The NBA D-League and the Nets on Friday announced that the club has acquired the right to own and operate a D-League team. The new team, the Long Island Nets, will begin play in the '16-17 season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn before relocating to its permanent home at the new Nassau Coliseum for the '17-18 campaign. The Nets become the record 12th NBA team to fully own and operate its NBA D-League affiliate (Nets). Nets GM Billy King said, "It's something we have been striving to have, a D-League team. As we become a younger team, it will give us a chance to develop our players -- not only players but coaches as well." King said that the D-League team will "practice in Brooklyn next season but eventually will practice on Long Island." On Long Island, Roderick Boone noted King "hopes to have the Long Island Nets playing games on the same days as the Brooklyn Nets, which he believes can help promote them before their first season at the Coliseum" (NEWSDAY, 11/7). In N.Y., Tim Bontemps noted the Nets "had a D-League affiliate for five seasons," from '09-14, when they "worked in partnership with the Springfield Armor in Springfield, Mass." But when the Pistons "bought the Armor and moved them to Grand Rapids, Mich., prior to the start of last season, the Nets were left without a team." There had "been talks about the Nets purchasing an expansion team to begin play this season, but those talks stalled" (N.Y. POST, 11/7). The AP's Brian Mahoney wrote the NBA "wants to see every NBA team have its own" D-League affiliate. D-League President Malcolm Turner said, "We're in growth mode and `30 for 30' has been our stated No. 1 priority, so we're actively talking to all NBA teams that don't currently have a D-League team" (AP, 11/6).
HIGH RISERS: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's John Lombardo notes the D-League "tips off its 15th season this week with franchise values now up" to $6M per club and the league "moving closer to its goal of having a team aligned with each of the NBA’s 30 franchises." The D-League’s expansion drive is "strong enough" that Turner "uses the phrase '30 for 30' in discussing the plans." Turner’s goal "reflects how the NBA increasingly is using the D-League for player-development purposes." The increased buy-in among NBA teams is "driving franchise values in the D-League." Sources said that the Raptors 905 franchise "carried an expansion fee" of around $6M compared with the $4M that the Knicks "paid last year for their Westchester Knicks D-league team" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/9 issue).
