Will Barton and Nolan Smith will be heading to the D-League. Credit: Steve Dykes-US

Sunday afternoon the Blazers announced that they will be assigning rookie guard Will Barton and sophomore guard Nolan Smith to their NBA-DL affiliate Idaho Stampede.

Barton is making his second trip to Boise this season. Smith is being assigned down for the first time in 2012-13.

Here’s the official release from the team:

TRAIL BLAZERS ASSIGN WILL BARTON AND NOLAN SMITH TO D-LEAGUE’S IDAHO STAMPEDE
Barton and Smith to join Portland’s NBA Development League affiliate

PORTLAND, Ore. (January 6^th) – The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned guards Will Barton and Nolan Smith to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey.

The two players will join the Stampede for the NBA Development League Showcase in Reno, Nev. The Stampede are first scheduled to play on Monday, Jan. 7, against Texas.

Barton appeared in two games (both starts) with the Stampede from Dec. 7-8, posting averages of 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 42.0 minutes per game. The 6-foot-6 rookie has played in 28 games for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.1 minutes. Barton was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 40^th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

In 18 games this season with the Trail Blazers, Smith is averaging 2.5 points and 1.2 assists in 8.2 minutes per game. Now in his second NBA season, Smith was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 21^st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

My feelings about this double assignment are thus: Barton’s maddening inconsistency can be addressed by giving him some minutes in which he can dominate his opponents and be the feature of the offense; for Smith, hopefully this is a measure to keep him engaged as his Blazer career continues to slip away.

At this point, Nolan Smith can be rightfully considered a wasted pick. He lost his back-up minutes to Ronnie Price in the preseason, Portland decided not to pick up his third year option (something that is pretty uncommon for this team to do), and through 31 games his playing time has all but disappeared.

That being said, there could still be some value in Nolan Smith. Look at J.J. Hickson, the contract-year motivation has maybe turned his career around. Of course Hickson is getting the kind of minutes Smith can’t, but still getting Nolan out on the court for some productive run might be the kind of thing that keeps Smith from losing all interest in what is likely to be his final season in Portland. I highly doubt there will come a time when the Blazers are in need of something only Nolan Smith can give him, but with nobody emerging as a real leader off Portland’s bench, I would rather have everybody ready to participate. Remember, anything’s possible.

@mikeacker | @ripcityproject | mike.acker1@gmail.com

Victor Claver is heading for his second stint in the D-League. Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

The Blazers announced this morning that they have assigned international rookies Victor Claver and Joel Freeland to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.

Here’s the official release:

TRAIL BLAZERS ASSIGN VICTOR CLAVER AND JOEL FREELAND TO D-LEAGUE’S IDAHO STAMPEDE

Claver and Freeland to join Portland’s NBA Development League affiliate

PORTLAND, Ore. (December 14th) – The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned forwards Victor Claver and Joel Freeland to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey.

The two players will join the Stampede today, Dec. 14, and will be active in advance of the team’s contests against the Santa Cruz Warriors tonight and tomorrow, Dec. 15, in Boise.

Claver played with the Stampede on Dec. 7 and 8, posting averages of 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.00 steal and 33.5 minutes in the two contests. Claver has appeared in six games with Portland this season, and averages 0.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 10.2 minutes per contest. Claver was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 22nd pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and signed with Portland on July 11, 2012.

In 12 games this year with the Trail Blazers, Freeland is averaging 2.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 10.2 minutes per game. Freeland signed with Portland on July 13, 2012, after being selected by the Trail Blazers with the 30th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.

This will be Claver’s second stint in Boise, and Freeland’s first. It’s been a weird month for Claver. He and Will Barton were assigned to the D-League for games on the 7th and 8th of December. While they were out, Portland got run out of their own building by the Sacramento Kings, and lost Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews to injuries. On Victor’s return, he went right into the starting lineup. In two starts, he’s shot 2-of-16. He’s looked OK at times, but it’s clear he still needs a lot of work. Considering that in his first start Claver logged 25 and a half minutes, and in his second he play only 12 and half and hoisted only four shots as opposed to 12, it should come as no surprise that he’s been assigned down to get some run against a lower level of competition.

