Kevin: the Pistons can only send players down that are on the 15-man roster, which Mejia failed to make — he was released outright before the start of the season.

If the Pistons send Samb (who IS on the 15-man roster) down, he’s NOT eligible to be cut, and in fact I think the Pistons can at least indirectly lean on the Ft. Wayne coaching staff to give him playing time. But the fact Mejia landed with Ft. Wayne even after being cut is pretty much a coincidence, it’s not like he was assigned there by the Pistons.

(Okay, not 100% a coincidence — the coaches, some of whom spent time in the Pistons training camp, were already familiar with him, plus he has Midwestern college ties, which the D-League recognizes when assigning players instead of forcing them to be in the D-League’s draft … but my point is that he was in the D-League not because the Pistons sent him there but because he was released by the Pistons and wanted to stay close to the NBA instead of immediately jumping for more cash overseas.)

As for cutting Meija, an NBDL GM would have to be remarkably dumb to do something like that without Joe D.’s consent. Why bite the hand that feeds you players like Amir who can sell a few more tickets?

But in the case of Mejia, isn’t the idea of the NBDL that a team can get a look at a player without investing a roster spot? If the NBDL affiliate has that much autonomy over personnel, that sets up a dynamic that cannot be beneficial.