Welcome to the minor leagues. Major League Baseball has its respective farm systems. The NHL gets to pluck talent from the planet’s smaller, independent leagues. And the NBA has the Developmental League. The D-League is the NBA’s official minor league in which all 16 teams have direct affiliations to NBA franchises. According to the NBA, 20 percent of players on rosters at the end of the 2008-2009 season had some form of D-League experience. Two former Tigers — Darnell Lazare and Garrett Temple — hope to someday be among that percentage. LAZARE SEIZES OPPORTUNITYThe road from Baton Rouge to the NBA has been long for former Tiger Darnell Lazare.After graduating from LSU in 2007, Lazare spent stints on a myriad of teams, domestic and foreign. Now that has changed. The Maine Red Claws, who are affiliated with the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Bobcats, drafted Lazare 27th overall with the ninth pick in the second round, giving Lazare a slim shot at being picked up by an NBA squad at some point during the season. “It was an opportunity that presented itself,” Lazare said. “Initially, I thought I was going to go back to Europe this season, but this opportunity came along, and I thought it would be a great way to get some exposure, so I jumped on it.”Lazare has played three games so far with the Red Claws. He’s averaged seven points and four rebounds in the three contests. Lazare had spent the last two seasons overseas in Sweden and Ukraine, respectively. The 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pound forward is now trying to reacquaint himself with the American style of play. European basketball is more focused on fundamentals than athleticism. Europe has produced players like Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic and Manu Ginobili, who are known more for a silky shooting touch and precise passing than a windmill dunk. “Coming from Europe, it’s a different style of play in the D-League — it’s a little bit faster, and there are some bigger guys,” Lazare said. “It’s been an adjustment and a learning curve, but at the end of the day it’s still basketball.”That doesn’t mean Lazare regrets his time spent across the pond. “It was great,” Lazare said of his experience. “I got a chance to work on my game and just work on some things I wasn’t able to work on as often in college. I just polished up a few things and tried to get better as a player.”The Baton Rouge native and Woodlawn High product played at LSU from 2003-2007. He was a four-year contributor for former coach John Brady.Lazare now sees a significant opportunity to culminate a lifelong goal. He’s not looking that far down the road, though. “My goal is to make it to that level [NBA],” Lazare said. “I’ll see what happens and see what opportunities come along.” ROCKETS HIGH ON TEMPLEFellow former Tiger, Temple, has not traveled such a winding road — yet. Temple, who graduated from LSU this past year, is currently a member of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League. The former University High standout played on the Houston Rockets’ Summer League team and garnered an invite to Houston’s training camp. He was one of the Rockets’ final roster cuts. The cut does not mean the Rockets have given up on Temple. The Vipers are Houston’s D-League affiliate, and the organization thinks Temple has a future in the organization. “We’re very, very high on Garrett,” Rockets vice president of player personnel Gersson Rosas told the Houston Chronicle. “We really believe in his upside and that he will continue his development with our involvement.”Temple has averaged six points in three games with the Vipers.—-Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]