The Knicks have entered into a single affiliation partnership with the NBA D-League Erie BayHawks, beginning with the '11-12 season. The Knicks will be the BayHawks' sole NBA affiliate and will have control over the team's basketball operations. The Knicks appointed Assistant GM Allan Houston BayHawks GM of Basketball Operations. The Knicks are the third NBA team to enter into such an affiliation with a D-League franchise (THE DAILY). BayHawks officials said that the team's three-year partnership "won't lead it to relocating closer to New York." The partnership ends the BayHawks' three-year relationship with the Cavaliers. In Erie, Duane Rankin notes under terms of the affiliation, an NBA club "secures control over and covers the expenses related to the basketball operations of the D-League team while creating a partnership with the existing local ownership, which maintains responsibility for the team's off-court business operations." The NBA team "pays for expenses, such as coaches' salaries and per diem." The Knicks "contacted the BayHawks near the end of the NBA regular season to begin talks about a possible partnership," and BayHawks Owner Steve Demetriou said that his club "was in talks with a handful of other NBA teams, including the Cavs, about a possible partnership" (ERIE TIMES-NEWS, 6/9). In N.Y., Marc Berman notes the partnership is a "major philosophical change because the Knicks are the lone NBA team that has yet to send one of its players to the D-League." Sources said that the Knicks "did not trust the coaching and medical staffs because they did not work for the club" (N.Y. POST, 6/9).
