Grizzlies on Thursday assigned rookie center Hasheem Thabeet to the
Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League on Thursday.
A 7-foot-3 Thabeet, the second overall
pick last year, averaged 2.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 50
games. The former Connecticut player had a career-best 10 points on Jan.
2 at Phoenix.
Thabeet was viewed as a player that
needed development, but because of his rare combination of size and
athleticism he was taken ahead players such as Tyreke Evans, who played
at the University of Memphis, Stephen Curry and James Harden.
The Grizzlies have been recently using
Hamed Haddadi, a second-year player from Iran, as the primary backup to
starting center Marc Gasol.
The 23-year-old Thabeet will be the
highest drafted player to play in the NBA's minor league. Portland's
Martell Webster, the No. 6 pick in the 2005 draft, previously held that
distinction. He played eight games for the Fort Worth Flyers in the
D-League in 2005-06.