Developing situation
The NBA Development League has been on my radar the past couple of days, first after making the trip to Orem to get acquainted with the new Utah Flash, and second with all the talk about Kyrylo Fesenko possibly spending a chunk of next season there.
The Flash are affiliated with the Jazz, but the ties between the teams go beyond that description. They will be coached by former Jazz scout Brad Jones and have Jazz mainstay Dave Fredman as general manger.
There's even a television commercial set to debut next month with Jones learning the art of shattering a clipboard from Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
Owner Brandt Andersen is a courtside seat holder at EnergySolutions Arena and is determined to make the Flash the D-League's model franchise. They've set a goal of selling out McKay Events Center and already have established records for sponsorships.
This is the wave of the future in the NBA. The Lakers owned a D-League affiliate last season and the Spurs will own and operate the Austin Toros this season. With those franchises taking the lead, the rest of the league is inclined to follow suit.
Fredman, in fact, said he was disappointed in watching Derek Fisher leave Utah because he was hoping the Flash might be able to change perceptions of the league among NBA players.
"I was going to be able to show the president of the players association that a minor-league team can be run first-class and it's not a punishment," Fredman said, "and take it back to Billy Hunter and let him know that we need the rules changed more toward baseball."
That might be the No. 1 complaint about the league. Only rookies and second-year players can be assigned to teams right now, which eliminates the possibility of an injured veteran going down for a game or two to make the equivalent of a baseball rehab start.
There's also complaints that a third-year player (like C.J. Miles) is ineligible to be sent down when he still could benefit from the playing time the league offers.
Other players in the league are part of a centralized pool and can be signed by any NBA team regardless of affiliation. So the Lakers and Spurs can make the investment of running a D-League team, only to see a promising player snapped up by the Clippers.
Fredman said he decided to tune out the complaints and do what he can to change things. "Instead of saying you don't like it, maybe you can come in and try to say, ‘This is how I think it should be done, within reason, within the rules,"' Fredman said.
The NBA's current collective bargaining agreement (which spells out the rules regarding D-League assignments) runs through the 2010-2011 season and can be extended through 2011-2012. The hope is it won't take four years to see the system change.
"Maybe there's some things that can be tweaked without reopening the whole CBA," Fredman said.
Jones said Sloan has been a big advocate of the D-League and the possibility of what it could become. "If these veteran guys believe in it and think it's a good thing for the league, then it's going to take off," he said.
Another belief is that within five years, the NBA will have a one-to-one relationship between D-League teams and NBA affiliates. Several teams are supposedly interested in owning their own affiliate, including New York and Cleveland.
--Ross Siler
The Flash are affiliated with the Jazz, but the ties between the teams go beyond that description. They will be coached by former Jazz scout Brad Jones and have Jazz mainstay Dave Fredman as general manger.
There's even a television commercial set to debut next month with Jones learning the art of shattering a clipboard from Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
Owner Brandt Andersen is a courtside seat holder at EnergySolutions Arena and is determined to make the Flash the D-League's model franchise. They've set a goal of selling out McKay Events Center and already have established records for sponsorships.
This is the wave of the future in the NBA. The Lakers owned a D-League affiliate last season and the Spurs will own and operate the Austin Toros this season. With those franchises taking the lead, the rest of the league is inclined to follow suit.
Fredman, in fact, said he was disappointed in watching Derek Fisher leave Utah because he was hoping the Flash might be able to change perceptions of the league among NBA players.
"I was going to be able to show the president of the players association that a minor-league team can be run first-class and it's not a punishment," Fredman said, "and take it back to Billy Hunter and let him know that we need the rules changed more toward baseball."
That might be the No. 1 complaint about the league. Only rookies and second-year players can be assigned to teams right now, which eliminates the possibility of an injured veteran going down for a game or two to make the equivalent of a baseball rehab start.
There's also complaints that a third-year player (like C.J. Miles) is ineligible to be sent down when he still could benefit from the playing time the league offers.
Other players in the league are part of a centralized pool and can be signed by any NBA team regardless of affiliation. So the Lakers and Spurs can make the investment of running a D-League team, only to see a promising player snapped up by the Clippers.
Fredman said he decided to tune out the complaints and do what he can to change things. "Instead of saying you don't like it, maybe you can come in and try to say, ‘This is how I think it should be done, within reason, within the rules,"' Fredman said.
The NBA's current collective bargaining agreement (which spells out the rules regarding D-League assignments) runs through the 2010-2011 season and can be extended through 2011-2012. The hope is it won't take four years to see the system change.
"Maybe there's some things that can be tweaked without reopening the whole CBA," Fredman said.
Jones said Sloan has been a big advocate of the D-League and the possibility of what it could become. "If these veteran guys believe in it and think it's a good thing for the league, then it's going to take off," he said.
Another belief is that within five years, the NBA will have a one-to-one relationship between D-League teams and NBA affiliates. Several teams are supposedly interested in owning their own affiliate, including New York and Cleveland.
--Ross Siler
3:56 PM
| 
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home