The crew here at 2 Ways & 10 Days searched our secret files and found the list of players available in next week’s G League expansion draft. Naturally, we took it upon ourselves to put our general manager hats on and make the tough decisions that lie ahead for each of these teams.

Here are the parameters for the actual draft which will be held Aug. 23.

The draft will be held at 1:00 PM ET and will not be streamed live

There are 11 rounds total

No more than twoplayers may be selected from each team — once a team has two players selected, the remainder of their players are ineligible to select

Draft order: Erie BayHawks, Memphis Hustle, Wisconsin Herd, Agua Caliente Clippers — the draft order will snake each round

Teams will have two minutes to make each pick. A team may pass on a selection, but if they do, then they cannot pick the rest of the draft

Players selected will have their rights retained for the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons

Our Strategies

Adam Johnson: My goal with each team in the expansion draft was to balance asset management with players who may realistically return to the G League in the next two seasons.

Though a majority of players won’t see action in the team’s inaugural season, it was important to gain talent that might be required for an in-season trade.

Admittedly, this was tougher than I thought it would be. Each of the previous 22 teams cannot lose more than two players in this expansion draft, and we followed that same model.

What became apparent very quickly was selecting players perhaps ahead of where they may fall in the draft because one player had already been taken from their team and I didn’t want to lose out on them so I took them as soon as possible to not miss out on obtaining their player rights.

In some cases, front offices may have previous relationships with agents which may be a reason why they may select a player. Also, often times what someone knows about a player first-hand might be better (or worse in some cases) than the unknown. Familiarity with a player may also play a role for teams when selecting talent in the expansion draft.

Chris Reichert: My overall plan was to select talented players who were also currently free agents. There is still plenty of time for many of these guys to sign overseas, but as you will see only four of my 22 selections (two teams) are signed right now.

G League teams crave roster flexibility and assets in the form of attractive returning rights players. Prior to their championship season the Raptors 905 used many of their expansion selections from the previous season to acquire quality players, and their strategy clearly paid off.

While many of my selections might be viewed as “playing it safe”, I still took some homerun swings which could really pay off, if those players were to return — even if for a short stint.

Erie BayHawks

GM: Chris Reichert

Erie landed the no. 1 pick in the draft and nabbed one of the top talents available in Joe Jackson. His recent arrest will damper excitement over this selection, but Jackson has the talent to be an elite player in this league and will still be valuable to obtain.

The overall theme here is young, available talent. We already have Josh Magette as a two-way player to anchor our offense, so imagining Sibert and Johnson on the perimeter around him is tantalizing. Roberts’ career averages over 40 games in the G League are around 18 points and 12 boards, so if we can convince him to at least start the season here it would vault our new team to exciting levels.

Charles Garcia is another interesting player who really showed a ton of talent with the Austin Spurs last year. If Roberts doesn’t commit, then we can slot Garcia at the 4 and be good to go. We know it’s highly unlikely we will ever see Fredette, Stephens, Prather or Upshaw in a BayHawks jersey but they were too tempting to pass on.

Frankly, we’re shocked Jacobs was available in the final round. Though he didn’t get a ton of opportunities with the D-Fenders last year (17.4 minutes), he showed promise and at 22-years-old still has room to improve.

Memphis Hustle

GM: Adam Johnson

When it came to Memphis, I wanted to select players who fit their tenacious, grit ‘n grind model the team wants to play with.

Additionally, I wanted to provide the team with enough scoring options as possible, hence the back-to-back selections of Jordan Crawford and Ricky Ledo. They provide veteran experience that can lend itself to the younger talent on the team should they make a G League return of their own.

Will Cummings would be a fantastic ball-handler for this team, while guys like Ramon Harris and Denzel Livingston can apply that physicality the team likely wants to play with.

Putney would be a very complimentary player, being able to stretch the floor for this team while Lasme could do the same as he primarily played post defense for the undersized Texas Legends last season.

Scott Suggs was a valuable member of the Raptors 905 during their inaugural season as he was taken in their expansion draft as well. He’d be a great addition here as a proven talent that could be a real leader for this team.

David Laury III and Michael Dunigan are a pair of bigs that can bang inside if need be, with Laury able to extend his range a bit better than Dunigan in that respect. Versatility is the key and both of them would fit into the tenacity head coach Glynn Cyprien is looking for with his new team.

Wisconsin Herd

GM: Chris Reichert

We are really excited to have Whittington in our stable. The guy is extremely versatile at 6-foot-8 and we truly believe he’s got NBA potential. To be honest we looked at least five times at Ellis’ age, because nobody on our staff believed he was only 23-years-old, but man we got a steal regardless. He came on late last season with Greensboro, and he adds another solid forward who can extend the floor to the 3-point line for us.

Teague, O’Brien and Mockevicius are all starters in this league and could realistically return to play for us in 2017–18. We might have too many guys come back now that we look at our picks, but that just means we can work the phones for trades. John Jordan is a G League dunk contest winner who provides an instant spark off the bench, Greene never really got a decent shot last season and the same can be said for Paris Bass.

Petteway and Robinson likely won’t play in the G League again, but the prospect of Nate doing something like this was just too appetizing.

The wild card here is Darington Hobson. We had to attempt to bring him home — the Bucks drafted him no. 37 overall in 2010 — even though we could be denied. If he does return, he’s instantly one of the best playmakers in this league. Hobson is a 6-foot-7, lefty who can handle the ball, play off the ball and knock down the 3. We’re already on the phone with his agent, because we need him that bad.

Agua Caliente Clippers

GM: Adam Johnson

For the Clippers, I tried to go with familiarity for head coach Casey Hill. Players he has coached in prior seasons will know his expectations and be easier to acclimate to his style of leadership.

This is why I selected Terrence Drisdom and Daniel Nwaelele for the Clippers. Both played for Hill in Santa Cruz and were valuable role players to the team.

Verdell Jones III also fits in this category as he played for Hill during the 2015–16 season.

Vince Hunter would do very well for this team. Hill has done well developing big man talent during his tenure with Santa Cruz (Dewayne Dedmon, Hilton Armstrong, Ognjen Kuzmic, Damian Jones and Dennis Clifford). Giving Hunter a chance to grow under Hill would be something I’d be interested in watching this season if the stars align properly.

Jorge Gutierrez is a proven G League commodity and I’m surprised the Canton Charge didn’t protect his rights. He’s not going to light up the scoreboard or make the highlight reel but he will give you quality minutes and has a proven track record in the league. That’s tremendous value.

Joel Wright and Roscoe Smith are similar players with their gifted athleticism and intelligence around the basket, and if you can even get one on board for your team it would be a big boost. Wright is very complimentary for a team looking for a guy who can play guard and finish well at the basket.