D-League's Iowa Energy Acquire Stanley Robinson, Marqus Blakely

Filed under: Clippers, Magic, NBA Transactions, NBA D-League, Bakersfield Jam, Iowa Energy

Stanley Robinson and Marqus Blakely, quite possibly the two best athletes in the NBA D-League, were acquired Monday by the Iowa Energy in separate trades with the Bakersfield Jam and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. The Energy sent Texas alum Connor Atchley to Rio Grande Valley for Robinson and gave up next year's first-round pick to the Jam in return for Blakely.

Robinson, selected by the Orlando Magic in the second round of this year's NBA Draft, is a 6-foot-9 rookie forward out of Connecticut. An excellent athlete, Robinson showed his potential by scoring 22 points while playing just 18 minutes in his second game for the Vipers on Dec. 5. His basketball career was put on hold the very next game, however, when Robinson learned that he had contracted a Staph infection that was initially rumored to be bad enough to hold him out for the rest of this basketball season.

According to the Hartford Courant, however, Robinson was discharged from the hospital and then spent time in Alabama and Connecticut while rehabbing and has now been cleared to return to basketball. With the Energy, Robinson could step in and start right away at power forward.

Blakely (pictured above), an undrafted rookie out of Vermont, actually earned a partially-guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Clippers after displaying plenty of potential while playing for the team in the Vegas Summer League. Unfortunately, he didn't stick and instead ended up with the Jam, the Clippers' D-League affiliate. In 25 games with Bakersfield, Blakely was averaging 13.0 points and 6.1 rebounds while making 51 percent of his shots from the field. His play was also recently highlighted by Kevin Pelton at Basketball Prospectus.

The Energy should be significantly better than almost any team they face for the time being as Blakely and Robinson are joining a team that already includes top wing prospect Othyus Jeffers as well as Courtney Sims, a former D-League MVP and one of the most polished low-post offensive options in the D-League. They also retain the rights to Kyle Weaver, who was waived earlier this month due to injury.

 

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