I have to be honest. Scouring the NBA D-League for news and notes is not exactly at the top of my day-to-day blogging list. But thanks to the fellas at Ridiculous Upside, I no longer have to.
Yesterday, the D-League – the same league that brought us Billy Thomas and Lance Allred - announced the affiliation system for the 2008-09 season. And while most teams have their “affiliations” split between two NBA franchises, it just so happens that our partner is none other than the Philadelphia 76ers. The same city that has shared in our losing for the majority of this century, and the same host city to the team that provided one of the bigger controversies at the end of the regular season.
While you may not really get the D-League or do not really dig the idea of sharing a franchise, this team has what could be called a ”Cleveland-tilt” to it as the owner of the franchise is a season ticket holder of the Wine and Gold. The down side is that aside from the abovementioned Allred, we will not have the rights to many of the players, so it’s communal property for now.
The Lakers and Spurs are currently two teams that have their own franchises owned outright. But by the looks of things, the Cavs are making the steps to achieve the same end result.
In fact, if you’d like to get an up close and personal look at the team, they’re holding a FanFest this Saturday. Free admission, an appearance by Moondog, “Cavs fan experience” photo stands, and the chance to win a LeBron James autographed basketball. Details can be found at the offical Bayhawks site. As biased as I may be, that’s an awful lot of Cleveland-based promotions for a team that we’re supposedly sharing.
But don’t worry, I’m sure the 76ers are involved as well. There is bound to be some sort of interaction.
Eventually. Maybe.
Some Teams Get It… [Ridiculous Upside]
