NBA D-League Tips Off its 12th Season

The NBA Development League, or more commonly known as the D-League, tipped off it’s 2012-13 season Friday night with the first games in a 50-game season. The D-League, founded in 2001, was the brainchild of the NBA Board of Governors and was formed by a vote by the board in 1999. The first year saw eight teams with direct ties to NBA franchises play, but over the years the league has expanded to the current stable of 16 clubs, spread across the United States and divided into three Divisions (East, Central and West).

It wasn’t until 2005 that NBA Commissioner David Stern drafted a plan to expand the D-League into what would be considered a true ‘farm system’, where each club would be associated with at least one NBA team, but they could be, and often are, associated with multiple teams. His plan was to build the league up to 15 teams in the 2006 season and to move out of just the Southeastern part of the US, into various other markets across the country such as Texas and Florida. When Stern made his announcement, the league had only six teams since two of the original eight had folded. In 2005 two new clubs were added, then in 2006 they nearly double the size of the league with three clubs in Southern California and four teams from the Continental Basketball Association moved to the D-League. That season marked the first year an NBA team, the LA Lakers, funded a team to put in the D-League. In 2007 four new teams joined the league, while two dropped out, in 2008 an additional two clubs began play. As of Friday night, the opening day schedule showed the league with 16 teams, five in both the Eastern and Western Divisions and six in the Central Division.

Most of the teams are independently owned, but over the last few years, starting with the Lakers, more NBA teams are investing in the teams to provide a more solid financial base and to strengthen the affiliation. Of the 16 teams that will suit up in 2012-13, 12 clubs are independently owned. The four remaining clubs are owned by an NBA team: the Austin Toros are owned by the San Antonio Spurs; the Canton Charge are owned by the Cleveland Caveliers; the Los Angeles D-Fenders are owned by the LA Lakers; and the Santa Cruz Warriors are owned by the Golden State Warriors.

As the above table shows, five of the teams are affiliated with multiple teams, which was the norm in years past, but now most of the teams are affiliated with a single club.

Players have multiple ways of ending up on a D-League roster, which is currently limited to 12:

1. Returning players – If a player was on a D-League roster and not released by the team, they have return player rights to rejoin their club.
2. Year D-League Draft – Each season the D-League conducts an eight-round draft in November for their clubs to select eligible players from to offer them a spot in training camp for the season. To be eligible for the draft a player must first sign a general contract with the league; be 18-years old (the NBA age is 19); not be currently attending college; have graduated high school or if he didn’t finish high school his class has to have graduated. When the draft board is complete the teams pick players in a rotating fashion with the team getting the first pick in the first round getting the last pick in the second round and the team getting the last pick in the first round essentially getting two consecutive picks because they get the first selection in the following round. Not every player wanting to play in the D-League is put on the board, the league signs 200 potential players that make up the draft board, of those 200, 128 get drafted.
3. NBA Team Assignment – Once the NBA made it a priority to use the D-League as it’s name states, a Development League, the benefits became apparent quickly, but it did take the NBA coaches a while to trust the system in 2006 when it was implemented. Coaches began using their affiliates to get draft picks experience, players needing rehab from injuries a place to get their timing back, a place to send a struggling player some extra minutes without releasing him. With the new collective bargaining agreement that was signed by the NBA clubs in 2012, the rules for assignment to the D-League have changed significantly as teams now can assign a player with three years or less experience to their D-League affiliate an unlimited number of times during the season should they need to. Prior to the new CBA teams could only assign a player three times during the year. As of the 2011-12 season, a veteran (classified as more then three years experience) can be assigned to a D-League team with the players consent. The new CBA terms were put in place to help expand the role of the D-League clubs and to help build the D-League into a true minor-league’ for the NBA. One concern for NBA coaches has always been sending a player to an team the is affiliated with multiple teams. Because of this, more and more teams are developing one-to-one relationships with their D-League affiliate and the goal of the NBA is to have an affiliate for each NBA team in the years to come. Last season a league record 67 NBA players were assigned time with a D-League club.
4. NBA Affiliated players – If a player was in training camp with an NBA team and was cut prior to final rosters being set, that club’s affiliate has the first right in the D-League to sign that released player (unless the player was on another D-League roster the prior season and they have his return rights). D-League teams can claim up to three players that have been cut by their parent team.
5. Open Tryout – Every team in the D-League also holds open tryouts during the months of September and October, prior to pre-season. Many of the teams hold multiple tryouts, such as the Sioux Falls Skyforce, who held five tryouts in five different areas (one for each of the teams they are affiliated with, with two dates in Florida). The local tryouts are different from the national tryouts that are held.
6. Free Agents – Players that have been playing overseas, players waived by NBA teams, players that have been looking for a uniform to wear for whatever reason, are all eligible to be picked up during the season should a D-League team need a player for whatever reason to fill their 12-man roster.

The D-League clubs have a salary cap of $178,000 for the season and have to play a luxury tax dollar-for-dollar if they go over the cap. Players have three pay categories they can be placed in, $25,500, $19,000, and $13,000 per season. They also are provided a $40 per diem while their team is traveling.

The NBA notes that 96 current NBA players having had at least some time with a D-League club.

Serbian Darko Rajakovic guides the 66ers in their D-League opener.

Also of note, when Texas Legends coach Eduardo Najera and Tulsa 66ers coach Darko Rajakovic stepped on the floor this past Friday for their NBA Development League season openers, they were both achieving a first. Najera, born in Mexico, and Rajakovic, born in Serbia, will become the first coaches from their regions to coach a game under the NBA umbrella.