Stern wants 15 NBDL teams...union wary...

[wncsport.com]

http://www.detnews.com/2004/pistons/0404/03/h03-110867.htm

[WIZ Kid]

I think it would kill alot of these smaller minor League's.
From what it sounds like to me, ( Maybe something different to you. ) The NBA is kind of embaressed about the majority of call ups coming from leagues other than the NBdL. At Least the call ups where players are being signed to long contracts.
O. Miller
E. Gill
D. Martin Etc. Etc. Etc..............................
Seems to me that they wanna get a Monopoly on The GOOD Minor league talent. In turn making sure that these other leagues don't get the best players. ( Maybe I am just paranoid :shock: )

[wncsport.com]

Check this out:

NBDL pursuing SW Florida and claims they will renew in Asheville.

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/sports/article/0,2071,NPDN_15000_2780022,00.html

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

The NBA players' union has been wary of Developmental leagues for quite some time now. The Players' union would not make Isiah Thomas a serious offer for the CBA back when Isiah was selling the CBA. In retrospect, I'm glad the NBA Players' union DID NOT buy the CBA because like all good unions they would have sought to protect their membership. They would have protected their union members by not overly marketing the league, thus not overly preparing non-union players to replace dues-paying members.

The NBA players' union MAY, however, back the expansion of the NBDL because of the growing concern over high school players entering the draft. The timing and content of Stern's announcement about expanding the NBDL seems to coincide with the recent McDonald's High School All*Star Classic. High school guys who scored one or two points in this game were declaring their intentions to enter the next NBA draft in post-game media interviews. Stern's comments seemed to deflect criticism over the quality of play in the NBA. High School players will now have the NBDL to hone their skills instead of entering the NBA directly.

...of course this means that a merger between the CBA and NBDL is even less likely now. It also means that the quality of play in the NBDL will suffer even more with a bunch of high school aged guys populating NBDL basketball courts (the quality of play is suspect already when you compare it to quality of play in the CBA).

I don't think the expansion of the NBDL would hurt the CBA though. If you can PLAY, then you can PLAY! It doesn't matter which league you are in. You are going to get called-up to the big show if you can contribute. As a matter of fact, expansion of the NBDL may HELP the CBA even more by leaving the CBA as the only AAA basketball minor league remaining in the country. You would logically have to downgrade the NBDL to AA status with an expected incoming explosion of younger, less experienced players (you could make an argument NOW that the NBDL is AA on a scale of AAA, AA, and A).

[Sam Hill]

The NBA players' union has been wary of Developmental leagues for quite some time now. The Players' union would not make Isiah Thomas a serious offer for the CBA back when Isiah was selling the CBA.

How do you know what the offer was?

[wncsport.com]

I think the NBDL should secure those affiliations in concept for like 2 years down the road, then expand.

I don't think a merger with the CBA is out of the question at all. Frankly, it seems to be a faster route to achieving the affiliation system Stern is looking at.

I think it's a mistake to pursue an ECHL sized arena. Just look at Greenville. The NBDL doesn't have that much pull other than they pay rent.

I hear from other boards that there is a different arena nearby from TECO for a division 2 basketball program, but I honestly don't know how big that is. If it's say 3,800+ seats or more that may be a better option.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Sam,
The following link details the offer the NBA made for the CBA. Another insult in my opinion...seems like a case of you do the leg work and we'll take the league off your hands for the same price you paid for it.

http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/aldridge/606364.html

I have searched the internet to verify the amount the players' union offered for the CBA. I kept getting hits on the proposed sale, but not the amount (unlike the proposed sale to David Stern above). The union offered a paltry sum, I believe in the neighborhood of $750,000--the same amount Thomas had to pay if he wanted to coach the Pacers. Maybe the following link will shed a little light on the subject.

http://www.searchdice.com/Magazine/Sports/Articles/2054006.html

...like I said. I believe that was the amount the union was willing to pay for the CBA, but I cannot document it. The entire story was widely reported here in Northwest Indiana though. Maybe someone on this message board can give you the exact amount.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

I don't think a merger with the CBA is out of the question at all. Frankly, it seems to be a faster route to achieving the affiliation system Stern is looking at.

Yeah, but is it what the CBA is looking for?

[Sam Hill]

Maybe I'm missing something or my reading skills aren't up to par this early in the morning, but I don't see anything in those articles (especially the first one) that make it seem as though the NBA made an insulting offer for the CBA.

