Squadron ready for Year 3

T,J. Saint enters his second year as head coach of Birmingham’s G League team. The Squadron opens at home against the Austin Spurs on November 10 at 7 p.m. (photo courtesy of the Birmingham Squadron)

The NBA Draft lottery took place on May 16; the Draft itself was held June 22; training camp opened on October 3; and the regular season commenced on October 24.

In the G League, however, things come together far more quickly.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.

The draft was today, training camp starts on Monday, and the 2023-24 season tips-off on November 10. In other words, there’s much work to be done and a short time to do it.

The Birmingham Squadron – affiliates of the New Orleans Pelicans – opens against the Austin Spurs at Legacy Arena on November 10, hoping to vastly improve on last year’s 11-21 regular season record (and 6-16 mark in the in-season Showcase Cup tournament).

“We’ll have three days of two practices a day to start camp,” T.J. Saint, entering his second season as Birmingham’s head coach, said on Friday. “We will also do a controlled practice day with College Park (the Atlanta Hawks’ G League team) and then play them in an exhibition game the next day. After that first week, and being able to compare yourself with another G League team, will give us a great barometer of where we are as a team because they have the same constraints.

“It’s really just the nature of pro basketball and this is year nine for me, so I really don’t know any different.”

The NBA voted to add an additional two-way player to each team’s roster in 2023-24, giving them three. Due to injuries, Birmingham had access to only one a year ago – Dereon Seabron.

The guard was a force for the Squadron in 2022-23, averaging 34.5 minutes on the court over 27 outings and scoring 18.4-points per night. He also made five appearances with the Pelicans last season.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Dereon … he’s not a rookie anymore,” Saint said during the summer. “Having him there in his second year means knowing what to expect and knowing he’s gotten a lot better and gotten a lot stronger. I think he’s going to have a banner year.”

This year, Seabron will have some help from two more double-dippers – Kaiser Gates and Matt Ryan.

Gates spent time with three G League teams before signing with New Orleans last month. The 6-7, 225-pound small forward appeared in 24 games with the Long Island Nets last season, averaging 14 points and six rebounds per game. His overall G League average is 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over 122 games, including 66 starts.

Ryan has been with the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves organizations, and last fall and winter appeared in 22 games for Minnesota.

He pumped in 19 points per outing in seven starts with the G League Iowa Wolves in 2022-23.

“We have a lot of versatility with our two-ways this year,” Saint explained. “Each of them plays a different position and have different skill sets. Kaiser brings a tremendous G League pedigree. A top defender in the G as well as his 3-point shooting, which at 55 percent and five attempts a game is incredibly impressive from last season.

“Matt has a solid amount of NBA experience and is also a lights-out shooter. Having coached against him in the G as well, he plays very hard and stretches the floor. Both players are extremely high character.”

The Squadron also signed 2021 NBA G League Finals MVP Devin Cannady earlier this month.

Playing with the Lakeland Magic, Cannady got the MVP nod after scoring 22 points in the championship game. He played for the South Bay Lakers last year, averaging 12.6 points per game.

The newest addition to the club is Pavel Savkov, who was taken in the first round of today’s draft, No. 6 overall.

Savkov is a 6-7, 200-pound guard from Moscow. Last year, the 21-year-old played in three different Spanish leagues and recently extended his international contract with Saski Baskonia of Liga ACB and the EuroLeague.

The training camp roster was released Sunday morning, with 14 players competing for 13 roster spots: Seabron, G; Landers Nolley II, G; Liam Robbins, C; Tevian Jones, G; Savkov, G; Jalen Crutcher, G; Galen Robinson Jr., G; Izaiah Brockington, G; Nate Bradley Jr., G; Kevion Nolan, G; Cannady, G; Malcolm Hill, G; Daniel Giddens, C; and UAB product Trey Jemison, C.

The Squadron moves from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference this year and will face six new opponents for the first time in franchise history – the Cleveland Charge, Indiana Mad Ants, Motor City Cruise, Long Island Nets, Westchester Knicks and Windy City Bulls.

“Fans can look forward to seeing a team that has a high level of readiness, attention to detail, and a highly connected group,” Saint said.

For ticket info, go to BirminghamSquadron.com.