Jared Cunningham to D-League; Shawn Marion practicing

A couple of minor notes on an otherwise quiet Tuesday:

Jared Cunningham, fresh off of tying his career high in points last night, is being sent down to the D-League to play for the Texas Legends. "Welcoming to playing time" said Donnie Nelson, who co-owns the Mavericks' minor league squad. Cunningham had played just 24 minutes total for the 11-10 Mavs, and with several key players potentially nearing a return, those minutes were unlikely to see an uptick.

One such returning player is Shawn Marion, who practiced today after missing the last two games with a strained groin. It has not yet been determined if Marion will play tomorrow night against the Boston Celtics, but Marion will travel with the team on their three game road trip, suggesting he will likely make his return at some point over that period.

Back to Cunningham: it shouldn't be seen as an indictment that Cunningham is being sent down. Cunningham is just the latest first round pick to be sent there, joining Kendall Marshall, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones, Royce White, Tony Wroten Jr, Fab Melo, John Jenkins, Miles Plumlee, and Perry Jones III. First rounders seeing the D-League used to be something of a rarity, but this year has seen a shift in philosophy on this front, as teams are finally starting to use the D-League as a tool(it is called the Developmental League for a reason, after all), much as baseball teams use their minor league affiliates.