NBA D League affiliations (merged)

[Warhawk]

NBA D League affiliations

apparently have been determined, but of course they are not listed in the article....

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/basketball/nba/09/19/bc.bkp.lgns.dleagueaffiliations.r/index.html

Young NBA millionaires can now be sent to the minor leagues to work on making their skills match their salaries. The NBA took a huge step Monday toward the structuring of a true minor league when it announced the affiliations between its 30 teams and the eight squads in its D-League.


"They're really going to benefit both players and teams," NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said in a teleconference. "For players, it will allow them to get playing time that they might not have gotten under the old system. For teams, it gives them another option and flexibility in player development."

NBA teams are not obligated to send players to their affiliates and can send as many as two. Those players will remain on the inactive list of the NBA team.

The player must be in his first or second year and has 48 hours to report once he is assigned to his D-League team. The player will continue to receive his NBA salary and benefits paid by his NBA team.

No player can be assigned to the D-League more than three times in a season. However, there is no limit on the length of the assignment.

D-League teams will be allowed to expand their rosters from 10 to 12 players to accommodate players assigned from the NBA. Players sent to the D-League could end up playing with teams other than their affiliate.

"We've tried to maintain a little bit of flexibility with respect to that decision because we don't know how NBA teams are going to use it," said D-League president Phil Evans, also on the teleconference.

 

[Warhawk]

I just checked ESPN, and their link just shows a blank page, so no help there.

Wait, there it is:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2166343

The affiliations are as follows:

The Albuquerque Thunderbirds will serve Phoenix, Sacramento, Seattle and Utah; the Arkansas Rimrockers will serve Atlanta, Cleveland, Memphis and Toronto; the Austin Toros will serve Denver, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio; the Fayetteville Patriots will serve Charlotte, Detroit and New York; the Florida Flame will serve Boston, Miami, Minnesota and Orlando; the Fort Worth Flyers will serve Dallas, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland; the Roanoke Dazzle will serve New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington; and the Tulsa 66ers will serve Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee and New Orleans.

Jackson said no NBA teams made specific requests regarding their assigned affiliate. The NBA tried to assign teams by proximity but found that somewhat difficult given the D-League's primary locations of the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest.

"We let them [know] we would try to do as best we could [with location]," he said. "Given the geographical constraints, you're going to have some anomalies."

Unlike in baseball, NBA teams are prohibited from owning their affiliates. Six D-League teams are privately owned and operated, while the NBA owns Fayetteville and Roanoke.

However, NBA teams will be allowed to send personnel to D-League teams to oversee and/or assist in the development of a particular player.

"I think this is a big step in helping to develop young talent," Philadelphia 76ers president Billy King said. "This will help the overall play of the NBA and help prepare players on and off the court."

When NBA commissioner David Stern announced plans to use the four-year-old D-League as a minor league for the NBA earlier this year, he said his goal was to have each team serve as an affiliate for two NBA teams.

The D-League needs to add seven teams to realize that goal. Until then, there could be some issues regarding player assignments.

Neither Jackson nor Evans knew the immediate answer regarding roster expansion to more than 12 players should an affiliate be flooded with as many as eight NBA players in a short period of time or with a handful of players who play the same position.

"We're treading on new ground here," Jackson said. "We would make some adjustments to one other D-League team that had less than eight or less than six players sent down [to them]."

Both suggested the possibility of assigning one or more of those players to D-League teams with less pressing roster issues.

"In those cases where it may not make sense from a competitive standpoint or playing standpoint ... we will make a determination as to where those players go," Jackson said.

"It's causing us to take a real hard look at expansion," Evans said.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Thunderbirds? You mean SuperJazzySunKings?

 

[Warhawk]

I don't know who came up with the "Dazzle", but they should get their money back. What's with the recycling of pro sport names (Patriots, Flyers)? Can't they come up with something new?

 

[jacobdrj]

PLEASE tell me there will eventually be a 1:1 ratio!

 

[CruzDude]

NBA Development League-Albuquerque update

Dateline New York Sept 19: The National Basketball Association announced today its new affiliation and assignment system for the NBA Development League. Under this system, each of the eight current D-League teams will be affiliated with either three or four NBA teams, and the NBA teams may assign players in their first two seasons to play in the D-League.

