Cleveland Cavaliers Buy NBA Development League Team Money Making

Cleveland Cavaliers Buy NBA Development League Team

Posted on July 20th, 2011 by Connor Head and filed under Financial News

No Comments | Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Nba

Tweet

Tweet

Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert is back in headlines following one of the most successful off-seasons in franchise history.

Gilbert purchased the Thunderbirds (New Mexico’s NBA Development League team) recently, with plans to move the team to Canton, Ohio.

This is exciting news for basketball fans amid the current NBA lockout, because live basketball will be played in Ohio whether NBA games resume or not.

The Thunderbirds will be the Cleveland Cavaliers’ primary D-League affiliate, making the Cavs one of five teams that has a ‘one-to-one’ affiliation with an NBA Development League team. Although all 30 NBA teams have an affiliation with a D-League team (where they can transfer players down to improve in their first two years in the NBA), only five teams have a “one-to-one” affiliation. Aside from the Cleveland Cavaliers, those teams include:

The Golden State Warriors (Dakota Wizards)
Los Angeles Lakers (Los Angeles D-Fenders)
Oklahoma City Thunder (Tulsa 66ers)
San Antonio Spurs (Austin Toros)

Some NBA teams only purchase the basketball operations side of a D-League team. Through this “hybrid system,” the existing ownership handles ticket sales and day-to-day operations of everything but the basketball side of the team. The teams that have a “hybrid ownership system” include:

The Houston Rockets (Rio Grande Valley Vipers)
New Jersey Nets (Springfield Armor)
New York Knicks (Erie BayHawks)
Dallas Mavericks (Texas Legends)

The remaining NBA teams who don’t employ the “one-to-one” or “hybrid system” share one D-League team with three NBA teams. These NBA teams (and locations of D-League teams) include:

California

Los Angles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors (Bakersfield Jam)

Indiana

Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks (Fort Wayne Mad Ants)

Idaho

Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz (Idaho Stampede)

Iowa

Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards (Iowa Energy)

Maine

Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Philadelphia 76ers (Maine Red Claws)

Nevada

Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings (Reno Bighorns)

South Dakota

Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic (Sioux Falls Skyforce)

Cleveland Cavalier fans personally witnessed the talent of the NBA’s Development League when Sudiata Gaines of the Utah Jazz (called up to the NBA from the Idaho Stampede) buried a game winning, last second three-pointer, in his first NBA game to give the Jazz a one point, 97-96 win over the Cavaliers.

Dan Gilbert’s purchase will bring job opportunities to Ohio, excitement to basketball fans, and hope to players on Canton’s new NBA Development League team that they too can one day reach their dream of playing in the NBA.

Tags: 50 greatest players in nba history buy Canton Ohio Cleveland Cleveland Cavaliers cleveland cavaliers buy D-League dakota wizards Dan Gilbert Detroit Pistons development Hybrid Ownership System league National Basketball Association NBA nba all star game NBA Development League nba game nba team nba’s development league New Mexico sports Sudiata Gaines Team teams thunderbird Thunderbirds

About Jonathan Slappey

View all posts by Jonathan Slappey →

Subscribe

Subscribe to our email newsletter to get Zing updates.

Money Making
How To Increase Your Everyday Budget