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  • Exclusive D-League Affiliate Coming?

    According to Times Warner Cable Network, the Toronto Raptors are in negotiations to have the Rochester RazorSharks as their exclusive D-League Affiliate.

    These quotes are from Upside and Motor:

    The RazorSharks would become the 18th D-League team to have an exclusive affiliate relationship with an NBA team. Rochester is an already existing team, which means the Raptors would be spared having to find an ownership group to run the team. Founded in 2005, Rochester is far and away the most successful team in Premier Basketball League history, with four titles since league play began in 2007. Previously, they were a member of the American Basketball Association.

    Currently, the Raptors assign their players to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, who they share with 12 other organizations. There is no promise of playing time or development with the Mad Ants. In fact, their players would most likely be better off staying with the team on the bench and getting access to their resources. With long-term projects Lucas Nogueira, DeAndre Daniels, and especially Bruno Caboclo in tow, getting a singular affiliate that they can send players to develop seems like a no-brainer.

    It’s honestly a surprise to me that the Raptors hadn’t already invested in one. With Masai Ujiri running things for the past two offseasons, the organization is in possession of one of the more forward thinking front offices in the entire league. And as the Josh Huestis saga showed, there are major advantages for teams that have single affiliates.
    Ever since the Raptors made it clear that they intended on developing Bruno in house rather than overseas, I've thought the need for an exclusive D-Leauge Affiliation was crucial.

    Sharing the Mad Ants with 12 other teams would guarantee Bruno no playing time, or personalized coaching to fit with the Raptors long term vision/goals for him. He could spend a year in Fort Wayne and have wasted a year of development.

    If the Raptors can close the deal with Rochester, it could mean big things for their young talent. And to have a team that is as close to Toronto as Rochester NY would just be gravy.
    http://twitter.com/m_shantz

  • #2
    Great news.

    Article said masai has been running things for 2 years. Obviously false. Heading in to his 2nd full season now.

    Raps have had new ownership for 2 years though.

    Things are looking good and they are only looking better.

    Comment


    • #3
      Full time D-League affiliate would be a nice addition to the franchise, especially given Masai's commitment to developing young players. They could hand pick the entire staff in Rochester and turn it into their own mini basketball factory for all their prospects.

      Comment


      • #4
        Great news. One thing I've wondered about is an overseas affiliate instead. Couldn't MLSE buy a Turkish league team for example? Higher quality team
        Heir, Prince of Cambridge

        If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

        Comment


        • #5
          To expand on that thought; I'm not sure of exactly how the various leagues and rules interact, but if it is an option it should be considered strongly. A higher quality league would offer greater competition to the players, would attract lots of overseas guys who are looking to impress the NBA owned team (seeing it as a fast track to the NBA) and would also be a very attractive coaching option; so they could bring in high quality young coaches. The time difference and flight time wouldn't be any different than LA.

          I think eventually an overseas direct affiliated for the NBA is likely but it could take years for it to happen and perhaps an overseas league in need of financial assistance gets taken over by the NBA or by a group of NBA teams.
          Heir, Prince of Cambridge

          If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

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          • #6
            Axel wrote: View Post
            Great news. One thing I've wondered about is an overseas affiliate instead. Couldn't MLSE buy a Turkish league team for example? Higher quality team
            Call ups and send downs would be a hastle.

            How long a flight is Rochester to toronto in Larry t's private jet?

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            • #7
              mcHAPPY wrote: View Post
              Call ups and send downs would be a hastle.

              How long a flight is Rochester to toronto in Larry t's private jet?
              Passenger jet makes it in 50 minutes.
              twitter.com/dhackett1565

              Comment


              • #8
                Good.. hope it happens sooner then later. NBADL can be a joke but if you have your own affiliate then it can really be beneficial. And Rochester might be the perfect location.

                Comment


                • #9
                  mcHAPPY wrote: View Post
                  Call ups and send downs would be a hastle.

                  How long a flight is Rochester to toronto in Larry t's private jet?
                  How often do call ups happen? What if the team is playing Sacramento, call up from Rochester would be as long a flight as a Turkey-Toronto flight.

                  I think the flight time issue is negligible.
                  Heir, Prince of Cambridge

                  If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Axel wrote: View Post
                    How often do call ups happen? What if the team is playing Sacramento, call up from Rochester would be as long a flight as a Turkey-Toronto flight.

                    I think the flight time issue is negligible.
                    I don't think the flight time would be an issue either.. I think the issue would be how the games would be officiated. In a Euro league I suspect that they wouldn't be playing NBA rules on an NBA style court. Calling up a player that's not used to the NBA style could hurt their game and development. In order for the Euro team to play NBA style rules there would need to be multiple teams.. just not sure how expensive that venture would be to create an entire league out in Europe that is used for the sole purpose of developing NBA players.

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                    • #11
                      Bad News from Time Warner

                      planetmars wrote: View Post
                      Good.. hope it happens sooner then later. NBADL can be a joke but if you have your own affiliate then it can really be beneficial. And Rochester might be the perfect location.
                      The time warner report is false and they should not report this news without any validation. The Raptors GM has been in Africa and this news is simply hype made by the owner of this PBL team. Rogers Communications is not going to partner with this group.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        planetmars wrote: View Post
                        I don't think the flight time would be an issue either.. I think the issue would be how the games would be officiated. In a Euro league I suspect that they wouldn't be playing NBA rules on an NBA style court. Calling up a player that's not used to the NBA style could hurt their game and development. In order for the Euro team to play NBA style rules there would need to be multiple teams.. just not sure how expensive that venture would be to create an entire league out in Europe that is used for the sole purpose of developing NBA players.
                        Yeah, that would be the larger issue but again, I think it would still be worth the venture. The number of in-season call ups in basketball is very low (not like the NHL) so it would mostly be about seasonal development to provide guys for training camp; essentially the Euro draft and stash route, except we own the team and can control things like playing time, coaching staff, etc. I don't think playing a higher competition level with FIBA rules would hurt a players development at all.
                        Heir, Prince of Cambridge

                        If you see KeonClark in the wasteland, please share your food and water with him.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          D=League team would be great, develop our players how we want them to develop, while getting a lot more playing time than if they were with the NBA team.
                          The name's Bond, James Bond.

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                          • #14
                            Sweet, Rochester was my #1 choice too. Closeby minor league town that already has a bball team, and that should have good fan support since that PBL team has been very good recently.

                            Really hope this happens.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Axel wrote: View Post
                              Yeah, that would be the larger issue but again, I think it would still be worth the venture. The number of in-season call ups in basketball is very low (not like the NHL) so it would mostly be about seasonal development to provide guys for training camp; essentially the Euro draft and stash route, except we own the team and can control things like playing time, coaching staff, etc. I don't think playing a higher competition level with FIBA rules would hurt a players development at all.
                              It could also have to do with league and contract rules. The NBA already has a callup system in place with the D-League. But it's totally different with Euro teams. You have to sign a pro contract to play in Europe, and thus you can't be called up because you can't be under 2 different pro contracts in NBA and Europe. The rules dictating how guys can move from one league to the other would have to seriously change.

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