NBA lockout enhances Vipers draft preparations
The NBA lockout hasn’t prevented the Houston Rockets scouting department from working. Not with the NBA Development League draft approaching.
Indeed, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ D-League affiliate, has actually benefited from the NBA’s ongoing labor struggles.
“Fortunately for us, it’s been all hands on deck with our scouting department,” said Gersson Rosas, who serves as the Vipers general manager and the Rockets vice president for player personnel. “It’s been good. It’s given us something to do during this process.”
The Vipers start putting together its 2011-12 team on Thursday when the D-League draft takes place. The Vipers have the 14th pick in the eight-round draft. With the draft’s “serpentine” format, the Vipers will have two picks in the top 19 overall.
The Vipers need every bit of that scouting knowledge because this season the team figures to construct a training camp roster that is heavily built on the draft and invitees from tryouts and less on veterans.
The main reason for that is most of the Vipers veterans from last year are playing overseas. For some of those like guards like Jerel McNeal and Matt Janning, who are on the cusp of making an NBA roster, the uncertain labor situation in the NBA forced them to take guaranteed money overseas. The Vipers still hold their rights if they choose to return to the D-League.
“A lot of the veteran players who are close to the NBA would oftentimes stay and go through the training camps,” said Nick Nurse, the Vipers first year head coach. “Maybe their options to go overseas weren’t as plentiful as they were in the past. I think you are going to see a lot more new faces in the league. There should be plenty of youth throughout the 16 teams in the league.”
The Vipers initially scheduled two tryouts – one in Houston and one in the Valley. They added a third on Saturday in Pharr. Rosas said the Vipers are looking at inviting as many as five from the tryouts to training camp, which is expected to start either Nov. 7 or 8. In the past, they have usually asked two or three to join. The Vipers open the season against Erie on Nov. 25 at home.
Nurse is settling in the Valley. Preparation for this year’s draft has been a little different for him this season than his past four seasons when he coached the Iowa Energy. He headed the Energy’s draft preparation in his four seasons there. With the Vipers, the Rockets are in charge.
“The Rockets have done a great job with it in the past,” Nurse said. “They’ll do their normal things. I will do mine, and we’ll compare notes on Monday.”
While the Vipers get ready to build their roster, they have finalized their coaching staff. Mike Taylor, who has coached professionally in Germany for the last six seasons and served as an assistant for the Czech Republic national team in the summer 2010, will be the Vipers lead assistant. Jai Steadman, who served as the Vipers’ second assistant the last two years, has been retained.
Rosas said the emphasis this season will be on the development side for many of the teams in the league. This has to do with the fact that the league will have younger players for the most part and also because the league has more single-team affiliates than it has in the past. In addition to the Vipers, these teams include Canton (Cleveland Cavaliers), Los Angeles (Los Angeles Lakers), Texas (Dallas Mavericks), Austin (San Antonio Spurs), Erie (New York Knicks), Springfield (New Jersey Nets) and Tulsa 66ers (Oklahoma City Thunder).
Rosas said the D-League’s most successful teams will be the ones who can acquire the best talent to fit their systems.
“The parity will still be there,” Rosas said. “It will be competitive. It will depend on how teams address their talent acquisition. Coaching will have a big value this season. The key will be trying to find the players to fit into the system.”
Nurse is ready to coach any group of players the Rockets put together for him.
“The D-League is always about adjusting,” Nurse said. “Usually, you have to coach several different (types) of teams in the same season anyway. You play the hand you are dealt. To me, it’s all relative. The goal this Thursday is to win the draft versus every other team in the league.”
David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via email at dhinojosa@themonitor.com
