The Memphis Grizzlies are formally ending their partnership with the Iowa Energy. The NBA D-League franchise will be owned by the Minnesota Timberwolves starting in the fall of 2017. So with Memphis losing the Energy, there had to be some sort of plan in place to get them back in the D-League game.
That’s where a new D-League team will slide in starting in the 2017-18 season. Southaven, Mississippi will be the location for the new team exclusive to the Grizzlies.
Following from an official Grizzlies press release.
The Grizzlies have acquired an expansion NBA-Development League franchise they will own and operate in the Mid-South, multiple league sources confirmed Monday.
The yet-to-be-named affiliate is scheduled to launch for the 2017-18 season and will play its 24-game home schedule at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, located about 20 miles south of the Grizzlies’ franchise base at FedExForum in downtown Memphis. The team is expected to make a formal announcement on Tuesday.
“It’s a complete game-changer,” said John Hollinger, Grizzlies executive vice president of basketball operations. “Our affiliation with Iowa has been very effective for several years, both in terms of player development and basketball ops to both cities. To operate our own D-League team in your backyard – the direct access to the development process of our player talent – makes the process so much more efficient.”
The team name and other information will be announced at a later date.
For the NBA, this officially marks the 18th NBA franchise to have a D-League team and overall the 23rd NBA D-League team. According to other reports, the NBA is looking to still as many as two more D-League teams.
Still at least one more expansion team, maybe two, expected. That does not count the TWolves taking over Iowa, the former Grizz affiliate.
— Scott Howard-Cooper (@SHowardCooper) January 23, 2017
It appears to only be a formality at this point to have 30 NBA D-League teams for every NBA team. It’s the right thing to do. Every organization deserves to have their own farm system to develop players and also send veterans down for some rehabilitation assignments.