The Abuquerque Thunderbirds will be comprised of players from:
Sacramento Kings
Seattle SuperSonics
Utah Jazz
Phoenix Suns

There will be 7 other "D-League" teams:
Arkansas RimRockers
Austin Toros
Fayetteville Patriots
Florida Flame
Fort Worth Flyers
Roanoke Dazzle
Tulsa 66ers

Each team can only have 2 players "on assignment" to one of the D-League teams and those players will be "inactive" players on that NBA teams roster. No specifics on where the rest of the players on each D-League team come from or who pays them or what are their rights to any team.

This concept makes sense in the beginning and could lead in a few years to a minor league system like in baseball.

For the Kings, one now can wonder if they will supply two of their guards to the Thunderbirds. BTW the Thunderbird is very prominent in Navajo culture and the Navajo reservation is about the western 1/3 of the state of New Mexico.

 

[Jkbiker]

NBA teams are not obligated to send players to their affiliates and can send as many as two. Those players will remain on the inactive list of the NBA team.

The player must be in his first or second year and has 48 hours to report once he is assigned to his D-League team. The player will continue to receive his NBA salary and benefits paid by his NBA team.

I now see why NBA are letting total roster slots to go up to 15 max, you could have 3 inactive and two of them playing in the D league. I suppose if you had big injuries during the season you could bring back the guys on assignment to keep the active roster at 12 without signing another player. But since the "assigned" player still gets his NBA salary from the NBA team does that mean those contracts would count towards the Cap and luxury tax? Paying a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick even a rookie min of around $700K doubled to 1.4 mil to go play in the D league seems like a lot of money for some kid to go to "school".

I wonder if there is some sort of luxury tax exemption for thr D league assigned players?

 

[BobbyJ_for3!]

I don't know who came up with the "Dazzle", but they should get their money back. What's with the recycling of pro sport names (Patriots, Flyers)? Can't they come up with something new?

So you are saying they shouldnt be creative (Dazzle) and then saying they should be (Pats)?

I know you mean just dazzle sounds stupid but i thought id point that out.

I agree, Patriots and Flyers (and Flame???) shouldnt be the names.

One thing I don't like about the current, not as many teams set ups is that as written in that report, all but one of the teams has 4 NBA affiliates.....so Detriot, New York, and Charlotte will have more NBDL roster spots available to them...I don't like that at all.

 

[Warhawk]

So you are saying they shouldnt be creative (Dazzle)

Well, I guess "Dazzle" is creative if you are an under-12 girls cheerleading team, but not for men's pro basketball.

RimRockers, Toros, Flame - those are all "creative" new (not currently used in American pro sports) names, that, while not necessarily personal favorites, are not bad at all. What the heck are you going to have as your mascot/symbol? It just sounds, well, like a lame firecracker name I guess.

What about things like some wild animal names (Wildcats, Bears, Lions, Dragons), or a geographical feature (Rockies), etc. Combinations also work (the local Sacramento RiverCats, for instance) and are fan favorites. Who is going to be the first to stand up and say, "I'm a Dazzle fan!" Just doesn't work for me.

Again, it is all just my humble opinion.

Edit - and I know that some of these are already pro names, it was just a couple off the top of my head. Other things like forces of nature (Avalanche, Shock, Earthquakes) are cool as well. Come up with something that sounds exciting, not "Dazzle". In the vein of RimRockers, how about names that are basketball-centric but new? There have to be ad folks that can do better than this....

 

[thesanityannex]

Come up with something that sounds exciting, not "Dazzle".

How bout the "Glitter"?

 

[Warhawk]

About as good as "Lip Gloss" or "Take-n-Bake".

 

[Warhawk]

How about a new naming contest in the vein of shortest books? Try to rename the Dazzle into something, well, respectible?

 

[thesanityannex]

That can't be changed into anything respectable. No chance. The closest I can think of would be "the sparkle"

 

[HndsmCelt]

Funny Albuquerque was allready on my short list of citie for possible relocation in the near future...

 

[BigSong]

im assuming that these d league teams can draw players from other sources, non-draftees and such? also is the nba responsible for these teams, organizing and financing them??

 

[VF21]

BTW the Thunderbird is very prominent in Navajo culture and the Navajo reservation is about the western 1/3 of the state of New Mexico.

Maybe this will counterattack the years of negative effects reportedly caused by Arco being built on the Indian graveyard.

 

[Double-K]

Why the 66ers isn't serving the 76ers?

ok... I know it's not funny... I just wanna say it.... sorry