minutes.

Born and raised in Jacksonville, FL, Smith graduated from Jacksonville University in 1986.

The Detroit Pistons and Grand Rapids Drive entered into a single-affiliation partnership, beginning with the 2014-15 season, on April 15, 2014.  The single-affiliation “hybrid” partnership allows the NBA team’s basketball operations department to oversee all personnel and basketball-related aspects of the team in Grand Rapids, while the NBA D-League’s ownership group will manage the team’s day-to-day business operations and community relations.

The Grand Rapids Drive, which is owned by SSJ Group LLC, is a proud affiliate of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons. The team's inaugural season of play is the NBA D-League's 2014-15 season, which begins November 2014. The organization is dedicated to providing a quality professional basketball experience for basketball fans of all ages. The organization is also committed to giving back to the community through various programs and fundraisers. For more information about the organization, log on to NBAGrandRapids.com, or follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @grdleague and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nbagrandrapids or by searching Grand Rapids Drive.

detroit-pistons-name-otis-smith-as-head-coach-of-the-grand-rapids-drive

Detroit Pistons Name Otis Smith as Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Drive

Keith Langlois

It’s not unusual for NBA teams with their own dedicated D-League franchise a short hop away to hold a practice in the morning, send a young player or two out to play a D-League game that night and then bring the players back in time to suit up for the following night’s NBA game.

Such a scenario is now in play for the Pistons.

After a longstanding affiliation with the D-League’s Fort Wayne (Ind.) Mad Ants, the Pistons will handle basketball operations for their own D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids next season. (Go to grdleague.com to help select a team nickname.)

“One of the things we’re most excited about is the proximity,” Pistons assistant general manager George David said about the new arrangement. “We did a tremendous amount of research with some of the other D-League teams and saw the intrinsic value for the teams that had a driving-distance proximity to their D-League team. It does make a big difference.”

As the Pistons approach the 2014 draft, their evaluation process has added another layer this spring. In addition to the typical evaluation for how prospects might transition to the NBA, David and the team of Pistons personnel evaluators are looking at prospects to fill out the Grand Rapids roster who might, after a period of development, have something to offer at the NBA level.

The greater opportunity for player development was another motivating factor for the Pistons in their decision to establish a dedicated D-League affiliate, as opposed to sharing Fort Wayne with five other NBA teams, as happened last season. As more NBA franchises established D-League affiliates, the few remaining unaffiliated D-League franchises found themselves partnering with multiple NBA teams.

It hadn’t yet become problematic for the Pistons to find playing time for their young players in Fort Wayne, but it likely would have been an unavoidable reality in the future. Assured playing time whenever a break in the NBA team’s schedule allows for a D-League assignment can only enhance the player development experience.

“In the past, all our D-League work was on, A, scouting for potential Detroit Pistons players through the D-League and, B, evaluating assigned players we sent down,” David said. “What having our own D-League team does is it adds a very, very important third element that we never had before – actually playing a direct role in developing potential players through the D-League team for the Detroit Pistons. That’s where we’re probably going to see the biggest difference – the ability to potentially develop some players. We’ve had some (NBA) playoff games won by D-League players this year.”

The Pistons will be responsible for stocking the roster and hiring and paying the team’s coaches and basketball staff. Local ownership will handle sales, marketing and related areas. That affords the basketball side the opportunity to implement compatible systems and terminology so that players going back and forth frequently will be stepping onto familiar turf.

That search for D-League players has already begun with the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational Tournament held earlier this month and continuing next month at the Chicago draft combine. We’ll have more later this week on how David, Ken Catanella and the staff are preparing for the June draft.

d‑league

Grand Rapids Drive to Hold Open Tryouts in October

Pistons Assign Darrun Hilliard And Reggie Bullock To Grand Rapids Drive

Detroit Pistons Recall Tony Mitchell from Grand Rapids Drive of NBA D-League

Detroit Pistons Assign Forward Tony Mitchell to Grand Rapids Drive of NBA D-League

Detroit Pistons Name Otis Smith as Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Drive

The D-League Dynamic