Pelicans The Latest NBA Club Looking To Land Owned-And-Operated D-League Team

Pelicans GM Dell Demps said the team would like to own and operate an NBA D-League franchise and are "looking at some options right now throughout the Gulf Coast" and the state of Louisiana. He said he was unsure if it would be for "next year or the following year." Demps: "We think that’s the next step for us. A couple years ago, we did not do it because our players were so young and growing, we figured we’d just throw them to the fire. But that is the next step for us” (“Summer League Chats,” ESPN.com, 7/20). Demps yesterday clarified that "nothing had been completed but that the team is curious about the possibilities of a D-League affiliate." He said, "We are in the process of determining the best D-League option for the Pelicans." In New Orleans, Scott Kushner notes the Pelicans currently are one of 13 teams partnering with the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants, meaning they do not run the D-League team "the way a handful of other NBA teams operate their own minor league franchises" (New Orleans ADVOCATE, 7/22).