Joel Freeland’s assignment makes sense too, but not for the same reasons. Joel went through a stretch that ended not 10 days ago where his playing time was in the double digits. However, he hasn’t cracked the rotation in two games. Freeland’s development is going to be contingent on getting consistent minutes. Right now, those minutes aren’t there. Running in the D-League will keep him connected. A big game down there, and he could be really motivated to shine with the main squad. My guess is Joel won’t even need to have a big game to use the D-League call-down as motivation. He’s not the kind to hang his head when something like this happens. He’s the kind to use it as a catalyst to work harder.

Outside of Damian Lillard, Freeland has been Portland’s most consistent rookie. Will Barton has had better individual games, and Meyers Leonard has a much higher ceiling, but I feel like Joel can really contribute this season. Hopefully the D-League bounce will bring him back into the fold a little bit.

Just as a side note: With Claver going down, should Wesley Matthews or Nicolas Batum be held out Sunday against the Hornets, you’ll be looking at Luke Babbitt’s first regular season start of 2012-13.

@mikeacker | @ripcityproject | mike.acker1@gmail.com

The Portland Trail Blazers announced Friday morning that two of their five rookies will be spending a little time in Boise, Idaho. Those two will be Will Barton and Victor Claver.

Portland has assigned Barton and Claver to the Idaho Stampede for the time being. Both will appear in games tonight and Saturday, with no indication of how long their assignment will be.

Here’s the official release:

TRAIL BLAZERS ASSIGN WILL BARTON AND VICTOR CLAVER

TO D-LEAGUE’S IDAHO STAMPEDE

Barton and Claver to join Portland’s NBA Development League affiliate

PORTLAND, Ore. (December 7^th) – The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned guard Will Barton and forward Victor Claverto the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey.

Barton and Claver, both rookies, will join the Stampede tomorrow, Dec. 7 in advance of the team’s contests against the Austin Toros tomorrow night and on Saturday, Dec. 8, in Boise.

Barton, the 40^th overall pick out of Memphis in the 2012 NBA Draft, has played in 16 games this season for the Trail Blazers, and has averages of 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 8.8 minutes per game.

Claver has appeared in four games with Portland this season, and averages 0.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 5.8 minutes per contest. Claver was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 22^nd pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and signed with Portland on July 11, 2012.

This assignment makes a lot of sense for Claver. The Spaniard has fallen into the deactivated black hole recently with the partial re-emergence of Nolan Smith. A D-League bounce will give him a chance to get his legs under him and actually get a little run it.

Barton’s assignment (I don’t want to call it a demotion but you can if you want to) is slightly more shocking. Will’s gotten some time with the big team as of late. His minutes crept up to the double digits by the end of the trip. Certainly his game needs a little more polish, and extended run with the Stampede could help that. Likely, though, Barton will torch the competition in the D-League. Any chance that he’ll come away learning something profound will be slim.

I’m all for using the D-League to develop players in-house. However, the talent drop-off between the NBA and the NBA D-League is so stark that a spot minute player with the regulars is a superstar with the D-Leaugers. Remember that in three games with the Stampede in early 2012 Luke Babbitt averaged 21 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Luke even flirted with a triple-double in that three-game assignment, scoring 35 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and handing out six assists. My guess is Barton’s numbers in the next two games will be at least that good. I’m not sure beating up on less talented guys is what Will needs right now.

It’s possible, though, that Barton is included in this send-down to serve as an envoy for Victor Claver. Victor needs some D-League time, maybe Neil Olshey thinks sending Will Barton, a guy who has started to carve out a role for himself, along for the ride will ease the transition and soothe Claver’s ego should it wind up getting bruised.

Claver’s going to be around for awhile because of the way international contracts work. Making sure he doesn’t check out during this rough opening patch of his career is nearly as important as getting him prepped to play in the NBA.

I’m guessing Barton is back before Monday’s match-up at home with Toronto. Not sure if Claver comes back at that point too.

@mikeacker | @ripcityproject | mike.acker1@gmail.com