FanPost

An idea for a new D-League alternative

Reading all the excellent opinions about the D-league on Timmay's recent BEdge thread, I got to thinking, and my word spewage was too long for a thread response. So I'm bringing it here.

Here's my take. NBA teams should abandon the D-league in America (unless there are some cities that really support it) and start buying teams overseas to act as their minor leagues. Reasons I'm taking from all of you on the thread:

1: Good-but-not-quite NBA players often go overseas. The money is simply better.

2: American D-League teams provide little in the way of structured play, and D-league players not on a 15-man NBA roster can be poached by other NBA teams.

Now, why I think buying overseas teams makes sense:

Overseas teams pay more because they draw more enthusiastic customers. Simply having 30 D-League American teams tied to NBA teams wouldn't work; Americans without an NBA team in their city still get coverage of a regional team on cable and in the press. That team is more interesting than a D-league squad. Whereas foreign fans who want basketball in their area and time zone find it easier to watch a good local team than follow some random NBA squad.

Unless the NBA tried to ban players from playing in the NBA who'd ever played overseas (something MLB did for years, before free agency), they'd never make 30 American teams as profitable -- hence, as salary-appealing -- as the foreign teams. And because foreign teams are more profitable, an NBA team owning one could pay players enough to keep them and still not lose money. They wouldn't have to draft two entire rosters; they could stick a few team-controlled players on the foreign team and fill the rest of the roster with whomever.

Another benefit would be the Crash Davis effect (the salty Kevin Costner character from "Bull Durham.") Foreign teams have far more veteran players (both NBA and international vets both) who would provide mentorship, animosity, experience, cautionary examples, etc. D-League players play with/against young players; NBA scrubs mostly do the same. It might help some young guys to play along and against both friends and enemies who are at roughly the same skill level but have a lot more experience. It would also be better than baseball's "bonus baby" situation (where a highly touted prospect rides the same bus and eats the same meals but everyone knows he gets privileged treatment.) Since NBA players develop so much quicker, all the "bonus babies" are already with the NBA team.

To make this work, there'd have to be a lot of rules involved; teams would have to have budget limitations. No allowing the Knicks to buy the Barcelona team outright and making the Jazz settle for a team in beautiful, isolated (like Utah!) Reykjavik. But within those budget limitations, teams could run a foreign team at a profit, run it as it chose as long as local fans paid to see, and keep a certain number of young players protected from poaching by other NBA teams (players would be of course free to sign with other foreign teams if they wished, just not with another NBA team for a set term.) There'd be a lot of trial-and-error.

But this would address the D-league having no D and Euro teams resenting being poached. It might even make the Summer Leagues that much cooler; imagine a summer showdown of friendlies between top independent foreign teams and NBA-owned foreign affiliates. A lot of interesting things could come of this, in my brain.