While it isn’t quite the Austin Convention Center, something tells me players on a new so.cal based NBDL franchise will somehow cope with the indignity of playing on the same court as Kobe Bryant and Elton Brand. From the LA Times’ Bill Shaikin.
The Lakers are on the verge of becoming the first NBA franchise to own a team in the NBA Development League, with the possibility that minor league games could precede some Laker home games next season at Staples Center.
Ownership would let the Lakers control who coaches and who plays on their minor league team, much as a Major League Baseball team controls personnel on its minor league affiliates. D-League teams select their coaches and players, with NBA franchises given the option to send first- or second-year players to a designated D-League team.
The Lakers have received tentative approval from the NBA Board of Governors, D-League President Phil Evans said Tuesday. NBA Commissioner David Stern said he anticipated the announcement of a Los Angeles team at next week’s owners’ meetings.
The Lakers have sent Von “The Ringer” Wafer back to the D-League’s Fort Worth Flyers for his second tour of duty. The Flyers will take on Roanoke this Saturday in the NBDL semi-finals.