Minor Interest: NBA Teams Slow To Run Their Own D-League Club
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Spurs, Lakers Only Two NBA Teams
To Own Their Own D-League Affiliate |
Seven seasons after the NBA started the D-League the Spurs and Lakers are the only teams "to run their own affiliate," according to Scott Howard-Cooper of the SACRAMENTO BEE. No matter "how logical it seems for the development of first-round picks and other well-regarded hopefuls," the other 28 NBA teams "share assignments and have no authority to dictate the critical decisions of hiring coaches, distribution of minutes or the style of play." The "unmistakable trend of the parent clubs keeping top young players in the NBA, even with limited minutes, rather than sending them down, raises speculation that some front offices don't trust the affiliate." But NBA teams report "few problems and say they have an overall positive relationship" with the D-League. And the Lakers, whose D-League affiliate, L.A. D-Fenders, plays at Staples Center, can "watch every home game, tracking prospects with greater confidence than having to rely on phone conversations." T'Wolves GM Jim Stack said of the Spurs and Lakers having their own affiliates, "I think it is a big advantage. They're running all their stuff. They can kind of control it how they want to control it, where we may be able to influence it, but we don't control it." The Lakers next season may move the D-Fenders to Ontario, California, to allow the affiliate to "build their own business," but still keep them close enough to "regularly chart the progress of prospects." The D-League Toros, the Spurs' affiliate, play in Austin, just 80 miles from San Antonio. Howard-Cooper wonders, "If so many see an advantage in the approach of the Spurs and Lakers, why aren't more clubs using the D-League as a true farm system?" Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak: "Well, it's not cheap. It's a financial commitment. I think a lot of the clubs are adopting a wait-and-see attitude." A source said that the initial franchise fee is "in the low seven figures and the total output [is] far less than $5.356[M], the first-year salary of players signed" to the NBA's full mid-level exception. Kings President Geoff Petrie, whose team has never sent a player to the D-League affiliate it shares with the Warriors, said of prospects, "It's more valuable for them to be around your team, get used to the schedule, get used to the travel, get used to how long the season really is and how you need to keep working" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/27).
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