The future home of the Pelicans' NBA D-League team yesterday "was narrowed to six cities," leaving in-state suitors Baton Rouge, Shreveport and St. Tammany Parish "in the picture" as well as Jackson, Miss., Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., according to Scott Kushner of the New Orlenas ADVOCATE. The Pelicans "did not receive" RFP responses from Lafayette, Monroe, Alexandria and Biloxi, Miss., "removing them from contention." There was "no firm timetable announced for selecting a site, and the team won't begin play" until the '18-19 season. Kushner notes Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry "pinpointed proximity as a primary benefit, and five of the six locations remaining are within a three-hour drive of New Orleans." Only Shreveport (326 miles) is "beyond that threshold" (New Orleans ADVOCATE, 4/26). In Jackson, Hugh Kellenberger notes the city has "until June 7 to submit its proposal." City leaders earlier this month said that a "renovation of Mississippi Coliseum would be necessary, and is a part of the plan" (Jackson CLARION-LEDGER, 4/26). In Biloxi, Patrick Magee notes Gulfport "was on the original list of potential sites for the new team," but it would have been "difficult to meet the demands of a new NBA D-League team considering the city does not have a large arena that features the amenities usually required for a professional basketball team" (Biloxi SUN HERALD, 4/26).
WE THE 905: In Toronto, Doug Smith writes the Raptors' "grand D-League experiment" with the launch of Raptors905 was filled with uncertainty because "as far as the product and how it would be accepted goes, it was uncharted territory." Smith: "Now we can say it's been a rousing success in just about every way." The team "established a solid fan base that liked the ticket price, the ease of parking, the cozy facility and a team that won far more often than it lost." It is "not the NBA but it doesn't purport to be, it's like NBA Lite" (TORONTO STAR, 4/26).
