Should players coming back from injury play a few D-league games first?

[Hey Yo]

Not sure about the rule on this.

Examples like Durant or Paul George (if he comes back this year) Galo in Denver etc.. NHL players and MLB players usually get sent to the minors for a few when coming off an injury to get back into playing shape.

Are proven NBA players allowed to play a few D-league games first to shake the rust off before coming back and playing meaningful games? If so, don't you think that would be the way to go coming off a serious leg or foot injury?

[Fire Colangelo]

Egos are too big nowadays. Getting "sent" down to the D-league is literally worse than coming off the bench. And how many starters, let alone star players happily came off the bench after coming back from an injury?

Ray Allen wasn't happy with coming off the bench for the Celtics after his injury even though Bradley was playing just as well, if not better than Allen at the time. Do you think Westbrook would happily except a 6th man role? Even if it's just for one game? I honestly don't.... Durant maybe?

I came off the bench and played a Jason Terry like role for my high school team. Even though I finished most games with the starters and played the same minutes (if not more), I was always getting pissed at my coach for starting me off the bench first. So I kinda know where some of these guys are coming from. Which is why I really respect guys like Terry, Odom and Manu for comfortably coming off the bench even though they had all star talent, and probably would've made a couple All Star games on any other team.

You don't see a lot of star players learning to be productive in a lesser role as they get older. They try to do too much and demand attentions/minutes due to their ego. Guys like Iverson and McGrady just couldn't find a way to be productive for contenders to sign. They didn't understand that they had to change their game around and specialize in just one thing (whether it's 3 point shooting, or defense) to be effective in their old age. Iverson was still chucking away like he's 20 years old and refused to take a bench role for the sake of the team. While McGrady just couldn't stay healthy and didn't develop the specific skills needed to be on a contending team.

Compare them to guys like Vince Carter and Ray Allen, who put down their egos and specialized on that one skill that made them valuable to every contender in the league.

OT:

In a perfect world, they absolutely should. Not only it shakes the rust off, it would also give them confidence, which is a huge thing coming off an injury. Guys like Rose should've been sent to the d-league to play a few games a long time ago. It's not as fast paced as the NBA, but it's a lot more physical than practice games, so it's the perfect middle ground for players returning from injury.