The Pelicans intend to own and operate an NBA D-League franchise starting in 2018/19, and have received preliminary proposals from six cities in or near Louisiana, the team announced today in a press release. Representatives from those six locations will have until June 7 to submit a “complete and comprehensive proposal” for a D-League team to the Pelicans.
The six cities to express interest in housing the Pelicans’ new D-League affiliate are Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; Pensacola, Florida; St. Tammany Parish, LA; and Shreveport, LA.
“We are excited to the see the excitement which this process has generated among the six locations,” Pelicans owner Tom Benson said in a statement. “All of them have stepped forward with legitimate and sincere interest and are going to make a case via their proposals for why they would like to be the home of our NBA G League team in 2018-2019. The process is underway and we know that this will be a very significant addition for a city/parish near us as it will add global exposure and bring professional basketball to their town.”
The Pelicans initially announced in late March that they intend to launch a D-League affiliate to begin play for the 2018/19 season. By that time, of course, the league will have re-branded itself — it’s set to become the “G-League” later this year in honor of its partnership with Gatorade.
[RELATED: NBA D-League to become NBA Gatorade League in 2017/18]
At the time of New Orleans’ initial announcement, the organization indicated that it would send a Request for Proposal to 11 cities, including seven in Lousiana and four in nearby states. It appears that about half of those cities responded to the Pelicans’ request, showing interest in landing a team. We should hear more in the coming months about which locations are the frontrunners to host the Pelicans’ NBADL affiliate.
With the Pelicans poised to acquire a D-League club of their own, the only NBA teams without an affiliate – or a plan in place to add one – are the Nuggets, Clippers, Trail Blazers, and Wizards.
Y would a team in New Orleans have there D league team in LA. Shouldn’t it be close to the actual team to call up players at a moments notice. I would say Baton Rouge would probably be the best place
LA is the abbreviation for Louisiana…
This guy cracks me up with every comment he leaves but really… this one just takes the cake
Those four stragglers need to get a team up and running for that the g league can be a true minor league
Who is here in October 2018? Lol