D-Fenders announce 2014-15 D-League schedule

While the Lakers open the 2014-15 regular season on Oct. 28 at Staples Center against the Houston Rockets, the team’s NBA Development League affiliate won’t start its campaign until Nov. 14.

The D-Fenders visit the Santa Cruz Warriors, playing the team that knocked them out of the 2014 playoffs in a two-game sweep. The Warriors ultimately advanced to the D-League finals, falling to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (also in a sweep).

Phil Hubbard has taken over as head coach of the D-Fenders, replacing Bob MacKinnon, who led the team to a 31-19 record and a top seeding in the Western Division.

The D-Fenders will play 24 games at home at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo, starting with the Texas Legends on Nov. 15.

For its 14th season, the D-League will be broken into two conferences (East and West), with four divisions (West, Atlanta, Central and Southwest). The league has 18 franchises, with 17 of them paired with NBA parent clubs -- the Mad Ants are the lone independent.

The D-League holds its annual draft in early November, soon after NBA teams have set regular-season rosters.

Last season, the Lakers sent forward Ryan Kelly to the D-Fenders for five games, where he averaged 25.2 points, 7.6 and 3.8 assists. The Lakers also called up Shawne Williams and Manny Harris from the D-Fenders on 10-day contracts.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.