Springfield Armor get ready for D-League opener

The players who made up the Armor last season --and won the Eastern Division-- are scattered around the world. Jerry Smith (Italy), JamesOn Curry (Venezuela), L.D. Williams (France), Lance Hurdle (Australia), Jeff Foote (Lithuania) and Preston Knowles (Greece) are overseas already. Dennis Horner has a two-week tryout in Germany.

The Armor have only one or two players returning and now must begin restocking the roster. They don't have much time. Opening night is November 24. Under league rules, they will have first dibs on the last three Nets preseason cuts. Although Stephen Dennis' D-League rights are held by Bakersfield, James Mays and presumably Carleton Scott could wind up in Springfield. Armor coaches Bob MacKinnon and Chris Carrawell and Nets Director of Minor League Operations Milton Lee have all been working the Nets practices and getting a good read on them.

The Armor have other options. They will pick 14th in the multi-round D-League Draft on November 2. They can also sign players cut by other NBA teams if those players aren't picked up by D-League affiliates and they can make trades. The Nets, of course, could send Tyshawn Taylor or Toko Shengelia to Springfield at some point.

On Sunday, McKinnon, Carrawell and Lee be at the Armor's second open tryout at the Springfield College Fieldhouse, looking for diamonds in the rough. Last month, they had a similar tryout at the PNY Center and Lee said then they found two or three players they liked and will invite to camp.

• Springfield Armor looking to add players from local tryout on Sunday - Jeff Thomas - Springfield Republican