The North American Premier Basketball League will "officially be launched at a news conference Thursday," and the league will name National Basketball League of Canada Commissioner DAVID MAGLEY its first President & COO, according to Gary Bedore of the K.C. STAR. Magley "stepped down" from his role as NBLC Commmissioner "after fulfilling terms of his two-year contract." The NAPB, which is "expected to start with eight to 12 franchises, will begin a 32-game schedule" on Jan. 1. Magley said that he "anticipated the league at some point would have teams" in K.C., Wichita, Omaha and maybe Topeka -- "all former CBA markets.'" He added that he "believed 'at least one of those cities' would have a team in place for the league's inaugural season." Bedore notes the "purpose of the new NAPB is to bring franchises to many of the 60 cities across the U.S. and Canada that once had pro basketball teams" in either the NBA, ABA, CBA or NBA G League. Magley said that the NAPB has "secured financial commitments from ownership groups in Seattle, Vancouver, Rochester, N.Y., and Las Vegas." Magley said an ownership group "must have a net worth" of $2.5M. He added that there would be "three salary scales for players: C players earning $1,500 per month, B players receiving $3,000 per month and A players earning $5,000 per month" (K.C. STAR, 7/3).
