McLeod has played 200 career NBA games with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers. He was waived by the Dallas Mavericks in late October 2008. During the 2006-07 season, McLeod played for the Golden State Warriors and the Indiana Pacers, playing in 48 games, starting eight and averaging five points.

Johnson was recently acquired by the Tbirds in a trade with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, who selected Johnson 13th overall in the 2008 NBA D-League draft. Johnson was averaging 11.3 ppg, 6 rpg and 3.3 apg with the D-Fenders. A Mississippi native, Johnson attended Delta State University and averaged 20.6 points and 8.2 rebounds during his senior season. Johnson spent the last two years playing professionally in Argentina and Brazil.

Tbirds guard Will Conroy is averaging 25.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 7.4 apg this season, while David Monds, another Tbird player of note, is averaging 13 ppg and 13 rpg. With McLeod and Johnson as new members of the roster, the Tbirds will be a strong opponent.

The Tbirds face the Austin Toros on Saturday, December 13, at 6:30pm MST. The Toros are 3-3 this season and will be a tough match-up for the Tbirds with San Antonio Spurs assigned guards Anthony Tolliver and Blake Ahearn on their roster. The Tbirds continue their Texas swing when they face the 3-4 Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Sunday, December 14, at 3:30pm in Hidalgo, TX.

Head Coach John Coffino knows the Texas trip will be a challenge. "I'm confident we will meet it with the intensity and aggressiveness we have been lacking. We have had three really competitive practices and want it to carry over into the 48 minutes of a game".

To watch the games live, visit www.abqtbirds.com. The Tbirds’ next home game, also against the Toros, on Thursday, December 18 at 10:30am, is one of two School House Jams. The TBirds will then play the Toros again on Friday, December 19 at 7pm at Tingley Coliseum at EXPO NM. For tickets please call 505.265.3865 (DUNK) or buy tickets online at www.abqtbirds.com.

The NBA Development League is the NBA's official minor league, and the first-ever basketball league with direct affiliations to NBA teams. Having recently completed its seventh season, the NBA D-League’s goals are to provide affordable, NBA-caliber entertainment to fans of its 16 teams, as well as continue to develop players, coaches, referees and front-office personnel for the NBA. As the single source for in-season player "call-ups" to the NBA, fans of the D-League enjoy the highest caliber of basketball played outside the NBA. In fact 15 percent of players on 2008 end-of-season NBA rosters spent time honing their skills in the League. In addition, it has produced current NBA coaches and 25 percent of the NBA’s referees. The NBA D-League is an innovative and rapidly growing sports property that also serves as an experimental testing ground for new initiatives like NBA Futurecast, the live web-streaming of all games available free at nba.com/futurecast. The League also provides continuing education and professional development resources for its players, and is committed to serving its local communities through D-LEAGUE CARES and grassroots efforts.

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