Written by Joshua Cornelissen at The Lottery Mafia
Brooklyn and Chicago toss their hats into the D League ring as the NBA sets its sights on 30.
The NBA D-League has been growing in popularity and success over the past few years, with the number of teams swelling to nineteen for the 2015-16 season. The trend has been towards each team having a single-parent NBA club, and with Indiana’s acquisition of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants all the teams are now singularly affiliated. The NBA has been outspoken about wanting a D-League team for each NBA franchise, and after Charlotteannounced last month they would be founding a team in Greensboro, NC, the count stands at 20 for next season. In the last week those ranks have now swelled even more.
Big Apple Expansion
The Brooklyn Nets announced Friday that they will once again have a D-League team tied to the organization. Five years ago the Nets worked out an agreement with the Springfield Armor to set up a “farm team” to run the same offensive sets and defensive schemes as the Nets, one of the first teams to do so. However, last summer the owners of the Armor looked to sell, and Brooklyn elected not to buy, and the Armor moved to Grand Rapids Michigan to become the Detroit Pistons’ affiliate as the “Drive”. Brooklyn’s time without a team will come to an end in Fall of 2016.
This team, already labeled as the “Long Island Nets” will begin their play next season in the same arena as the Nets, Barclays Center, before moving to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum once its renovations are completed. While no official announcements have been made, it seems likely this team will function similarly to their previous developmental team, mirroring the style of its parent club and working with a clear channel for players to move up and down.
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