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Grand Rapids Drive

Welcome to the Grand Rapids Drive team page. Here you will find out about everything going on about the Grand Rapids Drive.

The Grand Rapids Drive NBA Affiliate is the Detroit Pistons. Play well enough in Grand Rapids and you may get called up to Detroit for an NBA Tryout.

Grand Rapids Drive: Building Through The Draft

The Grand Rapids Drive had two of the top 5 picks in the 2014 NBA D League Draft including the #1 overall pick Robert Covington. Covington has experience with the Houston Rockets and he averaged 23 points per game with the Rio Grand Valley Vipers in 2013-2014. The former Tennessee State power forward was not big enough to play in the NBA, but thrived in the NBA D League once the Houston Rockets cut ties with him.

With the fifth pick you added former Notre Dame shooting guard Ben Hansbrough. Hansbrough looks like a future starter at shooting guard in the NBA D League. Grand Rapids Drive has 2 players from shooting guard returning to this roster. Hansbrough will receive limited playing time.

Hasheem Thabeet the second overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft will also be on the Drive. Having Thabeet and Covington on the front court will give the Drive a similar defensive presence to their NBA counterpart known as the Detroit Pistons. Thabeet joins the Drive as a designated player, and a good season by Thabeet could get back him another audition.

Another starter to keep an eye on is Josh Bostic. Bostic will start at small forward, but he will get a challenge from 2014 NBA D League second round pick Omani Amoke of Cal State Fullerton. In the third round, Grand Rapids drafted Illinois center Shaun Pruitt for insurance in case Thabeet screws up in the D League.

Kammeon Hosley, an extra third round pick from Georgia Tech will be a backup to Robert Covington. The point guard position has the most uncertainty. Bruce Matthey a returning point guard from Middle Tennessee State will have to battle it out with Dominic Waters out of Portland State.

The Grand Rapids Drive have a lot of ambition. Sneaking into the playoffs as an 8 seed certainly is a possibility. It seemed unlikely at first, but now there is a 50/50 chance it happens with all the draft picks the Drive took. Playoffs or no playoffs, the Grand Rapids Drive are built to win for the future.

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