Players who may have had promising careers but couldn’t crack an NBA roster immediately could go to the CBA or another of the various low minor leagues that offered little pay and even less exposure. With the global growth of the game, there were also opportunities in leagues in Europe, South America or the Pacific Rim.  However, clubs overseas usually have limited spots for Americans, and for some, the passion for basketball wasn’t worth leaving the United States.

Now the NBDL, the developmental league spearheaded by Commissioner David Stern and the NBA, gives young players a chance to show what they can do under the watchful eye of NBA scouts. Even though Sioux Falls or Bakersfield might not be a dream spot or a vacation destination, it’s a better and more viable option for some than going to New Zealand or Southeast Asia.

The San Antonio Spurs decided to take full advantage of the fact that a D-League team was situated just an hour’s drive north of the Alamo City by purchasing the Austin Toros last summer. The move has already paid some dividends.

During the month of December guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each missed a handful of games. The Spurs simply reached down (or up geographically) to their D-League affiliate and called on Darius Washington and Keith Langford. When Brent Barry went down later in the month with a calf injury, DerMarr Johnson moved down I-35. Even though none of those players stayed for a lengthy period of time, the benefits of having the Toros so close, both philosophically and geographically were evident.

Spurs Director of Pro Player Personnel, Dell Demps, said the move to buy the Toros helps the player development process greatly. “We wanted to kind of control development of our young players and maybe get a guy who has a chance to be a rotation player for us over the next one, two or three years. The coaching staff in Austin is running our plays, our calls both on offense and defense. It’s a great thing for Ian Mahinmi because when Ian comes back here to San Antonio, he will be in the same exact system.”

Mahinmi is the player who may benefit the most from this affiliation. At 21, the native of Rouen, France has tremendous potential but is still raw in terms of his basketball development. After playing sparingly for Pau- Orthez in the French League last season, he is now averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds for the Toros. While he still has plenty of room for improvement, the fact that he’s getting lots of minutes in the Spurs system under the watchful eye of a veteran coach like Quin Snyder is a positive for Mahinmi, the Toros, and the Spurs.

“We’re very happy with Ian right now. He’s playing very well in Austin.  From a learning standpoint, this is his first time to play extensive minutes at a professional level,” Demps said. “In Europe he was usually the youngest guy on the team, and those clubs were more interested in winning than in developing him. In Austin, we’re playing Ian in crunch time, and he’s becoming a go-to guy.  He’s basically the Tim Duncan for the Toros right now, because other guys are playing off of him, and he’s playing at a very high level.”

Demps is also happy with the way a pipeline has been established.

“The goal was to put a lot of talent in Austin so we can bring in a Marcus Williams, Darius Washington or Keith Langford if we have some injuries. Pop (head coach Gregg Popovich) knows that when we bring these guys up, they know the sets. If they were playing in a different system, you’d have to teach them everything.”

Don’t be surprised if other NBA teams consider following the Spurs and Lakers example and purchase D-League franchises. “It’s been amazing how many different teams have called and asked questions about how we’re doing this. They ask about the costs, the benefits, the disadvantages,” Demps said. “The goal of the D-League is to have affiliations with all the teams.”