Nets, Knicks, & 76ers Announced as Affiliates to Springfield Armor for 2010-2011 Season

Published on July 6, 2010 under NBA G League (G League)
Springfield Armor News Release


SPRINGFIELD, MA July 6, 2010 - The National Basketball Association today announced that that the Springfield Armor will again be affiliated with the New Jersey Nets, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2010-2011 season. This is the second consecutive season that the Armor and these affiliates will be partnered together.

"Not only do we already have a working relationship with our affiliates," Armor General Manager, Alex Schwerin said, "But now we have the opportunity to be assigned some very valuable players from three different NBA teams."

After the recent 2010 NBA Draft, the Armor are confident they will benefit from their affiliates' potential pool of players this upcoming season. NBA teams are allowed to assign players in their first or second NBA season to their NBA D-League affiliate which makes the recent draft picks extremely important to the Armor. The Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets had the number 2 and 3 picks of the Draft, picking up Ohio State's Evan Turner and Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors respectively. The New York Knicks picked up Syracuse's Andy Rautins and Stanford's Landry Fields in the second round. The Nets also picked up Damion James from Texas who was originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the 24th pick, then traded to the Nets.

The NBA D-League continues to be a springboard for elite basketball talent, with more NBA players than ever boasting NBA D-League experience. More than 30 percent of players from the last five NBA Draft classes have played in the NBA D-League, including Hasheem Thabeet, the second overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, who became the highest drafted player to be assigned to an NBA D-League team when the Memphis Grizzlies assigned him to the Dakota Wizards. Additionally, Twenty percent of NBA players on 2009-10 end-of-season rosters had NBA D-League experience, while 29 of 30 NBA teams featured players with NBA D-League experience last season. Over the first five seasons of the NBA D-League's assignment system, NBA teams have assigned 140 players a total of 217 times to play in the NBA D-League.

"The direct affiliation between NBA and NBA D-League teams continues to benefit players, coaches, and basketball fans," said Dan Reed, NBA D-League President. "Nearly one-third of all NBA Draft picks have played for their NBA D-League affiliate since the program's inception, and these affiliate relationships are a key reason why 20 percent of all NBA players have NBA D-League playing experience."

Along with the excitement of the new players, Springfield's affiliates also welcome new front office and coaching staff members. The 76ers named Doug Collins as their Head Coach for this season. Collins has previously coached the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons and most recently the Washington Wizards before joining the Philadelphia staff.

Former Piston head coach, Michael Curry was named the associate head coach while Brian James, former assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks (2005-06 through 2007-08) and Quin Snyder have been added as assistant coaches. In addition, Aaron McKie will return in his role as an assistant coach.

Snyder came off of a successful three-year run as head coach of the Austin Toros in the NBA D-League. He compiled a winning percentage of .627 with the Toros and led the team past the first round of the playoffs each year, including an appearance in the championship game his first season. Snyder earned the D-League's Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year award in 2008-09. Prior to his time with the Toros, Snyder coached the University of Missouri for seven seasons, posting a mark of 128-96 (.571). Under Snyder, the Tigers made six consecutive post season appearances, including four trips to the NCAA Tournament and a berth in the Elite Eight. Snyder played his collegiate career at Duke and was part of three Final Four teams (1986, 1988, 1989).

The New Jersey Nets' ownership was recently taken over by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. In addition to their new owner, the Nets have broken ground on the Barclays Center, a state of the art arena in Brooklyn, New York. In the interim, the team will play the next two seasons at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The Nets have also hired a new head coach, welcoming Avery Johnson in mid June. The former ESPN analyst brings a 194-70 (.735) career coaching record to the Nets, having led the Dallas Mavericks to the postseason in each of his three-plus seasons as head coach. He holds the highest coaching winning percentage in NBA history and set the record for reaching the 150-win plateau the fastest (191 games). Johnson coached the Mavericks from 2004 to 2008.

"We are excited about all the improvements our affiliates are making this year," said Schwerin, "hopefully these potential additions will not only make a positive impact on those teams directly, but also on the Armor."

Armor season tickets and flex books are on sale now and available by calling the Armor at (413) 746 - 3263. For more information about season ticket pricing and availability, as well as sponsorship opportunities, log on to www.ArmorHoops.com or call an Armor representative today!

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