Updating the D-League "Hybrid Affiliation"

Boston might consider doing it with the new Maine team, since that team is starting from scratch. Maybe it could be a pilot program, so to speak, for the hybrid affiliation.

This seems like something the Spurs would be all over. They’re too smart not to do it. PS you forgot a “b” in “hybrid” in sentence #2.

Scott-

Great find.. this is certainly one of the most interesting things to come out of the D-League front office in the last few years. While I haven’t heard anything specific I will give my opinion’s on teams where this “Hybrid Affiliation” (Which by the way is a dumb term in my opinion) makes sense.

Utah Flash- Utah Jazz

They are pretty much doing this already. There are Jazz people at Flash games every night. They have been extremely acitve with assignments and SLC is just up the road. The Jazz are king in Utah and while Mr. Anderson over in Utah has a lot of money, I bet he would love to take a huge chunk of his budget off of the books. Expect this one to happen.

Maine Red Claws…I love that name.. but would have preferred Shamrocks - Boston Cetlics.

Come on..do I need to really go into detail here. This is pretty obvious, they are going to decide this team’s coach already. We have seen the Celts use the D-League already and the Celtics like to be hands on. I say this is also very likely.

Erie BayHawks - Cleveland Cavaliers

This is basically happening now much like Utah. The Cavs basically built this team. Wes Wilcox (Cleveland Advance Scout) is always with this team. The Cavs were heavily involved in getting this team in Erie, picking John Treloar as the Coach and building the team with their basketball mindset. This one is also likely.

I would expect expansion teams to fit this model moving forward until we get to a one to one affiliation. But by then the CBA will be changed and we might see an extra round to the draft etc., but of course that is a long ways off.

Guilty as charged-

I just felt a little Erie..(get the D-League joke there) about commenting about a story about me :). But the extra pub was appreciated, especially since the D-League didn’t think it was important enough to put on their site. But oh well.

As for Erie…It’s no secret around D-League circles how close the Cavs are to this team. Remember, the Cavs have used the D-League before. They were our affiliate last year and they sent Shannon Brown to the showcase where he flourished and earned decent trade value. They also sent Cedric Simmons down. While neither are with their organization anymore, they do utilize the D-League.. and do care about getting more involved.

Just because their minor league coach isn’t an NBA coach doesn’t mean they don’t like what he can bring. Just look at Panaggio over in LA. Long time minor league coach but fits in over there. They liked Treloar that’s why they hired him. It was Erie ownership that did, who are by the way Cavs season ticket holders.

Remember your NBA roster mandates how much you use the D-league. If there are no young players on your roster you have no one to send to the D-League. Plus remember as an expanson team in the D-League, the amount of players you have the rights to is severely limited. Unlike Idaho who gets players when they come back from overseas or weigh their options to just play in the D-League.

Erie hasn’t made a whole ton of moves this year and while they don’t really have a legit NBA prospect it doesn’t mean the Cavs aren’t heavily interested in what they do. The Cavs need for that team to do well since Erie is part of their fan base too. So even just winning (without any NBA prospects) helps the Cavs out too, because it keeps the interest on basketball in an outlying Cavs community.

Mr. Jennings:

Did not mean to say that you or anyone within your organization is incapable of making those types of decisions. If that’s the way the comment was perceived, I apologize. The purpose of Scott’s post and the, the commentary thereafter, is to discuss teams where this makes sense.

Based on my travels in the D-League and the people that I have talked to since this Hybrid model started becoming tossed about have discussed several teams. NEVER has Portland been mentioned. In my opinion (which is all a comment on these blogs are) it would make a whole ton of sense for the Maine franchise to partner up with the Celtics. The Celtics obviously use the D_League and have had a great partnership with the Flash. Because of geographic proximity, the fan base, and other obvious reasons it makes sense for the CELTICS to do this. I didn’t say there were any discussions or ANYTHING. Just that it would be fantastic to kick off the new model with the Maine franchise.

I did not mean any disrespect to you or your organization. I went to school in New England, attended many Celtics games, and one of your front office folks worked here in RGV as you know and think you couldn’t have made a better hire.

Let me reiterate to RU readers. My post is strictly an opinion of what I think should happen. Not what will happen.

Mr. Jennings my apologies again.

-ADB
-Adb