Wednesday Windmill: Here's what training camp and the preseason is all about

With NBA training camps getting underway, I figured I would give a brief rundown about what training camp is all about and what purpose it serves along with the preseason. Many of you may have a loose idea about what it is, but I figured I would tighten things up and make things more clear to you. For the sake of simplicity, I will list 10 things that you should know.

1. Training camp is for everybody. This might seem obvious, but after hearing about guys getting training camp invites, it needs to be understood that training camp is for everybody on the team. The stars all the way down to players fighting to make the team attend training camp.

2.  Players on training camp rosters can play in preseason games. The main purpose of preseason games is to find out which players who are on the roster bubble will make the team. These are players who signed non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. When a player signs a non-guaranteed training camp contract with a team, this means that the player also will get to participate in preseason games and prove why he belongs on the team.

3. What are non-guaranteed contracts? Non-guaranteed contracts are just that. They are contracts signed by players who don't have a guaranteed spot on the team's roster but hope to make the final cut.

4. Is there a limit to how many players can be on a training camp roster? Yes, there is a limit and the limit is 20. Teams don't have to have 20 players signed for training camp, but they can't go beyond 20.

5. What role does the NBADL (D-League) play in training camp and preseason? Not a whole lot directly, but what should be noted is that players who don't make the final cut for an NBA team will likely find a home in the D-League. It's really competitive to make an NBA training camp roster, so if you are good enough to find a home in an NBA training camp, you are certain to find a home in the D-League.

6. What do coaches focus on in training camp and preseason? Coaches focus on a lot of things. They focus on what players are good enough to make the final cut, what lineups might work in the regular season, how best to get players to understand their coaching philosophies, and other things. It's a time for coaches to get a feel of the team that they have and also get back in the groove of coaching. Coaching is a skill and preseason is a great place to hone that skill and practice it.

7. How important is preseason and training camp for rookies? It's very important. Rookies get to use this time to adjust to the speed and style of the NBA while actually playing against real NBA players. They get their feet wet a little bit in Summer League, but for the most part, guys on Summer League rosters are guys who are unlikely to make an NBA team. Only the first and second year players who have to be there are legit NBA players. Preseason is really the first time these rookies get exposed to NBA-level basketball which is an important time in their process of transitioning from the college game to the NBA game.

In addition, while first round picks are guaranteed a roster spot, second round picks are not guaranteed a roster spot. This means second round picks have to use training camp and the preseason as a proving ground for why they belong on the final roster.

8. If preseason and training camp is important, why do stars often rest during this time? This is a tough question to answer in the sense that I want to argue that preseason is important for all players involved, so I'll just say that for some players, preseason and training camp is a great time to rest up and get healthy.

Players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant don't need to worry about making a team or getting a feel for NBA level basketball, so for them it might make more sense to rest up and get healthy for the regular season. However, for LeBron James, this preseason will give him a chance to get a feel for his new team in Cleveland and get a jump on how to play with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.

9. Preseason is a chance to grow the game globally. The NBA frequently has teams play preseason games in foreign countries to grow the game internationally. In addition, teams will play preseason games in smaller American cities that will otherwise not host an NBA game.

10. How similar is this to NFL training camp and MLB spring training? If you are more of an expert in the NFL, MLB, or NHL, I would say that whatever training camp is like in those sports, it's basically the same in the NBA. I know in the NFL that preseason rosters start at 90 players, get cut down to 75, and then get cut down to 53 for the regular season. The NBA works in a similar vein. They start at 20 players and have to cut the roster down to at least 15 players, though typically the number is 12 or 13 players.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord