Blazers Send Will Barton, Victor Claver Down To D-League's Idaho Stampede

The Portland Trail Blazers announced Friday that rookies Will Barton and Victor Claver have been assigned to the D-League's Idaho Stampede for two games over the next two days.

The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned guard Will Barton and forward Victor Claver to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey.

Barton and Claver, both rookies, will join the Stampede tomorrow, Dec. 7 in advance of the team's contests against the Austin Toros tomorrow night and on Saturday, Dec. 8, in Boise.

Barton, the 40th overall pick out of Memphis in the 2012 NBA Draft, has played in 16 games this season for the Trail Blazers, and has averages of 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 8.8 minutes per game.

Claver has appeared in four games with Portland this season, and averages 0.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 5.8 minutes per contest. Claver was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 22nd pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and signed with Portland on July 11, 2012.

One cool new feature this year: D-League games stream live on YouTube. Upcoming events can be found right here. Both Friday night's game and Saturday night's game are on the lineup of scheduled events.

The Blazers announced a single affiliation with the Stampede back in May. They hired high school coach Michael Peck to coach the team. Peck joined the Blazers for training camp.

"Victor Claver, he's a guy with a high basketball IQ and has an extensive playing background having played for the national team in Spain," Stampede Head Coach Mike Peck said. "So, he has a wealth of experience at a high level. Will Barton is extremely athletic and is very high-energy. He can play at a fast pace and has a lot of great reactive instincts for the game, but like many young players, he's still learning to play at this level. He'll help us."