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The Clippers announced yesterday that they have send Branden Dawson to the NBA Development League. He will join the Grand Rapids Drive. This will enable Dawson to both get playing time as well as enjoy a homecoming as he returns to Michigan. He attended Michigan State during his collegiate career. Earlier this season, Dawson spent some time with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League. He played 6 games for the Jam and overall was not too impressive stat wise. He averaged 6.3 points from 17.5 minutes per game of play from 41.5% field goal percentage.
When drafted late in the second round, Branden Dawson was seen basically as a cheap bench player with some (limited) potential upside. At age 22, there isn't much growth/development left for Dawson both physically as well as for his game. As the Clippers enter their 20th game of the season, Dawson has yet to see any playing time on the floor. Instead, Doc Rivers has kept his rotations limited to the more proven commodities of Josh Smith, Paul Pierce, and Luc Mbah Moute. Even Cole Aldrich has only seen 17 total minutes on the floor this season.
In the end, while it's a little disappointing to see that Dawson has not panned out (so far) into a more dynamic player, it's hardly surprising. Hopefully he'll develop more confidence and consistency with some/more playing time in the development league.