Isiah wanted to make a profit. That's nice, we all would like to do that. But considering the whole freaking thing went under and he ended up not only making a profit, but having to pay $750,000 to settle a debt, it seems to me to indicate the NBA made a fair offer based on the market and he was stupid not to take the money and run.

But then, you're in love with Isiah anyway.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Okay, you've got me talking about Isiah Thomas again although the discussion is about NBDL expansion. Here goes:

Isiah Thomas paid $9,250,000 for the CBA. Thomas still owed another $750,000 to the blind trust controlling the CBA because the original purchase price was $10 million. He could not become coach of the NBA Pacers until the blind trust recieved the final $750,000 payment.

Hindsight is 20/20. David Stern and the NBA offered to buy the CBA from Isiah Thomas for the same $10 million early in the negotiations. Thomas told them to take a hike, so Stern removed the offer from the table and the NBDL was born. The NBA players' union were next to make an offer for the CBA, but the offer was so insignificant that it wasn't taken seriously.

If you consider losing $10 million as making a profit, then Isiah Thomas profitted big-time on the CBA. One thing is for sure--it was a learning experience for all parties involved. The new CBA seems to be taking great care to insure that they do not get caught in a similar financial bind--the expansion Michigan Mayhem STILL have not recieved final approval to enter the league as of the date of this post (although its almost a certainty they will enter the league). The league office has to be satisfied that the Mayhem are financially committed to remaining in the league for the long haul.

Financial commitment is why I think the CBA may want to avoid a merger with the NBDL at this point (you see how I tied this all in with the original discussion on the NBDL). Is the NBA going to use all its resources to market their D league? Their track record with the NBDL is not too stellar. Heck! I can identify with the AND 1 tour better than I can relate to the NBDL. As a matter of fact, the AND 1 tour may have done more to promote the NBDL than the NBA. I only know that "Skip to my Lu" Rafer Alston went from the NBDL back to the NBA solely because of ESPN's coverage of the AND 1 tour...not the tape delayed NBDL broadcasts at 4pm on Mondays last year.

[CRUSADERSFAN]

I do not like the NBDL, and I think further expansion is a bad idea. The CBA has way better attendance and a larger fan base than the NBDL. The ABA has a pretty large fan base, and attendance and interest is on the rise. The NBDL should not expand. And, if they wanted to merge, they should merge with the CBA. The CBA is based in smaller cities, which would bemore suited to the NBDL. However, as of now, the NBDL is a failure, and I doubt(unless they had a great offer) the CBA would merge with them. As I said I don't really like the NBDL. It has a cold and "packaged" feel. The CBA and the ABA have much more talent. I don't feel NBDL expansion would help things for the league. They don't have a very good foothold in minor league hoops anyhow.

[Pounder]

IF (pretend that the font is larger for this "IF") the NBA is profiting from the arena deals that were made with NBDL cities (as I understand it, they have managing rights), they probably don't care how poorly the league is running.

I suspect not.

If anything, the NBA should drop that league, adopt the CBA at a reasonable contractual arrangement (similar to what MLS & A-League used to have before last year, except with more money to the CBA, wncsport should know what I'm talking about), and run with it. The CBA seems to run in a few regions with better basketball markets than what the NBDL currently offers.

[Sam Hill]

Who intimated that Isiah profited? Why would I consider losing $10 million to be profiting?

If he'd taken the $10 million offer, he'd have been back to zero instead of losing $10 million.

You tell me, which is worse?

He'd lost interest in the league at that point anyway and wanted to coach. Sometimes you have to cut your losses.

Everybody lost - the NBA lost because the NBDL hasn't been nearly as successful as the CBA would have been had it just continued with its infrastructure and history, but as an official arm of the NBA. Isiah lost $10 million. The CBA lost several teams and alienated fans in several cities by having their teams disappear overnight.

And had the NBA bought the CBA and then expanded it a bit, we might not have the monstrosity that is the ABA today.

[Pounder]

If he'd taken the $10 million offer, he'd have been back to zero instead of losing $10 million.

My astral projection was apparently Isiah's financial advisor. From the larger text of Murphy's Law: "It is morally wrong not to part a fool from his money."

He'd lost interest in the league at that point anyway and wanted to coach.

I question whether he "wanted" or "needed" to coach. He certainly lost interest in the CBA.

And had the NBA bought the CBA and then expanded it a bit, we might not have the monstrosity that is the ABA today.

You call that monstrous? All the ABA proves is that some people just don't know that they don't know, but the laws of physics and the United States of America cannot prevent them from starting a basketball league. Refer back to my Murphy's Law quote.