Brother Wendell Maxey writes on RidiculousUpside.com that the Portland Trail Blazers are preparing to send player(s) down to their D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede. ------------------------ "The Idaho Stampede, Portland's D-League affiliate, appears in the works for [Armon] Johnson and three other Blazers as the team begins the evaluation process this season on their young un-used core which includes Luke Babbitt, Elliot Williams, and rookie Nolan Smith, along with Johnson. ... When asked if Johnson would be looked upon first for assignment, Born said "that's possible". "Because Armon is in-active we will definitely look at him, but we'll look at all of those guys going down at some point if it fits our schedule and their (Idaho) schedule." ------------------------ Update (10:15 AM): The Blazers announced on Wednesday that Johnson and Babbitt have been assigned to the Idaho Stampede. ------------------------ Both Babbitt and Johnson were assigned to the Stampede last season, with Babbitt playing in 14 games (nine starts) and Johnson playing in nine games (one start). Babbitt averaged 20.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in two separate stints with the team, while Johnson averaged 18.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a Stampeder in two trips. Babbitt scored a Stampede individual-high 34 points on March 27 against Austin. Johnson scored a season-high 27 points on February 16 against Bakersfield. ------------------------ text edited, bumped to front page