Life On The Dl

MIAMI, March 3 - The high end condos, the fancy hotels, the private plane rides, the hussle-and-bussle of Miami. All those things were taken away from Dorell Wright and Earl Barron - momentarily. For two weeks the two HEAT youngsters got a glimpse at how life would be if they hadn't made it to the NBA. On January 3, Barron and Wright were assigned to play for the Florida Flame of the National Basketball Developmental League. And for that time, Wright and Barron were just like the thousands of basketball players who are working hard to live out their dreams of reaching the NBA.

Wright appeared in six games for the Flame, averaging 12.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20.7 minutes per game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the field. He had his best game of his stint when he recorded a team-high 32 points off the bench for the Flame, while shooting 15-for-22 from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds in 32 minutes on January 13 against the Roanoke Dazzle.

Barron also appeared in six games, starting in three contests. He averaged 17.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 29.2 minutes per game, while shooting 51.2 percent from the field. In his last three games, all starts, he recorded consecutive double-doubles, scoring 23 points and grabbing 13 rebounds on January 13 vs. Roanoke, 25 points and 13 rebounds on January 15 vs. the Fayetteville Patriots and 22 points and 11 rebounds on January 16 vs. the Arkansas RimRockers.

But for Wright and Barron, trading the HEAT colors of black and red for the Flame colors of green and white, wasn't the only transition for the HEAT youngsters. From the minute they exited off I-75 and stepped foot in rural Fort Myers, the two quickly discovered they're a long way from Miami.

The Initial Reaction

Dorell Wright: "I wasn't discouraged. I knew it wasn't the NBA, but I couldn't look at it as a