This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Taylorsville • These kids have come to play.

Anyone spending an evening with the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA Development League is struck by the constant activity and high energy level, in contrast to an NBA game. The jumping, shooting and hustling around the gym continues frenetically for the full 48 minutes.

The action on the basketball court below also is spirited.

Maybe they can't quite match the intensity of the Kids' Zone, but players are trying to make an impression and propel themselves into the NBA, with exponentially higher salaries and bigger crowds.

On a Saturday night in early January, former North Carolina guard Marcus Paige of the SLC Stars faced ex-Duke star Quinn Cook of the Canton Charge in front of 1,479 fans — counting the dozens of children who jumped on inflatable surfaces and shot mini basketballs upstairs in Salt Lake Community College's Bruin Arena, oblivious to the game. The reunion on such a stage was "just kind of weird," Paige said, after they formerly battled in the sold-out Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., with 21,750 fans.

Nine months removed from an epic NCAA championship game — his tying 3-pointer would be forever remembered, if not for a Villanova player topping him at the buzzer — Paige is performing in Taylorsville. He's here because the Utah Jazz made a $125,000 investment, partially guaranteeing his contract as a second-round draft choice before waiving him in October. Paige's fans can watch every Stars game on Facebook Live. Otherwise, he's hidden, compared with his high-profile collegiate experience. Some people, aware only that he's not in the NBA, have asked him, "What are you doing now?"

Joel Bolomboy, a forward from Weber State, received a two-year guarantee of more than $1 million, according to BasketballInsiders.com. Paige and Bolomboy are unusual cases, reflecting how the Jazz intend to use the Stars in more of a pro baseball development model than the traditional NBA approach.

Their teammates' income is modest. The D-League has two salary slots: $19,500 and $26,000, plus team-provided housing. The lure of playing in this league, as opposed to going overseas for more money, is access to the NBA (a D-League player who's not under contract to an NBA team can be signed by any of the 30 franchises). An NBA 10-day contract is worth $31,968 — and potentially is a gateway to much bigger deals.

Jazz star Gordon Hayward's salary is $16 million, paid over 171 days of the NBA regular season. That's roughly $95,000 per day. So he earned about $8,000 in the two hours he recently spent watching the Stars play, as his 19-months-old daughter, Bernadette, climbed on the SLCC bleachers.

That mathematical formula helps explain why forward J.J. O'Brien, who received a 10-day deal with the Jazz last season, is willing to play for the Stars. Same story with guard Sundiata Gaines, who seven years ago hit a game-winning 3-pointer for the Jazz against Cleveland as a 10-day player and was signed for the rest of the season. Gaines, 30, since has played in five other countries. He's back in the D-League to take "one more crack at the NBA," he said.

The Jazz bought the former Idaho Stampede franchise in 2015 and moved it from Boise this season, mainly so they could monitor Bolomboy, Paige and another second-round pick, point guard Tyrone Wallace of California. The franchise's strategy is to surround them with decent players, while not taking away their playing time. "We still try to develop all the other guys," said Bart Taylor, the Jazz director of scouting/Stars vice president of player personnel.

The Stars stand 7-18, tied for the second-worst record in the 22-team league. "We try not to preach that we want to win over anything," Taylor said, "but winning is part of development."

So when Bolomboy is with the Stars, the Jazz want him to make "winning plays," Taylor said, not merely compile big numbers. He's averaging 14.8 points and just over 13 rebounds in 12 games.

Having appeared in nine games with the Jazz, Bolomboy is a Stars celebrity. "Sometimes when I come down here, I feel like they kind of look up to me," he said.

Such phrasing is a violation of Jazz coach Quin Snyder's code, however. Having resurrected his coaching career at this level, Snyder fights against the "stigma" and semantics of the D-League. "You shouldn't have to talk about being called down or up," he said. "That should be a geographical comment."

So maybe the Jazz should just say players are being sent west to Redwood Road, where reserve guards Raul Neto and Alec Burks played one night during a break in the Jazz schedule. The D-League visit seemed to help them, when they rejoined the Jazz last weekend.

Neto's stat line — 14 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds — while he blended in effortlessly with the Stars against Grand Rapids illustrated the talent discrepancy between the NBA and D-League, considering he's the Jazz's No. 4 point guard. Then again, Neto started for the Jazz most of last season, and Taylor contends the D-League level of competition is "a lot higher than people think."

Jeremy Anderson and David Webb are Stars fixtures, with season tickets on the second row behind the home team's bench. Deputized with team shirts and caps, they heckle the visitors. This is Webb's go-to line, when an opposing player is benched or fouls out: "Think about what you've done."

Paige, meanwhile, learned to not dwell on where he's playing, after initially struggling with the Stars. "I viewed myself as an NBA player," he said. "With that type of attitude, you've got a league full of hungry guys trying to make it, [and] you get exposed. If you sit here and worry about the situation you're in, it's going to be a long year."

Bolomboy has gone back and forth between the Jazz and the Stars about a dozen times this season, sometimes just for a practice. If the Jazz's D-League affiliate were still in Boise, "That would be, like, a headache," Bolomboy said.

The ability to manage Bolomboy's rookie year justifies the Jazz's operation of the team. The Stars exist to develop basketball players. "That has been preached from the top down," said general manager Bart Sharp, who's employed by Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment with a job description to benefit Taylorsville and the western Salt Lake Valley and "minimize our losses."

So the Jazz are not especially concerned that the Stars' standard crowd numbers only about 1,400 — roughly half of the attendance in Boise. Sponsors have responded well, with advertising on the front and back of the players' jerseys and on SLCC's court. Having sold 550 season tickets, Sharp hopes to attract bigger walk-up crowds once people discover the Stars, who have 10 home games remaining.

With free parking, low-cost concessions and most tickets costing $5, Sharp said, fans can "get a taste of the Jazz experience … in a much more intimate setting."

It is quieter. When the Stars trailed Canton by 30 points at halftime, nobody booed. Only the music piped through the sound system masks the squeaking of sneakers. Webb, whose taunts are audible in the opposite balcony, likes the Stars' atmosphere, with three players signing autographs on the court after game. "The team is very personable," he said. "The Jazz are millionaires, and they do their own thing."

Squads of Jazz Dancers and members of the stunt and dunk teams are assigned to staff Stars games. They've already made it to the NBA. The Stars aspire to join them. The players live in apartments downtown, motivated by the view of Vivint Smart Home Arena. "Big picture," Paige said, "you're always thinking about where you want to be."

Twitter: @tribkurt —

Pathway of the Stars

• The NBA Development League includes 17 franchises owned by NBA teams and five others that have NBA affiliations. The Jazz can assign as many as three players to the Stars for practices or games. The Stars also have accepted players assigned from other NBA teams lacking affiliations.

• The Stars' top scorers are the Jazz's three second-round draft picks of 2016: Tyrone Wallace (14.9), Joel Bolomboy (14.8) and Marcus Paige (13.3). Sundiata Gaines, who played for the Jazz in 2009-10, averages 13.1 points.

• Jazz center Rudy Gobert played eight games for Bakersfield as a rookie in 2013-14, averaging 13.9 points and 11.4 rebounds.

• The Stars have 10 games remaining at Salt Lake Community College, with their home schedule resuming Jan. 27.

• The Stars' next game is Sunday morning in Ontario, Canada, at the D-League Showcase against Reno. Tipoff is 10:30 a.m. on NBATV.