NBA D-League President Dan Reed would “prefer to see all 30 NBA teams involved in single-affiliate agreements -- also known as hybrid agreements -- or as full owners of their D-League teams,” according to John Dudley of the ERIE TIMES-NEWS. Reed believes that NBA front offices "are more engaged in single-team affiliations and more willing to send players to teams with coaches employed by their organizations.” He also believes that an "increase in the number of single-affiliate agreements ... is critical to the D-League's continued growth and popularity among fans." Reed: "I think fans really understand the one-to-one affiliation model because it's been established in baseball and hockey. And there's a real financial benefit both ways." Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said that the “ability to put an organization's stamp on its D-League team is a major appeal.” The Magic “rarely sent players” to the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants, their D-League affiliate for the past two seasons, because they had “little control over how they would be handled once they got there.” Magic GM Rob Hennigan said that the organization, which recently signed a single-affiliate deal with the Erie BayHawks, "will take that approach in Erie by exposing players to a version of the environment they would find in Orlando." Hennigan: "The intent is to have Erie really be an extension of how we do things with the Magic, from our coaching to our medical to our off-the-court development. We want to create a common language, a consistency and a uniform way of doing things" (ERIE TIMES-NEWS, 5/28).
