Anaheim Arsenal relocate to Springfield, MA

[Fran]

The NBA Development League president Dan Reed announced on Tuesday that the Anaheim Arsenal team will be relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame, next season.

The team will be owned and operated by Michael Savit, who is the managing partner of HWS Basketball, LLC. Savit brings with him a wealth of minor league baseball managing experience, as he currently runs teams in several leagues.

"As the NBA D-League continues to move east, we're very excited to bring a team to a place that not only has a rich basketball history but also boasts an impressive ownership group, civic leadership and community support," Reed said. "We're thrilled to welcome such a well-respected and experienced operator in Mike Savit to our ownership ranks and look forward to not only bringing our unique brand of affordable, family-friendly and NBA-caliber basketball to Springfield, but becoming a vital part of the greater Springfield community."

Springfield will be affiliated with two NBA parent clubs, which are not yet known, and will play at Springfield's MassMutual Center.

"Today is an exciting day for Springfield," Savit said. "I'm thrilled to be a part of the group that brought professional basketball back to the game's birthplace, and I can't wait to contribute to this city's great basketball history and become part of the fabric of the community."

The ownership group will have the opportunity to retain the rights of all the Anaheim players, but they will announce a new name, colors and a mascot at a later date.

[DakotaWiz]

Come on over to Ridiculous Upside and discuss with us.

[Minor League Man]

Congrats to Springfield! Where better to put a team than the Birthplace of Basketball (plus they'll form a good rivalry with Maine).

As for the name, I say they should be the:

SPRINGFIELD LEGENDS

An EXCELLENT reference to the game's invention and the Hall of Fame. Who's with me?

[DakotaWiz]

We went with Pioneers.

[mrsummitcitypigskin]

I like Legends too. Larry "Legend" Bird would be so proud.

[bectond]

Now I'm totally confused, is the league going into next season with 17 teams? Or is the shoe going to drop in Broomsfield? Now that the NBA pays all the travel cost, and the owner already has front office staffers in place due to ownership of a hockey team. It would seem to be a low cost operation, if the Nuggets agree to pay for the basketball operations. But 17 seems like a strange number of teams to me. Will one team be added or deleted?

[DakotaWiz]

The NBA doesn't pay travel costs....

[bectond]

Originally Posted by DakotaWiz

Come on over to Ridiculous Upside and discuss with us.

Next year NBA teams will be allowed to take over D-League game operations via the hybrid program, currently the NBA pays for all game operation cost, once a NBA team takes over the game operations the NBA will take the funds it had allocated for game operation cost and pay for the travel of the D-League hybrid franchise. Thus travel cost are include in the hybrid program. If the Nuggets reach an agreement with the 14ers the NBA will pay all travel cost and the Nuggets would pay all player, coaches and trainers salaries.Teams that currently have front office staffs in place(for another sports team) like the 14ers will now have extremely low operation cost if they can reach an agreement with an NBA team.