NBA: Veterans Hope to Make Comeback in D-League

The D-League held its 2013 draft on Nov. 1, looking for younger players that want to mold their game in hopes of playing in the NBA one day.

However, the D-League is slowly becoming home to another type of player as well: NBA veterans looking to make a comeback. Four players with an NBA career on their resume were drafted and while some NBA players use the D-League to get back into the groove of playing basketball, rehabilitation or development, these players know that they must excel in order to convince an NBA team they can still play at a high level.

If not, then the NBA chapter of their lives are over. Here are the four ex-NBA veterans:

James Johnson needs to revamp his post moves or his outside shot to continue his NBA career. (NBA.com photo)

James Johnson: 6’9″, 245-pound forward – drafted No. 2 overall by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets affiliate)

Johnson has bounced around the league a bit in his four years, playing for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings. He was originally drafted 16th overall by the Bulls in the 2009 NBA Draft and has been traded twice for draft picks. Johnson was cut from the Atlanta Hawks training camp last month. He’s still trying to find in his fit in the NBA as a small-ball big man mainly. For his career, he’s averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per 18.3 minutes a game. At 26 years old, his NBA career isn’t over yet, but it’s definitely risk considering his lack of size to stay in the paint and his poor outside shooting.

Quincy Douby: 6’3″, 175-pound shooting guard – drafted No. 3 overall by the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami Heat affiliate)

Douby recently went overseas to work on his game, including stops in Turkey, Spain and China. He holds a piece of history in China now, after he set a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) record with 75 points in a single game. He played three seasons in Sacramento and one in Toronto after being drafted in 2006, averaging 4.1 points in 10.6 minutes per game over his NBA career. Considering he’s 29 years old, it may be time to call it quits on an NBA comeback if it doesn’t work out for him this season. Perhaps his time in foreign leagues taught him enough to make it back, though.

Salim Stoudamire: 6’1″, 179-pound point guard – drafted in the fifth round by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic affiliate)

Stoudamire is probably the biggest mystery of this group, as he has taken most of the last two years off ever since finishing out the 2010-11 season with the Reno Bighorns, where he only averaged nine points in nearly 21 minutes per game. Since then, he’s played in only four professional basketball games, in Venezuela. He was invited to a Bucks mini-camp over the summer, but yielded nothing to his benefit. A true wildcard pick, there’s no real evidence for now that shows the 31-year-old can make a comeback.

Ricky Davis: 6’7″, 205-pound small forward – drafted in the sixth round by the Erie Bayhawks (New York Knicks affiliate)

It appears that the Knicks want to keep an eye on Davis in the D-League. He worked out for the team in September and though he obviously didn’t make the team, perhaps they see something still left in him that can be uncovered in time with the Bayhawks. He had a memorable career as a solid role player and high-flying dunker, reaching his peak in the 2002-03 season when he averaged 20.58 points a game with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s now 34 years old though and much of that explosiveness is gone. He was waived by the Maine Red Claws in the 2011-12 season (the video above being one of the highlights of his during that season) and spent last season in Puerto Rico. His time may be over, but one last hurrah by Davis would be interesting to see.

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