D-League Players Down the Road

I'm going to work on doing profiles for most of the players that I remember from the last two D-League seasons, being as these are the only 2 seasons that I've followed the League. I'll start with the more highly acclaimed and work my way through the rest of the rosters..

First Team All D-League, 2007
Lou Amundson - Amundson was a midseason call-up to Philadelphia and played in Philly last year as well. This summer, he played with Golden State in Vegas, and the Phoenix Suns rewarded him in August with a contract for this season. Amundson, though he never puts up much for stats, always looks like he's the hardest working player on the floor, and can defend on the wing and in the post . Constantly hustling, very aggressive, and will bring a defensive attitude to the limited playing time he is able to get with Phoenix. He's a perfect complimentary player off the bench, doing the things no one really notices unless they're solely concentrating on him.

Elton Brown - Since I just wrote a profile about him, I'll use it here as well. Elton Brown, an anthropology(!?) major out of Virigina has been a beast for the Colorado 14ers, playing with them in the 2006-07 season and the majority of the 2007-08 season. In his D-League career, Elton Brown has averaged 19 points and 10.5 rebounds, and also added a block per game last season. Brown has never looked to be in great shape (though has a great big frame), and I'd assume he's more like 6'7" or 6'8", but he plays and rebounds like a legit 7 footer. He does well getting into position for rebounds and has a decent array of post moves on the offensive end. Brown played for the Nuggets Vegas Summer League team and averaged 13 points and 10 boards a contest. It'd make sense for the Bulls to give the guy his first shot in the NBA, as he brings heart and passion, not to mention a decent low-post game, to a team that lacks these qualities.

Randy Livingston - Livingston, like Brown, played in the D-League with the same team he played for when making First Team All D-League. Livingston played with the Idaho Stampede, where he actually upped his scoring average, from 12 to 16.5 points per game, along with keeping his assists average at right around 10.5. In the playoffs, Livingston guided the Stampede to a championship with 10 points, 7.5 assists, and 6 boards a game. After the game, Livingston announced his retirement. Since then, he was drafted by the Erie Bayhawks in the expansion draft, though has instead taken the role as associate head coach under Coach Bryan Gates for the Stampede, the team with which he holds the career records for points scored and games played.

Renaldo Major - After playing with the Dakota Wizards and being called up the Golden State Warriors in the 06-07 season, Major went to NBA training camp with Denver Nuggets. In Denver, during routine physicals, the Nuggets found that Major had been born with a heart murmur and was having trouble with one of his valves. He had open-heart surgery about a year ago, and is said to be just now being OK'd to play. Major was slated to play with the Milwaukee Bucks in July on their Summer League, but didn't have the necessary paperwork and has thus been out of playing an organized basketball game since April 2007. The plan is for him to return to the Wizards as an allocated player this season.

Von Wafer - Wafer played for the Colorado 14ers between playing with the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets in 2007. After the 2007 season, Wafer played with the Nuggets summer league team, including a 42 point outburst in the VSL. Coming off of this impressive performance, the Nuggets signed him for the season. Midway through the season, he was traded to Portland for Taurean Green, neither of which got much playing time with either team. This past summer, Wafer was with the Knicks, which he parlayed into a training camp invite with the Houston Rockets. Though it doesn't seem like there will be a roster spot for Wafer, he's talented enough to at least bounce around in the NBA again while playing in the D-League.