Whats up with the D League?

[Tha Man*]

Now that we know Huntsville and Asheville have been closed, which if any are next?

Asheville, which has won the past two NBDL championships, has also been folded. Evans said he couldn't comment on the future of the other four franchises, in Roanoke, Va.; Fayetteville, N.C.; Columbus, Ga., and Fort Myers, Fla.

The new teams will be located in Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; Little Rock, Ark.; and Tulsa, Okla. According to Evans, the league will operate with eight teams next season; since Florida already has local ownership, Columbus, Fayetteville or Roanoke will lose its franchise.

The NBDL's avowed goal is to establish a 15-team league, each locally owned, and each affiliated with two NBA teams, to serve more or less as a farm club, much as professional baseball operates.

Flight ends abruptly as league folds team
The Huntsville Times - By MARK McCARTER

Those were just a few articles from the newspaper. Should we be reading into this...Is Columbus, Fayetteville and Roanoke the next teams to be cut and Flordia be the olny remaining SE team left? Also, lets say they only cut 1 more team how is that going to effect travel? Yikes! Poppa Stern has something up his sleeve....I believe things will start happening quickly now.

[johnnydr87]

I read in an article that they wanted to make it an 8 team league for the next season. with tulsa, ft. worth, alberquerque, tulsa, little rock, and florida already solidified, it means one of the three remaining franchises will be cut...or maybe more if they plan to move a franchise altogether

[toad8098]

It was announced today that Asheville is relocating to Tulsa & Columbus to Fort Worth. Huntsville has ceased operations.

I wouldn't be surprised if the league went with north & south divisions(if they have any divisions what-so-ever):

NORTH
Roanoke
Fayetteville
Arkansas
Tulsa

SOUTH
Florida
Fort Worth
Austin
Albuquerque

[johnnydr87]

I doubt they would do that.... the distances between those cities in the "north" and "south" divisions are much smaller than if there were an east and west division. It just wouldn't make economical sense to have florida and alberquerque in the same division.

[Tha Man*]

Asheville and Columbus Sold to Southwest Basketball, LLC
NBDL Will Not Return to Asheville, Columbus and Huntsville

Greenville, S.C., May 4 – The National Basketball Development League announced that teams that previously operated in Columbus, Ga., Asheville, N.C. and Huntsville, Ala. will not return to those markets.

The Asheville and Columbus teams have been sold to Southwest Basketball, LLC. Asheville will relocate to Tulsa, Okla., while Columbus will relocate to Austin, Texas. Whether Huntsville will be relocated or terminated is still to be determined.

“It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to build the level of support that we needed in Asheville, Columbus or Huntsville,” NBDL President Phil Evans said. “It is still our goal to grow the league to no fewer than 15 teams, partnering with strong local owners in strong markets as we continue to develop on and off-court personnel for the NBA.”

The NBDL, the NBA’s Development League, just completed its fourth season. The league includes the Fayetteville Patriots (N.C.), Florida Flame (Ft. Myers), Roanoke Dazzle (Va.), Arkansas RimRockers (Little Rock), as well as Albuquerque (N.M.), Tulsa, Austin and Fort Worth (Texas).

The league offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA’s umbrella. Thirty-four (34) players have been called up the NBA on 50 separate occasions. Nine former NBDL coaches, five athletic trainers, 11 referees and 29 front office executives have also been called up since the start of the league’s inaugural season in November 2001. Six additional front office executives have earned positions with other major league sports.

Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the league also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. The NBDL is a source of on-court talent for the NBA’s 30 teams and is a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions.