Last week the Raptors acquired Patrick O'Bryant as part of a minor move at the Trade Deadline. O'Bryant was a draft choice of Golden State and spent some time with the Bakersfield Jam who are the affiliate of the Warriors as well as the Orlando Magic. Head Coach of the Jam is Scott Roth and I had a chance to talk about O'Bryant and also got into some things about the D-League itself.
Some interesting stuff on not only O'Bryant, but the D-League as a whole. Thanks to the folks with the Jam for helping set this interview up. The Raptors, if you didn't know, are now affiliated with the Idaho Stampede. In the future I will attempt to talk with them as well. Nathan Jawai who I mentioned in the blog earlier today may wind up there playing for them. Time will tell on that. O'Bryant seems like a guy that could offer some upside if he can figure things out. Raptors will hope he does and not become a guy stuck on potential like a Jerome Mosio anyone remember him? If you don't it is not a sin. But he was a guy that you would hear a lot about his upside and potential and it never worked out for him. Here is hoping things work out better for Mr. O'Bryant. Thanks to Coach Roth for his insight on Patrick and the league he coaches in. The D-League is something that has opened up doors for a lot of guys, and I would say has been something that has been successful to this point for the NBA. The Raptors have talked about having a team closer to home that they could run in perhaps Hamilton or Buffalo someday. It would be cool for me if it was here in Hamilton. Several teams in the D-League have went that route. Running their own exclusive NBDL franchises. L.A Lakers,San Antonio and Oklahoma City all have their own teams with a single affiliation. It is something the folks at MLSE have looked at doing in the future, at least there has been talk that they have.
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