Cavaliers' NBA D-League Team Will Be Named Canton Charge

Canton Charge Thursday “was announced as the team name” for the Cavaliers' NBA D-League team, according to Josh Weir of the Canton REPOSITORY. The Charge logo, “colored in familiar wine and gold, is a cavalier brandishing his sword in attack mode.” The logo “intertwines the minor-league basketball team” and the Cavs. Charge GM Wes Wilcox said, “It’s no longer Canton D-League Team. It’s the Canton Charge. For us to be able to communicate that to our fans is really exciting.” The Cavs’ marketing team worked with New York-based Cenergy Communications “to produce the Charge logo.” The team “sifted through 1,000 possibilities for a name … before settling on Charge.” Marketing a team “without a team presented a challenge,” but now “the franchise can move forward in terms of merchandising and other business opportunities.” The team’s website also “switched from www.cantonnba.com to www.cantoncharge.com at the announcement” (CANTONREP.com, 10/13).

WILL IT LAST? In North Dakota, Lou Babiarz wondered if the NBA D-League Dakota Wizards "have a future in Bismarck beyond this season?" Warriors co-Owner and Dakota Wizards Owner Joe Lacob said that a “trip to Bismarck for the tipoff celebration, which drew about 600 fans to the Civic Center, was an important early step in the evaluation process.” Lacob: “We’ve sold a fair amount of tickets. Hopefully we’ll sell more, bring in some more sponsorships, as people start to understand our commitment and our passion to integrating the Wizards and the Golden State Warriors.” Lacob said that he believes “that buying a D-League team puts the Warriors at the forefront of a trend.” Lacob: “We do believe firmly that long-term that is the way it’s going to be in the NBA. We think that every team will have a single organization it will be affiliated with and perhaps own its own D-League team” (BISMARCK TRIBUNE, 10/13).